Week1–Introduction,1.1-11
HowwereadScripture
AtCrossings,ourapproachtoScripture–ourhermeneutic–hasfourfoundationalpillars.First,webelievethatScripture
is one story from beginning to end of God putting his family back together. Second, we declare that Scripture is our
story,meaningthatifwe’veneverreadthestoryofGodasthoughwebelongtoit,asifwearecharactersinit,thenwe
haven’treallyreadit.Third,wesaythatwecometothestorylookingforGod.Wedon’tapproachthestorylookingfor
a philosophy or moral code, but looking to encounter God, who we believe desires not only to write the story of
creation,butalsolongstoco-authorthestoriesofourlives.Finally,webelievethatwearecalledtoownthestory,and
livelivesaspeoplewhoparticipateinGod’songoingrestorationoftheworld.
Ecclesiastes–HistoryandAuthorship
Ecclesiastes is a book located in the wisdom books within Hebrew scripture, alongside Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and the
SongofSolomon.TwoimportantquestionswhenapproachinganybookofScriptureinvolvedateandauthorship:who
wrotethebook,andwhendidtheywriteit?Ecclesiastesdescribesitselfas,“[t]hewordsofQoheleth,thesonofDavid,
KinginJerusalem.”(1:1)TheearliestRabbinictraditionsattributedthebooktoSolomon,David’sson,butforavarietyof
reasons,scholarshavelongdoubtedthatSolomonistheauthorofEcclesiastes.Neartheendofthebook,theauthor
describes Qoheleth as a “Sage” – one who “weigh[ed] and stud[ied] and arrang[ed] many proverbs.” (12:9)
Unfortunately,thisdoesnothelpusidentifyeitherQohelethortheauthorwithmuchspecificity.Perhapsthebestwe
cansayisthis:Qohelethhadgreatskillreflectinguponlife,andusedthatskillinanattempttoteachandwarnothers.
Beyondthis,wecanknowlittlewithcertainty.
There is also considerable debate among scholars about when the book was written, with estimates ranging from as
earlyas450BCEinEgypttoaslateas180BCEinnorthernPalestine,whenthebookisfirstquotedinotherwritings.
Manyscholarstodaybelievethebookwaslikelywrittenaround250BCE,duringaperiodknownasHellenism.Hellenism
describesahistoricperiodbeginningin323BCEwiththeriseofAlexandertheGreat,andendingwiththeemergenceof
theRomanEmpirein31BCE.Duringthistime,Judea–hometotheJewishpeople–wasonthefrontierbetweentwo
warring powers: Egypt ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty in the south, and the rival Seleucid Empire to the north. As a
result, Judea changed hands several times during the Hellenistic period, as each empire’s control waxed and waned.
Whilethereweresomenotableperiodsofrelativepeace,suchaswhenthePtolemiesruledJudeabetween301and219
BCE, overall the Hellenistic period was a turbulent one for the nation of Israel, notable for uprisings accompanied by
both religious and political conflict. It is not difficult to imagine that the typical Hebrew would have felt a sense of
powerlessness,withseriousquestionsabouttheroleofGodandGod’sfaithfulnesstoGod’speople.
Ecclesiastes–Atextwithinatext
OneimportantkeytounderstandingthetextofEcclesiastesisfoundinitsstructure.Althoughtaughttraditionallyasa
book written by one author (traditionally Solomon), most scholars believe that it is actually written by two different
individualswiththreeverydistinctdivisions.This‘textwithinatext’isdescribedthisway:
-Ecclesiastes1.1-11,ThePrologue.Writtenbyanunknownframenarratorintroducingthethemesofthebook.
-Ecclesiastes1.12-12.7,afirst-personnarrativeonthequestforthemeaningoflife,givenbyQohelet.
-Ecclesiastes12.8-12.14,TheEpilogue.AcommentaryonQohelet’swords.Alsowrittenbytheframenarrator.
Thisstructureraisesseveralquestions:WhoisQoheleth,andwhoisthispersonwritingabouthim?Aretheyoneand
the same? As we have already seen, there are no certain answers to these questions. More than that, however,why
does the narrator quote Qoheleth, and to what purpose? Does the narrator agree with Qoheleth? Is the narrator’s
epiloguemeanttobeaffirmativeorcorrective?AreQoheleth’swordssupposedtobeawarningtous,orasourceof
truewisdom?Andifasourceofwisdom,howdoweintegratethesewordswithinalargerstoryofGod’sfamilybeing
put back together? These questions – and our decisions about them – will have a profound effect on how we read
Ecclesiastes,andwhatlessonswelearn.
Ecclesiastes-Challenges
Ecclesiastesisadifficultbookinseveralways.ItisoneofthetrueminorityvoicesinScripture–avoicethatchallenges
ustothinkseriouslyaboutthevalueoflife,andwonderswhetherthereisanylastingprofitforourlabor.Itquestions
whetherpeoplecantrulyfindmeaninginwealth,orwisdom,orwork,andwhetherthereisreallyanybenefitinstriving
for greatness, when, as Qoheleth says, no one will be remembered for very long. It paints a world where God is
sovereignandworthyofdeeprespect,andyetatthesametimeaworldinwhichtherighteousandwickedsufferthe
same fate. In short, the voice of Ecclesiastes as seen in this one story, is part of a small group of books which
acknowledgethegrandstoryofGod,andatthesametimepushbackagainstanalreadyrealizedvisionof“yourbestlife
now.”ItisabookinwhichmanyofthegreatthemesofScripture–forexamplealovingGodwhoredeemsachosen
people–arestrangelyabsent.ChristiansandJewshavestruggledforcenturiestomakesenseofthesecollected“words
ofQoheleth,”notquitesurehowtheyshouldbeinterpretedwithinalifeoffaith.Itisperhapsfittingthatevenmany
prominentatheistsconsiderEcclesiastestobetheirfavoritebookoftheBible.Ecclesiastespushesustoownthestory,
andyettriestowarnusthatowningthestorydoesn’tguaranteewewillalwayslikehowthingsturnout.
Ecclesiastesalsochallengesus,becauseitiseasytoreadourownstory,philosophy,andtheologyintothebook,rather
than understanding the book on its own terms. Is Qoheleth a skeptic? a rationalist? an empiricist? a nihilist? a postmodern?DoesQohelethultimatelyaffirmthegoodnessoflife,andthatthereisnothingbetterthanforpeopletoenjoy
thedaystheyreceive,ordoeshetrulybelievethat“thedeadarebetteroffthantheliving”(4:2)?Whateverourown
positionsandperspectives,wewillbetempted–andable–tofindsupportforourownbeliefsinQoheleth’swords.
Questions
WhatdrawspeopletoEcclesiastes?
WhydoyouthinkEcclesiastesisintheBible?HowdoyouthinkEcclesiastesfitsintothestoryofGodputtingHisfamily
backtogether?
Baseduponthephrase,“afflictthecomfortable,andcomforttheafflicted”,how/wheremightweneedtobecomforted,
andhow/wheremightweneedtobeafflictedinourreadingofthebookofEcclesiastes?
Resourcesforfurtherstudy
TheBookofEcclesiastes,TremperLongmanIII,TheNewInternationalCommentaryontheOldTestament
Ecclesiastes,PeterEnns,ThetwoHorizonsOldTestamentCommentary
AgainsttheGrain,RayWaddle
ATimetoMourn,andaTimetoDance,DerekKidner
Ecclesiastes,AncientWisdomWhenAllElseFails,T.M.Moore