Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jim West <jwest AT highland.net>]

As in so many things, I have my own perceptions of this as well.  I have
always seen Qoh as a rather intentionally ironic book.  Beginning with the
presupposition that God is not really interested in the daily affairs of
life, the author composes a book which absents God...  such a life is,
ironically, hebel, empty, void, pointless.

Now to be sure the author does not believe that God is absent.  Rather he
paints the picture of life without God purely in order to show how empty
such a life is.  At the conclusion of the book we have his true feelings-
seek God while you are young and you can serve him!  Live for God, in other
words- or these things that I have written regarding the emptiness of life
will come to be real to you.

Thus, the purpose of the book is to demonstrate the fullness of life in God
by portraying the emptiness, the hebel, of life without God.

Best,

Jim

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jim West, ThD
Petros Baptist Church- Pastor
Quartz Hill School of Theology- Adjunct Prof. of Bible

fax- 978-231-5986
email- jwest AT highland.net
web page-  http://web.infoave.net/~jwest