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Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Destiny (9:1-10): This short section considers divine omnipotence and human limitations: everything is in God’s power, and humans have nothing but consciousness. Qohelet observes that there is a single fate for all people, a further specification of the theme developed concerning humans and animals in 3:18–22. Verses 7–10 comprise the longest version of Qohelet’s call to joy, typically tempered by...

2. A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Time: Qohelet turns here to a consideration of “time.” The poem on time (3:1–8) is the most familiar passage in the book of Ecclesiastes, and is used in settings from funerals to folk-rock concerts. In the poem, pairs of opposites illustrate that there is a proper time for all human activity. When it is read in isolation from its context, the poem provides the reader with a sense of comfort and re...

3. Advancement is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

The Human Dilemma: The segments in this section are connected by the theme of the human individual, both in isolation and in relationships within social, familial, and religious systems. A concern with labor and material prosperity connects this section with the rest of the book. The development of thought is difficult to follow, though, and interpreters disagree not only about the logic of the ar...

4. All Night Long

Song of Songs 3:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Dream and Vision: This chapter presents a surprising mix, unlike what has come before, although it is clearly linked with the context. The opening section (3:1–4) apparently reports a dream in which the woman seeks her lover and finds him, followed by another instance of the adjuration to the daughters of Jerusalem (3:5). The next verse (3:6) is an enigmatic question or exclamation, perhaps functi...

5. Bread Upon the Water

Ecclesiastes 9:13--12:8

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Wisdom and Folly: The section is a loosely woven collection of vignettes and sayings, punctuated by phrases characteristic of Qohelet’s own voice. It is difficult to break it into segments because the themes of randomness, social order, wisdom and folly, and language overlap and sometimes clash. The reader may find it difficult to follow a coherent line of reasoning. The overarching theme is that ...

6. Everything Is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Opening Matters: This opening section of the book of Ecclesiastes consists of three distinct segments. First, a superscription identifies the work but is not part of the book proper (1:1). The following verse provides a motto for the book (1:2). Closing the introductory section is a poem that incorporates many of the themes and much of the vocabulary to be developed in the remainder of the work (1...

7. How Beautiful You Are

Song of Songs 4:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Admiration and Invitation: This is the only section in which the central man’s voice is more prominent than that of the central woman. He speaks in every verse but one (4:16) and is the only speaker in all of these but the last (5:1). This section also contains the formal center of the book. The man begins by describing the woman’s beauty from the head downward in the first of the Song’s descripti...

8. How Beautiful Your Feet

Song of Songs 7:1-13

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Admiration and Desire: The section begins with the man admiring the woman in the beginning of another descriptive motif (6:4–9) that does not go below the neck. This description is followed by another “who is this?” verse (6:10; see 3:6; 8:5). The following verse (6:11) does not answer the question: rather, an unidentified speaker (NIV “Lover”) tells of going to the nut orchard. Both the speaker a...

9. I Am a Rose of Sharon

Song of Songs 2:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

The Lovers Together (2:1-7): As this section opens, the two lovers are clearly together: they become partners in dialogue. The woman and the man first exchange playful banter, then admiring comments. The admiration closes with the woman speaking to or about the man. She then speaks for the first time a verse which will recur. This verse is clear in imagery although not in time (2:6). Then there fo...

10. I Have Come Into My Garden

Song of Songs 5:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Dream and Search: A new scene opens with 5:2. The central man, who was the principal speaker throughout the fourth chapter, is no longer present. Now the woman’s voice predominates, occasionally punctuated by a question from the daughters of Jerusalem. The structure of the section is much like that of 3:1–11. It opens with an apparent dream report (5:2–7; compare 3:1–4), followed by an address to ...

11. If Only You Were To Me A Bother

Song of Songs 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Loose Ends: Corresponding to the opening section of the book (1:2–6) which introduced the characters (the lovers, the daughters of Jerusalem, and the brothers), the closing verses include all of them as speakers. As usual, the focus is on the central woman. This inclusion does not mean, however, that the book ends with all the loose ends neatly tied. The daughters of Jerusalem ask a question that ...

12. Let Him Kiss Me

Song of Songs 1:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Introducing the Characters (1:1-6): The opening verses of the Song give the title and introduce the characters. The central woman (identified in the NIV as “Beloved”) and a group (NIV “Friends”) both speak. The central man (NIV “Lover”) is addressed in the second person and mentioned in the third person. He does not speak here, although admiration of him by both the individual woman and the group ...

13. Obey the King

Ecclesiastes 8:2-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Where Is Wisdom?: A complex segment closes the section (8:1–17). Here the value of wisdom is considered in the context of people’s power over one another and the apparent lack of retribution. As usual, Qohelet concludes with a combination of positive and negative refrains. The commendation of pleasure (8:15) is muted by the preceding “this too is meaningless” (8:14) and the following “no one can c...

14. Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

15. Pleasures Are Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Qohelet’s Experiment: Qohelet, using the implied persona of Solomon, undertakes to explore “all that is done” (1:13). “All” includes gaining wisdom, amassing possessions, building monuments, and engaging in celebrations. Solomon is an effective choice as speaker: he is the one character in Israelite tradition who can take wisdom, wealth, and extravagance to their extremes. This section records an ...

16. Riches Are Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 5:8--6:12

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

The Human Dilemma (5:8-20): The segments in this section are connected by the theme of the human individual, both in isolation and in relationships within social, familial, and religious systems. A concern with labor and material prosperity connects this section with the rest of the book. The development of thought is difficult to follow, though, and interpreters disagree not only about the logic ...

17. Stand in Awe of God

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

18. The Conclusion of the Matter

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Epilogue: This epilogue, which refers to Qohelet in the third person, is no doubt from a later hand. But it is probably from someone who knew and appreciated Qohelet. Although many commentators suggest that the epilogist seriously misunderstood Qohelet and was trying to make the book more orthodox, the only line clearly out of keeping with the rest of the book is Fear God and keep his commandments...

19. Toil is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

20. Where Has Your Lover Gone

Song of Songs 6:1-13

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

21. Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 7:1--8:1

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

What Is Better? (7:1-14): In this section Qohelet qualifies the negative conclusion of 6:12, which was that knowledge about what is good in life is unavailable to humans. Here Qohelet makes claims about what is good. The section begins with a segment organized around “better” sayings. Although Qohelet has been unable to claim absolute good, there is relative good: some things are better than other...

22. Wisdom and Folly are Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

23. Wisdom is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18; 2:1-26

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler