Bible Dictionary
VANITY, VANITIES
Vanity means emptiness, futility, falsehood, or transitoriness. Scripture uses the word for worthless idols, human efforts without lasting substance, and the frailty of the created order apart from God’s purpose.
Biblical Usage
Scripture uses vanity for the emptiness of idols, the transitoriness to which creation was subjected, and folly or emptiness in human conduct. In translation it may also represent concepts such as iniquity, falsehood, deceit, vapor, calamity, or breath.