Koheleth: His Language and Thought (Zeitschrift Fur Die Alttest Amentliche Wissenschaft No 148)

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world. BZAW welcomes submissions that make an original and significant contribution to the field; demonstrate sophisticated engagement with the relevant secondary literature; and are written in readable, logical, and engaging prose. Preface 5 A. Introduction 9 B. An Examination of the Language of Koheleth 12 I. Chapter 1 12 II. Chapter 2 26 III. Chapter 3 38 IV. Chapter 4 47 V. Chapter 5 56 VI. Chapter 6 65 VII. Chapter 7 70 VIII. Chapter 8 79 IX. Chapter 9 86 X. Chapter 10 91 XI. Chapter 11 100 XII. Chapter 12 103 XIII. An Assessment of Zimmermann’s View 114 XIV. An Assessment of Dahood’s View 119 C. Reconstruction 127 I. Linguistic Characteristics of Koheleth 127 II. Koheleth and Ben Sira 130 III. Historical and Linguistic Evidence for the Date of Koheleth 140 IV. Conclusion 155 D. The Thought of Koheleth 157 I. General Characteristics 157 II. Theories of Babylonian and Egyptian Influence 160 III. The Theory of Greek Influence 166 E. Reconstruction 170 I. Israelite Sources 170 II. Greek Influence 173 III. Common Proverbial Material 184 IV. The Nature of Koheleth’s Problems 185 V. Conclusions 190 Bibliography 193 Text and Versions 193 Jewish Sources 193 Ancient Classical Writers 194 Works Consulted 194 Abbreviations 203 Subject Index 206

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.