Ecclesiastes

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, 2nd ed. (NICOT)

Longman III, Tremper. The Book of Ecclesiastes, 2nd ed. NICOT. Eerdmans, 2026. xxxix+320 pp. Hb. $46.99   Link to Eerdmans

The first edition of Tremper Longman’s NICOT commentary on Ecclesiastes was published in 1998. The first edition of this commentary ran xvi+283 pages. One reason for doubling the size of the preface is that the editors moved the bibliography from the body of the book to the “Roman numeral pages.” This means the length of the commentary is forty pages longer in this new edition. As is often the case with second editions of commentaries, a major update is literature published over the last 25 years, including major commentaries and journal articles, in both the bibliography and the footnotes. Longman has added references to Kruger (Hermeneia, 2004), Crenshaw (OTL, 1999), Provan (NIVAC, 2001), Bartholomew (BCOT, 2009), and Weeks (ICC, 2020).

Longman Ecclesiastes 2nd Ed

The introduction to this new edition is about nine pages longer than the 1998 edition. In the preface to the commentary, Longman says, “I have not changed my overall understanding of the book as containing two voices,” except at 12:10, “then only tentatively.”

This raises the question of the authorship of Ecclesiastes. Longman argues that Qohelet is not Solomon, but he adopts a “Solomonic persona” (7). The 2026 edition adds a line, “I believe that Qohelet is not the author of the book,” and “is a fictional or fictionalized character” (4). Longman expands the excursus, “Who was Qohelet?” with a full page interacting with Jennifer Barbour’s 2012 monograph and Michael Fox’s suggestion that Qohelet is a literary persona. Barbour “puts forth a strong, but not totally convincing case” (10) that Qohelet stand, stands for not Solomon, but all the kings of Israel.

Longman has greatly expanded the section on the date of Ecclesiastes, now considering C. L. Seow’s argument that the book was completed in the Persian period (AB, 1998). After summarizing the argument, Longman is not fully persuaded. He therefore adds paragraphs on the possibility of Hellenistic thought and the socioeconomic situation implied by the book. Longman thinks this data favors a Hellenistic date. He includes a new excursus on reading Ecclesiastes in the light of the Hellenistic period (16-17), dialoging with George Athas’s Story of God commentary (2020).

Since Longman is certain Ecclesiastes is non-Solomonic, it is also one of the last books written in the Hebrew Bible. Although he does not create a scenario or a complicated editorial process to explain the book’s creation, he says, “I lean toward the Hellenistic period” (14).  Under the heading “language,” Longman has expanded his discussion of Fredricks, who examined the Persian influence on the book, but argued that the linguistic evidence cannot speak against a preexilic date. Ultimately, Longman disagrees, language “is not a certain barometer of date” (22). The genre, literary style, and canon have only been edited recently, aside from a short paragraph on injustice in life (42).

In this new addition, the unit once entitled “theology of the book is a whole” is renamed “the frame narrator and the theology of the book is a whole (45). Little has changed since the first edition. Longman argues that 1:1-11 and 12:8-15 are a different voice than the pessimistic Qohelet (the rest of the book). This is like Job’s prologue and epilogue, although in Ecclesiastes God does not “speak out of the whirlwind.” Longman states that it is important to read the epilogue carefully to understand the book, as it is a second wise man’s summary of Qohelet’s teaching (46).

The body of the commentary follows the NICOT style. After a short introduction, the commentary begins with Longman’s new translation of the section, accompanied by extensive notes on lexical and tactical issues and occasional observations on textual criticism. These have been edited and expanded in this new addition. Following the translation and textual notes is a verse-by-verse commentary on the Hebrew text. All Hebrew appears in transliteration. Interaction with secondary literature is in the footnotes. These footnotes have been updated with a handful of references to commentaries published after 1998. Following the commentary is a summary of each chapter that draws a few conclusions. This is not “biblical theology” and does not even make Old Testament theological connections. It is solely focused on the text of Ecclesiastes.

Conclusion. As with other volumes of the NICOT series that have been updated, some readers will wonder whether they need to upgrade their commentary. In this case, Longman has not radically changed his views since 1998. However, for scholars, pastors, and students looking for an excellent commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes, Longman’s new edition will serve them well. This is a well-written and insightful commentary on one of the more difficult books of the Hebrew Bible.

Recent reviews of other commentaries in the NICOT Series:

NB: Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.

Jordan W. Jones and Christopher Pascarella, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs (Kerux)

Jones, Jordan W. and Christopher Pascarella. Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching. Kerux Commentaries. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Ministry, 2024. 355 pp. Hb. $34.99   Link to Kregel Ministry  

In this new volume in Kregel’s Kerux series, Jordan W. Jones (PhD, Hebrew Union College) provides an exegesis of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. Jones serves as assistant professor of biblical studies at Regent University School of Divinity. He has previously published She Opens Her Hand to the Poor: Gestures and Social Values in Proverbs (Gorgias Press, 2019). Pastor of Lincroft Bible Church in New Jersey, Christopher Pascarella (DMin, SBTS) writes the preaching strategies for the commentary.

Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs

In the introduction to Ecclesiastes (pages 33-54), Jones suggests the author is an inspired scribe in the tradition of the Israelite monarchy whose teachings are presented by the narrator” (33). A later writer adopted Solomon’s persona, so Ecclesiastes is “essentially Solomonic.” It is wisdom first presented by Solomon but not written down until much later. He calls this later writer the frame narrator, referring to the literary frame (1:1-2; 12:8-14). The book was “conceived early but presented late” (41). The rest of the book is an accurate reflection of Solomon’s teaching. For some conservative readers, the idea Solomon is not the actual author of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs may come as a surprise. But this reflects a broad consensus in contemporary scholarship, including that of many evangelical writers.

Jones agrees that the language of Ecclesiastes is late, coming from the Persian or pre-Hellenistic period. Concerning the occasion, scholars often suggest that Ecclesiastes is a counterbalance to the book of Proverbs. The Qohelet (as the author of Ecclesiastes is frequently called), responds to “a caricature of established wisdom” (43). He is not subverting proverbs. Like Job, the writer can affirm Proverbs and express honest angst at the disillusionment that comes when proverbial wisdom does not work out quite right. Jones demonstrates that the book is structured similarly to Egyptian and Mesopotamian autobiographical texts, which often include accomplishments, affirmations of ethical conduct, and admonitions to the reader (in this, he is following Tremper Longman’s 1998 commentary). Ecclesiastes is a “wisdom-centric autobiography” (45).

Jones summarizes the theological emphasis of Ecclesiastes in four points. First, Jones shows that Ecclesiastes is interested in the eternality of God and the futility of human endeavor. Human endeavors are temporary, and they lack substance. Second, the works of God and their incomprehensibility. Humans do not even know the things we think we know! Third is future judgment. Even though the book of Ecclesiastes does not have a fully formed view of life after death, the book is clear that the wicked will be judged 8:10-11. Fourth, Jones describes the Qohelet’s “holy disillusionment.” Qohelet is a realist who views the world in an enigmatic way. He has this affection for the world’s false forms of salvation.

Jones makes similar observations about the author and date of the Song of Songs. In his introduction to the Song (211–224), he suggests that the author was “an inspired scribe in the tradition of Solomonic wisdom.” He dates the book to the eighth to sixth century B.C. There are some parallels to Egyptian love poetry, but in linguistic arguments are not conclusive for dating the book. He suggests the book was possibly written during Hezekiah’s revival of wisdom (215).

The original hears of the song of songs would understand that the text is a collection of romantic love songs. They would not have fought. The book was an allegory for God’s relationship with Israel. Jones rejects allegorical interpretation since it distracts readers from the Song of Songs as wisdom and literature, describing human sexual love (216). He briefly discusses various methods of interpretation, from highly allegorical to highly literal. He suggests allegory was used early, even as early as the translation of the book, where some of the sexuality is downplayed. The book has been interpreted in “innumerable strange ways throughout the centuries” (217). Jones considers allegorical strategies an “interpretive paralysis,” implying the meaning of the Song is lost and cannot be recovered.

Even modern writers still argue for allegorical (Ellen Davis, 2000) or typological (James Hamilton, 2015) approaches. In his 1993 NAC commentary, Duane Garrett suggested typology is just another way of “letting allegory in the back door.” For most commentaries, the theology of Song of Songs is the most challenging aspect of the book. Besides a possible reference in 8:6, why is God never mentioned in the book? Is the book really about love and a sexual relationship? Jones summarizes the theology of the book and two points. First, romantic love is informed by God’s wisdom and, therefore, looks different than the love of other ancient Near Eastern cultures (to say nothing modern examples of love). Second, romantic love can serve as an analogy for love’s power and worth. He suggests this can be an analogy for the relationship between God and his church in the new covenant. But this is not allegory or typology: Jones is drawing an analogy (so he gets to the same place allegory and typology does by calling it analogical).

Jones and Pascarella divide Ecclesiastes into ten preaching units and Song of Songs into nine. Each unit begins with a review of the exegetical idea, a theological focus, a preaching idea, and preaching pointers for the passage. Jones’s exegesis is based on the Hebrew Bible (all Hebrew appears without transliteration). All secondary literature is cited in-text, and there are no footnotes in the commentary. In previous Kerux commentaries, authors included a box-like sidebar called “Translation Analysis” to deal with lexical and syntactical details or to compare various English translations. This information appears in the body of the commentary. There are no Translation Analysis” boxes in the commentary. I see this as an improvement that makes the commentary more readable. The commentary strives to place these books in their proper ancient Near Eastern context. Jones often points out how this background illuminates the text, and illustrations (cuneiform tablets and inscriptions, often drawn from Pritchard’s Ancient Near East in Pictures) are scattered throughout the commentary.

Pascarella’s homiletical suggestions are well done. These are some of the shortest “preaching ideas” I have seen in the Kerux series, brief and to the point. In the “creativity in presentation” section, his cultural references are relevant and up to date. Each preaching unit ends with a few bullet points that form a sermon outline and a series of discussion questions that will guide sermons toward the appropriate application of these difficult sections of the Bible.

As with other Kerux volumes, many sidebars for cultural background, theology, or technical details go beyond what would typically be in the body of a commentary. In the Ecclesiastes commentary, for example, Jones has sidebars on Contradictions in Ecclesiastes, the Meaning of Vanity, Royal Identity in the Ancient Near East, Futility in Gilgamesh, Responding to Divine Omnipotence and Human Powerlessness, Life after Death in Qohelet, the Folly of Anger; Relevance of Wisdom and Ecclesiastes 10:2 and Qohelet and Women. A two-page sidebar is on the Women’s Glorious Appearance in Song of Songs. Other interesting sidebars include Ambiguity in the Song and Sexual Metaphors and Innuendo.

Conclusion. Preaching Ecclesiastes in a way that is faithful to the text can be difficult. Preaching Song of Songs is fraught with difficulties. Jones and Pascarella offer pastors and teachers a way to present the challenging books to their congregations in a way that respects ancient culture and the author’s original intention. The commentary encourages appropriate application without excessive allegorical or typological methods (especially in Song of Songs).

 

NB: Thanks to Kregel for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.

Other volumes reviewed in this series:

 

Logos Free Book – Craig Evans, The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts

For July 2018, Logos Bible Software is offering one of their Mobile Courses as their “Free Book of the Month.”  Craig Evans, The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts (Mobile Ed: NT308). If you have not used a Logos Mobile Course, this is your chance to sample a good one.For $9.99 you can add Mark Strauss, “Introducing Bible Translations” and for $19.99, you can add the three hour course by Craig Keener, “Critical Issues in the Synoptic Gospels.”

Craig Evans, The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts, Logos Bible Software

The courses are set up like college classes. There is a syllabus with course description, course outcomes and a final exam. The outcomes for The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts are:

Upon successful completion you should be able to:

• Detail the number of pre-Gutenberg NT manuscripts we have and describe their quality
• Explain how the NT manuscript record compares to that of other ancient works
• Describe practices of ancient scribes and scholars that contributed to the longevity and quality of NT manuscripts
• Describe the preservation of the NT in ancient translations and commentaries
• Discuss how the various forms of historical attestation demonstrate the reliability of the NT text

This free Mobile Course is considered a “one hour course” based on the content (about an hour of video content). This course has eleven segments. A segment will have a short video lecture from Evans as well as a transcript of that lecture. Following the transcript there are several links to “Suggested Reading” and other resources Logos offers. These are not bibliographies, but links to books you your Logos Library such as the Lexham Bible Dictionary. Naturally Logos would be glad to sell you these books if you do not already own them! One advantage reading the transcript is key terms are linked to definitions and Scripture references are tagged. Floating over P87 in a transcript, for example, will open a small window giving the basic info on the papyri drawn from Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 2001).

Occasionally a lecture segment is a ScreenCast video demonstrating how to use Logos. For example, “Exploring Ancient Manuscripts and Resources” coaches the user on how to download and use the Perseus collection and the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri. “Accessing and Navigating the Textual Apparatus” demonstrates how users who own the UBS fourth edition in Logos can examine the textual apparatus. These are not narrated by Evans but are useful tutorials for using the potential of the Logos system (as well as advertisements for upgrading Logos to include more features and resources). This is a feature of all Logos Mobile courses and Logos intends to update courses to include additional resource “in the future for no extra charge.”

This month the Logos giveaway is a four-course bundle: Text of the Bible Bundle. In addition to Evans, the bundle includes Mark L. Strauss, Introducing Bible Translations (also available for $9.99 this month), Michael S. Heiser, How We Got the Old Testament and How We Got the New Testament (also by Heiser). This is another eleven hours of video content, so enter early and often to win this bundle. They are also running a 40% off sale on some huge Mobile Ed packages during July.

Be sure to get these resources before the end of July 2018 when the offer expires.

Logos Free Book – Roland Murphy, Ecclesiastes (Word Biblical Commentary)

Logos Bible Software is offering Roland Murphy’s Word Biblical Commentary on Ecclesiastes (1992) for free during the month of June, and you can add John Durham’s Exodus commentary (1087) for $1.99 and G. R. Beasley Murray’s John (Second Edition, 1999) for $9.99. This means for a mere $12 you can add three major commentaries to you Logos library (well over $100 if purchased at Amazon, although much less for the savvy shopper who knows how to navigate a used bookstore).

Murphy was the George Washington Ivey Professor of Biblical Studies at Duke University for many years and was  co-editor of both the Jerome Biblical Commentary and the (New) Jerome Biblical Commentary. His Ecclesiastes commentary is excellent and will be a fine addition to a Logos library.

The Word Biblical Commentary series are serious exegetical commentaries. Each unit begins with a short bibliography including monographs and peer-reviewed journals (including German and French sources). These are often a great place for students to start a research project, although they are only complete up to the publication of the volume. The authors focus on the original languages and deal with technical details of translation and technical variations via footnotes on a new translation of each section.  Following the translation is a section entitled Form/Structure/Setting. In some of the the earlier commentaries this section included something like source or form criticism, but usually the literary structure of the Hebrew or Greek is in view. Following this section is the commentary proper, proceeding verse by verse with attention to the original text (which is included without transliteration). Each unit concludes with a brief section entitled explanation, although the content of this unit varies from volume to volume.

The Word Biblical Commentary series was originally published by Word Books (Waco, Texas) in 1983. The first few volumes are all still very valuable: Trent Butler on Joshua; Ralph Klein on 1 Samuel; Leslie Allen on Psalms; Gerald F. Hawthorne on Philippians; Richard J. Bauckham (2 Peter & Jude. The series was purchased by Thomas Nelson, but after HarperCollins acquired both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, the series was moved to Zondervan. The series is nearly complete, with Steven J. Walton’s Acts commentary and Andrew D. Clarke on 1 Corinthians still listed as “forthcoming.”

As typically happens with an aging commentary series, Zondervan is revising or replacing some earlier volumes. Ralph Martin’s Second Corinthians commentary was revised by a few of his students by adding a few additional sections (conveniently marked with gray pages; see my review here); Trent Butler completely revised his Joshua commentary, adding a second volume with extremely detailed geographical notes on the second half of Joshua. You can read my review here, originally published in Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 5.1 (2016).

One serious advantage to the Logos format of this commentary is that all the Logos features are available. This includes searching English, Hebrew and Greek words, fuzzy searches, etc. By right-clicking a Hebrew word, the user can open their Hebrew lexicon of choice, right-clicking an English word opens up many options, including searching the user’s entire library, or limiting that search to a preferred Bible dictionary. A used can hover over abbreviations and a popup will identify the source, if it is a resource in the Logos library then it is clickable. References to other parts of the commentary are hyperlinks (so, “see notes” will go right to the section to which the author refers. All scripture reference are links as well, so the user can hover over the link and read the verse, to click to go to the preferred translation. Perhaps the most useful tool is how Logos cites sources. If the used copies a chuck of text and pastes it into a word processor, Logos will create a footnote citing the source in the user’s preferred format. I usually paste as plain text then edit the citation myself so it conforms to the format I prefer. What is important here is these digital books have real page numbers so they can be cited as if you have the real book in your desk. To me, this is a critically important feature. Nothing is more frustrating than students trying to cite a Kindle book in a research paper (in fact, just don’t try, find a real copy of the book and cite it properly).

As with most Logos resources, all resources are available on any Logos platform. I usually work with Logos on my desktop computer, but I can also read the books using my iPad and the Logos Bible App. All notes and highlights are synced with the user’s Faithlife account so I can read, make a few notes on a book, then pick up those notes on my desktop when I return to the office and incorporate them into whatever document I am working on at the time. If the user downloads the book to their device, footnotes appear at the bottom of the page (like a real book). Unfortunately, Logos removed the real page numbers from the iOS app, this is a major step backward (although I hear the page numbers will be restored in the future).

Logos usually does a giveaway with these free and almost free books, so this month they are giving away the Zondervan Theology Collection (7 volumes, $155.99 value).

Be sure to get these books before the end of June 2018 when the offer expires.

Logos Free Book – Ecclesiastes by Douglas B. Miller

Miller-ecclesiastesLogos Bible Software is offering a volume of the Believers Church Bible Commentary for free in August 2016. During this month you can add Ecclesiastes by Douglas B. Miller to your Logos library for free, and for $1.99 you can add Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld’s commentary on Ephesians (2002) in the same series.

According to Herald Press website, the Believers Church Bible Commentary  is a “cooperative project of Brethren in Christ Church, Brethren Church, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Brethren Church, and Mennonite Church.”

Each volume illuminates the Scriptures; provides historical and cultural background; shares necessary theological, sociological, and ethical meanings; and, in general, makes “the rough places plain.” Critical issues are not avoided, but neither are they moved into the foreground as debates among scholars. The series aids in the interpretive process, but it does not attempt to supersede the authority of the Word and Spirit as discerned in the gathered church.

Douglas Miller is the Old Testament editor for the series and professor at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas. He has published many articles on Ecclesiastes as well as a monograph, Symbol and Rhetoric in Ecclesiastes: The Place of hebel in Qohelet’s Work (Atlanta: SBL, 2002). Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld is Professor Emeritus at  Conrad Grebel University and wrote Killing Enmity: Violence and the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2011).

Both of these books are excellent additions to your Logos library, so make sure to add them to your library before the end of the month.

As always Logos is giving away a set of 26 volumes of the Believers Church Bible Commentary,  a $432.99 value. Enter early and often.

You can also get Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude as the Verbum Free book of the Month and Merton’s The Ascent to Truth: A Study of St. John of the Cross for 99 cents. Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is still the Noet Free book of the Month