Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries

Series Editors Preface xi
<p>Preface xiii</p>
<p>Preface to the Paperback Edition xvii</p>
<p>Testimonia 1</p>
<p>The Vagaries of Interpreting Ecclesiastes 1</p>
<p>Charting a Harsh Terrain 4</p>
<p>Qoheleth the Philosopher 5</p>
<p>Wrought by Melancholy 7</p>
<p>Preacher of Joy 9</p>
<p>True to Life 10</p>
<p>Qoheleth and Christianity 14</p>
<p>Qoheleth and Justice 15</p>
<p>Introduction 17</p>
<p>1 A History of Reception Histories 19</p>
<p>2 Reading Strategies and Lines of Influence 22</p>
<p>Pre–Modern Reading: 1500 23</p>
<p>Early Modern Reading: 1500 1800 40</p>
<p>A. Renaissance and Reform 40</p>
<p>B. Sixteenth– and Seventeenth–Century Verse 51</p>
<p>C. On the Way to Modernity 57</p>
<p>Modern Reading: 1800 65</p>
<p>A. Literature 65</p>
<p>B. Visual Art, Music and Film 75</p>
<p>C. Comparative Studies 84</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 1 87</p>
<p>The Life and Death of Solomon the Author: 1:1 et passim 89</p>
<p>A. Alive and Well in Pre–Modernity ( 1500) 89</p>
<p>B. Embattled in Early Modernity (1500 1800) 95</p>
<p>C. Dead in Modernity Solomon s Ghost (1800 ) 96</p>
<p>Vanitas Vanitatum: 1:2 et passim 98</p>
<p>A. Despising the World through Vanitas ( 1500) 100</p>
<p>B. Renaissance Vanitas: Despising Jerome and Suspecting the Sciences (1500 1800) 106</p>
<p>C. Literary Vanitas: New Points of Reference (1800 ) 125</p>
<p>D. The Breadth of Vanitas 140</p>
<p>The Overture Played Out: 1:3 18 142</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 2 156</p>
<p>Wrestling with the Test of Pleasure: 2:1 10 157</p>
<p>Understanding Wisdom, Folly and God s Gifts: 2:11 24 161</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 3:1 8 164</p>
<p>The Totality of Times 165</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 3:9 6:12 174</p>
<p>On Fate, Knowledge and Anthropology: 3:9 22 175</p>
<p>On Oppression and the Value of Companionship: 4:1 12 180</p>
<p>On Conducting Oneself in the House of God: 5:1 8 183</p>
<p>On the Possibility of Profi t and Relief from hebel: 5:10 6:12 184</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 7 8 188</p>
<p>The Curious Values of Wisdom: 7:1 12 189</p>
<p>The Incongruity of Experience and the Inaccessibility of Wisdom: 7:13 29 192</p>
<p>About Wisdom, Power and Authority: 8:1 17 201</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 9:1 12 206</p>
<p>The Wisdom of Death and Life 207</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 9:13 11:10 216</p>
<p>Wise Conduct in the Light of Uncertainty: 9:13 11:6 217</p>
<p>The Final Call to Joy: 11:7 10 221</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 12:1 7 225</p>
<p>The Rule of Allegory 227</p>
<p>Beyond Allegory 232</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes 12:8 14 247</p>
<p>The Final Word 249</p>
<p>A Hermeneutical Postscript 256</p>
<p>Understanding the Pervasive Appeal of Qoheleth 256</p>
<p>The Exegetical Fidelity of Ecclesiastes Reception History 259</p>
<p>How Might This Reception History Inform the Discipline? 261</p>
<p>Bibliography 264</p>
<p>Primary Sources 265</p>
<p>1. Pre–1500 265</p>
<p>2. 1500 1800 267</p>
<p>3. Post–1800 271</p>
<p>Reception Histories of Ecclesiastes 275</p>
<p>1. Jewish and Christian 275</p>
<p>2. Surveys of Academic Approaches 280</p>
<p>3. Literature 281</p>
<p>Specialist Comparative Studies 283</p>
<p>Ecclesiastes General Secondary Sources 285</p>
<p>Other Secondary Sources 291</p>
<p>Appendix The Quotable Qoheleth: Ecclesiastes in Popular Discourse 296</p>
<p>List of Illustrations 300</p>
<p>Acknowledgements 302</p>
<p>Name Index 303</p>
<p>Subject Index 312</p>