Ecclesiastes
by Anonymous · קֹהֶלֶת
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 3rd century BCE
- Form
- Scripture
- Language
- Hebrew
- Length
- Short · 25 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Wisdom Books, Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, translated by Robert AlterW. W. Norton, 2010Alter renders the famous refrain as "mere breath" and explains why; the notes are brief and useful.
These links go straight to Amazon and Bookshop.org and earn this site nothing today. Prices are the same either way. How this works.
A short book of Hebrew wisdom literature in the voice of Qoheleth, the Assembler or Preacher, presented as a king in Jerusalem who has tested pleasure, wealth, work and wisdom and found them all vanity, or breath. He observes that the same fate comes to the wise and the foolish, that there is a time for everything, that the race is not to the swift, and that the dead know nothing. His counsel is to fear God, keep his commandments and enjoy food, work and companionship while one can.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Ecclesiastes are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.