A familiar refrain in Ecclesiastes (e.g. 1: 2), asserting that life has no meaning. It is a theme in Isa. (57: 13) that idols are nothing but vanity (cf. Acts 14: 15). In the OT and NT ‘vanity’ does not mean empty pride or conceit.
Citation for vanity
Citation styles are based on the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Ed., and the MLA Style Manual, 2nd Ed..
MLA
"vanity." In A Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. W. R. F. Browning. Oxford Biblical Studies Online. May 22, 2013. <http://www.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1987>.
Chicago
"vanity." In A Dictionary of the Bible. , edited by W. R. F. Browning. Oxford Biblical Studies Online, http://www.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1987 (accessed May 22, 2013).