Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 24/12/2004 16:35, Jim West wrote:

> At 11:02 AM 12/24/2004, you wrote:
>
> > Chapter 1 verse 1: LI$:LOMOH, commonly understood as "by Solomon", 
> > although I suppose it could mean "for Solomon".
>
>
> Or to solomon- as a dedicatory note.  Which is how it probably should 
> be taken.  Chris has already pointed this out.
Fair enough, it could do.

> > Chapter 1 verse 1: QOHELET B.EN-D.FWID, and then verse 12 HFYIYTIY 
> > MELEK: etc. Only one son of David was king of Israel, that is 
> > Solomon. This is surely some kind of authorship claim, whether you 
> > believe it to be true or not.
>
>
> What does "ben" mean?  Are you suggesting it must always mean "son"?
No, but that is its basic meaning. Of course David had many "sons", and 
many of us will celebrate the birth of one of them tomorrow or tonight. 
But in the context, and very likely in a period in which Solomon was 
considered to be the wise man par excellence, the clear intention is to 
strongly suggest Solomonic authorship. The themes of the book also 
mirror Solomon's life as recorded in Kings and Chronicles. See for 
example 1:16, 2:9 - claims either to be Solomon or to be greater than him.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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