Interpreting Ecclesiastes: Readers Old and New

Interpreting Ecclesiastes: Readers Old and New PDF Author: Katherine J. Dell
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 157506863X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
Readers of texts come from all generations, from different contexts and with different agendas. This book gives a sample of what both ancient and contemporary readers have brought to the book of Ecclesiastes in the quest for illumination of the text and for their own enlightenment, often furnishing their own agenda. Debates over meaning are formed, shaped, and illuminated by the interpreters themselves. Part One looks at ancient interpreters and at their methods of approaching the text. Jewish and Christian interpreters alike sought to find meaning amongst some of the key puzzles of the book—why does the author call himself “the son of David” and appear to be Solomon when his pen name also seems to be Qoheleth? Why the contradictions in content? How did such an unorthodox book come to be canonized? How did the dualistic contemptus mundi interpretation of the vanity theme perpetuated by Jerome and others come to hold the field for so long? And how did Luther and the reformers seek to rectify that approach? These questions and others are addressed in this book, looking through the lens of past interpretation. Part Two acknowledges our increasing self-awareness of the importance of method in approaching biblical texts and turns to a sample of modern interpretations from familiar reading groups such as the ecologist, the animal theologian, the liberationist, the post-colonialist, and the feminist. It will be seen that different modern approaches often enlighten the interpretation of specific verses within Ecclesiastes and hence that no one method is a wholesale “solution” to interpretive concerns.

Interpreting Ecclesiastes: Readers Old and New

Interpreting Ecclesiastes: Readers Old and New PDF Author: Katherine J. Dell
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 157506863X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 116

Get Book Here

Book Description
Readers of texts come from all generations, from different contexts and with different agendas. This book gives a sample of what both ancient and contemporary readers have brought to the book of Ecclesiastes in the quest for illumination of the text and for their own enlightenment, often furnishing their own agenda. Debates over meaning are formed, shaped, and illuminated by the interpreters themselves. Part One looks at ancient interpreters and at their methods of approaching the text. Jewish and Christian interpreters alike sought to find meaning amongst some of the key puzzles of the book—why does the author call himself “the son of David” and appear to be Solomon when his pen name also seems to be Qoheleth? Why the contradictions in content? How did such an unorthodox book come to be canonized? How did the dualistic contemptus mundi interpretation of the vanity theme perpetuated by Jerome and others come to hold the field for so long? And how did Luther and the reformers seek to rectify that approach? These questions and others are addressed in this book, looking through the lens of past interpretation. Part Two acknowledges our increasing self-awareness of the importance of method in approaching biblical texts and turns to a sample of modern interpretations from familiar reading groups such as the ecologist, the animal theologian, the liberationist, the post-colonialist, and the feminist. It will be seen that different modern approaches often enlighten the interpretation of specific verses within Ecclesiastes and hence that no one method is a wholesale “solution” to interpretive concerns.

Catching the Wind - A Guide for Interpreting Ecclesiastes

Catching the Wind - A Guide for Interpreting Ecclesiastes PDF Author: Dale McIntire
Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1644680750
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
"Depressing." "Ungodly." "Skippable." Each of these words have been used to describe Ecclesiastes. Catching the Wind: A Guide for Interpreting Ecclesiastes provides an interpretive companion for pastors, Bible study teachers and leaders, and Bible readers who are tired of skipping Ecclesiastes because either it is too hard to understand or its content appears too contrary to fit into preconceived notions of what and how God reveals Himself in His Word. The message of Ecclesiastes, often lost to readers and interpreters in the puzzling, enigmatic details of the book, becomes readily accessible when Ecclesiastes is considered in the whole. Catching the Wind utilizes the structure of a modern social research report to reveal the divine intent of Ecclesiastes, the divine truth that true meaning in human life comes in covenant relationship with the sovereign God and through no other means. The guide provides instruction for developing a biblical hermeneutic, an interpretation of the text of Ecclesiastes, examples of personal application, and abundant study questions for further investigation.

Reading Ecclesiastes

Reading Ecclesiastes PDF Author: Craig G. Bartholomew
Publisher: Gregorian Biblical BookShop
ISBN: 9788876531392
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
There is no agreement among scholars about how to read Ecclesiastes. Some read it as deeply pessimistic while others read it as an affirmation of Joy. Ecclesiastes is thus a fertile site for an analysis of the hermeneutical issues impacting on biblical exegesis. This volume explores the interface of hermeneutics and biblical exegesis while keeping its focus on the reading of Ecclesiastes.

Kohelet's Pursuit of Truth

Kohelet's Pursuit of Truth PDF Author: Benjamin J. Segal
Publisher: Gefen Books
ISBN: 9789652298928
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Benjamin Segal's translation and literary commentary is arrestingly new. Its most striking innovations include the tracing of change within the book, an exploration of the character of the main speaker, an appreciation of the literary structure, and a sensitivity to the varied voices of the main speaker in this retrospective narrative." -- Back cover

Reading Ecclesiastes Intertextually

Reading Ecclesiastes Intertextually PDF Author: Katharine J. Dell
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567330087
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
This volume continues the study of intertextuality in the 'Wisdom Literature' initiated in Reading Job Intertextually (Dell and Kynes, T&T Clark, 2012). Like that book, Reading Ecclesiastes Intertextually provides the first comprehensive treatment of intertextuality in this wisdom text. Articles address intertextual resonances between Ecclesiastes and texts across the Hebrew canon, along with texts throughout history, from Greek classical literature to the New Testament, Jewish and Christian interpretation, and existential and Modern philosophy. As a multi-authored volume that gathers together scholars with expertise on this diverse array of texts, this collection provides exegetical insight that exceeds any similar attempt by a single author. The contributors have been encouraged to pursue the intertextual approach that best suits their topic, thereby offering readers a valuable collection of intertextual case studies addressing a single text.

Death and Divine Judgment in Ecclesiastes

Death and Divine Judgment in Ecclesiastes PDF Author: Kumiko Takeuchi
Publisher: Eisenbrauns
ISBN: 9781575069913
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Examines the book of Ecclesiastes, arguing that it may have served as a provocative voice for, or as a catalyst to, the emergence of apocalyptic eschatology and later sectarian conflicts within Judaism in the mid-Second Temple period.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes PDF Author:
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780664237493
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description


Ecclesiastes, Or, The Preacher

Ecclesiastes, Or, The Preacher PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781875847860
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description


Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes PDF Author: Russell L. Meek
Publisher: Energion Publications
ISBN: 1938434951
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
What is wrong with the author of Ecclesiastes? Why is there a book in the Bible that tells us that all is vanity? Who is the author? Ecclesiastes: A Participatory Study Guide is the ninth volume in the Participatory Study Series and the first that is a guide to an Old Testament book. There has been much controversy about the correct approach to interpreting Ecclesiastes. Is the author clinically depressed? Should you read the book when you're down in order to find someone who can join you in your misery? Is there anything uplifting in it? There are some who have thought the book doesn't belong in the Bible at all. Russell L. Meek takes a different approach. Through a serious study of the language and of the relationship between the text and that of other Bible writers, he discovers a much more positive message. It is still a book that can help you if you're looking at the troubles and problems of the world. But it is more than a place to find a companion in misery. In its text you can find help from someone who knows the way out, who knows how a person of faith, even if that faith is tried to the breaking point, can find enjoyment and rest in God. Its six lessons are thematic, covering issues such as the date, authorship and literary context of the book, the meaning of the key Hebrew word hebel, traditionally translated "vanity," the theme of death in Ecclesiastes, the way the author makes use of other scriptural text and why this is important to our understanding of the book, injustice, and how we should respond to the troubles of life. It is not just a theoretical study, but always examines how this Bible book can guide us in our lives. This study guide continues the tradition of the Participatory Study Series by helping to model different techniques and approaches for Bible study. The author doesn't just tell you what the text means; he shows you how to discover this and gives you the opportunity to interact with the Bible text for yourself. It's designed for use by small groups, but it is also suitable for individual study. As is the case with each volume in this series, it includes pointers to help with your own Bible study and lists of resources to help guide you.

Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes)

Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) PDF Author: Lisa M. Wolfe
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0814681484
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
2021 Catholic Media Association Award third place award in academic studies Qoheleth, also called Ecclesiastes, has been bad news for women throughout history. In this commentary Lisa Wolfe offers intriguing new possibilities for feminist interpretation of the book's parts, including Qoheleth's most offensive passages, and as a whole. Throughout her interpretation, Wolfe explores multiple connections between this book and women of all times, from investigating how the verbs in the time poem in 3:1-8 may relate to biblical and contemporary women alike, to noting that if 11:1 indicates ancient beer making it thus reveals the women who made the beer itself. In the end, Wolfe argues that, by struggling with the perplexing text of Qoheleth, we may discover fruitful, against-the-grain reading strategies for our own time.