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ECCLESIASTES, BOOK OF

In Christian Bibles, the 21st book of the OT, immediately following Proverbs. In the Hebrew Bible it is grouped with the Megilloth (the five scrolls used in the major religious celebrations of Judaism). The book is read in its entirety during Sukkoth (the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles) when Israel both remembers its sojourn in the wilderness and celebrates the end of another harvest season in the Promised Land.

Ecclesiastes is named after the principal speaker in the book, called Qoheleth (“one who assembles”) in Hebrew or ekklēsiastēs (“member of an assembly”) in Greek. In some places the term is used as a title (the Qoheleth in 7:27; 12:8), and in others it seems to be a person’s name or a nickname (1:1, 2, 12; 12:9-10). In Hebrew qōheleṯ can refer to the activity of gathering together either an audience or a collection of sayings. Since tradition remembers Qoheleth as one who “taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs” (12:9), the translation “Teacher” (NIV, NRSV) is more accurate than “Preacher” (KJV, RSV).

The Synagogue and the Church traditionally have identified Qoheleth with Solomon, but the name Solomon does not occur anywhere in the book. Solomon was known as the prototype of wisdom leadership, and 1:1 calls Qoheleth a “son of David, king in Jerusalem.” But a number of statements in the book are difficult to reconcile with what we know about Solomon from other sources. In 1:12 Qoheleth says that he “was king over Israel in Jerusalem,” implying that he speaks from a time when his reign had ended, and 1:16; 2:7 imply that many other kings had preceded the speaker on the throne in Jerusalem. Both 8:2-9 and 10:16-19 sound more like the opinions of a subject than those of a king.

The Hebrew in which the present form of the book is written represents a very late stage in the development of the language. The text contains loanwords from Persian and Aramaic and uses certain vocabulary and grammatical forms that only became common shortly before the beginning of the Christian era. Thus the present form of the book must come from the Second Temple period at the earliest (i.e., from at least four centuries later than Solomon), and Qoheleth is probably a wisdom teacher who takes on the persona of Solomon in order to argue that even someone as wise and as rich as Solomon would say what the Teacher says, if given a chance to do so.

Ecclesiastes has been understood in radically different ways by different readers because the central thematic metaphor (traditionally translated “all is vanity”) is inherently ambiguous. Heb. heḇel (“vanity”) occurs 38 times in Ecclesiastes, compared to only 35 uses in all of the rest of the OT. In its simplest and most basic sense heḇel means “a puff of air,” “a breath,” or “vapor” (e.g., Isa. 57:13; Ps. 39:5, 11[MT 6, 12]). But heḇel acquires negative associations when used to describe the uselessness or worthlessness of idols (Jer. 2:5; 8:19; 10:8; 2 Kgs. 17:15) or the unreliability of human allies (Isa. 30:7). Thus “all is heḇel” (1:2; 12:8) can be understood in either a positive or a negative sense.

Those who think vanity (heḇel) is a pejorative term meaning “useless” or “meaningless” see the Teacher as a man lacking in faith and question the book’s presence in the canon of Holy Scripture. Those who understand heḇel (“vanity”) to refer to that which is transitory or impermanent see the teachings of Ecclesiastes in a more positive light, especially when impermanence is understood to apply to everything “under the sun” in contrast to the permanence of God. Qoheleth thinks human life and the products of human labor are “breathlike” (impermanent, of short duration), not “meaningless.”

Various parts of Ecclesiastes seem to represent conflicting points of view (compare 5:1-6[4:17–5:5] with 9:1-2 or 8:12-13 with 8:14) because the Teacher uses an ancient form of rhetoric known as “diatribe” or “disputation speech,” in which a speaker quotes an opposing point of view in order to refute it. This “Yes, but . . .” style of speech is used in order to question the truth of several traditional assumptions. In effect, Ecclesiastes says to himself (or to his audience), “Yes, it may be true as the tradition tells us, that ‘it will be well with those who fear God’ and ‘it will not be well with the wicked’ (8:12-13) but experience tells us that ‘on earth, there are righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked, and there are wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the righteous’ ” (v. 14).

Unlike the speakers in the book of Proverbs, who seem to think that the consequences of human action are relatively predictable, Qoheleth argues that human beings must choose to act without being completely sure of the ultimate results of their actions (11:1-6) and that mortals must live out their brief lives under the sun without being able to find out precisely what God has in mind to do (3:1-11; 8:17).

The book cannot be outlined as an orderly, structured, or logical argument. Topics ebb and flow, are briefly considered, abandoned for a while and then reappear for further examination. However, in general, the first six chapters consider what is good for human beings to do during their brief lives “under the sun,” while the last six chapters are primarily concerned with what human beings can and cannot know.

In chs. 1–6 Ecclesiastes insists that nothing enduring or permanent can result from human efforts. Like the continually recycling elements of nature, human actions must be done over and over (1:3-9). To those who hope to make a permanent impression on the world, Qoheleth declares that fame does not endure (1:10-11). He reminds those who work to pile up the “good things in life,” that they cannot take their possessions with them when they die (5:15[14]). In fact, he says, “some fool” will probably inherit what they have worked so hard to accumulate (2:18-21; 4:7-8; 5:13-17[12-16]; 6:1-3). The Teacher reminds those who work excessively hard in order to gain wisdom that, in spite of what the speakers in Proverbs say about the life-giving properties of wisdom (e.g., Prov. 13:14), “the wise die just like fools” (Eccl. 2:14-17).

Instead of working themselves to death in order to gain fame, wealth or wisdom, Ecclesiastes thinks people should “eat, drink, and find enjoyment in their toil” (2:24-26; 3:12-13; 5:18-20[17-19]; 8:15; 9:7-10) during their brief (heḇel-like) lives “under the sun.” He does not think people should sit back and do nothing. Rather, he insists that work should be done for the sheer joy of it, for the pleasure of a job well done, or simply because it needs to be done (4:5-6; 5:18-20[17-19]; 9:9-10), not because it will bring the worker wealth, wisdom, or notoriety.

The final verse in ch. 6 introduces the questions which will dominate chs. 7–12: “Who knows what is good for mortals [to do] while they live the few days of their vain (heḇel-like) life? . . . For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?” (6:12). Qoheleth doubts the claims of those who think they can predict what God will do (7:14; 8:17). Thus, he counsels his students: “Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart” (9:7). “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain (lit., breathlike) life that are given you under the sun” (9:9).

Ch. 3 brings together the major themes from both halves of the book. The Teacher uses the well-known poem in 3:2-8 to argue that because God has purposes which will always remain unknown to us and because we cannot add to or take away from God’s work, therefore we ought not to work to the point of exhaustion trying to guarantee that our own actions will have permanent results (vv. 9-15).

The phrase “under the sun” plays a significant part in the development of Qoheleth’s argument. In spite of what traditional wisdom teaches, Qoheleth’s experience tells him that justice does not always happen “under the sun” (3:16; 7:15; 8:14; contra Prov. 10:2, 16; 11:4, 31, etc.), that sinning does not necessarily shorten the life of the sinner nor does righteousness extend the life of the righteous (Eccl. 7:15; 8:12-14; contra Prov. 10:27). However, Qoheleth leaves open the possibility that some form of judgment might take place outside the realm of human experience. Having argued that there is an appropriate time for everything “under heaven” (3:1-8), Qoheleth can continue to believe “in his heart” that God will (eventually) judge the righteous and the wicked (3:17). But he does not think anyone can really know what happens to us after we die (3:19-22).

The extended metaphor in 12:1-7, which compares old age and death to a decaying mansion on a large estate, is used to remind the reader once again that life (like everything else under the sun) is of brief duration. But lack of permanence does not mean lack of value. Life is both fleeting (heḇel) and sweet (11:7-10).

The book ends with a later editor’s comments about Qoheleth’s career (12:8-10) and some concluding advice from the editor to the reader (12:11-14).

Bibliography. J. L. Crenshaw, Ecclesiastes. OTL (Philadelphia, 1987); F. Crüsemann, “The Unchangeable World: The ‘Crisis of Wisdom’ in Koheleth,” in God of the Lowly, ed. W. Schottroff and W. Stegemann (Maryknoll, 1984), 57-77; K. A. Farmer, Who Knows What Is Good: A Commentary on the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. ITC (Grand Rapids, 1991); M. V. Fox, A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up: A Rereading of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, 1999); R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs-Ecclesiastes. AB 18 (Garden City, 1965); R. N. Whybray, “Qoheleth, Preacher of Joy,” JSOT 23 (1982): 87-98.

Kathleen Farmer

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ECCLESIASTES, BOOK OF

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)