| The Book of Ecclesiastes Contributor(s): Longman, Tremper (Author) |
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ISBN: 0802823661 ISBN-13: 9780802823663 Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company OUR PRICE: $41.39 Product Type: Hardcover Published: November 1997 Annotation: Ecclesiastes' opening cry of "Meaningless, everything is meaningless" sounds hauntingly familiar. Qohelet, like many today, is driven by the question, "Where can we find meaning in the world?" This commentary by Tremper Longman III offers a new approach to Ecclesiastes that clarifies how the pessimistic outlook of the book fits into the rest of biblical revelation and what abiding message Ecclesiastes has for Christians today. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Biblical Commentary - Old Testament - Poetry & Wisdom Literature - Religion | Biblical Studies - Old Testament - Poetry & Wisdom Literature - Religion | Biblical Criticism & Interpretation - Old Testament |
| Dewey: 223.807 |
| LCCN: 97024217 |
| Series: New International Commentary on the Old Testament |
| Physical Information: 1.12" H x 6.56" W x 9.44" (1.45 lbs) 322 pages |
| Themes: - Theometrics - Academic - Theometrics - Evangelical - Religious Orientation - Christian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Ecclesiastes is one of the most fascinating -- and hauntingly familiar -- books of the Old Testament. The sentiments of the main speaker of the book, a person given the name Qohelet, sound incredibly modern. Expressing the uncertainty and anxieties of our own age, he is driven by the question, Where can we find meaning in the world? But while Qohelet's question resonates with readers today, his answer is shocking. Meaningless, says Qohelet, everything is meaningless. How does this pessimistic perspective fit into the rest of biblical revelation? In this commentary Tremper Longman III addresses this question by taking a canonical-Christocentric approach to the meaning of Ecclesiastes. Longman first provides an extensive introduction to Ecclesiastes, exploring such background matters as authorship, language, genre, structure, literary style, and the book's theological message. He argues that the author of Ecclesiastes is not Solomon, as has been traditionally thought, but a writer who adopts a Solomonic persona. In the verse-by-verse commentary that follows, Longman helps clarify the confusing, sometimes contradictory message of Ecclesiastes by showing that the book should be divided into three sections -- a prologue (1:1-11), Qohelet's autobiographical speech (1:12-12:7), and an epilogue (12:8-14) -- and that the frame narrative provided by prologue and epilogue is the key to understanding the message of the book as a whole. |
Contributor Bio(s): Longman, Tremper: - Tremper Longman III is Robert H. Gundry Professor ofBiblical Studies and chair of the Religious StudiesDepartment at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California.His other books include Introduction to the OldTestament, How to Read the Psalms, Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind, andLiterary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation. |