Download or read book Qoheleth and His Contradictions written by Michael V. Fox and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fox takes as his starting point the issues that Quoheleth's interpreters have faced in their efforts to render the book faithfully, and in so doing, provides a new analysis of Quoheleth's reasoning, logic, and means of expression. Fox reaches three key conclusions about the work: Quoheleth is primarily concerned with the rationality of existence; Quoheleth is not against wisdom or the wise, and finally: Quoheleth supports the grasping of inner experience as the one domain of human freedom. These conclusions are supported by a thorough look at other analyses of Quoheleth.
Download or read book Qoheleth and His Contradictions written by Mark Fox and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 1989-05-01 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fox takes as his starting point the issues that Quoheleth's interpreters have faced in their efforts to render the book faithfully, and in so doing, provides a new analysis of Quoheleth's reasoning, logic, and means of expression. Fox reaches three key conclusions about the work: Quoheleth is primarily concerned with the rationality of existence; Quoheleth is not against wisdom or the wise, and finally: Quoheleth supports the grasping of inner experience as the one domain of human freedom. These conclusions are supported by a thorough look at other analyses of Quoheleth.
Download or read book A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up written by Michael V. Fox and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pervaded as it is with pessimism, paradox, and a multitude of contradictions, Ecclesiastes has long been one of the most difficult books of the Bible to understand. As this study demonstrates, however, it is precisely these contradictions that make Ecclesiastes so meaningful and so powerfully relevant to life in the world. By looking carefully at the language and thought of Ecclesiastes, as well as at its uses of contradictions in probing the meaning of life, Fox confronts the problems that have confounded interpretation of this biblical book. He shows that by using contradiction to tear down holistic claims of meaning and purpose in the world and rebuilding meaning in a local, restricted sense instead, the author of Ecclesiastes shapes a bold, honest-and ultimately uplifting-vision of life. Based on solid scholarly insight yet readable by all, Fox's work provides some of the best commentary available on this challenging section of Scripture.
Download or read book Reanimating Qohelet s Contradictory Voices written by Jimyung Kim and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecclesiastes is a text filled with contradictions. In Reanimating Qohelet’s Contradictory Voices, Jimyung Kim, drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s insights, offers a reading that embraces the contradictions as they stand instead of harmonizing them or explaining them away.
Download or read book The Tree of Life written by Roland Edmund Murphy and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2002-01-28 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1990 Roland Murphy's Tree of Life has been a standard introduction to the wisdom literature of the Bible. Now The Tree of Life is available in a third edition, complete with a new preface by the author and a special supplement that surveys the latest developments in wisdom research. This superb study thoroughly explores the wisdom writings of the Bible, interpreting this literature in a way that illumines the development of Israel's search for wisdom throughout its tumultuous history. Murphy looks at each wisdom book individually -- Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom of Solomon -- and adds to them a discussion of wisdom from other parts of the Old Testament. His careful investigations expose the various guises that wisdom adopts -- the "fear of the Lord," moral formation, the universality of human experience, the mysteries of creation, and others.
Download or read book Character in Crisis written by William P. Brown and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1996-02-29 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study demonstrates that the aim of the Bible's wisdom literature is the formation of the moral character of both individuals and the believing community. Brown traces the theme of moral identity and conduct throughout the Old Testament,
Download or read book The Words of the Wise Are like Goads written by Mark J. Boda and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2013-03-12 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.” The word “meaningless” (hebel) appears more than 40 times in the book of Ecclesiastes and raises the question why a book that appears to deny meaning or purpose is included in the Bible. Many questions of interpretation as well as relevance surround the book of Ecclesiastes, including indeed the proper translation and understanding of the word hebel. If, after all, the book does examine the question of the meaning of life, what could be more important? The present volume explores Ecclesiastes/Qohelet on many different levels: linguistic, text-critical, theological, historical, and literary. The contributors, chosen from many of the leading and emerging experts on the book, present both the state of the field and their own assessment of the varied interpretive issues of Ecclesiastes. They include scholars, preachers, and philosophers. It should be helpful not only to scholars but also to all who want to study this book seriously. The first section of this volume deals with the history of interpretation. The second section is concerned with issues of history, form, and rhetoric. Section three is about key concepts and passages. The fourth section focuses on the language and grammar of Qohelet. The last section engages practical issues of interpretation. The volume is designed to provide exposure to a variety of readers who seek to engage Qohelet in fresh ways in the twenty-first century—from historians of interpretation to biblical exegetes to linguists to theological students.
Download or read book A Handbook on Ecclesiastes written by Graham S. Ogden and published by American Bible Society. This book was released on 1997 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Verse-by-verse analysis of Ecclesiastes with commentary by recognized biblical translation experts. Focuses on critical words and phrases, explaining accepted interpretations, noting how various translations have handled passages, and explaining the nuances of the Hebrew original text.
Download or read book The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature written by Samuel L. Adams and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-02-17 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive introduction to ancient wisdom literature, with fascinating essays on a broad range of topics. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature is a wide-ranging introduction to the texts, themes, and receptions of the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient world. This comprehensive volume brings together original essays from established scholars and emerging voices to offer a variety of perspectives on the “wisdom” biblical books, early Christian and rabbinic literature, and beyond. Varied and engaging essays provide fresh insights on topics of timeless relevance, exploring the distinct features of instructional texts and discussing their interpretation in both antiquity and the modern world. Designed for non-specialists, this accessible volume provides readers with balanced coverage of traditional biblical wisdom texts, including Proverbs, Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes; lesser-known Egyptian and Mesopotamian wisdom; and African proverbs. The contributors explore topics ranging from scribes and pedagogy in ancient Israel, to representations of biblical wisdom literature in contemporary cinema. Offering readers a fresh and interesting way to engage with wisdom literature, this book: Discusses sapiential books and traditions in various historical and cultural contexts Offers up-to-date discussion on the study of the biblical wisdom books Features essays on the history of interpretation and theological reception Includes essays covering the antecedents and afterlife of the texts Part of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Companions to Religion series, the Companion to Wisdom Literature is a valuable resource for university, seminary and divinity school students and instructors, scholars and researchers, and general readers with interest in the subject.
Download or read book Wisdom Literature in Mesopotamia and Israel written by Richard J. Clifford and published by Society of Biblical Lit. This book was released on 2007 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last fifty years have seen a dramatic increase of interest in the wisdom literature of the Bible, as scholars have come to appreciate the subtlety and originality of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes as well as of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon. Interest has likewise grown in the wisdom literatures of the neighboring cultures of Canaan, Egypt, and especially Mesopotamia. To help readers understand the place of biblical wisdom within this broader context, including its originality and distinctiveness, this volume offers a collection of essays by Assyriologists and biblicists on the social, intellectual, and literary setting of Mesopotamian wisdom; on specific wisdom texts; and on key themes common to both Mesopotamian and biblical culture. --From publisher's description.
Download or read book Dictionary of the Old Testament Wisdom Poetry Writings written by Tremper Longman III and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2008-06-06 with total page 992 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tremper Longman III and Peter E. Enns edit this collection of 148 articles by over 90 contributors on Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther.
Download or read book Ecclesiastes and Scepticism written by Stuart Weeks and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-12-22 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: >
Download or read book In Celebration of Wisdom written by Steven Schweitzer and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thirteen essays in this volume engage biblical texts from the three books in the Hebrew Bible associated with the wisdom tradition in ancient Israel: Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. These three books provide deep theological reflection on everyday life and practical ethics. Often ignored in the development of theology, these books contain a richness and usefulness the North American church desperately needs to hear in our contemporary cultural contexts. These essays affirm the value of these books, not just for understanding Israel’s ideas about wisdom, or even Israel’s ideas about faith, but also for the continuing theological witness and development of the church. —From the Introduction, by Steven Schweitzer
Download or read book Qoheleth written by Thomas Krüger and published by Hermeneia: A Critical & Histor. This book was released on 2004 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Qoheleth presents a special challenge not only for professional commentators but also for 'normal' readers of the Hebrew text (or a modern translation). . . . Most people in modern Western industrial societies . . . can relate without great difficulty to the reflections of the book of Qoheleth on work and rest or on behavior vis--vis those in power, and they can understand these reflections in terms of their own experiences. Nonetheless, the way in which these and other themes are handled in Qoheleth is a little puzzling. The fact that the book . . . reveals no clear organization and no overall progression of ideas may be accepted as a literary peculiarity and perhaps even strike one as interesting. Yet when one finds on various themes many statements that are highly contradictory in both the broad and the narrow context, one begins to ask what could be the point of this book and what is the purpose expressed in it. The present commentary seeks to help answer these questions.
Download or read book A Polemical Preacher of Joy written by Jerome Douglas and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-10-10 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How is the interpreter to approach Ecclesiastes? What is the message of the author? What is the genre of Ecclesiastes? Many scholars have posited varying interpretations of the message of Ecclesiastes and have observed the number of statements that appear to be conflicting or, at least, in tension with one another. Discussions about the argument and genre label(s) in Ecclesiastes have not fully considered the author's polemics against the apocalyptic beliefs of his day, 200 B.C.E. This book will propose that the author of Ecclesiastes utilizes a hybrid genre in his work--an "anti-apocalyptic genre"--in order to further his message of joy. Jerome Douglas explores how recognizing the presence of an anti-apocalyptic genre within the tapestry of Ecclesiastes assists the interpreter in understanding the book.
Download or read book Determinism in the Book of Ecclesiastes written by Dominic Rudman and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2001-09-01 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is the author of Ecclesisastes a determinist? Many readers, from the Targumist and Ibn Ezra up to the present day, have thought so. But there has been no systematic investigation of Qoheleth's determinism, its nature and extent, its relationship to free will and its philosophical background. In separate chapters, Rudman discusses key terms and texts that express a deterministic worldview, then explores the sources for Qoheleth's thought. He concludes that the author was a sage writing in the third quarter of the third century BCE, who was profoundly influenced by Stoic ideas.
Download or read book Wisdom s Wonder written by William P. Brown and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wisdom's Wonder offers a fresh reading of the Hebrew Bible's wisdom literature with a unique emphasis on "wonder" as the framework for understanding biblical wisdom. William Brown argues that wonder effectively integrates biblical wisdom's emphasis on character formation and its outlook on creation, breaking an impasse that has plagued recent wisdom studies. Drawing on various disciplines, from philosophy to neuroscience, Brown discovers new distinctions and connections in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Each book is studied in terms of its view of moral character and creation, as well as in terms of the social or intellectual crisis each book identifies. Most general treatments of the wisdom literature spend too much time on issues of genre, poetry, and social context at the neglect of discussing the intellectual and emotional power of the wisdom corpus. Brown argues that the real power of the wisdom corpus lies in its capacity to evoke the reader's sense of wonder. An extensive revision and expansion of Brown's Character in Crisis (Eerdmans, 1996), this book demonstrates that the wisdom books are much more than simply advice literature: with wonder as the foundation for understanding, Brown maintains that wisdom is a process with transformation of the self as the goal.
