An Analysis of the Inter-Dependency of the Prominent Motifs Within the Book of Qohelet

247 Pages·2012·2.415 MB·English

by  Richard Alan Fuhr Jr.

An Analysis
OF THE
Inter-Dependency
OF THE
Prominent Motifs Within
Book Qohelet

THE OF
Studies in Biblical Literature

Hemchand Gossai
General Editor

Vol. 151

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
RICHARD ALAN FUHR JR.

An Analysis
OF THE
Inter-Dependency
OF THE
Prominent Motifs Within
Book Qohelet

THE OF

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fuhr, Richard Alan.
An analysis of the inter-dependency of the prominent motifs within
the book of Qohelet / Richard Alan Fuhr Jr.
p. cm. — (Studies in biblical literature; v. 151)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
1. Bible. O.T. Ecclesiastes—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BS1475.52.F84 223’.806—dc23 2012019433
ISBN 978-1-4331-1901-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-0908-9 (e-book)
ISSN 1089-0645

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CONTENTS

EDITOR’S PREFACE ................................................................................... xi
PREFACE .................................................................................................... xiii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................. xv
CHAPTER 1: Preliminary Considerations and Introduction .......................... 1
The Need for Balance in Approaching the Book of Qohelet .................... 9
The Question of Contradiction and Tension in Qohelet ......................... 10
The Question of Genre, Authorship, and Date within the Book of
Qohelet ................................................................................................... 15
A Survey of Prominent Motifs Observable within Qohelet and an
Inter-dependent Approach to Qohelet .................................................... 22
A Balanced Paradigm for Living: The Inter-dependency of the
Prominent Motifs in Qohelet .................................................................. 26

CHAPTER 2: The Dilemma of lbh and the Quest for !wrty in the
Book of Qohelet ............................................................................................ 29
A Survey of the Use of lbh in the Old Testament .................................. 32
A Survey of Contemporary Approaches to the Use
of lbh in Qohelet ..................................................................................... 34
lbh Understood Exclusively as “Fleeting,” “Transitory,”
or “Brevity” ............................................................................................ 35
lbh Understood Exclusively as “Meaningless” ...................................... 37
lbh Understood as Denoting Futility Based on the Recognition
of Transience .......................................................................................... 38
lbh Understood as “Enigmatic” .............................................................. 39
lbh Understood as “Incomprehensible” ................................................. 40
lbh Understood as “Absurdity” .............................................................. 41
lbh Understood as “Unsatisfactory,” “Frustrating,” or “Foulness” ....... 42
Other Miscellaneous Definitions for lbh ................................................ 44
lbh Understood in a Unique Sense not Translatable into Any
Single English Term ............................................................................... 45
The Flexible Nature of Metaphor as Depicted in lbh ............................. 46
lbh as Symbol in Qohelet ....................................................................... 47
The “Transience Family” ........................................................................ 50
The “Vanity Family” .............................................................................. 52
The “Irony Family” ................................................................................ 55
The “Frustration Family” ........................................................................ 58
viii

The Dilemma of lbh ............................................................................... 59

CHAPTER 3: Living “Under The Sun”: The Question of Theological
Context and Perspective in the Book of Qohelet .......................................... 65
The Scope of Qohelet’s Observations—Life “Under the Sun” .............. 67
The Distinction between Qohelet’s Use of the Phrases
“Under the Sun” and “Under the Heavens” ............................................ 68
The Perspective of Qohelet’s Inquiry—The Context of Life Observed
“Under the Sun”...................................................................................... 71

CHAPTER 4: Looking Through the “Lens of Wisdom”: The Role of
Wisdom and Genre in the Book of Qohelet .................................................. 75
What Kind of Wisdom is This? .............................................................. 76
Looking through the Lens of Wisdom .................................................... 82
Wisdom as Motif in Qohelet .................................................................. 85
Concluding Thoughts ............................................................................. 91

CHAPTER 5: How Inscrutable Are the Ways of God! The Relationship
Between God and Man in the Book of Qohelet ............................................ 95
Sovereignty and Determinacy in Qohelet’s Theology of God ............... 96
The Imposition of Limitation in Qohelet’s Theology of Man .............. 102
Time, Circumstance, and Probabilistic Wisdom .................................. 110

CHAPTER 6: The Inescapable Destiny of All Men: The Inevitability of
Death Motif in the Book of Qohelet ........................................................... 117
Principles on Death and the Afterlife in Qohelet .................................. 126

CHAPTER 7: What Will the Wise Man Do? The Enjoyment of Life
Conclusions in the Book of Qohelet ........................................................... 137
Uncomfortable Bedfellows: Joy in the Mist of Toil ............................. 146
The Divine Gift of Enjoyment .............................................................. 151
The Wisdom of Joy............................................................................... 156

CHAPTER 8: What Will the Wise Man Do? The Fear of God
Conclusions in the Book of Qohelet ........................................................... 161
Remembering One’s Creator—The Centrality of the Fear of God
in Qohelet ............................................................................................. 161
ix

The Fear of God and the “Whole of Man” ........................................... 168
The Fear of God and the Appointed Time of Judgment ....................... 172
The Enjoyment of Life and the Fear of God ......................................... 176

CHAPTER 9: In Conclusion: The Inter-Dependancy of the
Prominent Motifs Within the Book of Qohelet ........................................... 181
The Inter-dependency of lbh to Related Motifs ................................... 181
lbh, !wrty, and the Pursuit of Wisdom .................................................... 182
lbh and its Relationship to the Inevitability of Death ........................... 182
lbh and Its Relationship to the Determinacy of God and the
Limitation of Man ................................................................................. 183
The Inter-dependency of Wisdom to Related Motifs ........................... 184
Realism and the Capacity to Affect Change: Probabilistic Wisdom
and Its Relationship to Determinacy and Limitation ............................ 184
A New Paradigm for Living: How Wisdom Relates
to the Enjoyment of Life and the Fear of God ...................................... 185
The Inter-dependency of the Inevitability of Death
to Related Motifs .................................................................................. 186
The Ultimate Display of Divine Determinism: The Inevitability
of Death, Divine Jurisdiction, and the Inability of Man to Know
His Future ............................................................................................. 186
The Inevitability of Death as Motivation to Seize the Day .................. 187
The Inevitability of Death as Motivation to Fear God.......................... 188
The Inter-dependency of the Enjoyment of Life and the Fear
of God to Related Motifs ...................................................................... 189
How the Wise Should Live: The Balanced, Two-fold Wisdom
Response to Living in a lbh World ....................................................... 191

APPENDIX ................................................................................................. 193
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 197
Author Index ............................................................................................... 209
Subject Index ............................................................................................... 213
Scripture Index ............................................................................................ 227