W. Sibley Towner wrote the Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections on the Book of Ecclesiastes for The New Interpreter’s Bible. He writes, “Ecclesiastes has always had its fans among the original thinkers of the Jewish and Christian communities… the rest of us know and love some of its individual epigrams and its more lyrical passages. On the whole, however, believers have found it at least baffling and at most wrongheaded… Time and time again one is driven to admit the truth of what Ecclesiastes has to say, even though one might not want to hear it.”

We don’t get the name of the writer of Ecclesiastes, only the title Qohelet which is usually translated into English as “the Preacher” or “the Teacher.” It’s also translated as “leader of the assembly.” When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek Qohelet was translated Ekklesiastes or “one who leads a congregation.” Congregation in Greek is ekklesia. Thus, the name we use for this book is Ecclesiastes.

The language used in Ecclesiastes is majorly influenced by Aramaic. The language used places it “among the later books of the Hebrew canon.” It was probably written in the middle of the third century BCE, perhaps around 250 BCE.

The genre of Ecclesiastes is up for debate and has been debated for centuries. Really, it’s instruction or reflection. It’s part of the Hebrew Bible known as “the Writings”- everything that is not law or prophets – Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, Psalms, Lamentations, Daniel, Ruth, Esther, and Song of Songs. Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes are Writings, but are also wisdom literature (Psalms 1, 37, 49, 73, 112, and 128 are recognized as wisdom psalms).  Towner writes, “That Ecclesiastes belongs in the company of Job and Proverbs cannot be doubted. The genres of writing, the strongly secular perspective, the sophisticated quarrel with conventional piety and theology—all belong to the effort of wisdom writers to make sense of life based on observation and practical experiences… the focus is on human nature, and the goal is to guide human beings into the path of successful living.”

The plot of Ecclesiastes is mostly nonexistent. There is a title for the book given in chapter 1 verse 1. The rest of the book is presumably Qohelet’s words. There are two units at the end of the book, 12:9-11 and 12:12-14, that are by one or two other authors “who have added some words at the end of the work to integrate it somehow into the stream of canonical literature.”

Towner writes, “Perhaps Ecclesiastes is best viewed as a notebook of ideas by a philosopher/theologian about the downside and upside of life. In this notebook he reports much of his own inner life and then turns to his students or his public instructions that flow from that inner life. All of this reflection and instruction is framed by the famous slogan of the book, ‘Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.’”

The superscription or headline says, “The words of the Teacher (Qohelet), son of David, king in Jerusalem.” This sounds like Solomon, one of David’s sons who succeeded him as king. However, the language used is so late there is no way it could be Solomon or any later royal son of David. This book is written by an unknown author.  Towner writes, “this author created a main character, Qohelet, who impersonates the wise and pleasure-loving king Solomon from 1:1-2:11.”

Verse 2 introduces the major theme of Ecclesiastes while introducing the term hebel translated “meaningless” by the NIV and “vanity” by the NRSV. It is best translated “absurdity”- “a thing that cannot be made intelligible through any of the rubrics that people usually invoke to explain the meaning of their existence.” Towner writes, “That is the conviction with which Qohelet approaches his reflections on meaning in life. Everything is hebel. Nothing can be counted on to work out the way it ought to; nothing makes any ultimate sense… The traditional system by which life could be understood does not work, and randomness, pain, loss, failure, and death may break out unexpectedly and inexplicably… One of the salient themes of this book is that God wills that we enjoy our lives, and in that teaching lies at least an existential, if only temporary, respite from absurdity.”

Here in chapter 1 we see challenges to the traditional system. Qohelet claims there is folly in work ethic. This directly contradicts Proverbs 14:23- “In all toil there is profit.” Qoheleth claims there is nothing new under the sun.  We know that things change.  Yes, the sun goes up and comes down in a cycle along with the other cycles of nature, but our own experience shows us that things change and progress. Do you think life goes in cycles or spirals, going around but also going up?

Verse 15 is a proverb that Qohelet quotes. “Chasing after wind” appears nine times in Ecclesiastes. It “conveys a sense of extreme intellectual futility and frustration.”

What is the unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with?
This is the first time Qohelet mentions God so far in Ecclesiastes. Towner writes, “Qohelet discovers that God has ‘laid upon’ human beings an ‘unhappy business’ (NRSV) or a ‘heavy burden’ (NIV). What are we to make of this judgment?  In one sense, the proverb of v. 15 helps to answer this question. We live in a world in which providence reigns supreme. The rules by which existence is structured are firm and reliable; however, they also dictate that some of the things against which we rail and struggle, such as crookedness and deficiency, remain.”

Our hearts ask “why?” about so many things.  Wrestling with ‘why’ questions is not usually a happy experience, as Qohelet points out.  Does everything worthwhile lead to happiness?  Why or why not?

The first eleven verses of chapter two could be entitled “Pleasure Is an Absurdity.” In chapter 1 Qohelet reasons that acquiring wisdom does not bring happiness. So now he performs an experiment. First, he tells us the results of the experiment and then describes it. Towner writes that from the experiment Qohelet concludes that “pleasure is vanity and of no use. The reward of uninhibited hedonism is unbounded disillusionment; it is all absurd and futile.” Qohelet lists all the things he did to bring himself pleasure. What would this list look like today?

Verses 12-23 could be entitled “Wisdom Is an Absurdity.” What use is wisdom when “what happens to the fool will happen to me also?” Qohelet considers the very real issue of working all your life on something only to leave it to others who may or may not continue how you would like them to.

In verse 19 Qohelet asks the rhetorical question, “Who knows?”  This is used ten times in all of scripture and 4 of those times are found in Ecclesiastes.

Towner writes, “Literally translated, the Hebrew of v. 23 reads, ‘Even at night his heart will not lie down.’ Because the biblical writers have no interest in the brain and make no reference to it, the seat of all the emotions is always the heart. Such a heart is the mind of a person, and, as we all know, the mind can be restless and worried. Like the proverbial rich person who tosses and turns at night in anxiety over all there is to lose, Qohelet makes sleeplessness the rule for anyone contemplating the disposition of a life’s accumulation.”

Chapter two ends with the introduction of a common theme in Ecclesiastes – the approval of eating, drinking, and pleasure in life.  We’ll see this again in chapters 3, 5, 8, and 9.

Of verse 26 Towner writes, “the Hebrew word translated ‘sinner’ hote can also mean ‘fool,’ ‘bungler’—i.e. someone antithetical to wisdom. It might even mean simply an ‘unlucky’ person. A fool misses the mark by denying God’s will that human beings should enjoy life. An unlucky person discovers that in God’s utter freedom, the fruits of that person’s toil just may end up in the hands of a ‘lucky’ person. For Qohelet, one’s moral purity never guarantees that one gets the goods… In the end all roads lead to the grave. However, in this passage we encounter the counterpoint to Qohelet’s great theme of absurdity. There is a small space in life that, though not large enough to accommodate an abiding monument of any kind, is nevertheless tolerable. One can enjoy simple things such as food, drink, and life itself. If, in fact, these pleasures are ‘from the hand of God’ and cannot be enjoyed apart from God, then surely it is the duty of human beings to receive them gratefully and to enjoy them.”
 

Chapter three opens with a song by The Byrds. Or rather, in 1959 Pete Seeger was inspired by this section of scripture to write the song, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”

Wisdom literature often talks about time, and seasons, and how God appoints them.  Not here though. Towner writes, “Qohelet does not say why things occur at their appropriate times. They just do.” This is how we experience life.  We do not know why many things happen; we just know that they do.

This section of scripture reminds me of the Wesleyan Covenant prayer. How is this prayer and this part of scripture similar/dissimilar?

“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

In chapter 1 we learn about the unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. But in verse 10 that shifts. “Qohelet supplies an important context for human striving: it all takes place within ‘suitable’ time. God ‘has made everything suitable for its time’ and has given human beings a sense of having a place in the stately unrolling of the universal providential plan of God. The good news is that the (presumably) good God has provided direction, even finality, to the course of history. The bad news is that people ‘cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.’” This points to another theme in Ecclesiastes—the impossibility of knowing the whole of what is going on in the world.

In verse 16 we shift again to an exploration of the final outcome for all—humans and animals—death.  As well as an exploration of justice versus wickedness. God desires justice, but the everyday norm is wickedness.

Towner compares the person Qohelet describes in chapter 4 verse 7-8 to Ebenezer Scrooge. He writes, “to put everything off to some future time while spending the present enslaved to moneymaking is foolish. Just say no to that! On the other hand, it is also true that we want to feel that our lives contribute to a larger good. Perhaps within the Teacher’s doctrine of times and seasons there is a place for this truth, too, especially if moral choice survives within his scheme: There is a time to seek [one’s self-interest] and a time to lose [one’s life in the vigorous pursuit of a cause].”

We round out chapter 4 with aphorisms on competition, cooperation, and vows.  This continues through chapter 6.

In 4:4 we see envy driven rivalry.  That is contrasted at the end of chapter 4 with the two who work together.

Do you know a poor but wise youth? Do you know an old but foolish king who will no longer take advice?

Verses 1-7 are all aphorisms that have to do with the vanity of speech. Verse 1 refers to going to the Temple and says, “to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools.” How does that translate to today? Sacrifice was one way the Israelites worshipped God.  Perhaps at this time there was teaching or sermons at the temple, or the reading of scripture or the recitation of psalms.


Which of these aphorisms is your favorite? Why?
Verses 8-20 explore the love of money. What do you make of verse 10, “The lover of money will not be satisfied with money, nor the lover of wealth with gain”?

Chapter 5 ends with a reference back to chapter 2, the only positive theme in the book- “that the proper goal of all human endeavor is joy.” Towner writes, “A good life of enjoyment of the fruits of human labor is possible if people will simply look on food, drink, and money as gifts from God and accept their ‘lot’ heleq. This term, not to be equated with ‘fate’ miqreh refers to the individual’s share of personal history and of earthly goods. God ‘enables’ some to enjoy these gifts even though the gifts are limited both in quality and in duration. Because God makes this available, acceptance of one’s lot as a gift of God to be enjoyed becomes a moral responsibility.”

Chapter 5 talked about the gift of God which is for people to experience enjoyment in life.  Chapter 6 describes various people who are not able to enjoy their life for various reasons. Many of them have what we’d say were ‘blessings’ but they are unable to enjoy them.

Chapter 6 ends by picking up that idea that humans will never know what is truly going on in the world which we saw earlier in chapter 3.

In chapter 6 Qohelet abandoned the search for “what is good for mortals.”  Right after that he gives us seven saying dealing with what is “good” or “better” for humans. This section ends with verse 14 which is basically saying, “if a day is good, be happy.”  Towner writes, “God made both the good and the bad days, and one can expect to experience both, whether one’s morals and etiquette bear the marks of wisdom or not. The appropriate way to approach life, then, is with realism, sobriety, and a low profile.”

Verse 1: Towner writes, “perhaps one can never really attain a ‘good name’ prior to the completion of one’s life… here the ‘good name’ and the ‘day of death’ are linked in a rounded-out life history that includes an element of satisfactory achievement. There is a place for human responsibility and action after all!”

Verse 2: This verse represents a common thought in the ancient world that in everything we do we ought to remember our mortality. Towner writes, “the same idea, that all behavior should be colored by the reality of death, is expressed by the well-known line in Psalm 90:12: ‘so teach us to count our days/ that we may gain a wise heart.’” What do you think of this idea? How would you live life differently if you were constantly aware of your mortality? Would it be a hindrance or a help to experiencing life?

Verses 3 and 4: A sad face is good for the heart? Towner writes, “the overriding theme of these verses is that one should be busy at all times preparing for days of adversity, rather than trying to deny their inevitability or drown the awareness of them in foolish mirth.” What do you think of this perspective? Do you deny the inevitability of days of adversity? Do we as a society? Notice it’s foolish mirth, not just mirth that drowns out awareness of what we ought to focus on (according to Qohelet).  Happiness, mirth, and joy are not bad. Foolish mirth here is characterized as unhelpful.

Verses 13 and 14: On not being able to make the crooked straight James Crenshaw writes, “the universe has wrinkles.” Where do you see wrinkles in the universe? What unchangeable aspect of life do you wish were different? How does it make you feel to know that you cannot alter what God has made? Is your gut reaction to that positive or negative? Why do you think that is?

Verse 16: They don’t put this verse on coffee cups at Christian bookstores- “do not be too righteous”! In other places in wisdom literature, it says that righteousness and wickedness reap what they sow. For example, Proverbs 10:28 is, “The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.”  Not so for Qohelet. He refutes this reap-what-you-sow mentality and advocates that people practice moderation. Towner writes, “He urges realism about both righteousness and wickedness, wisdom and foolishness… verse 18 appears to be the point of the entire discussion—namely, that by reverencing God one can keep a grip on righteousness and wisdom even though one will certainly—even prudently—fall short of perfection.”

Chapter 7 ends with Qohelet holding up human freedom.  Yes, God knows everything and knows how time itself will work out, but humans still have freedom.  God made us “straightforward”/“upright” but we humans devise our own schemes.

The first part of chapter 8 is instructions on court etiquette. Verse 3 is a bit hard to understand. Robert Gordis suggests it means something like, “Do not leave your post when events are unfavorable.” Verse 6 reminds us of chapter 3 when Qohelet relates that he believes there is a time for everything. Here he believes that timing is everything. Gerhard von Rad writes, “To Qohelet, the world and events appear to be completely opaque and… on the other hand… they are completely within the scope of God’s activity.”  How does that statement strike you? Do you agree or disagree? Why?  

Towner writes of verses 7-9, “These verses restate one of Qohelet’s major themes. Whatever decisions people may make, be they pragmatic, prudential, or highly principled, they cannot know the outcome because they cannot know the future. This is a painful truth.”

The second part of chapter 8, verses 10-17, are a complicated back-and-forth regarding righteousness and wickedness.  Verses 12b-13 are the accepted wisdom at the time.  Qohelet balances that with his own profound doubts that people will reap what they sow.

Verse 10 is hard to translate.  But with help from the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, Towner says verse 10 intends to say something like this: “‘I have seen the wicked brought to their grave with pomp; and when people walk from the holy place, they are praised in the city where they acted thus.’ The sense, then is that even though the community knew these people were wicked, it gave the villains a decent burial (a mark of a successful life, according to Ecclesiastes 6:3). Before they are even cold in their graves, in the very city in which they committed their evil deeds, their names are being honored. In short, the wicked do not get what is coming to them; they get much more! This Qohelet finds to be absurd.” Do you find it to be absurd?

We get the word vanity again at the start of chapter 9.  Remember, it translates the Hebrew word hebel best translated “absurdity.”

We have two themes combining in the first part of chapter 9- the gloomy theme of  ‘the same fate happens to everyone” with the cheerier “seize the day and enjoy life.”  In chapter 9 Qohelet gives us traditional proverbs combined with his reflections.

What is Sheol?
Towner tells is: “Sheol, the abode of the dead, is not the Hellenistic hades or the hell of later Judaism and Christianity.  It is not the antithesis of heaven. It is not simply ‘the grave.’ Instead, it is a place in which all dead persons have a shadowy existence, a place to which the Lord can send people and from which God can also bring them back (1 Samuel 2:2), a place from which the Lord could hear the cries of Jonah (Jonah 2:2). Sheol is mentioned some sixty-five times in the Hebrew Bible, and some of the writers allow the ‘shades’ to continue to posses some kind of memory and existence in Sheol. One psalmist even imagined that God could be present in it: ‘if I ascend to heaven, you are there;/ If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Psalm 139:8).

“But in this his only use of the term, Qohelet maintains the traditional view of ancient Israel: Sheol is a place from which no one exits, from which no prayers arise, beyond which there is no future hope (see Job 14:11-14; Ps 6:5). It is a place of nonbeing, where all consciousness and all passions have ceased (see 9:5-6).”

The end of chapter 9, verses 13-18, advise realism.

Chapter 10 opens with a memorable visual- flies in ointment. The point of it is this, “just as worthless insects can ruin valuable ointment, so also little specks of folly can pollute an entire mass of ‘wisdom and honor.’”

Verse 2 shows the ancient assumption that right is better than left. We see this throughout the Bible- people want to sit on the “right hand of God.” In Matthew 25 when the Son of Man comes in his glory, he separates the sheep from the goats. The sheep go on his right and the goats on his left. Towner writes, “the judgment [in these verses] however, is not a moral but a practical one, for everyone can see the stupidity of the fool who drifts off in the wrong direction. Although Qohelet was often unconventional, he was still a teacher of wisdom and often accepted standard ideas such as this one.”

Verses 5-7 deal with reversals. Towner writes, “Qohelet cautions his pupils that the world can easily be turned upside down and that the unpredictability of life may result in debasement of those whose wealth and social standing would normally have given them preferential seating at banquets and on steeds.”

What sort of social standing do we go by in our society? It’s not as straightforward or systematized as it once was.  Who do we give honor to by making sure they have the best seat? Who do we deem to have more or less value than others? Why?

Verse 8 begins a collection of miscellaneous proverbs that goes into chapter 11. These mostly center on the theme of cause and effect.

Verse 20 is where we get the phrase “a little bird told me.”

The miscellaneous proverbs continue in Chapter 11.

Verse 2 reminds us of the proverb “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Of verse 4 Towner writes, “although one can do nothing about the natural phenomena of the seasons, it is not prudent to stand gaping at the rain clouds and wind, perhaps waiting for the ideal moment in which to act.”

We are reminded again of the unknowability of the future. You don’t know if seeds will sprout, but you can’t expect seeds to sprout unless you plant them!

The middle and end of chapter 11 and beginning of chapter 12 are another exploration of Qohelet’s most positive theme, “to be happy in the present moment is the goal of human endeavor, and to be so is the will of God for human beings.”

Qohelet starts the middle of chapter 11 by basically saying, “really live while you are alive.” Towner writes, “the announcement in v. 8 that, ‘the days of darkness will be many’ is not so much a threat as it is a justification for enjoying the ‘many years’ that one might live.”

Gordis writes, “for Qohelet, the enjoyment of life becomes the highest dictate of life.”
 
We ought to enjoy life because it is fleeting and because God wills us to.

But or and?
Verse 9b in both the NIV and NRSV translate the Hebrew particle we as “but.”  It says, “Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”  We also means “and.”  So the verse can also read, “Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, and know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”  How does the translation of that one word change the meaning of the verse?
Towner writes, if “and” was intended and not “but” then, “Instead of a pious warning against getting carried away, the text may well be an announcement that God holds you responsible to ‘follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes.’ Such advise might be unconventional, but not really radical… if this reading is correct, the ‘judgment’ of God is an evaluation of a life lived fully and not a condemnation of desire and the love of life.”  What do you think about that? After reading Ecclesiastes for the past two weeks, which do you think Qohelet intended – and or but?

Verse 10 is saying that youth and vigor are painfully brief, not that they are meaningless.

Chapter 12 opens with a speech to a young person. Verse 2 probably refers to the loss of vision in old age. Verse 3 is a description of a decaying estate in which the servants have grown old and are unable to work.

Verses 6-7 are difficult to translate. Towner writes, “the sense remains clear: live now, young person, before the precious water of life becomes unobtainable.” Verse 7 is an allusion to the story in Genesis when God creates Adam from the dust of the earth and breathes into him the breath of life (see Genesis 3).

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 are epilogues, so Qohelet’s words end as they started – “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”

Of the epilogues Towner writes, “Not only do they lack the nuance and probing energy of the rest of the book, but also they contradict two of its most important claims—namely, that human beings can know neither the future nor the activity of God.”