Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries
‘A rich tour down many significant streams of Western interpretation of this fascinating biblical book… Heartily recommended, without reservation.’
Bible and Critical Theory
‘A fundamental resource on biblical interpretation, especially in the modern world, this book is a winner.’
International Review of Biblical Studies
‘The introduction and commentary proper cover many topics, from patristic and rabbinic exegesis through to modern science-fiction, with numerous stops on the way… Very well written and accessible…an excellent book.’
Society for Old Testament Study Book List
Over the centuries, Ecclesiastes has influenced numerous aspects of life and thought. Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries assesses the diverse effects of the book on culture in religion, art, and social contexts.
Ecclesiastes shaped the life of European abbeys of the middle ages. For Renaissance thinkers, it provided a sceptical line of inquiry weighted with the disquieting authority of Scripture. It has inspired the imaginations of artists, musicians, and poets from the Renaissance to the present day. The influence of Ecclesiastes on literature has engaged authors as diverse as Bacon, Donne, Eliot, Hardy, Melville, and numerous Elizabethan poets. This commentary traces these influences as well as the fascinating range of Jewish and Christian readings. The result is an informative and broad-ranging approach to the impact of this book through the centuries that will engage all those studying the Bible.
For further information about the Blackwell Bible Commentaries please visit www.bbibcomm.net.
Cuprins
Series Editors’ Preface xi
Preface xiii
Preface to the Paperback Edition xvii
Testimonia 1
The Vagaries of Interpreting Ecclesiastes 1
Charting a Harsh Terrain 4
Qoheleth the Philosopher 5
Wrought by Melancholy 7
Preacher of Joy 9
True to Life 10
Qoheleth and Christianity 14
Qoheleth and Justice 15
Introduction 17
1 A History of Reception Histories 19
2 Reading Strategies and Lines of Influence 22
Pre-Modern Reading: -1500 23
Early Modern Reading: 1500-1800 40
A. Renaissance and Reform 40
B. Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Verse 51
C. On the Way to Modernity 57
Modern Reading: 1800- 65
A. Literature 65
B. Visual Art, Music and Film 75
C. Comparative Studies 84
Ecclesiastes 1 87
The Life and Death of Solomon the Author: 1:1 et passim
89
A. Alive and Well in Pre-Modernity (-1500) 89
B. Embattled in Early Modernity (1500-1800) 95
C. Dead in Modernity – Solomon’s Ghost (1800-)
96
Vanitas Vanitatum: 1:2 et passim 98
A. Despising the World through Vanitas (-1500)
100
B. Renaissance Vanitas: Despising Jerome and Suspecting
the Sciences (1500-1800) 106
C. Literary Vanitas: New Points of Reference
(1800-) 125
D. The Breadth of Vanitas 140
The Overture Played Out: 1:3-18 142
Ecclesiastes 2 156
Wrestling with the Test of Pleasure: 2:1-10 157
Understanding Wisdom, Folly and God’s Gifts: 2:11-24
161
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 164
The Totality of Times 165
Ecclesiastes 3:9-6:12 174
On Fate, Knowledge and Anthropology: 3:9-22 175
On Oppression and the Value of Companionship: 4:1-12
180
On Conducting Oneself in the House of God: 5:1-8 183
On the Possibility of Profi t and Relief from hebel:
5:10-6:12 184
Ecclesiastes 7-8 188
The Curious Values of Wisdom: 7:1-12 189
The Incongruity of Experience and the Inaccessibility of Wisdom:
7:13-29 192
About Wisdom, Power and Authority: 8:1-17 201
Ecclesiastes 9:1-12 206
The Wisdom of Death and Life 207
Ecclesiastes 9:13-11:10 216
Wise Conduct in the Light of Uncertainty: 9:13-11:6
217
The Final Call to Joy: 11:7-10 221
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 225
The Rule of Allegory 227
Beyond Allegory 232
Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 247
The Final Word 249
A Hermeneutical Postscript 256
Understanding the Pervasive Appeal of Qoheleth 256
The Exegetical ‘Fidelity’ of Ecclesiastes’
Reception History 259
How Might This Reception History Inform the Discipline? 261
Bibliography 264
Primary Sources 265
1. Pre-1500 265
2. 1500-1800 267
3. Post-1800 271
Reception Histories of Ecclesiastes 275
1. Jewish and Christian 275
2. Surveys of Academic Approaches 280
3. Literature 281
Specialist Comparative Studies 283
Ecclesiastes General Secondary Sources 285
Other Secondary Sources 291
Appendix – The Quotable Qoheleth: Ecclesiastes in Popular
Discourse 296
List of Illustrations 300
Acknowledgements 302
Name Index 303
Subject Index 312
Despre autor
Eric S. Christianson is an independent scholar living in the UK. He is author of A Time to Tell: Narrative Strategies in Ecclesiastes (1988) and co-editor of Cinéma Divinité: Religion, Theology and the Bible in Film (2005), The Lure of the Dark Side: Satan and Western Demonology in Popular Culture (2009) and Holy Terror: Understanding Religion and Violence in Popular Culture (2010).
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