Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Book of Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes
Ebook630 pages8 hours

The Book of Ecclesiastes

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Ecclesiastes is one of the most fascinating -- and hauntingly familiar -- books of the Old Testament. The sentiments of the main speaker of the book, a person given the name Qohelet, sound incredibly modern. Expressing the uncertainty and anxieties of our own age, he is driven by the question, "Where can we find meaning in the world?"

But while Qohelet's question resonates with readers today, his answer is shocking. "Meaningless," says Qohelet, "everything is meaningless." How does this pessimistic perspective fit into the rest of biblical revelation? In this commentary Tremper Longman III addresses this question by taking a canonical-Christocentric approach to the meaning of Ecclesiastes.

Longman first provides an extensive introduction to Ecclesiastes, exploring such background matters as authorship, language, genre, structure, literary style, and the book's theological message. He argues that the author of Ecclesiastes is not Solomon, as has been traditionally thought, but a writer who adopts a Solomonic persona. In the verse-by-verse commentary that follows, Longman helps clarify the confusing, sometimes contradictory message of Ecclesiastes by showing that the book should be divided into three sections -- a prologue (1:1-11), Qohelet's autobiographical speech (1:12-12:7), and an epilogue (12:8-14) -- and that the frame narrative provided by prologue and epilogue is the key to understanding the message of the book as a whole.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherEerdmans
Release dateNov 7, 1997
ISBN9781467423007
The Book of Ecclesiastes
Author

Tremper Longman

Tremper Longman III is Robert H. Gundry Professor ofBiblical Studies and chair of the Religious StudiesDepartment at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California.His other books include Introduction to the OldTestament, How to Read the Psalms,Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind, andLiterary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation.

Read more from Tremper Longman

Related to The Book of Ecclesiastes

Related ebooks

Christianity For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Book of Ecclesiastes

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5

1 rating0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Book of Ecclesiastes - Tremper Longman

     _book_preview_excerpt.htmlnI&*޹@(Jn)f"$^$3UՍ^x[Dx=/"W]0rnPșQO;#Dnc~oW],\.j|w.;9>~}r~zt~qr.?/.ユN޼?9K^{T?Z}ӣ7ɓqrrrT'7޿Qs7ћ'gOǯ_Gɇ3:[e&E,rW{wwerZf]yZ$O%o'QN,9KWyt2LV}L%rR%O&?XQQ$u>_MRW.󏾕TN5|,k ڦE54mL^˿eۣv˕8ĉtZ&O5{5oqd8._0[weMҕ-^&Ȓ ״)~󟟖Ӣdo'MrI5B6$q3Wr*OG`ߛ;=6y=xx;wn? ӿ?߹ك[iq9NV/,c_LfwbNâJ&mpko9:-]:z" ߁(mMnCy:*՜=N>?˯i)d3 pXyzz~<ֳ\\/{VWKy?yf-7?()#1č]$"# S(򬖉i]P\rkp_hoc%GrV0fZ+Wi)3frx6YuY6/8[Mb.(prwtweUbowo;9dV<7.-!&_3]ÃGܬpӘD$B~y=-?qleɭ{~ Bw"y ESm ʢ?T%P`"P>*eUl tHHpS!(ԎT5_-W2+|q*TiZef @EHǂ/\z%8DMMqsGd V+h$x`a8ťHo;րOMJn=vq1CgS'(KQAߗeu]FC@e9+tUׄI*ہD|Ȧ_tx#vr,NN8%y6K0>sm%3s ><[4/r#z[D=m eC 8>{ܚJpO/(%w`s;;Y#MN~+9D~`';2bgϠoA FHaq";c`yzDؓr%vNQv`Q!CF7-~o5?_zҀmI[w-'/.W߯<QD:A? 64oRJGө|*rm!/XFW{֩njur,Bހ 6ao-t=19{y #sQQgysi,Ghgz>VKcDhFX |p'_W锞xj@[*ўrmϑUZt10~&Fإ4b@ hg.)ɸ޻;G}z;ʫ #(ؿ[7qC< 7}c]>/Kwٮ_`9VXIy%4,Du-!H4Y ʷ. CNEIsQxrn˹)ojA㖎Dj.`]ӝ"v?uy KҺtp]2YiE:0_D:2GY"<7S 5c%Y>on5fyLR;fp1vEN^^/H;V$lb-`G+EQji$~**}!"_6I)0n╜WrBy Al1,%-I3=YEqNhk94b,WPk !Zڎu8k\7 C?FBx9<? 10 $%-rzBpֱ^6S7 i92P2[{lzEy;g@ a" ~~0oePY5Kkʗ#?oYYHV(XOV I`ޤ3u#8X'O\`\iW^ A#PPT\*Bȗ8@>inxLMv)^euzM3vdDmɂ6/ 9]X!#+SHi,G<ݣ<Erp+\uӍ+!$@xtݞY2cvGZqh*9ѴmVrC4Kxv"BrY4UD{S8 "X9:-ByAH*$eȁ9ABL2s eAfmulN8EU?",:uYdO* xBh UD5!n,k 4>&;g2O&O˹#n JacDcY&B,EOܵ)C6)ە9k{OEBE]Bp ig )GoP9ADx0e(#rOQjZbBϥS\>EP\@dpsJ!HTTW!W,g Nd9/ӫiOnmeГ͏]? 4iԺŬ9-4Ӏ\$a\A?`խ']ADKA14f,U HԪ\W`6¹sPs`pXa8Ce` ~Z~gN&EOFU>vce"> fim\ x@{hY(p TĖ0lשi^t63w 25o}OK]p$@8Dp:3GK,d碈ׄqd& [ 'na%jB^7t 8$ګ NTfơ4ap\u%]f/ AƍY'ue)ΕaBSQ욠^/5*+@xP#uo^aa">xEZ,<9:{:J^ȹpc] 7&ts-`:˼"m/PCV-= jXbGҜw) `B`+0ĕbƉVQCF4q99%Y($E4q2ߗ^fBMrti iyE%4[Dh0ՇfڿIgÈ RZ^xbIKU,m8jU7w5[ ~%B /tF$Ѣ_5jRAN< (zI掟P9D%-`r Bo_L%9ddr@pO}@^u&Z&eIeK#JxuNs*Ł,.4`͢b$Oq-$3SgM돧Iov7 :vZjeZԂj2 WQN,oլ1[ ZuɛulD}TK^ ڕZ#n53ǢlU+etߍw4WuE'0pv&L x\D  8s[)6B{jl9VudJ>[zsl26Yrbٯ pNE*"A'GF=})K~@_f씊(N ,s ="Aw-Ɍ$N3u@RR37/@etz RƁ(0_a7;JRĪyDomLRj&4t*Z< CʡƠB>ILWll\tZ--֪a#Q4Dw~' R]4I0TP'{!֯:ƺ& $Kv(0t gנdScD#^+P_2~ܑ#~9ecU"4CEVd:^*Rt赃”6Vec2>sj䪻Aֆfʖki.8L7AVөM>2eDLw`BօZtUq5,o ꆢQ#eVcSt<hDQ7k-j-@ bGODqɇh/ҟ"2x32$( 7k)E7 }rIi az@ju;-G[tvdģ'9/ZM!ȦT.GIrRt[ji7385xKzQsVUg +SB ԽPT I՞<s-hKz=8gP֊L\p䔰ʓ X(.F AzrH1neJ+^D@0\j ^=0C`b뭤~6X!W 3eNH K7Kq J&[!ľu , _WYUXKZ4Qz9k*Y?fRեч"Wi2?ɵz"OKPU!L +E8Q[ٿH#-0!r7[![D  ZjP³k<+ss6 ̩ TBHj'~}+]"aA[4(5wV1" 2 #; 4N>x %\C105p$n_k"GxM.p`R'B$%4@Lv7J'G]eijY!i9-f EPI*dkuP k3ED0+l穏T}@oJ*t P:>m׹"一ޒٴAr/^ٗν]D4Rm;||?OERtCp*uW*N"|uYUXU{YJ򫌖um*AYKDw-SctZ9WGc\'PD"k':3h*LC/ĐqŒ1߻L ֖I5D?6dF<>zN{B(8>8(:j$*Bٞzn`O"2g[2 O~Sto;RD>>/0yThN1foD\-dSJ]srԩ+jO.^''+DVԆ08/c8^Gƫ_ ϭܢ'iUBB*Γ'hQyCEy:2J(^MToc yAIoozxcK\$̞6'Ӆ6֭N1dg7ˍ}>yTc hA.>h˹h6 x=$R~" 'F&378c7Ϗ!EUۥ(q5Gzħ,bVmos/zcб̱@1/3R8wFk#ͻjnY،`#wr?K#嶨O`'?\unɯ~ؖ7[#̐ Rex?<LAt֛_aMyx33d }Y^f (tC_,^mo7fP*K|w䆂A49x}l3]`v1nr%aGl"p rg~+Ǖ%Wbb60-aFS`M+^ڊ9 äLlTl5b7,pN:%Y Tyq~4!'/ )ˈ`8-: L@8g]S̽^q؁k3C./q l7G֬ x- D+B'pa"bj:l*J6m/3}v$_9"QG|d"V8\oDYʟlcHN53ǀ/f]jM85W!*0g`krKvwo ,γdQp9`=QFxT gyP~?2ԃ0z7f`F9·xݦRψ, ]' cx,blhh<w[c`*X#+Ky؍ΛFa$TM脭jn#(丸5lEGVU5RVTb?EՉ (kvqJ %.F91>3Jy9P(B#dVT 櫐2 -뫽LzQʧTĉ.02 h3Wh~{kڬFW} ;gb,;{UgŒUHg-u%*s.,5+(9{>15WIt kgY+Ls R'*L '-~!fqГ:HTcds89NboR yclGNĢբN4%D/C&|h\He`Lnz `,ddY\-W^Kak6S3Ds4#_i];MQ#.?2[rP2XRw9HPmpUk#e9]kr9$ LJ ">D˃Hb}*ɘaL ɻ=Đ<䪐v+[P`]kp47zX.c."#A`EpRnR4bap H&@CS$Uɮ6^L>a"ܫM^\1L\& `f݆CL/Aϔ+P#B"r%Բ@mH+"5e(ecK ]Ļ\ML)G گ*;К%i ]WzmtrPS.Mf Q>6Zӹ˦/9_, 2)xn P?0[rMe\ӈJH EJuWIɽސi͉䁧{?'8Ӟ v/{R9kclPgG!\V>:,^f 5EPȍ9WGʼn6fQI< ыӵufO]8v:efyuOt t2iTd} /iW6*ϡjhCSb9j6:-Ak"-;\Xss]͂ QQnq;\8!Y*6h8qȒsZ < [Ts`P$CFxI^y/ԟ; l;mx4M1,yUM zEPfW]oWg۱VcB46ߢT'pfu4K@.B -ݩֱIZF'Z.5OSh0j_Mߢû´9@, 30jm177q@ CQ M1wlGZ}5(oDcTM[&:W#q͙Z% r^K4N+OLP[mfH| ^DG3 />n ٶ6fzS08oP\3 3!;t?fb>Ч7&'5ľ7/FvrY)䃳*MY:˙TX%|]2c\]e,}&,SeV%b]1)(#t_cSE._k`Sm`qܡH[H_~pmQ{S]=CJx;MԂ.HzvN|:xU=)st3Q6iKk;-ImZմԇmr`jy.qJ@msݩKo˃t$Ui/`f&&/R6ɃF>iL tW" ~iBa=5GlWݍl;b~n*vʃ)HKit}TaSXkt |SQ]Τȗ'$VWq݇bՕh!PB;2^?a5N(D)%țO#K32"w,O)JM}ڶ*WL:]Ecb !e֯-`ZU[pLO!ӡ&{`oDœ;tIm~6mAvҞ]aM}Xi-\WZS!np,6bd:~ήQ+Sh[s&Ny6Z{~zsYY*w[돪ICӼ.Di}n M>v(4)YYV:jSC(= ¬ yP2VDы엳Йee@Zw!g` :@Oςx=Ǘg~..*e3m s.ȫR#|o-!5(/6݌KE_WЙ}:T }wE5"5 .2`kvWޞvC$uH{; M^v1]&dnUW!ޛe:q|avB84Է,74 gr6N[mYE{'п߄DKS6FmR%P)7j{[DE)7 (K%Sh{j_)z$"#v|lTU2M}FY( J;\ݍf't u4s!OH:󖳉Pw6)q5),Z%b.V}ΔAOޔA ޜi932ZGXo։PulUY svݢs9RuOMlzuҚtBxX.*tkLw>q ϐ(ĻP[yT:="= mT(oj bocǩ'a+4zLjw2l)L9w`ㄽMWE%ZB,_Qڍ6< :"e XK:xϼkg1[a08"+Q2%dDZ dK@M|fR m# >hQ6HE-qC35HϘ9>bԦb:هy !ZΦ(۷JU]3^M/|~D>_Y6ӷrEmƼV""J sE_8[9ܿgWx!S[уvq9~72T-^jviT0t+?vh'4I&LMNX\tupk|v\ڲ)b-`y%Fvp5%0%E Y"Y<+0#He=/`Z mK o,Z&>?KAY;8(bE$~兣&:y3?tb<f#[@?/!H0JuWݔjUmjEDM?f鿼Smp1_ CU@t&~ȑ!t&szxxpoATqripO[7+>e8 ,5T.'&'rʍ]"-MIWQ#IE+QKbeYavw_9/Uof0MBbMT!j7]5a x%> ?,OuLwloaSj4%|"q9W(C iJf7 8* 6e}UqG:1Di^-B5${y%H+*;'^N0|K^SZWCM_ٹVmE2ZF!G⥻:,Cۨzf/ 9Ȣ59o7H9z]^e&.jM#7$]^ Oͩ߬X@i)AI:Y=Foѫ?,=-<7ȹYxm ܿG_t U8K^F[mDk6݄o4E>us_@lY|%6W) 7U65 ?x;&k 3oy򶒣,nϻ*ȺWz}-)+=={@?Kɒo5"nսk,/qpC/"^Ta BT{F텹y{$ Dv VQm[1 |jZJtiCep uPn *fs61Feu >ߣcљ]yX65*U>o0vߺF'4Hs_"O#wVa|>q*"sE=\ \蝔ԥS_)K]W{ӻn*7znnFlP);9޷*NCg/۞PWESFcLG;膚XY<0%p/*cwA> rMdV;G Jznwe74_Sʕ겢Ռ\øRŒN8pbM #ņzQHrc-{ڮ[UA$k e",uH!3Hս֌ZzJbzh 栜v[ᩣ ye Wt!=[PÑ9ɡ` jBFS,Xohwԍ\o(?0S"<]:ߤGpեEc*736|hMϞb7ʻ*I:Vu4s;i𫃱ZX/|?^>xh3V+\PyNxo* a!\##\ ^%Ln.e>e3ge2 :Cp Aw\RZpHk$$2gn37!X(;~ Lط흛\y}_ ::rxaz: Uv-TYQ[UШM(_X^gLmdYc7cɻkZy&.Q"Tʑpi6*@,^>LNGLsJxYwPi"M48v8w$iHf a P ]xV&ECbh~Fǵ o#A5V ,՟D ֡E>$๢0Wzsw0\Cg7b-=Ӏൽ"۬V-D~'lѬ?nhZ hW5?4}Jeۈ6G*bqA Y>^EmgרNݯj9wUi Q!N{RzVt_].w%C¥9W<퇊:Y=_;t!z}rM,zQ#G8\R4A #(ipBZ8@D[h*fa0fsmMrPKy{LqiQͬiD_rԛdՆQ-OC; "x=ub / _D_U*{M?w(1fWлlr\SI,~x/E :-A)|ScV1SNc6͕\/nbˢaǩRJJdKۑ=+Ԍv,Bqn+ß!a!׸[Z@[J $*# >G aX}p=GoS\kW0h5 Ud ޼E4Z>e,SJUB[_)j5]d^d(شyb32`InvD "0S}7Hw`]z+I5ڛix[)\+-a_zݞw鯒B^S7IЧMG-,ϻ-KXvuvTmu.V i7U6f.VGՋ;еnsAcMllGՁ0*TیKAVo%aV4Jr^Mxyę 7ŅlR5o Q'@_hqlVNai:A3WM2lꈗt"etU!<' ih%BXŬ|wѰkp o_#+ Tol`5]I¸Q2ONPy8'*?kW@!S+Qo G45p$;C![1m #zX56LjKwFL}"lܦp3"$qjw[Iˢ9q g>Yjk9Hen(Q` .0xq\vO@q` xHjW"B,⑪a!B,φ#ShC&7L>QV{MQ'1H3TF?FW})6,p ;ڒSۡW4тjs(JiV?4A2O ⋪ (40XFݩٺI16r.M0܆f@pi꒑vڨ{wf> LlPZ:i4^ ӳ@ֻS+&6HXCFje JډᱝaFaʘ.U@n~ˤKB,}>/ˈ=Zaϐ?a=icqa"Q'z*R(}il|€0Lin ;Ho=W.R^_ R,S'w3X`LaXj}TosFLCm8Kh Ï)Z)8Z b6K!.#ayV|3uyB!;cAlj$Mɷ ڇcF}R[qcGd xr:mIf[#@S+6(y1=$3" .$^fh ,Š(5*eq'q(+Y+Q,h][hQBѥeCc|(&+G!D̶u-TD8u\=wIW/L&8¤^a)RxG+,/@ ľOTW`Q@PA\(VqC#ٍ)E!  ;p'!asb:ķN}+P6 e1Fĉe2l+5yR% <Aq0 oכKWᏭK9.x)~JK:rhO>F GMFxZ1KSo7$֘ych۳soT}@ɰZ4_m1qq`rdm! ܩag aN||6<ԡ>Ÿ70Љ248i}h |uRIpUqXOc+pL|_6Br{_dj28E8hOw_ pfҢQZ'\[Zm{"^dv!^P1=c[ ԧ6dT}ATHҹo&[bW}~G.l6C֝rEPw@Y$pe) ud,{!* n2jaZơA5`sߢXՋμ'~&N7;ss% vl+E>*:)]VltWJU5(2e׊=\GOkurVUbEQ2b!}%D_3\R/G؇BC;hMm[vq?PˣZx4}KFms6eW]Jv#1BBzkޙqoQe$0n;߀t+2bX>%!er.TTD?+u(hZ3LzJO:r-)tv'Zd#]ife wTvf^w"Y~}z}}NV"P)er&GV6͉ASd@L"EL;{ʲ)zehFuٮxV~Qhk`d|pɛֆ PpQ0@Z'&i@ &yc} M ́7G]dz{/8 8agz~;Ei1VhxUh2XOA& C!7'n} S-:`U }a]y6$kMJ)92Tq(e[=azĴDžv5C^&b#tjI}IXXs8 ̺뗮idh"S_AGU= *75PAf(afgp V-MEVi1k  "+6y߿,[1as;QM ̂Fg}'V櫔9v,ja^Y~11/W4|Ԃb[# h%xnEv[YQGK).neh*WKg-!N
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1