Ecclesiastes

ECCLESIASTES; OR THE PREACHER.

THE GREEK TITLE IN THE LXX.

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INTRODUCTION

The Hebrew title is Koheleth, which the speaker in it

applies to himself

(Ec 1:12),

"I, Koheleth, was king over Israel." It means an

Assembler or Convener of a meeting and a Preacher

to such a meeting. The feminine form of the Hebrew noun, and its

construction once

(Ec 7:27)

with a feminine verb, show that it not only signifies Solomon,

the Preacher to assemblies (in which case it is construed with the verb

or noun masculine), but also Divine Wisdom (feminine in

Hebrew) speaking by the mouth of the inspired king. In six cases

out of seven it is construed with the masculine. Solomon was endowed

with inspired wisdom

(1Ki 3:5-14;

6:11, 12; 9:1-9; 11:9-11),

specially fitting him for the task. The Orientals delight in such

meetings for grave discourse. Thus the Arabs formerly had an assembly

yearly, at Ocadh, for hearing and reciting poems. Compare "Masters of

assemblies" (see on

Ec 12:11,

also

Ec 12:9).

"The Preacher taught the people knowledge," probably viva voce

("orally");

1Ki 4:34; 10:2, 8, 24;

2Ch 9:1, 7, 23,

plainly refer to a somewhat public divan met for literary discussion.

So "spake," thrice repeated

(1Ki 4:32, 33),

refers not to written compositions, but to addresses

spoken in assemblies convened for the purpose. The Holy Ghost,

no doubt, signifies also by the term that Solomon's doctrine is

intended for the "great congregation," the Church of all places and

ages

(Ps 22:25; 49:2-4).

Solomon was plainly the author

(Ec 1:12, 16; 2:15; 12:9).

That the Rabbins attribute it to Isaiah or Hezekiah is explicable by

supposing that one or the other inserted it in the canon. The

difference of its style, as compared with Proverbs and Song of Solomon,

is due to the difference of subjects, and the different period of his

life in which each was written; the Song, in the fervor of his first

love to God; Proverbs, about the same time, or somewhat later; but

Ecclesiastes in late old age, as the seal and testimony of repentance

of his apostasy in the intervening period:

Ps 89:30, 33

proves his penitence. The substitution of the title Koheleth for

Solomon (that is, peace), may imply that, having troubled

Israel, meantime he forfeited his name of peace

(1Ki 11:14, 23);

but now, having repented, he wishes to be henceforth a Preacher

of righteousness. The alleged foreign expressions in the Hebrew

may have been easily imported, through the great intercourse there was

with other nations during his long reign. Moreover, supposed Chaldaisms

may be fragments preserved from the common tongue of which Hebrew,

Syriac, Chaldee, and Arabic were offshoots.

THE

SCOPE of Ecclesiastes is to

show the vanity of all mere human pursuits, when made the chief end, as contrasted with the real blessedness of true wisdom, that is,

religion. The immortality of the soul is dwelt on incidentally, as

subsidiary to the main scope. Moses' law took this truth for granted

but drew its sanctions of rewards and punishments in accordance with

the theocracy, which was under a special providence of God as the

temporal King of Israel, from the present life, rather than the

future. But after Israel chose an earthly king, God withdrew, in part,

His extraordinary providence, so that under Solomon, temporal rewards

did not invariably follow virtue, and punishments vice (compare

Ec 2:16;

3:19; 4:1; 5:8; 7:15; 8:14; 9:2, 11).

Hence the need arises to show that these anomalies will be rectified

hereafter, and this is the grand "conclusion," therefore, of the

"whole" book, that, seeing there is a coming judgment, and seeing that

present goods do not satisfy the soul, "man's whole duty is to fear God

and keep his commandments"

(Ec 12:13, 14),

and meanwhile, to use, in joyful and serene sobriety, and not abuse,

the present life

(Ec 3:12, 13).

It is objected that sensual epicurism seems to be inculcated

(Ec 3:12, 13, 22,

&c.); but it is a contented, thankful enjoyment of God's present gifts

that is taught, as opposed to a murmuring, anxious, avaricious spirit,

as is proved by

Ec 5:18,

compare with

Ec 5:11-15,

not making them the chief end of life; not the joy of levity and

folly; a misunderstanding which he guards against in

Ec 7:2-6; 11:9; 12:1.

Again,

Ec 7:16; 9:2-10,

might seem to teach fatalism and skepticism. But these are words put in

the mouth of an objector; or rather, they were the language of Solomon

himself during his apostasy, finding an echo in the heart of every

sensualist, who wishes to be an unbeliever, and, who, therefore,

sees difficulties enough in the world around wherewith to prop up his

wilful unbelief. The answer is given

(Ec 7:17,

18; 9:11, 12; 11:1, 6; 12:13).

Even if these passages be taken as words of Solomon, they are to be

understood as forbidding a self-made "righteousness," which tries to

constrain God to grant salvation to imaginary good works and external

strictness with which it wearies itself; also, that speculation which

tries to fathom all God's inscrutable counsels

(Ec 8:17),

and that carefulness about the future forbidden in

Mt 6:25.

THE

CHIEF

GOOD is that the possession of that which makes us happy,

is to be sought as the end, for its own sake; whereas, all other

things are but means towards it. Philosophers, who made it the great

subject of inquiry, restricted it to the present life, treating the

eternal as unreal, and only useful to awe the multitude with. But

Solomon shows the vanity of all human things (so-called philosophy

included) to satisfy the soul, and that heavenly wisdom alone is the

chief good. He had taught so when young

(Pr 1:20; 8:1);

so also; in Song of Solomon, he had spiritualized the subject in an

allegory; and now, after having long personally tried the manifold ways

in which the worldly seek to reach happiness, he gives the fruit of his

experience in old age.

It is divided into two parts--

Ec 1:1-6:10

showing the vanity of earthly things;

Ec 6:10-12:14,

the excellence of heavenly wisdom. Deviations from strict logical

methods occur in these divisions, but in the main they are observed.

The deviations make it the less stiff and artificial, and the more

suited to all capacities. It is in poetry; the hemistichal division is

mostly observed, but occasionally not so. The choice of epithets,

imagery, inverted order of words, ellipses, parallelism, or, in its

absence, similarity of diction, mark versification.