Ecclesiastes

Lecture Notes (Chuck Pitts)

è Introduction

--Title

--“The Words of Qoheleth (tl,h,Oq)” This is the Hebrew title of the book.

--Qoheleth comes for the root meaning “to assemble.” In Ecclesiastes, the term is a title for the one writing the book. It is used in 1:1, 2, 12; 7:27; & 12:8, 9, 10.

--“Preacher”—This was popularized by the reformers, notably Luther, apparently assuming that the one assembling the people of God, which for Luther was synonymous with the church, was the preacher. However, Qoheleth includes no connotation of preaching.

--“Teacher”—This is a common translation, also assuming that the collector of proverbs & a sage would also be a teacher. This is probably true, but “teacher” is not a good translation of Qoheleth.

--“Collector” is a good translation, but leaves difficult interpretative issues unanswered. Was he a collector of people or teachings? Probably the latter is correct, as suggested in the epilogue of the book, where the author states that he “searched out & set in order many proverbs.”

--Ecclesiastes—

--The Greek word was used in LXX as the one calling an assembly. Ekklesia (ekklhsia) is the basic Greek word for “assembly,” referring to any public assembly. In the early church, the term became the word for “church.” This accounts for the connection of Qoheleth with “preacher,” i.e. one leading an assembly=church.

--Composition

--Authorship

--“Qoheleth, son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1) led to the traditional understanding that Solomon was the author of Ecclesiastes.

--1:12-2:26 leaves the impression that Qoheleth was the king in Jerusalem. He collected wisdom & built a fortune. This sounds like Solomon of the biblical record. After doing all of this, he found that it was meaningless.

--However, note the “was” in 1:12, which suggests that the writer is no longer the king. That this person is still the king is not impossible, but it does make this interpretation more difficult.

--Also, “son of David” could refer to any king of Judah. All of them were considered “sons of David.” Even if one sees the prologue as a literal reference to a king of Judah, this does not demand Solomonic authorship.

--Furthermore, the opinion of kingship is not positive throughout the book. This also suggests that someone other than Solomon wrote the book. However, of course, if Solomon did write Ecclesiastes, then his opinion of kingship would have been skeptical.

--The epilogue calls the author a “sage.” This would suggest a member of the class of wise man or sage, which was common in the ANE, although scholars hotly debate the existence of professional sages in ancient Israel. This could be, but may not be, Solomon. If it is a technical term, then to call a king a “sage” is unusual.

--Some have suggested that a wealthy, upper class Jew after the exile wrote Ecclesiastes in frustration over the conditions of life. He (or she) had seen the inconsistencies of life, and how life contradicted the teachings of traditional wisdom. Thus the skepticism of Ecclesiastes was born.

--Date

--Some date Ecclesiastes to the time of Solomon, arguing that the conditions of 1:12-2:26 fit this time frame well. This also supports Solomon as author, which is important for many. This date is certainly possible.

--Most scholars would date Ecclesiastes to the Persian or Greek periods, 500-200 B.C.

--This accounts for the “Aramaisms” & supposed Persian loan words in the Hebrew text. However, scholars have accounted for both of these phenomena in other ways.

--In conclusion, like other wisdom literature in the OT, authorship & dating of Ecclesiastes is impossible to determine, despite the desire of many to date it to the time of Solomon. No king is named in the book, which leads many to argue that the anonymous author uses a “king myth” to present a stronger argument.

--Structure

--Epilogue & Prologue—1:1, 12:9-14

--These verses have the appearance of editorial additions. Certainly they could be original to the book, but they appear editorial in nature.

--The introductory verses simply tell the reader who wrote the book, whether the editor believed that Solomon or some other king wrote them, or he wanted to give that impression for authority. Either of these is possible, but note the discussion of Authorship and Date above.

--The epilogue adds a more traditional theological ending to Ecclesiastes. Verses 9-12 particularly look editorial, telling how they were collected and warning against adding to the words of the sage.

--Verses 13-14 then conclude the book with a traditional wisdom theme, “fear & obey the God.”

--Of course, the book may simply be the work of one author who literarily put the work into the mouth of Qoheleth for the purpose of teaching & imparting “wisdom,” or perhaps better “anti-wisdom.”

--I prefer to see the majority of the book as the work of an early author, perhaps even Solomon or another Judahite king, which was then put into its final form by a later editor, who added the framework, perhaps using the title Qoheleth.

--Body of the Book—1:2-12:8

--Several types & forms in which the author investigates “everything under the sun/heavens” and draws conclusions from his investigation.

è The Book of Ecclesiastes

--1:2-11—Introduction

--1:2—Statement of Thesis

--“Everything is meaningless”

--The author had tried various paths of life & found them all to be “meaningless” or “worthless.” This is the ultimate pessimistic view of life, despite the attempt of some to put a more positive spin on Ecclesiastes.

--Qoheleth seem to obviously have a negative view of his traditional understanding of life. The wisdom worldview was normally a primarily positive worldview, but this author has tapped into the pessimistic, skeptical side of wisdom, which was also common in ANE wisdom.

--As we have seen in Job, and to a lesser extent in Proverbs, pessimism developed out of the recognition that the common wisdom philosophy of life did not always work. Sometimes the evil became rich. Sometimes the righteous suffered & were poor. These truths shot holes in the common worldview of the world of wisdom.

--“Meaningless” (hebel, lb,h,) It is used 38 times in all forms (from Murphy).

--Literally means “vapor” or “breath.” It had the connotation of emptiness of nothingness, something here now & gone tomorrow, without value. The prophets often used the word to refer to idols, because the idol was recognized as “nothing,” a mere “vapor.” In Ecclesiastes, the term has two meanings (from Crenshaw, Ecclesiastes):

--Temporal—“ephemerality,” i.e. temporary or passing—In this meaning, hebel referred to things that did not last, such as riches or power or life itself.

--Existential—“futility” or “absurdity”—Here, hebel referred to anything that was as meaningless as a vapor, such as work & riches.

--1:3-11—Nothing ever changes

--Qoheleth seems to ask the question, “Why bother?” In the introduction the object of discussion is “labor.” Why should a person work so hard when nothing lasts, & we can make no difference in the end?

--Cosmological Meaningless—The earth, sun, wind, sea, and rivers never change. They go on & on without variation. The sun rises & sets. The winds blow. The river flows without ever filling up the ocean.

--Anthropological Meaningless—The eyes & ears are never “filled up.” In other words, everything continues, people talk & people listen, & it never ends.

--“The is nothing new under the sun”

--The world never changes & the people never change. Therefore, everything is hebel. Why keep working so hard to gain things & make sense of life?

--In fact, even with great accomplishments & riches, after a few generations no one will remember any of us. Thus, everything is hebel. This is Qoheleth’s introduction to the book!!

--1:12-2:26—The King’s Testimony

--1:12-15

--As king in Jerusalem, Qoheleth “devoted himself” to study & explore “all that is done under heaven.” In other words, he wanted to investigate everything within the human experience. Of course, as a king, he would have had the time, resources, and ability to make such an investigation.

--His conclusion is that everything done in the world is “meaningless, a chasing after the wind,” i.e. there is no use in trying to investigate & understand the world anymore than trying to catch & control the wind, or as v. 15 says than trying to count what is not there.

1:16-18; 2:12-16—Wisdom & Folly

--The search for wisdom is “chasing after the wind.” It is a meaningless pursuit. He quotes an apparent proverb that suggests that wisdom & knowledge actually increases sorrow & grief.

--While the wise is better off than the fool, both face the same fate: death. Death awaits every person, whether wise or foolish.

--2:1-11—Pleasures

--In a conversation with himself, Qoheleth decides to test pleasure for meaning. He tried wine, houses, gardens, slaves, flocks, singers, silver & gold, and a harem. He had more than anyone, which should have produced meaning in life.

--But in all of this, Qoheleth found pleasures—even an abundance of pleasures—did not produce meaning for life. It was a “chasing after wind.”

--2:17-26—Toil

--Toil, i.e. hard work, is meaningless.

--Toil produces anxiety, pain, and grief.

--All that is gained in toil is one day handed over to another person who did not toil for it.

--The best that can be done is to eat, drink, & enjoy his work. This is complicated by the fact that toil is absurd, yet Qoheleth finds nothing better to offer.

--3:1-15—A Time for Everything

--In this famous passage, the author recounts the times for all things. God has given a time for everything. God has even made everything beautiful in it proper place. This is a good thing, right?

--The problem is that men cannot understand the ways of God, so even the orderliness is meaningless for people.

--Therefore, the only proper response is to enjoy life as it comes, i.e. in its proper time. Thus people should “be happy & do good,” eat & drink,” and “find satisfaction.” These things are the gift of God.

--3:16-6:12—Everything Under the Sun

--Everything under the Sun has been examined & found to be meaningless.

--Righteous & Wicked have the same end (3:16-17).

--Men & Animals have the same end—returning to the dust (3:18-22).

--Oppression is beyond understanding (4:1-3). It is better for the oppressor than the oppressed, which contradicted traditional wisdom.

--Toil is not worth the effort, since the fool can achieve what he needs without great toil (4:4-6). Since all of this is “meaningless,” would it not make more sense to have your food without all the effort of the toil?

--Toiling in loneliness is especially meaningless (4:7-12). Qoheleth here expresses a positive truth that working in a team is preferable to working alone, perhaps in the same way that wisdom is superior to foolishness, even though both are meaningless.

--Kings & Their Followers—People are fickle & tend to follow the new & young rather than the old (4:13-15). This is meaningless, & in fact goes against traditional wisdom theology that old age & experience are to be valued.

--The entire process of gaining and keeping prosperity is meaningless (5:8-6:12).

--Wise & foolish men alike amass fortunes. Fathers lose their fortunes, leaving their sons destitute. Others hoard their fortunes, harming themselves. All of this is meaningless. The poor sleep peacefully while the rich cannot sleep because of worry.

--Qoheleth includes the same quote as Job 1:21, “Naked a man comes from mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs.” Also note, “He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (5:15). All this toil & prosperity is meaningless because the rich have no guarantee of keeping it and because “you cannot take it with you.”

--The “gift of God” is to find satisfaction in the toil & enjoy whatever wealth God allows one to have. Reflecting on life is meaningless, so the person may as well just enjoy it.

--Interlude—Fear God (5:1-7)

--As at the end of the book, the reader is brought back to the central tenet of traditional wisdom theology: fear God. In these verses the context is worship.

--The fool rushes to sacrifice & make vows. They do not consider the impact or result of their sin, rushing to sacrifice without first considering the importance of obedience (i.e. 1 Sam. 15:22). Neither does he consider whether he can keep the vow, making it hastily. One does not want to return to the temple to say, “My vow was a mistake.”

--7:1-12:7—Various Wisdom Sayings

--Sayings on Wisdom (7:1-8:1)

--These verses are a collection of wisdom sayings of different forms.

--Some are fairly traditional (7:7-9, 19).

--Others are pessimistic (7:15-18). 7:1-4 is difficult, apparently telling the wise to prepare for death, since it is inevitable.

--Obey the King (8:2-8)

--Obey the king, since he has power & a man has no power to change his ultimate fate.

--The Righteous & the Wicked (8:9-9:12)

--Death awaits the wise & the foolish. “A live dog is better off than a dead lion!” (9:4b). So make the most of life. Note the pessimism (realism?) in the proverbs of 9:11-12.

--Various Wise Sayings (9:13-12:7) NOTE These:

--9:18, 10:1—A little folly goes a long way! It takes only a little folly to destroy the great work & accomplishments of wisdom.

--11:1-6—“Cast your bread upon the waters.” This may be business related, take chances & branch out in your business dealings so that your chances of success are increased. However, it certainly marks a principle of life. Great accomplishments usually begin as big risks.

--12:8—Conclusion

--“Everything is meaningless!”—

--The conclusion of all these things is that everything is meaningless. Qoheleth has found everything in the world to be empty & meaningless. Life has no real hope. He, or she, argues that even the search for wisdom leads to this place.

--12:9-14—Epilogue

--12:9-12—Conclusions on Ecclesiastes & Wisdom

--Qoheleth is pictured not as a king, but as a sage who searched out, collected, & recorded wisdom sayings. Could he be a king & a sage? Maybe he could, but societally these are two distinct groups of people.

--The words of the wise are like nail-studded goads. They are used to prod men & women to live lives of wisdom, which of course for Qoheleth means to accept the contradictions & absurdity of life & continue in the life of wisdom.

--12:13-14—Righting the Ship

--This conclusion moves the reader back to the world of traditional wisdom. The only way to live life is in fear of the Lord & obedience to His commands. This seems to be a corrective of Qoheleth’s challenge of the traditional wisdom.

è Conclusion

--Theological Conclusions

--Qoheleth the Cynic

--Like many in his, and our, society Qoheleth was a cynic. He heard the “truth,” lived a life of “blessing” and “prosperity,” wondered if there was more, and went to find the true meaning of life.

--Qoheleth was confounded by the contradictions of life. If God blesses His faithful children, then why do they often suffer & why do the wicked so often prosper. And in the case when the accepted logic prevails, how long does it last? After death everyone is equal. Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-haul?

--But unlike many cynics, Qoheleth did not reject his life & the life of wisdom. Rather he concluded that no better offer presented itself, so the best life was to continue in wisdom & in worship of God.

--Carpe Diem—

--The only real happiness that man can hope for is in taking the best life has to offer & doing the most with it. Live with gusto! Live with passion! Live with joy! Seize the day!

--Ecclesiastes & Job

--Both books attack the prevailing views of wisdom theology. The authors view the traditional theology as inadequate.

--Both books rebuild a new, synthetic theology & worldview.

--For Job the new worldview questions the belief that righteousness brings health & prosperity, while wickedness brings suffering, and vice versa. The Book of Job affirms the rule of God & his right to govern as He sees fit, thus man should fear & serve Him whether in blessing or suffering.

--For Ecclesiastes the new worldview questions the basic view that a life of wisdom produces a meaningful life. Qoheleth argues that all of this is meaningless. The best a man can hope for is the “enjoy life” as it presents itself. This is a life without pretense, and really without hope.

--Both books deal with perseverance, i.e. living with a system that is patently wrong or absurd, depending upon the book.

--For the Book of Job, living with the system means to realize that a new worldview is called for, i.e. a new worldview is constructed.

--For Qoheleth, living with the system means to accept the absurdity, do the best you can, & enjoy life.