The phrase “under the sun” describes something that exists in this world, on the face of the earth. As such, when people respond to something by saying there is “nothing new” under the sun, they mean that the thing is hardly unique or unexpected. This saying is usually used for phenomena and social circumstances rather than material things or inventions: “Teachers being underpaid? Nothing new under the sun!” In its original, biblical context, however, the phrase has a more complex meaning.
The expression famously appears in the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes (Hebrew: Qoheleth), where the author uses it in his pessimistic description of this world and the pointlessness of human toil. In his view, people mostly fail to understand their own condition and the meaning of life. What is happening, even if it may seem new to them, happened before and will happen again: “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). This verse and the entire opening of Ecclesiastes describes the futility and senselessness of human effort. No matter what we do, nothing ever changes. That means that there is no escape from our present condition, because no human labors and exertions can bring about an improvement.
The one light of hope in this pessimistic view may be in the earth’s permanence: While human life is not stable or permanent, insinuates Ecclesiastes, the natural world is. Even here, however, the biblical writers likely could not foresee the many natural and manmade threats that imperil our planet’s survival today.
The phrase “under the sun” describes something that exists in this world, on the face of the earth. As such, when people respond to something by saying there is “nothing new” under the sun, they mean that the thing is hardly unique or unexpected. This saying is usually used for phenomena and social circumstances rather than material things or inventions: “Teachers being underpaid? Nothing new under the sun!” In its original, biblical context, however, the phrase has a more complex meaning. The expression famously appears in the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes (Hebrew: Qoheleth), where the author uses it in his […]
