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Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching
Ecclesiastes: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching
A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 28, 2025
Für den kirchlichen Kontext ist dieser Kommentar meines Erachtens eine der besten Kommentare zum Koheleten. Er legt lediglich den Text aus, verwebt aber Schlussfolgerungen für die Kirche in diese.
November 17, 2018
William P. Brown, a prolific writer on Wisdom literature, contributes this commentary on Ecclesiastes in the Interpretation Bible Commentary series. I’ve had the privilege of reviewing the better titles in this series, and for its theological offerings, this title is certainly in that category. In fact, it gets its higher ranking for that theology far more than for its academic weight. That’s not to say that he fails to address scholarly issues, just that its theology is its best feature. As expected for this series, the conclusions come from a fairly critical perspective.
In my mind, the Introduction was not the success that the commentary was. His bizarre comparison to the epic of Gilgamesh sent much of the Introduction awry. Why not use Solomon, or at least the Bible, instead of something with such a dubious connection! Brown does seem at least to love Ecclesiastes even if he finds it the strangest book in the canon.
The commentary digs out much theology and well describes “vanity”. If you like to check out either the critical perspective or some theology that’s a little different than what you find other places, then you will want to check out this commentary.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
In my mind, the Introduction was not the success that the commentary was. His bizarre comparison to the epic of Gilgamesh sent much of the Introduction awry. Why not use Solomon, or at least the Bible, instead of something with such a dubious connection! Brown does seem at least to love Ecclesiastes even if he finds it the strangest book in the canon.
The commentary digs out much theology and well describes “vanity”. If you like to check out either the critical perspective or some theology that’s a little different than what you find other places, then you will want to check out this commentary.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
November 5, 2023
The Interpretation commentary series is not an exegetical, verse-by-verse approach to biblical books. The series is an unapologetically Christian take on the books its considers, even those from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Where commentators such as Tremper Longman III and Choon Leong-Seow dwell on Qoheleth’s (the self-given title of the sage who narrates the biblical book) sense of the God who is so transcendent as to be almost irrelevant, William P. Brown takes a different tack without minimizing that deus absconditus, “hiddenness” of God or mystery. “Qoheleth’s God is not the God of mighty deeds who would vanquish enemies or release the oppressed with a strong and mighty arm. No, the God of this sage lets well enough alone. The sage had attempted to discern God in the grand design of the universe and history, no less, but failed. Not the mighty acts but the minor acts of God is the theological focus of Qoheleth’s testimony.” (p. 134). In other words, God Who is sovereign, but doesn’t abuse the sovereignty.
Indeed, while I benefited from Brown’s discussion of individual passages, I was thrilled with his attempt in the epilogue to harmonize Qoheleth’s limited revelation with the fuller revelation of the New Testament writers. Much like my approach to the book, Brown sees Qoheleth’s remarks on the unknowability of God to be a pointer toward the New Testament’s emphasis on mystery. He offers a summary quotation that follows which explains it more efficiently that I would. “The gospel is the “mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4). As a “steward of God’s mysteries,” one must handle “God’s foolishness” with care. With Qoheleth’s skepticism lurking in the background, Paul must admit: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12). Indeed, by God’s providence, knowledge “will come to an end” (v. 8), as in fact it already has for Qoheleth.” (p. 134)
As with any modern commentary, Brown is aware of the probability that Qoheleth borrowed from other wisdom traditions and added his own theological commentary (p. 40) and that even if the heart of the material was composed during the monarchy, the vocabulary (especially Persian loan words and Aramaisms) suggests that the book didn’t reach its final form till during or after the Exile (p. 8). On more than one occasion, Brown points to parallels between the Gilgamesh epic and cites lengthy sections to demonstrate his point. He doesn’t do this to date the book but to illustrate the shared background of wisdom throughout the Ancient Near East.
I particularly appreciate Brown’s sensitivity to the tension between the apparent conflicting statements, the cognitive dissonance if you will, in the book so that he urges one to be certain to interpret the parts by the whole (p. 17). Indeed, one might treat the entire book as full of merisms, much as Brown explains the famous section on time in Chapter 3. “Poetically, these pairs of opposites serve as poetic merisms; they convey a sense of the totality of human endeavor in all its manifold forms.” (p. 41)
Many believe that Qoheleth is the most humanistic book in the Bible (and it may well be). Yet, God’s sovereignty is affirmed all the way through it along with a bit of dissonance. Brown does a solid job of dealing with these humanistic themes. “What then is humanity’s role? As in Qoheleth’s previous reflections, people are not so much the shapers as the recipients of life.” (p. 43) Brown summarizes what some see as Qoheleth’s most negative themes toward human accomplishment as part of his harmony: “Both Qoheleth and the Gospel writers agree: life is more than gain; it is a gift. Thus, one’s true vocation is more than material striving; it is sharing and receiving (see Eccl. 11:1–2).” (p. 126) That pendulum between God’s gift and the frailty of humanity is explained in Brown’s exposition of Ecclesiastes 9:11-12: “To be sure, one may increase the odds and heighten the probability of success through discipline and training. Qoheleth does not deny that. Yet the certitude of success is hardly a factor in the equation of life.” (p. 96) At first glance, it may seem that Qoheleth is little different from the Existential philosophy of “thrownness,” but his perspective is actually in tune with the Letter of James in the New Testament (James 4:13-17).
The most difficult aspect of Ecclesiastes for many Christians is the sage’s attitude toward death. He is clearly agnostic toward resurrection with no overt espousal of the doctrine (except for a possible suggestion in Ecclesiastes 12:7). “Death exposes all illusions of grandeur and ultimate gain. It purges the soul of all futile striving and, paradoxically, anxiety. Qoheleth’s discourse ends on a remarkably cathartic note with the person’s life-breath returning to God (12:7). The eternal sleep of death serves as a wake-up call to live and welcome the serendipities of the present.” (p. 108) Without providing too much New Testament coloring, Brown finds hope even in Qoheleth’s resignation about death’s inevitability.
Brown deals effectively with the futility and skepticism of Qoheleth with both a realism and an undercurrent of optimism. Perhaps, a line from his conclusion will illustrate this best: “How can a book so laden with the oppressive weight of weariness and so filled with the stench of death offer a word of consolation or even something redemptive? One can only imagine. Perhaps because Qoheleth begins with mundane experience and crafts a way of life that acknowledges in full both the dread and the delight of it all.” (pp. 136-138) As with most commentaries in this series, it doesn’t fulfill all of one’s needs for a commentary, but it may well be one that is a vital addition to one’s shelf.
Indeed, while I benefited from Brown’s discussion of individual passages, I was thrilled with his attempt in the epilogue to harmonize Qoheleth’s limited revelation with the fuller revelation of the New Testament writers. Much like my approach to the book, Brown sees Qoheleth’s remarks on the unknowability of God to be a pointer toward the New Testament’s emphasis on mystery. He offers a summary quotation that follows which explains it more efficiently that I would. “The gospel is the “mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4). As a “steward of God’s mysteries,” one must handle “God’s foolishness” with care. With Qoheleth’s skepticism lurking in the background, Paul must admit: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12). Indeed, by God’s providence, knowledge “will come to an end” (v. 8), as in fact it already has for Qoheleth.” (p. 134)
As with any modern commentary, Brown is aware of the probability that Qoheleth borrowed from other wisdom traditions and added his own theological commentary (p. 40) and that even if the heart of the material was composed during the monarchy, the vocabulary (especially Persian loan words and Aramaisms) suggests that the book didn’t reach its final form till during or after the Exile (p. 8). On more than one occasion, Brown points to parallels between the Gilgamesh epic and cites lengthy sections to demonstrate his point. He doesn’t do this to date the book but to illustrate the shared background of wisdom throughout the Ancient Near East.
I particularly appreciate Brown’s sensitivity to the tension between the apparent conflicting statements, the cognitive dissonance if you will, in the book so that he urges one to be certain to interpret the parts by the whole (p. 17). Indeed, one might treat the entire book as full of merisms, much as Brown explains the famous section on time in Chapter 3. “Poetically, these pairs of opposites serve as poetic merisms; they convey a sense of the totality of human endeavor in all its manifold forms.” (p. 41)
Many believe that Qoheleth is the most humanistic book in the Bible (and it may well be). Yet, God’s sovereignty is affirmed all the way through it along with a bit of dissonance. Brown does a solid job of dealing with these humanistic themes. “What then is humanity’s role? As in Qoheleth’s previous reflections, people are not so much the shapers as the recipients of life.” (p. 43) Brown summarizes what some see as Qoheleth’s most negative themes toward human accomplishment as part of his harmony: “Both Qoheleth and the Gospel writers agree: life is more than gain; it is a gift. Thus, one’s true vocation is more than material striving; it is sharing and receiving (see Eccl. 11:1–2).” (p. 126) That pendulum between God’s gift and the frailty of humanity is explained in Brown’s exposition of Ecclesiastes 9:11-12: “To be sure, one may increase the odds and heighten the probability of success through discipline and training. Qoheleth does not deny that. Yet the certitude of success is hardly a factor in the equation of life.” (p. 96) At first glance, it may seem that Qoheleth is little different from the Existential philosophy of “thrownness,” but his perspective is actually in tune with the Letter of James in the New Testament (James 4:13-17).
The most difficult aspect of Ecclesiastes for many Christians is the sage’s attitude toward death. He is clearly agnostic toward resurrection with no overt espousal of the doctrine (except for a possible suggestion in Ecclesiastes 12:7). “Death exposes all illusions of grandeur and ultimate gain. It purges the soul of all futile striving and, paradoxically, anxiety. Qoheleth’s discourse ends on a remarkably cathartic note with the person’s life-breath returning to God (12:7). The eternal sleep of death serves as a wake-up call to live and welcome the serendipities of the present.” (p. 108) Without providing too much New Testament coloring, Brown finds hope even in Qoheleth’s resignation about death’s inevitability.
Brown deals effectively with the futility and skepticism of Qoheleth with both a realism and an undercurrent of optimism. Perhaps, a line from his conclusion will illustrate this best: “How can a book so laden with the oppressive weight of weariness and so filled with the stench of death offer a word of consolation or even something redemptive? One can only imagine. Perhaps because Qoheleth begins with mundane experience and crafts a way of life that acknowledges in full both the dread and the delight of it all.” (pp. 136-138) As with most commentaries in this series, it doesn’t fulfill all of one’s needs for a commentary, but it may well be one that is a vital addition to one’s shelf.
November 2, 2018
There is something appealing about this biblical misfit. Ecclesiastes is nothing like any other book of the Bible. He is an Existentialist before folks like Kierkegaard and Sartre identified the philosophical genre. Long before the likes of Albert Camus said it, Qoheleth announced that life is absurd, there is no grand scheme or meaning to life, so live fully in the moment because the moment is all you have." I got that when I first encountered Ecclesiastes as a philosophy major in the 1970s, and in some ways I still see and appreciate Qoheleth's proto-Existentialism as the main thrust of the book.
But William Brown helped me see more. He helped me to see that Qoheleth's propensity to leave God out of his perspective on life leads inevitably to a pretty pessimistic view of things. Brown helped me see how anthropocentric if not narcissistic Qoheleth is. It's all about him, and he pouts when the universe doesn't run the way he thinks it ought to--to his benefit and pleasure. But Brown also helps me see that Ecclesiastes is much more than a negative foil--a "book of straw"--for the Good News to come in Jesus Christ. Qoheleth is something of a John the Baptist--revealing that the worldly wise are like the emperor who had no clothes and performing a cleansing rite for all of us who need to shed our old selves and old secular paradigms in order to take on the new creation we can be in Christ.
I also remember my spiritual father in the faith--John Wesley--telling his preachers to "preach the props out from under their audiences," for it is only when we throw away the things that prop up our "old life" that we can embrace the "new life" we receive in Christ. I think Qoheleth does a very good job of preaching the props out from the secular worldview.
But William Brown helped me see more. He helped me to see that Qoheleth's propensity to leave God out of his perspective on life leads inevitably to a pretty pessimistic view of things. Brown helped me see how anthropocentric if not narcissistic Qoheleth is. It's all about him, and he pouts when the universe doesn't run the way he thinks it ought to--to his benefit and pleasure. But Brown also helps me see that Ecclesiastes is much more than a negative foil--a "book of straw"--for the Good News to come in Jesus Christ. Qoheleth is something of a John the Baptist--revealing that the worldly wise are like the emperor who had no clothes and performing a cleansing rite for all of us who need to shed our old selves and old secular paradigms in order to take on the new creation we can be in Christ.
I also remember my spiritual father in the faith--John Wesley--telling his preachers to "preach the props out from under their audiences," for it is only when we throw away the things that prop up our "old life" that we can embrace the "new life" we receive in Christ. I think Qoheleth does a very good job of preaching the props out from the secular worldview.
March 7, 2024
The Interpretation commentary series has been consistently good as a means of looking at texts in terms of how to apply them in preaching contexts; they don’t get too bogged down in the weeds of the details, and while the commentary is contextually informed, they generally focus on application.
Brown’s volume on Ecclesiastes is a middle-of-the-road, useful consideration of Ecclesiastes. He considers the claim of Solomonic authorship as a later fiction but with deliberate intent: to frame the exhortation in terms of the great king who would have had experience others did not. Throughout the work he establishes parallels with the Epic of Gilgamesh and many of the similar wisdom based lessons found therein.
He does not treat the text with extreme piety and finds a good place for it in the wisdom literature tradition as well as in application and exhortation in Christ.
A worthwhile commentary for consideration.
Brown’s volume on Ecclesiastes is a middle-of-the-road, useful consideration of Ecclesiastes. He considers the claim of Solomonic authorship as a later fiction but with deliberate intent: to frame the exhortation in terms of the great king who would have had experience others did not. Throughout the work he establishes parallels with the Epic of Gilgamesh and many of the similar wisdom based lessons found therein.
He does not treat the text with extreme piety and finds a good place for it in the wisdom literature tradition as well as in application and exhortation in Christ.
A worthwhile commentary for consideration.
February 6, 2015
The bottom line: A thought-provoking but repetitive guide for anyone looking to gain a Biblical perspective on wisdom and discerning the meaning of life.
Ecclesiastes Interpretation analyzes one of the Bible’s least straightforward books, and in doing so manages to extract several key themes and life-navigating pearls of wisdom. Ecclesiastes was written as a quest to find ... http://www.chesadaphal.com/ecclesiast...
Ecclesiastes Interpretation analyzes one of the Bible’s least straightforward books, and in doing so manages to extract several key themes and life-navigating pearls of wisdom. Ecclesiastes was written as a quest to find ... http://www.chesadaphal.com/ecclesiast...
May 26, 2013
Another pass at the most telling ancient religious text I have ever read, Ecclesiastes, with the help of W. Brown. I am in and out of this ancient text often and am seeking the support of Brown with some of the ambiguous language while seeking to write a terse poem about my impressions.
September 22, 2012
Commentaries are on going reading projcts
April 2, 2015
*3.5 stars*
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews