Proverbs & Ecclesiastes by Treier Daniel J

Author:Treier, Daniel J.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2011-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

PART 1

A QUEST FOR “BETTER”

Ecclesiastes 1:12–6:9

At 1:12 comes another beginning. Now the Sage reflects by way of personal narrative rather than poetry. The concerns of 1:1–11 pertain to every human; the mode of engagement is universal, open to anyone willing to search the cosmos for broad patterns. Now the Sage’s undertakings in the following sections, while similarly pertaining to everyone, have more particular modes of pursuit, frequently open only to people of enormous power or means. The scope of 1:1–11 opens inquiry to everyone’s experience; the scale in 1:12–6:9 often circumscribes the possibilities of pursuit, so that the king functions as a paragon whose experience others must trust. This allows for greater-to-lesser arguments, of an “if even the king” type, thereby touching everyone. Even so, this affects the way people are drawn into the text’s implied situation(s). With the power of “I” in Ecclesiastes, most cannot directly identify.

Some commentators despair over the structural coherence of Ecclesiastes, whereas others find an intricate structure therein. The present commentary seeks middle ground. Jennifer Koosed compares the book’s structural elements to a decomposing body, fitting the Sage’s preoccupation with death.[132] Each time it seems that a fully coherent structure lies within scholarly grasp, one or more factors cause this to unravel. The book’s form fits its meaning. Taking this intriguing notion (laden with excessive postmodern theory all around) in a different direction, one wonders if Ecclesiastes actually mirrors the Sage’s life narrative—beginning with a quest in clearly delimited stages; eventually turning to repeated musings on key themes along with aphoristic wisdom as the best available possibilities; and continually raising the stakes, regarding God and death, joy and knowledge, until concluding with the most intense yet elusive material. The Sage’s reflections die off as he reaches the height and kinds of profundity available to humans. While Ecclesiastes does not proceed via linear argument the way modern Westerners might expect or impose as interpreters, themes and motifs have accumulating effects as they recur. In some cases, literary markers sufficiently determine textual units. In other cases, though, literary markers are open to multiple possibilities for thematic connections and development. The overall effect is a looping or lumbering one, in which the text steps forward to explore territory before doubling back to take another path, only to revisit earlier areas from new angles. Units accordingly vary not only in size but also in the scope of the issues they raise or the scale of their contribution to the movement of the whole.

Other than the so-called frame narrative, the division of the book into two halves (→6:10–12) provides the only overarching structure within which more particular units fit. The first half narrates the Sage’s quest. Conclusions often suggest what is “good” or “better” (the Hebrew word is the same), yet their uptake is quite modest. Such disappointment prepares for the second half to raise the question, “Who knows?”

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