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 of the argument but even about the claims that Qohelet is making.

Acknowledging these difficulties, the reader can find in the section an overall movement from despair (“the dead” are to be praised more than “the living,” and the unborn above either, 4:2–3) to acceptance (it is good “to eat and drink” and “find satisfaction” in one’s work, 5:18). Within this overall movement, the segments fall into…