Sabbath in Society

Tyler Atkinson uses Bonaventure and Luther as his primary interlocutors in his study of the “work ethic” of Ecclesiastes, Singing at the Winepress. The two giants offer quite divergent readings of the book. For Bonaventure, the vanity of the world encourages withdrawal; for Luther, though, . . . . Continue Reading »

You shall likewise perish

Aaron Cummings adds some thoughts on Luke 13 to my earlier post in which I quoted Jonathan Edwards’s interpretation of Jesus’ warning that “you shall all likewise perish.” The rest of the post is from Aaron. You noted parallels in vv 1-4. The next section (vv 5-17) likewise . . . . Continue Reading »

Abel-ness

In his contribution to The Words of the Wise are like Goads (Eisenbrauns, 2013), Russell L. Meek explores the intertextual connections between Ecclesiastes and Genesis. He shows that: “(1) Qohelet relies on the language used to describe the Garden of Eden to describe his own building . . . . Continue Reading »

Eucharistic meditation

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13: There is nothing better than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor – it is the gift of God. Vapor of vapors, says the preacher. All is vapor. Ecclesiastes reminds us that the world and . . . . Continue Reading »

Eucharistic meditation

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25: Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? Vapor of vapors, Solomon writes. All is vapor. Wise man and . . . . Continue Reading »

Under the sun

In a stimulating but flawed 2008 article in the CBQ , Gerald Janzen recognizes that “under the sun” in Ecclesiastes draws on Genesis 1 to describe “the sun’s delegated rule over time.”  He examines Isaiah 60 from this perspective, suggesting that the passage gives . . . . Continue Reading »

Vapourous idols

According to our translations, the OT describes idols as “vain” (eg, Isaiah 57:13), but the word used is the same as the word in Ecclesiastes - and is better translated as “vaporous.” The point is not simply that idols are worthless, but that they are ephemeral. Idols may . . . . Continue Reading »