Royal Autobiography in the Book of Qoheleth (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 369) (Beiheft Zur Zeitschrift Fur Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft)

This study is concerned with the literary genre to which the book of Qoheleth belongs and on which it is modelled. It covers various aspects of literary analysis and the problem of making sense of the book as a whole. It suggests that Qoheleth is best described as a royal autobiography based on the arguments of specific literary features of style and content, resemblance to various kinds of royal autobiographical narrative from elsewhere in the ancient Near East, and the existence of a coherent worldview which the author presents as the fruit of his lifelong observations of the world. Royal Autobiography in the Book of Qoheleth......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 12 Sigla......Page 18 Introduction......Page 20 1. Early Jewish Interpretations......Page 21 2. Early Church Interpretations......Page 25 3. The Reformation......Page 28 B. Modern Critical Scholarship on Qoheleth......Page 29 C. Current Sceptical Interpretations of Qoheleth......Page 33 II. Purpose of This Study......Page 36 III. Outline of This Study......Page 37 IV. Scope of This Study......Page 38 Loretz and the Argument of Qoheleth's Royal Introduction......Page 40 I. Examination of the Main Evidence of the Royal Voice in 1:12-2:26......Page 44 A. Qoheleth's Self-Introduction (1:12)......Page 47 B. A Solomonic Experiment (1:13-18)......Page 48 C. A Test of Pleasure (2:1-11)......Page 50 D. An Experiment with Wisdom and the Issue of Royal Legacy (2:12-23)......Page 53 E. Qoheleth's Practical Advice for Living (2:24-26)......Page 55 F. Summary......Page 56 II. Does the Royal Voice Speak Beyond 2:26?......Page 57 III. Arguments for the Pervasiveness of Qoheleth's Royal Voice......Page 59 A. Perdue - the Royal Testament of Qoheleth......Page 60 Β. Christianson - Telling the Story of Qoheleth......Page 63 C. Summary......Page 67 1. 3:16-17......Page 69 2. 4:1......Page 71 3. 5:7, 8 [ET vv.8, 9]......Page 73 4. 10:5-7......Page 75 B. The Nature of Kingship......Page 77 1. 4:13-16......Page 78 2. 8:1-5......Page 81 3. 10:16-17......Page 85 4. 10:20......Page 87 C. Summary......Page 88 V. Concluding Remarks......Page 89 Section 1: The Royal Language of Qoheleth: Qoheleth and Ancient Semitic Royal Inscriptions......Page 91 I. West Semitic Royal Inscriptions......Page 92 A. The Formulaic Self-Introduction......Page 93 Qoheleth's Rule: Past or Present?......Page 95 B. The Royal Boasting of Deeds......Page 97 C. Comparison with Predecessors and Contemporaries......Page 101 D. Royal Wisdom......Page 105 E. A Political and Military Background......Page 106 F. Summary......Page 108 II. Akkadian (Sargonid) Royal Inscriptions......Page 109 A. The Formulaic Self-Introduction......Page 110 B. The Royal Boasting......Page 111 1. Palaces, Canals, Gardens and Parks......Page 113 2. The Treasures of Kings......Page 115 C. Comparison with Predecessors......Page 118 D. Royal Wisdom......Page 120 E. Warring Background......Page 122 III. Concluding Remarks......Page 123 IV. Longman's 'Fictional Akkadian Autobiographies'......Page 125 A. Fictional Akkadian Autobiographies with Didactic Endings......Page 126 B. Longman's Analysis of Qoheleth......Page 130 V. Pseudo-autobiographies of the Kings of Akkad......Page 131 A. The Cuthean Legend of Naram Sin......Page 133 B. A Text of the King of Isin......Page 136 C. A Sargon Autobiography......Page 137 D. The Sargon Legend......Page 138 E. Key Characteristics of the Corpus......Page 139 F. Summary......Page 140 VI. Egyptian Instructions......Page 142 A. Royal Testaments......Page 143 B. Royal Instructions......Page 145 1. Fictional Authorship......Page 147 2. Title......Page 148 3. Framework......Page 149 a. The Call To Enjoy Life......Page 154 b. The Reversal of Fortune......Page 155 c. Divine Determinism and the Hidden Ways of God......Page 156 A. Royal Laments......Page 159 Khakheperresonb and the Theme of Social Disorder......Page 161 VIII. Concluding Remarks......Page 162 I. Autobiography as a Wisdom Form......Page 165 II. The Autobiographical Character of Qoheleth......Page 170 A. The Prevalent 'I'......Page 175 1. Qoheleth as Narrator and Teacher......Page 179 2. The Use of Sayings in Qoheleth......Page 182 a. Gordis's Theory of Quotations......Page 183 b. Johnson's Form-Critical Analysis......Page 187 IV. The Dynamics of Qoheleth's Narrative......Page 192 A. Loader's Theory of Polar Tensions......Page 193 B. Qoheleth's Zwar-Aber Dialectic Style of Narration......Page 197 1. 9:13-16: Wisdom's Subservience to Time and Chance......Page 198 2. 9:11-12: Fate, Time and Chance......Page 200 3. 4:4-6: Competitiveness Versus Contentment......Page 201 A. The Story of the Life of A King......Page 203 B. Qoheleth's Quest for the Meaning of Life......Page 206 C. Qoheleth's Conclusions and Advice......Page 211 VI. Qoheleth's Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly......Page 214 VII. Concluding Remarks......Page 217 5: Conclusion......Page 220 Bibliography......Page 228 Index of Biblical and Apocryphal References......Page 246 This book examines the literary genre(s) to which the book of Qoheleth belongs and on which it is modelled. It suggests that Qoheleth is best described as a royal autobiography based on the arguments of specific literary features of style and content, resemblance to various kinds of royal autobiographical narrative from the ancient Near East, and the existence, despite first impressions, of a coherent worldview. The analyses in this book cover various aspects from textual criticism, through aspects of vocabulary and style, to the interpretation of particular passages and the problem of making sense of the book as a whole.