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Ecclesiastes
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Ecclesiastes (often abbreviated Ecc) (Hebrew: קֹהֶלֶת, Kohelet, variously transliterated as Qoheleth, Göhalath, Koheles, Koheleth, or Coheleth) is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.
The main speaker in the book, identified by the name Qohelet, introduces himself as "son of David, and king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, at times expressed in aphorisms and maxims illuminated in terse paragraphs with reflections on the meaning of life and the best way of life. The work emphatically proclaims all the actions of man to be inherently "vain", "futile", "empty", "meaningless", "temporary", "transitory", or "fleeting," depending on translation, as the lives of both wise and foolish men end in death. While Qohelet clearly endorses wisdom as a means for a well-lived earthly life, he is unable to ascribe eternal meaning to it. In light of this perceived senselessness, he suggests that one should enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in one's wife and work, which are gifts from the hand of God.
According to Talmud however, the point of Qohelet is to state that all is futile under the sun. One should therefore ignore physical pleasures and put all one's efforts towards that which is above the Sun. This is summed up in the second to last verse: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone."
Etymology
Title
The Hebrew קהלת is a feminine participle related to the root קהל meaning "to gather." Scholars are unsure whether it means the "one who gathers" or the "one among the gathering." Although the form is a feminine participle, virtually no scholars argue that the author is a woman. Except for one dubious example of a third-person feminine singular verb associated with qohelet, the subject always uses masculine nouns and even refers to his wife and women. He says that he has acquired shida we-shidot, an ambiguous phrase that may refer to a harem (,shdh "breasts"); he describes how he could not find a virtuous woman; and he exhorts the reader to enjoy (re'a) life with his wife.
English translation
The English title of the book, Ecclesiastes, comes from the Septuagint translation of Qohelet, Εκκλησιαστής. It is related to the Greek noun Εκκλησία (originally a secular gathering, although later used primarily of religious gatherings, hence its New Testament meaning of "church"). Greek translators used "ecclesia" to render קהל (qahal) of the same Hebrew root.
The word Qohelet has found several translations into English, including The Preacher (following Jerome's suggested Latin title concionator and Martin Luther's Der Prediger). In view of the meaning of the Hebrew root ("gather, assemble, convene") one might opt for the translation "Speaker". [1]
Authorship and historical context
Author
In the two opening chapters the speaker describes himself as the son of David, and king over Israel in Jerusalem (1:1, 12, 16; 2:7, 9), presenting himself as a philosopher at the center of a brilliant court. This could apply only to king Solomon, for his successors in Jerusalem were kings over Judah only. Consequently, the traditional Rabbinic and early Christian view attributed Ecclesiastes to king Solomon. This view has been abandoned by many modern critical scholars, who now assume that Qoheleth is a work in the pseudepigraphical mode. Most critical scholars suggest that Ecclesiastes was written around 250 BCE by a non-Hellenized intellectual in the milieu of the Temple in Jerusalem, though Seow of the Anchor Bible commentary argues that it dates to the Persian period. The latest possible date for it is set by the fact that Ben Sirach (written ca. 180 BCE) repeatedly quotes or paraphrases it, as from a canonic rather than a contemporary writing.
Many modern conservative scholars today also suggest that Solomon is an unlikely author. Since this work is found within the Ketuvim, there must be some room for poetical treatment. There are two voices in the book, the frame-narrator (1.1–11; 12.9–14) and Qoheleth (1.12–12.8). Scholars are less than unanimous about whether this indicates two authors.
R' Nachman Krochmal suggests that the term son of David should be interpreted to mean descendant of David. He posits that it was written by a powerful lord during the Persian Era (possibly during the missing years of Jewish history). The term King would not be difficult; since the Persian Monarch was known as the King of Kings, a lesser lord may have called himself a king.[2]
Language
The Hebrew of Ecclesiastes was not common in the era of Solomon’s reign, and the book contains words borrowed from other languages. For example, the book contains several Aramaic and two Persian words. The influence of Aramaic is characteristic of late Hebrew. Other examples of late Biblical Hebrew include the qetAl pattern form nouns, which would have dated after an Aramaic influence, the frequent use of the relative sh (-ש) alongside asher (אשר), the Ut ending (ות-), the frequent use of the participle for the present (which is later developed in Rabbinic Hebrew), using the prefix conjugation in the future (vs. the older preterite use), and terms that appear to specifically fit a Persian/Hellenistic context (e.g. Shallit). During the time of Solomon and through the eighth century, mater's were not used inside words (except maybe in 'ir (city) in the Lachish letters), and there is no evidence for early orthography.
Date of writing
Dominic Rudman, Determinism in the Book of Ecclesiastes (JSOTSup. 316; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001, p. 13) cites the modern commentaries supporting this dating.
- Dominic Rudman. "A Note on Dating of Ecclesiastes". Catholic Biblical Quarterly vol. 61 no. 1 (1999) pp. 47-53 contains a discussion with C. L. Seow, "Linguistic Evidence and the Dating of Qohelet." in JBL vol. 115 (1996), pp. 653–54—Seow supports a 4th century dating.
"Most current commentators e.g., R. N. Whybray, Ecclesiastes [NCB Commentary; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1989] 4–12) argue for a mid-to-late-third-century date. Others, among them N. Lohfink (Kohelet [NEchtB; Wurzburg: Echter Verlag, 1980] 7) and C. E Whitley (Koheleth: His Language and Thought [BZAW 148; Berlin/ New York: de Gruyter, 1979] 132–46), have suggested an early- or mid-second-century background."