Ecclesiastes is one of the most fascinating -- and hauntingly familiar -- books of the Old Testament.
In the verse-by-verse commentary that follows, Longman helps clarify the confusing, sometimes contradictory message of Ecclesiastes by showing that the Book should be divided into three sections -- a prologue (1:1-11), Qohelet\'s autobiographical speech (1:12-12:7), and an epilogue (12:8-14) -- and that the frame narrative provided by prologue and epilogue is the key to understanding the message of the Book as a whole..
He argues that the author of Ecclesiastes is not Solomon, as has been traditionally thought, but a writer who adopts a Solomonic persona.
Longman first provides an extensive introduction to Ecclesiastes, exploring such background matters as authorship, language, genre, structure, literary style, and the book\'s theological message. -Meaningless, - says Qohelet, -everything is meaningless.- How does this pessimistic perspective fit into the rest of biblical revelation? In this commentary Tremper Longman III addresses this question by taking a canonical-Christocentric approach to the meaning of Ecclesiastes.
Expressing the uncertainty and anxieties of our own age, he is driven by the question, -Where can we find meaning in the world?- But while Qohelet\'s question resonates with readers today, his answer is shocking.
The sentiments of the main speaker of the book, a person given the name Qohelet, sound incredibly modern.
Ecclesiastes is one of the most fascinating -- and hauntingly familiar -- books of the Old Testament
