Resources for studying the Book of Ecclesiastes

Websites that can help

On Ecclesiastes or Wisdom Literature in general

Barry Bandstra, Reading the Old Testament: Ecclesiastes

An example of the kind of commentary which sees two voices in the book: one slightly heretical (Qohelet himself), one trying desperately to make it all more orthodox (a later editor). To me this is unconvincing. I personally don't detect two conflicting voices in the book - I think it has one consistent message - but this is a good example of another way of looking at it.

New Advent: Ecclesiastes

The text is taken from The Catholic Encyclopedia (1909), so it's all a bit dated. The writer believes that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, and advances some solid arguments for his view (though more recent scholars wouldn't accept many of them). He also argues stronmgly against nineteenth century views (which were current at the time he wrote) that Ecclesiastes is self-contradictory, or has interpolations by different writers who disagreed with one another. Here his arguments are solid and convincing.

Biblaridion: Ecclesiastes

Rather unusual view that Ecclesiastes was written not by Solomon, but by another king, Uzziah. This is not a view that anyone else holds, and seems unlikely - why did nobody in Jewish tradition ever suspect Uzziah was the real author? The reason given for Uzziah's authorship is that "it records the struggle of a troubled mind coming to terms not only with disease, but also with his impotence to prevent his legacy being eroded and ultimately destroyed " - which would fit Uzziah's story. Biblaridion is a "theological magazine dedicated to prophetic witnessing".

Hebrew Wisdom Literature

A lecture by Dr Tom Kerns in his "Introduction to Philosophy" series which makes some helpful (if simple) points and relates Wisdom writing tothings people have said and thought in other ages.

William MacDonald: An Overview of Ecclesiastes

William MacDonald, famous for his booklet True Discipleship which has been promoted worlwide by Operation Mobilisation, takes the standard old-fashioned view that Solomon wrote it out of bitter experience, and the book respresents the bleakness of a burnt-out mind. "Mingled with some words of wisdom are many other expressions of pessimism. The struggle of life simply is not worth it." So we're to take the book as an awful warning, rather than an expression of truth we must believe.

Gregory of Nyssa

I've included this for the sake of completeness, but you'll almost certainly find it quite difficult. It's a commentary by Gregory of Nyssa (who died some time after 385-56 AD), one of the great Cappadocian Fathers, and so it's an example of how the book was read by earlier generations of Christians. Gregory sopiritualizes most of the details, and sees the book as arguiing that heavenly joys are much more important than anything we can gain on this earth. "This book aims to elevate our minds above the senses, to abandon great, brilliant, and noble appearances, to transcend the senses and to attain what transcends them." I think he's missed th earthy, practical common sense of Qohelet, and his insistence on living life joyfully and enthusiastically in the here and now.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library: Metaphrase of Ecclesiastes

This will be difficult too. It's a "metaphrase" of Ecclesiastes - putting the book's ideas into other words - written a hundred years before Gregory of Nyssa by another great preacher, Gregory Thaumaturgus, although some think it was written by another thinker, Gregory of Nazianzus. One thing is clear: to be a commentator on Ecclesiastes in those days, you had to be called Gregory...

Ecclesiastes: The Inspired Book of Error

Ray Stedman, famed Bible teacher and pastor of Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto , left behind this sermon on Ecclesiastes. He broadly shares MacDonald's view: "what it records is not divine truth. It presents only the human view of life".

Wikipedia: Ecclesiastes

Internet collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia doesn't always get it right, but this article on Ecclesiastes is pretty authoritative and well-judged.Background to the book and debates about it.

Constable's Notes on Ecclesiastes

A very useful and careful, scholarly examination of Ecclesiastes, charting the way the argument develops from section to section. Constable remains convinced that Solomon wrote it. Fair enough. His treatment of individual passages is excellent and based on wide reading.

Executable Outlines (Mark Copeland)

Eleven little sermon outlines covering Ecclesiastes. Even if you don't preach, you'll benefit from this clever and memorable way of carving up the text into understandable chunks.

Commentary on Ecclesiastes

A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. Peter Pett which is occasionally quite interesting and original. He believes the author was literally a king, though whether it was Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah or Josiah, he isn't sure.

The Theology of Ecclesiastes

James Sawyer is Professor of Theology and Church History at Western Seminary, San Jose. His approach to Ecclesiastes studies the real meaning of the Hebrew words with great care in order to arrive at the meaning of the book. Careful stuff.

An Argument of the Book of Ecclesiastes

and

The Book of Ecclesiastes

David Malick's two articles at bible.org are complementary. The first tries to explain how Ecclesiastes is constructed (he sees broadly the same five divisions as Michael Eaton does, the ones I've used in my Ecclesiastes lecture, except that he collapses parts 4 and 5 into one). The second article gives some background to Wisdom literature and the sort of book Ecclesiastes is trying to be. You may find it slightly frustrating because it's all written in note form, which can make some of it a bit cryptic, but there is valuable material here.

The Jewish Encyclopedia: Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is a Jewish book, ultimately, so it's interesting to see what well-read Jewish scholars make of it. The conclusion here is that Qohelet's message is self-contradictory. "The morals that he draws... appear to be inconsistent; since, while some verses encourage the theory that pleasure is the summum bonum, others seem to warn youth against any such view.

Exploring Ecclesiastes

A short but perceptive introduction from the Worldwide Church of God. The writer sees Ecclesiastes as falling into two halves, based around Eccl 6:10-12 (a view which students may remember I mentioned briefly in my lectures: it does make sense). There's a link to a commentary on the book, but the link doesn't seem to work.

The Character of Wisdom

By Dennis Bratcher,a sensible description of wisdom literature (he says it's "an approach to life, a way of looking at the world and, for Israelites, a way of living out in very deliberate, rational ways their commitment to God"). Useful thoughts.

Interpreting the Biblical Wisdom Literature

Much more detailed (but equally helpful) introduction by Robert I Bradshaw, with a discussion of how individual Bible books fit in to the tradition. Disappointingly, he's much more interested in discussing Job and Proverbs than Ecclesiastes, but the brief paragraph he writes is full of good points.

The Message of the Hebrew Wisdom Literature

A good introduction by Southern Baptist teacher Christi Goeser, especially worthwhile for its discussion of how Wisdom writing handles the question of evil and suffering. He (she?) makes careful and helpful distinctions about the different approach of each of the books involved