Wisdom Commentary Series: Qoheleth

by Lisa M. Wolfe

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.

280 pages, Hardcover

Published February 15, 2020

About the author

Lisa M. Wolfe is Associate Professor in the Endowed Chair of Hebrew Bible at Oklahoma City University, and an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ.

There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

See: Lisa M. Wolfe

Reviews

[Robert D. Cornwall]

The book of Ecclesiastes, also known as the book of Qoheleth, is counted among the Wisdom literature. This commentary is unique in that it, along with others in this series, is written from a feminist perspective. It is a valuable contribution, especially considering its vantage point. Lisa Wolfe notes that while the text is often misogynistic, the almost cynical perspective of the author of Ecclesiastes offers interpreters a vantage point from which to critique the biblical witness.

I think it will prove to be a valuable addition to the literature on this book that is best known for its emphasis on the vanity or futility of life. The one drawback to this commentary and the others on the Hebrew Bible side is that for the most part the Hebrew is provided (sans vowel points) but with the words being transliterated. Since my Hebrew is really rusty I found that to be a challenge. Since my Greek is better I didn't have the same problem with the Mark commentary. Thus, for most clergy this commentary might not be as helpful as it could. Nevertheless the interpretations are very helpful.

[Elisa Romagnoli]

I'll return to this book often, a deep and abiding conversation with Ecclesiastes as a biblical text.