Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryant J. Williams III" <bjwvmw AT com-pair.net>]

Dear Uri,

Thank you for your reply.

First, the book, taken as a whole, shows that the attitude of those "under the
sun" is "deeply pessimistic, or nihilistic." The conclusion of the book, "The
end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; 
for
this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, 
with
every secret thing, whether good or evil." (RSV)

Second, the attempt to make Qohelet to date from the 3rd Century BCE, because 
it
seems to echo rationalistic and philosophical Greek thoughts, seems to 
indicate
that the Hebrews, and other groups, did not have their own rationalistic and
philosophical traditions. Job is another book that is highly philosophical in
its own right with its discussion of suffering and the reasons behind it. That
does not make it a late date.

Third, regarding BH versus MH. It is evident that the genre, style and subject
matter will determine the vocabulary to be used.

Rev. Bryant J. Williams III


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Uri Hurwitz" <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:47 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] qohelet


  Dear Bryant,

As to the content: I do not know any other book in the HB which presents a 
point
of view similar to that found in Qohelet, such as in 1:1-11, or 9:1-6 to cite
just two passages of many. Not only are they different, they contradict the
spirit of other books. I find similarities between such deeply pessimistic, or
nihilistic attitude,and some Hellenistic philosophers.

 As for the style, the position that I support, simply states that Qohelet, as
well as other HB books in the latter part of the canon, display clear evidence
of linguistic use which would be seen later in the language of the Mishnah.
Randal Buth has discussed this in  some detail in recent posts.

 Familiarity with MH makes the diachronic changes in the language clear.


 Regards,

 Uri Hurwitz









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