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Qoheleth Hermeneia (Herminia Series)

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All search is useless but you must never stop searching! I searched `Books in Print' and found that there are currently in print 4140 commentaries on the Bible, 56 of these are on Ecclesiastes.

In the world of Bible commentaries there are various genres. There are devotional commentaries, which are designed more to perk up your day, than your brain. There are the layman's commentaries which give sparse origin and historical information and more application for your daily life. Then there is a large swath of commentaries that are for the serious student and scholar of the Bible. These commentaries delve into the structural analysis and exegetical study of the text. The 'Qoheleth' by Thomas Kruger is of this genre. A serious, technical commentary that is designed for the same.

In this scholarly work Kruger disassembles, both linguistically and analytically, each verse. He quotes various other learned scholars who have tackled this unique book, then ads his own, howbeit scant, interpretation of the Qoheleth's voice. He gives special attention to the form and function of the book.

The Hebrew word `HEBEL' is used repeatedly throughout Ecclesiastes. It begins the book (vs.1:2) and ends the book (vs. 12:8). Many translate HEBEL to the word 'vanity'. Kruger prefers 'futile and fleeting' (ie. Nothing, illusion, absurdity, delusion, transitory). The best that we can get out of life is to eat, drink, eating, find a job that you like and enjoy what pleasure you can, while you can. These represent the highest and ultimate the only good worth striving for. This is the message that the Qoheleth sent us 2200 years ago. "For human beings, the knowledge of life's fleetingness and transitoriness in the form of chance and death bestows additional worth upon pleasure and enjoyment in the present."

This commentary on Ecclesiastes is strongly recommended for the serious student and scholar; those that desire more of a contemporary commentary will find this text obtuse and opaque.