Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs by Roland E. Murphy

Author:Roland E. Murphy [Roland E. Murphy, Elizabeth Huwiler]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL006060, Bible. O.T. Proverbs—Commentaries, Bible. O.T. Ecclesiastes—Commentaries, Bible. O.T. Song of Solomon—Commentaries
ISBN: 9781441238443
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

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§1 Opening Matters (Eccl. 1:1–11)

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This opening section of the book of Ecclesiastes consists of three distinct segments. First, a superscription identifies the work but is not part of the book proper (1:1). The following verse provides a motto for the book (1:2). Closing the introductory section is a poem that incorporates many of the themes and much of the vocabulary to be developed in the remainder of the work (1:3–11).

Because this section functions as an introduction to the book as a whole, it is not surprising to find that it anticipates many of the major issues of the book. The motto in verse 2 raises the central problem by stating it as a conclusion rather than a question: all is meaningless. The poem that follows then specifies aspects of that lack of meaning that will be developed in the following chapters. The question of gain from human labor (v. 3) is developed in the context of repetition throughout creation without goals (human generations, v. 4; natural phenomena, vv. 5–7; the perceptions of the individual, v. 8). There is nothing new, no remembrance of what has been, and no hope for remembrance of what is yet in the future.

The reader who is not new to this book will notice not only the themes that are raised in these opening verses, but also those that figure prominently in the book but are not present here. First and perhaps most significant, the opening verses do not mention God, the social order, or human relationships. Second, and perhaps related to this, there is no mention here of retribution or the relation between behavior and outcome. Finally, this section includes no call to joy nor acknowledgment of the good that is possible in human life. The themes are raised in the abstract; as yet there is no appeal to specific experiences.

1:1 / The superscription identifies the speaker of the main portion of the book. This speaker is identified by a title (NIV the Teacher,) and further specified as son of David, king in Jerusalem, leading to the traditional ascription of the work to Solomon. The hint of Solomon as speaker anticipates the persona adopted in 1:12–2:26. This persona is not carried through the remainder of the book, where the narrative voice speaks about kings but not as a king (see, e.g., 8:2–4).

1:2 / This verse, which provides a motto for the entire book, forms an inclusio with 12:8. The section from 1:2 to 12:8 is thus the main body of the work. Of the eight words in the Hebrew of this verse, five are forms of the root hebel, translated meaningless in the NIV. The vocabulary underscores the sense: Qohelet claims that everything is meaningless, and in this verse, nearly everything is.

1:3–11 / The opening poem (which some identify rather as stately prose), has stylistic continuities and discontinuities with the rest of the book. Although it is framed with statements about the human situation (vv. 3–4,10–11), the heart of the poem (vv.

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