Qoheleth's Hope: The Message of Ecclesiastes in a Broken World

by Brian Neil Peterson

Overview

Pessimist! Hedonist! Skeptic! Fatalist! Scholars have used these and a variety of other pejoratives to describe Qoheleth, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes. But are these monikers fair assessments of this formative book of the Hebrew wisdom tradition? Brian Neil Peterson challenges this dominant scholarly perspective by arguing that Qoheleth’s message is more optimistic than it appears. He insists that Qoheleth—a realist who recognizes that the world is broken due to the Fall in Genesis 3—is instructing his readers to live life to the fullest in the fear of God despite the presence of injustice, oppression, and futility experienced on a daily basis. Due to the fleeting nature of life, Qoheleth offers hope to his readers and urges them to put God first and enjoy God’s good gifts, not as a destination in life, but rather as part of one’s earthly journey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781978703995
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/18/2019
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.32(w) x 8.92(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Brian Neil Peterson is associate professor of the Hebrew Bible at Lee University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 An Introduction to the Book of Ecclesiastes

Chapter 2 Qoheleth’s Reflections on Genesis

Chapter 3 Life is a Fleeting Breath in a Broken World (Eccl 1:1–11)

Chapter 4 Qoheleth’s Experiments: Journey vs. Destination (Eccl 1:12—2:26)

Chapter 5 The Centrality of God in Qoheleth’s Worldview: Part 1 (Eccl 3–4)

Chapter 6 The Centrality of God in Qoheleth’s Worldview: Part 2 (Eccl 5–6)

Chapter 7 Qoheleth’s Push for Wisdom over Folly: Part 1 (Eccl 7–8)

Chapter 8 Qoheleth’s Push for Wisdom over Folly: Part 2 (Eccl 9–10)

Chapter 9 Qoheleth’s Conclusion: Enjoy Life but Fear God (Eccl 11–12)

Chapter 10 Qoheleth in Light of the Biblical Wisdom Tradition

Editorial Reviews

Peterson has rescued Qoheleth from its proverbial doldrums of despair by refining the understanding of the key word hebel (KJV, “vanity”) and a careful treatment of the book’s structure. Metaphorically, he has beaten the hermeneutical “swords into plowshares” and “spears into pruninghooks,” resulting in a unified and orthodox voice of hope. While not sweeping the difficulties aside, his combination of impeccable scholarship and clarity of expression makes this volume an easy and obligatory read for those who believe and those who disbelieve that Ecclesiastes belongs to conventional biblical theology.

C. Hassell Bullock

This is a balanced, well-informed study of the message of Ecclesiastes. It will be of great value in helping readers understand how recent interpreters have handled the text and in coming to their own conclusions about its historical meaning and abiding significance.

Duane A. Garrett

As the most recent scholar freed from Jerome’s errant vanitas translation of Ecclesiastes’ thematic word hebel, Brian Neil Peterson offers a sensible interpretation of Ecclesiastes that is internally consistent and comports with Biblical wisdom from Proverbs to Job. Peterson wraps the book’s message between the thematic opening and closing pronouncements on the transience of all under the sun. But even more holistically, he takes us logically through the sequence of Ecclesiastes’ literary units, revealing Qoheleth’s systematic development of his realistic worldview. In this way, Peterson adds a rich layer of scholarship in describing Qoheleth as a balanced realist, using ably the linguistic, thematic and rhetorical analyses that are necessary for understanding this challenging Old Testament book.

Daniel C. Fredericks

Throughout the work P. engages with a wide range of scholarly contributions: indeed, it is difficult to think of any treatments of Qoheleth he has not considered. This variety of views is clearly presented and assessed in this comprehensive study, which will become essential reading for every student of the book.

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament