The Teacher laments through interrogation rather than declaration to underscore the painful uncertainty that haunts earthly achievement. By framing this as a question, he refuses false certainty and forces himself and his readers to sit with the unsettling reality that we cannot control who inherits our work or how they will steward it.

No direct response is recorded. The Teacher continues his meditation, concluding ‘This also is vanity’ and proceeding to explore further dimensions of life’s futility under the sun.

The Teacher asks ‘who knows’ to emphasize the radical uncertainty that undermines earthly striving. The Hebrew construction (mi yodea, מִי יוֹדֵעַ) expresses genuine ignorance, not rhetorical flourish. By posing this as a question rather than stating ‘my heir may be foolish,’ he invites readers into his mental wrestling, making uncertainty experiential rather than abstract. The contrast between ‘wise’ and ‘fool’ is stark in Hebrew wisdom literature, representing not just intelligence but moral character and life orientation. The Teacher’s anguish deepens because he ‘showed himself wise’ yet cannot transfer that wisdom to his successor. This question exposes the futility of human achievement under the sun when divorced from eternal purpose, driving readers toward wisdom grounded in the fear of God rather than earthly accomplishment.