6

Hints at the hereafter

a stillborn child is better off than he. \(^4\)For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. \(^5\)Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. \(^6\)Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?

The book of Ecclesiastes doesn’t teach about life after death in a clear way. Actually, even with the New Testament it’s hard to really know what to expect. But there are some things that you can guess at. The way it says a stillborn finds rest may be a reassurance that infants get some kind of special grace if they die. I don’t think you can say that conclusively but the passage does seem to compare the stillborn’s final condition as being better than someone who has spent their life in vain pursuits.

The phrase “The one place” which is clearly in a context talking about death is ambiguous. Someone could very easily take that in isolation to look like there is no distinction in what happens after death, maybe all people are sent to oblivion. I don’t think that is what the writer means. It doesn’t tally with other things in the book. I think this phrase isn’t about the hereafter but about death itself, the transition all people have to go through wherever they’re heading afterwards.