Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary #18

by Knut Martin Heim, David G. Firth (Editor), Tremper Longman III (Editor)

The book of Ecclesiastes is probably best known for its repeated refrain that "everything is meaningless," or "vanity." However, a thorough reading demonstrates that this is not its final conclusion. Knut Heim's Tyndale commentary shows that the book is intellectually sophisticated, theologically rich, emotionally deep--and full of humor. While it is realistic about life, it is life-affirming and immensely practical. It is also politically engaged, presenting its critique of a repressive foreign regime in an entertaining and thought-provoking way. The Tyndale Commentaries are designed to help the reader of the Bible understand what the text says and what it means. The Introduction to each book gives a concise but thorough treatment of its authorship, date, original setting, and purpose. Following a structural Analysis, the Commentary takes the book section by section, drawing out its main themes, and also comments on individual verses and problems of interpretation. Additional Notes provide fuller discussion of particular difficulties. In the new Old Testament volumes, the commentary on each section of the text is structured under three headings: Context, Comment, and Meaning. The goal is to explain the true meaning of the Bible and make its message plain.

Genres: Reference

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This bizarre commentary interprets Ecclesiastes as a political satire that would originally have been performed live. According to Heim, Qohelet subtly warns against Jewish cooperation with the Ptolemaic occupation, using cyphers and underdetermined language for plausible deniability. He insists that success cannot be gained that way, and instead his audience must participate in passive resistance by remaining faithful to the traditional Hebrew way of life.

This approach leads to some wild interpretations of particular passages. The reference to a "Stillborn child" in 6:3 is actually a reference to a resistance fighter who died for the cause. The textual corruption at 7:27 (where the ה of the definite article is mistakenly attached to the end of a preceding verb, making it grammatically feminine) is actually an indication that Qohelet briefly adopts a female stage persona, likely speaking in a higher voice for comedic effect. The final warning of 12:1-7 doesn't describe the degradation of the body in old age but actually the impending judgment of God on foreign rulers. Examples abound.

The biggest problem with all this is that it rests on a number of assumptions that are impossible to prove. First, the book must be dated to the 2nd century BC, primarily on the basis of linguistic features. But linguistic dating is highly suspect. Supposedly, there are also veiled references to Ptolemaic social structures -- but those veiled references sure are veiled!

Second, it's all but impossible to prove that this text was intended as a live performance. In fact, some of the wordplays Heim notes work best in written rather than spoken form.

Third, the prime example Heim gives of Qohelet's cyphers is "under the sun." He notes that Ptolemaic kings were referred to as "the sun" (as well as other kings throughout the aNE; Ugaritic references to the Hittite emperor comes to mind). So while "under the sun" could reasonably mean "on earth," what Qohelet really means is "under Ptolemaic rule."

Fourth, he has to reconstruct a Jewish sitz im leben (prevalent temptation for young Jewish men to abandon Hebrew traditions) for which he cites no external evidence. That's just bad historiography.

Finally, Heim's interpretation of the book so narrows its message that it would seem to have nothing to say to any of God's people unless they find themselves under foreign occupation by a government which expects conformity away from Christian practice. No other book of Scripture is so restricted.

In the end, Heim's commentary makes for interesting reading. His off-the-wall translations and interpretations do promote new angles of thinking about individual passages. But this commentary is essentially a waste of time for anyone aiming to preach or teach through this book in the local church. The only use I can see for it is academic research. And even then, it's not the most useful source available, by any means.

Two stars because it's at least entertaining.

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tyndale Old Testament Commentary (TOTC) series keeps turning out these replacement volumes at a rate that would be a model for other series. The series retains its status as the best shorter commentary series that still has real depth with each of these new releases that I have seen. Knut Martin Heim upholds the standards that we have come to expect from the series. As a matter of personal taste, I may not have liked this volume as much of some of the other recent releases, but that probably has as much to do with the uniqueness of Ecclesiastes as anything else. In other words, scholarship on Ecclesiastes has gone a direction that some of us feel only gets us farther from its truth. Perhaps I’m a little too much of the old school to follow his theory about Qoheleth rather than Solomon, but I must confess he’s in line with the majority of what’s being written today. I can’t quite swallow that the writer of Ecclesiastes is mostly being sarcastic either. On a more positive note, the writing and scholarship in this volume are impeccable. He clearly communicates what he thinks and is adept at succinctly presenting current scholarly thinking.

The Introduction is crystal clear in explaining his viewpoint. While he has trouble with Solomon as the author, he highlights inter-textual issues, Canon, date and historical context, language and genre, as well as the theological and practical message of the book. I found him easy to follow. There’s a good select bibliography and analysis outline as well as his own translation. The commentary proper is never trite or simplistic and whether you agree with what he says or not you will appreciate gaining so much information in a short compass.

I’m an advocate of having all these TOTC volumes in one’s library and so I recommend this new release on Ecclesiastes as well.

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.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful commentary on Ecclesiastes and very helpful for the sermon series that was inspired by it. I find that Ecclesiastes has always been one of the books in the Bible that was interesting but mysterious and difficult to comprehend. This book provides a solid interpretation as well as references previous viewpoints on the text at various points. It also breaks the book down in to its small parts. I highly recommend it!

[Marty Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting observations on the text, although I'm not sure that I completely buy in to the underlying premise of this being a veiled attack against the regime du jour. The political angle provided a different perspective to be sure, but the arguments for it were not overwhelming. Still, good insights and a nice addition to the range of commentaries on this book.

[Cameron Barham]

“Here (11:8-12:1) Qoheleth reminds his audience that they are accountable to God not only for the wrong things that they have done, but also for the good things that they have not done or enjoyed in their lives (11:9).”, p. 11

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not completely convinced that the author of Ecclesiastes was really writing an overt and a covert message to belivers.

[Thomas Creedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb little commentary. Heim takes an interesting angle informed by stand up/humour and critique of empire - makes for a really interesting read. I wanted it to be longer!