- 528 pages
- English
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About This Book
“Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.” The word “meaningless” ( hebel ) appears more than 40 times in the book of Ecclesiastes and raises the question why a book that appears to deny meaning or purpose is included in the Bible. Many questions of interpretation as well as relevance surround the book of Ecclesiastes, including indeed the proper translation and understanding of the word hebel. If, after all, the book does examine the question of the meaning of life, what could be more important?
The present volume explores Ecclesiastes/Qohelet on many different levels: linguistic, text-critical, theological, historical, and literary. The contributors, chosen from many of the leading and emerging experts on the book, present both the state of the field and their own assessment of the varied interpretive issues of Ecclesiastes. They include scholars, preachers, and philosophers. It should be helpful not only to scholars but also to all who want to study this book seriously.
The first section of this volume deals with the history of interpretation. The second section is concerned with issues of history, form, and rhetoric. Section three is about key concepts and passages. The fourth section focuses on the language and grammar of Qohelet. The last section engages practical issues of interpretation. The volume is designed to provide exposure to a variety of readers who seek to engage Qohelet in fresh ways in the twenty-first century—from historians of interpretation to biblical exegetes to linguists to theological students.
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Table of contents
- COVER Front
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Chapter 1: Ecclesiastes in Premodern Reading: Before 1500 c.e.
- Chapter 2: Qohelet and the Rabbis
- Chapter 3: Ecclesiastes and the Reformers
- Chaptyer 4: Sweet and Lawful Delights Puritan Interpretations of Ecclesiastes
- Chapter 5: Determining the Historical Context of Ecclesiastes
- Chapter 6: The Book of QoheletâHas the Smell of the Tomb about Itâ: Mortality in Qohelet and Hellenistic Skepticism
- Chapter 7: Qohelet and Royal Autobiography
- Chapter 8: Framed! Structure in Ecclesiastes
- Chapter 9: The Poetry of Qohelet
- Chapter 10: Epistemology in Ecclesiastes: Remembering What It Means to Be Human
- Chapter 11: âRiddled with Ambiguityâ:Ecclesiastes 7:23â8:1 as an Example
- Chapter 12: The Meaning of ××× in Qohelet: An Intertextual Suggestion
- Chapter 13: Speaking into the Silence: The Epilogue of Ecclesiastes
- Chapter 14: The Grammar of ×Š× and ר׊×× in Qohelet
- Chapter 15: The Verb in Qohelet
- Chapter 16: âAramaismsâ in Qohelet: Methodological Problems inIdentification and Interpretation
- Chapter 17: The Theology of Ecclesiastes
- Chapter 18: Ecclesiastes and the Canon
- Chapter 19: Fresh Perspectives on Ecclesiastes:âQohelet for Todayâ
- Chapter 20: Preaching Qohelet
- Chapter 21: Solomonâs Sexual Wisdom: Qohelet and the Song of Songs in the Postmodern Condition
- Index