Download or read book Rabbinic Views of Qohelet written by Ruth N. Sandberg and published by Edwin Mellen Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of the variety of Rabbinic interpretations of the Biblical Book of Qohelet with special attention to the ways in which Rabbinic and medieval Jewish Biblical interpretation had to reinterpret the original text's meaning in order to accommodate it to normative Jewish beliefs.
Download or read book Ecclesiastes written by and published by Canongate U.S.. This book was released on 1999 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.
Download or read book written by Michael V. Fox and published by Jewish Publication Society. This book was released on 2004-04-01 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book of Ecclesiastes is part of the "wisdom literature" of the Bible. It concerns itself with universal philosophical questions, rather than events in the history of Israel and in the Hebrews' covenant with God. Koheleth, the speaker in this book, ruminates on what -- if anything -- has lasting value, and how -- if at all -- God interacts with humankind. Koheleth expresses bewilderment and frustration at life's absurdities and injustices. He grapples with the inequities that pervade the world and the frailty and limitations of human wisdom and righteousness. His awareness of these discomfiting facts coexists with a firm believe in God's rule and God's fundamental justice, and he looks for ways to define a meaningful life in a world where so much is senseless. Ecclesiastes is traditionally read on the Jewish holiday Sukkot, the harvest festival.
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 Oxford Bibliographies written by Ilan Stavans and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An emerging field of study that explores the Hispanic minority in the United States, Latino Studies is enriched by an interdisciplinary perspective. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, demographers, linguists, as well as religion, ethnicity, and culture scholars, among others, bring a varied, multifaceted approach to the understanding of a people whose roots are all over the Americas and whose permanent home is north of the Rio Grande. Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies offers an authoritative, trustworthy, and up-to-date intellectual map to this ever-changing discipline."--Editorial page.
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 441 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 The Formation of the Jewish Canon written by Timothy H. Lim and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-22 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DIVThe discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls provides unprecedented insight into the nature of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament before its fixation. Timothy Lim here presents a complete account of the formation of the canon in Ancient Judaism from the emergence of the Torah in the Persian period to the final acceptance of the list of twenty-two/twenty-four books in the Rabbinic period./divDIV /divDIVUsing the Hebrew Bible, the Scrolls, the Apocrypha, the Letter of Aristeas, the writings of Philo, Josephus, the New Testament, and Rabbinic literature as primary evidence he argues that throughout the post-exilic period up to around 100 CE there was not one official “canon” accepted by all Jews; rather, there existed a plurality of collections of scriptures that were authoritative for different communities. Examining the literary sources and historical circumstances that led to the emergence of authoritative scriptures in ancient Judaism, Lim proposes a theory of the majority canon that posits that the Pharisaic canon became the canon of Rabbinic Judaism in the centuries after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple./div
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 516 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 Ecclesiastes Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms written by Craig G. Bartholomew and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2009-06-01 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Respected Old Testament scholar Craig Bartholomew, coauthor of the well-received Drama of Scripture, provides a careful exegetical reading of Ecclesiastes in this addition to the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms series. Along with helpful translation and commentary, Ecclesiastes considers the theological implications of the text and its literary, historical, and grammatical dimensions. Footnotes deal with many of the technical matters, allowing readers of varying levels of interest and training to read and profit from the commentary and to engage the biblical text at an appropriate level. Pastors, teachers, and all serious students of the Bible will find here an accessible commentary that will serve as an excellent resource for their study.
Download or read book Vanity Karma written by Jayadvaita Swami and published by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. This book was released on 2015-08-01 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is life for? What may give it meaning? Does it have any meaning at all? A sage in ancient Israel brooded over these questions. In ancient India, too, such questions drove a despairing warrior to seek answers from his divine friend Krishna. The thoughts of the sage became the wisdom book Ecclesiastes; those of Krishna, the Bhagavad-gītā. Their wisdom speaks to our deepest concerns. In Vanity Karma, wisdom meets wisdom as these two perennial classics come together, both offering us profound understanding. And a deep and authentic spiritual understanding, we may find, can infuse our lives with meaning and with joy. Vanity Karma brings you on a journey through the full text of Ecclesiastes, a journey illuminated by traditional biblical scholarship, insights from the Bhagavad-gītā, a dash of autobiography, and a steady spiritual focus.
Download or read book Absurdity and Meaning in Contemporary Philosophy and Jewish Thought written by Alan L. Mittleman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-09-30 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will appeal to thoughtful readers who ponder the 'big question' of the meaning of life. It explores the question both in a philosophical way and through using classical and contemporary Jewish texts. Both philosophy and Judaism run into ineliminable doubt. This shared circumstance can promote honest dialogue.
Download or read book The Sin of Certainty written by Peter Enns and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-04-12 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The controversial evangelical Bible scholar and author of The Bible Tells Me So explains how Christians mistake “certainty” and “correct belief” for faith when what God really desires is trust and intimacy. With compelling and often humorous stories from his own life, Bible scholar Peter Enns offers a fresh look at how Christian life truly works, answering questions that cannot be addressed by the idealized traditional doctrine of “once for all delivered to the saints.” Enns offers a model of vibrant faith that views skepticism not as a loss of belief, but as an opportunity to deepen religious conviction with courage and confidence. This is not just an intellectual conviction, he contends, but a more profound kind of knowing that only true faith can provide. Combining Enns’ reflections of his own spiritual journey with an examination of Scripture, The Sin of Certainty models an acceptance of mystery and paradox that all believers can follow and why God prefers this path because it is only this way by which we can become mature disciples who truly trust God. It gives Christians who have known only the demand for certainty permission to view faith on their own flawed, uncertain, yet heartfelt, terms.
Download or read book Ecclesiastes and the Riddle of Authorship written by Thomas M. Bolin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ecclesiastes, the authorial voice of Qohelet presents an identity that has challenged readers for centuries. This book offers a reception history of the different ways readers have constructed Qohelet as an author. Previous reception histories of Ecclesiastes group readings into "premodern" and "critical," or separate Jewish from Christian readings. In deliberate contrast, this analysis arranges readings thematically according to the interpretive potential inherent in the text, a method of biblical reception history articulated by Brennan Breed. Doing so erases the artificial distinctions between so-called scholarly and confessional readings and highlights the fact that many modern academic readings of the authorship of Ecclesiastes travel in well-worn interpretive paths that long predate the rise of critical scholarship. Thus this book offers a reminder that, while critical biblical scholarship is an essential part of the interpretive task, academic readings are themselves indebted to the Bible’s reception history and a part of it.
Download or read book Ecclesiastes and the Meaning of Life in the Ancient World written by Arthur Keefer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-04-14 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Arthur Keefer offers a timely assessment of Ecclesiastes and what it has to do with the meaning of life. Drawing on recent psychological research, he argues that this Hebrew Bible text associates the meaning of life with various types of suffering in life. Keefer here situates Ecclesiastes within its ancient intellectual world. Offering an analysis of contemporary texts from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, he demonstrates that concerns about meaning and suffering were widespread in the greater Mediterranean world. Ecclesiastes, however, handled the matters of suffering and meaning in an unprecedented way and to an unprecedented degree. With its rigorous commitment to precise definitions of life's meaning, Keefer's book provides a comprehensive set of definitions for “the meaning of life” as well as a conclusive point of reference for interpreters of Ecclesiastes. It also opens avenues for the interdisciplinary interpretation of texts from the ancient world.
Download or read book Ecclesiastes and the Riddle of Authorship written by Thomas M. Bolin and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ecclesiastes, the authorial voice of Qohelet presents an identity that has challenged readers for centuries. This book offers a reception history of the different ways readers have constructed Qohelet as an author. Previous reception histories of Ecclesiastes group readings into "premodern" and "critical," or separate Jewish from Christian readings. In deliberate contrast, this analysis arranges readings thematically according to the interpretive potential inherent in the text, a method of biblical reception history articulated by Brennan Breed. Doing so erases the artificial distinctions between so-called scholarly and confessional readings and highlights the fact that many modern academic readings of the authorship of Ecclesiastes travel in well-worn interpretive paths that long predate the rise of critical scholarship. Thus this book offers a reminder that, while critical biblical scholarship is an essential part of the interpretive task, academic readings are themselves indebted to the Bible’s reception history and a part of it.
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 The Politics of Pessimism in Ecclesiastes written by Mark R. Sneed and published by Society of Biblical Lit. This book was released on 2012-02-27 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars attempt to resolve the problem of the book of Ecclesiastes’ heterodox character in one of two ways, either explaining away the book’s disturbing qualities or radicalizing and championing it as a precursor of modern existentialism. This volume offers an interpretation of Ecclesiastes that both acknowledges the unorthodox nature of Qoheleth’s words and accounts for its acceptance among the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible. It argues that, instead of being the most secular and modern of biblical books, Ecclesiastes is perhaps one of the most religious and primitive. Bringing a Weberian approach to Ecclesiastes, it represents a paradigm of the application of a social-science methodology.
