Authentic Christianity
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 53, No. 2 – Spring 2011
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Craig Bartholomew. Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms. Edited by Tremper Longman III. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009. 448 pages. Hardcover, $39.99.
Every civilization in history has asked the questions that the book of Ecclesiastes seeks to address. The Bible never presents mankind’s struggle to understand His world as wrong or sinful, but neither does it always provide easy answers. Craig Bartholomew, in the seventh volume of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms series, has attempted to tackle and unravel some of these questions by analyzing the struggles of the wise man. This commentary, and indeed the entire series, is intended primarily for pastors and students. (9)
The simple organization of the book belies the difficult struggles it depicts. It includes a brief prologue and epilogue with the remainder of the material under a lengthy section with twenty-one subsections. The work is well, and at times, even tediously, documented.
The introduction adequately outlines the critical issues complicating the study of the book. Reader’s today will quickly and passionately identify with the questions that arise from this study, and, in fact, Bartholomew admits that it is sometimes “easier to see how Ecclesiastes applies today than what it meant in its original context” (17). He notes that the book has been variously interpreted literally, allegorically, and critically (21).
Bartholomew acknowledges that the text seems clearly to refer to Solomon in 1:1, and that the reader is intended to think of the wise man in the text as Solomon (104), though he believes Solomon was neither the author nor Qohelet (43–54). He asserts that Qohelet was likely a real person, but that it is not significant if he was not (48), referring to the book as “fictional autobiography cast in a frame narrative,” (74) and “royal fiction” (104). He further contends that the narrator of the text and the implied author represent the same individual (79), with “Qohelet” functioning as a “nickname” for the wise man (12:8–14) who called the people to assembly (18). In the end, he concludes that the authorship of the book cannot be determined definitively (54), which makes the setting for the implied audience difficult to ascertain.
The body of the work includes the author’s translation of each pericope, followed by sections on Interpretation and Theological Implications. In the Interpretations sections, Bartholomew intricately analyzes the Hebrew text, drawing out the key points of the struggle. The Theological Implications section further expounds on each passage, noting ideas and themes that are addressed elsewhere in Scripture, and also demonstrates how those truths apply to the church today. In it, he notes practical sections on obedience through both word and deed (156), worship (209), social justice (222), the dangers of the love of money and the need for contentment (239–43; 338), theodicy (258), mankind’s search for meaning in life (269–77), and the rediscovery of joy in life (353–58). He also sees the book of Ecclesiastes as background for Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom (99).
According to Bartholomew, the book of Ecclesiastes is about the struggle to resolve the tension between two approaches to the difficulties of life: despair and blithe (93). These two ideas are represented by the often-used phrase hebel, which he defines as “enigmatic” (93), and a carpe diem attitude. Ultimately, the nature of Qoheleth’s struggle, according to Bartholomew, is whether or not life has any meaning (113), which he discovers, in the end, that it does (376). Qohelet never lets go of the mysteries, but embraces the fear of the Lord as the place to start in understanding (376–77). Bartholomew sees a “turning point” in Qohelet’s life demonstrated in 11:7, symbolized by light and eyes that see the sun (381).
The strength of Bartholomew’s work is the careful exegetical work in the Interpretation sections. One may sometimes wish for other topics to be addressed in the work, such as the struggle between faith and doubt, or a more practical application of some of the topics addressed (given its stated target audience of pastors). However, the writing of the book is clear, the research is thorough, the scholarship is apparent, and the relevance is obvious. This volume would be a helpful resource for students, teachers, and preachers.
