I have several friends who read ‘vanity’ as being ‘pride’ and not the good pride. Yet the root is the latin ‘vanus’ which means ’empty’ which to me implies a meaning quite different than ‘pride’. So is this an example of later translators deciding which meaning is to be propagated forward and may not be the actual meaning of the author of those words? Obviously I am not a scholar but I see two different interpretations depending on those definitions.
The ESV has a helpful note:
The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context).
So you are correct. “Vanity” is being used in the more literal, older sense of something empty, passing, or worthless.
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
evgendob
Robert
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