Elsa Tamez,Qohelet

7/29/2019 Elsa Tamez,Qohelet

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ECCLESIASTESA READING FROM THEPERIPHERY

ELSA TAMEZ

ProfessorofBible andHermeneutics

Universidad Biblica Latino americaSan Jose, Costa Rica

Qoheleth speaks most profoundly to men and women most

disillusioned with a world governed by efficiency, technology,

and profit. To them, the sage offers both an affirmation of

faith and a call to value the concrete and the sensuous.

K i ^ J cclesiastes is a book to be read in times of profound disillusionment. This affir-

I mation seems paradoxical, because logic would dictate that preference go to

maLimmreadings that cheer us. Qoheleth reveals a deep frustration with his reality

Glimpses of hope are scarce in a book that begins and ends with the phrase "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." Nevertheless, a disappointed soul can find solace in reading this work of

a frustrated narrator. When we find ourselves in a no-exit situation and a book likeEcclesiastes comes into our hands, we find solidarity in our discontent. Moreover, there

comes a moment when a sorrowful reader devours the discourse in order to find places ofhope, those small "oases" that can refresh the soul and strengthen her or him to dwell in a

hostile desert.1

The book of Ecclesiastes is not an easy read; it is full of contradiction and exhibits astructure that can be found only after juggling all its parts. For this reason, the work opens


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ECCLESIASTES Interpretation 251

the book offers in the moment ofreading.2 But in order to arrive at this last step, the text

must be allowed to speak and, thereby, manifest its contradictions with freedom, to let it be

hopping mad, even blasphemous!The interpretation offered here is based on a threefold context: the context of

Hellenism ofthe 3rd century B.C.E., the context ofthe text itself, and the context ofthiscentury, dominated by the globalization ofthe free market. The first two contexts are mutu

ally related, and the last, ofwhich we will only speak a little, is nevertheless dominantfor

it is out ofthis context that we turn to the biblical sources. The reader, conditioned by hisor her actual context, enters into dialogue with the text. And because there is a certain simi

larity between today's globalization and the Ptolemaic Empire, contemporary readers some

times feel that we are in dialogue with a postmodernist who actually lived long before

modernity.

THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN: QOHELETH

The frustration Qoheleth experiences in his narrated world is poignant. Everything he

sees is "vanity." Almost nothing escapes his negative judgment: work, the political and economic situation, inter-human relations, even possible revolutions (4:15-16). Because ofthis, the Hebrew word hebel, which occurs thirty-eight times in Ecclesiastes, cannot be

translated as "vanity," as was done in the Latin Vulgate followed by a wide array ofother

versions. The literal sense ofthe term (to sigh, to blow, to breeze) is impossible to translate.

As Michael Fox says, it must be assigned a transferable significance.31 agree with Fox'sclaim that the transferred significance falls squarely within the semantic scope ofthe word

"absurd" in its oppressive or tragic sense.4 The evaluation Qoheleth makes ofhis situation

stems from disillusionment.5

In everyday life, there are more trivial or less elegant words,such as "garbage" and "shit," that better express the malaise produced by a situation ofimpotence before a crushing reality. I do not know ofany language that lacks this last word

to express the frustration that comes from the pit ofthe stomach.6

But what is this disillusionment ofwhich the narrator speaks adnauseam*. It is primar

ily a disillusionment over the inability to intervene in historyparticularly unjust history

and change its course. We could give the first poem (1:4-11) a modern title: "When the

Machine Prevents Interference."The text (1:1 4) invites the reader to stop time as it were and reflect on the purpose


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252 Interpretation JULY 2001

and meaning of life in his or her particular situation. To that end, the narrator describes therhythm of the cosmos and human history as he perceives them. The four elements used

(earth, sun, wind, and sea) seem to represent early Greek cosmogony. The abundant partici

ples point to continuous action. In w. 4-7, we find fourteen verbs of movement. Again andagain we see the verbs "turn," "return," "go," and "come." In spite of that, the final image

appears fixed, like the high-velocity blades of a fan or the spokes of a bicycle traveling fast.The instability of the generations ( w. 4a, 11) is contrasted with the stability of the cosmos

(v. 4b). But both are found to be wearisome and unsatisfactory (cosmos, w. 5-7; humanity,

v. 8). The unstable and the static share the lack of a specific and satisfactory goal. Vigorous,uninterrupted activity does not guarantee a goal (see especially 2:1-11); the sea never fills

even though the rivers flow unceasingly. Vittorio D'Alario has aptly visualized the structureof these texts as cyclical movement.7

This cyclical movement is described pejoratively for the generations as well as the cosmos. Because of his frustrating experience with history, Qoheleth perceives the cosmos as

an extensive order that is impervious to interference. Implacable cosmic and historical systems undermine human subjectivity. Human beings can no longer feel the soft breeze from

the sea or admire with passion the sunrise or sunset. In 1:9-10, the text speaks of historical

events. The phrase "under the sun" reappears, returning to human history. It appeared forthe first time in v. 3 in the main question of the discourse: "What do people gain from all

the toil at which they toil under the sun?" Those events under the sun are like the earth:they are fixed perennially. Present, past, and future times pass on like the generations, yet

nothing changes. Qoheleth denies the possibility of anything new. In such an establishedorder, there are neither divinely determined epochs nor feasible promises that help to reor

ganize the present conscience. The fundamental problem is the loss of historical memory(1:11). The generations come and go without remembering their own history. Such collective amnesia means the death of a people. Each generation has to confront its own present

without historically liberating legacies and, in turn, face the prospect of committing thesame errors as past generations.

The connotations of the text indicate that cosmic and historical realities are marked by

relentless activity, monotonous and devoid of plan or purpose. But this would not be thecentral message for Qoheleth's original readers. In fact, his message would have been found

contentious with respect to the new Ptolemaic Empire system, as we will see. The text challenges the reader to find a way to breathe with dignity and wisdom amid these asphyxiatingtimes Throughout his entire discourse Qoheleth must fight with himself to look for possi


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poem analyzed above (1:4-11) dominates; (2) confronting the present with confidence in

God's grace, starting with the faith affirmation that everything has its time and its hour;

and (3) discerning ways of resistance amid frustration.

Qoheleth's discontent with reality, named hebel, pervades the book. It is lived as the

experience of the sage's present time. If in the beginning it is perceived in symbolic form, it

is described openly within the main discourse. Sometimes his disillusionment appears in a

prophetic way, against oppression,

for example, as in 4:1: "Again I saw

all the oppressions that are practiced - * - . - * _ * * _ _-._ --11 r

Resist wiselyin the face of absurdity. This

underthe sun. Look, the tears of the, . , rx

will be the most important message of hioppressedwith no one to comfort

them! On the side of their oppres discourse: how to survive with dignity in a

sors there was powerwith no one ' dehumanizing and annihilating reality.

to comfort them." Sometimes it

appears in an ironic way, such as in

5:8,8

where he describes institutional

oppression: "If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justiceand right, do not be amazed at the matter; for a high official is being watched by a higher,

and there are yet higher ones over them." Sometimes it is found in a simple popularsaying

that describes the impossibility of free expression: "Do not curse the king, even in your

thoughts, or curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your

voice, or some winged creature tell the matter" (10:20).

The fundamental problem is the inversion of society (3:16). The good and the just do

not prosper, but the wicked prosper quite well (2:15; 8:10-14). The wicked take the blessing

ofthe just: theylive long lives, have many children, are rich, and die with honor. Qoheleth

is a book that, like Job, reflects the crisis of wisdom: the principle of retribution does not

conform to reality.

Apart from the expressed discourse and the clarity of disillusionment with a topsy

turvy world, the narrator sometimes shows his feelings as one who exudes unbearable rage

against this grievous present. This is seen not only in the use ofthe word hebelbut in the

modes of expressions. In some texts, we do not encounter the classic rhetoric of sapiential

discourse, that is, a few prudent, serene words. In situations of hopelessness, there is noroom for serenity. I am referring to those texts that speak of enslaving work or toil {'amai)?


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riches so dominates human beings that some people work tirelessly without even havingsomeone with whom to share what they produce (4:8).

"Chasing after wind" is a phrase that is used many times by the narrator when he analyzes his present reality. The phrase usually appears beside hebel, and the sense points to the

futility of effort that results in frustration. The Vulgate translates r't rah as "affliction ofspirit," based on the other senses of the word rah. Even though this is not thought to be

entirely correct by many scholars, there is some truth in transferring the meaning to thefeelings of a person. The inverted reality not only produces rage, it gives "a stabbing pain in

the chest" or produces a "hollow in the stomach" that oppresses the soul.

A narrated world is never created out of a vacuum. The material reality of that world isindispensible in the shaping of literary discourse. Even more, this realitythe economic,political, cultural, social, and religious contextis lived in a certain way by the author of

the work. That is what both engenders the narrated world's conception and conditions itsconfiguration. It is for this reason that a text cannot be analyzed without looking at the

context that produced it.

ALL IS NEW UNDER THE SUN: THE PTOLEMAIC EMPIRE

A consideration of the book's context provides an important key to understanding

Ecclesiastes. Only in this way can we observe that Qoheleth was not just a bored individual

or a nihilistic philosopher who mused about his loathing of human history.

Many scholars propose that the book was produced at the beginning of the third cen

tury B.C.E., during the reign of the Ptolemaic kings who governed from Alexandria, Egypt,

ruling over all their provinces, including Palestine, for about one hundred years. It was anage of surprising innovations. Martin Hengel speaks of unprecedented structural changes.The geographical and economic structure of Egypt under the Ptolemies required a directed,

centralized, and organized administration. The so-called Papyrus of Zenon,10 discovered atthe beginning of the twentieth century, gives details of the economic and fiscal administra

tion carried out by the Ptolemaic government: oppressive agrarian bureaucracy, monetary

problems, the manner in which functionaries lived, the function of commerce, and a hostof domestic matters. Apolonio was the dioiketesy or administrator, under Ptolemaic

Philadelphia, and it was to him that Zenon, a functionary sent to the provinces, reportedeverything related to economic production. The government's efficient exploitation can be


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The Greeks were aggressive and bold, working hard to reach high economic and sociallevels. It is notable that in this period the methods of doing business improved, banks and

credit increased, and coinage became abundant.11

Hengel shows that "from the beginning,the firm administration was supplemented by strong state commerce, totally new, unknownin any other oriental state."12 This innovation was observed in all areas, not only in com

merce, but also in military techniques and in the technology applied to agricultural production. The Greeks introduced new plants, increased the soil's fertility through irrigation, took

advantage of the marshes, and invented the waterwheel. They also developed maps that

enabled anyone who could speak koine Greek to move without difficulty throughout theprovinces.

This progress had negative consequences for non-Greeks. Alexandria, the capital of

Egypt, was seen as the promised land for many Greeks who made up the learned aristocracy. Yet the situation for servants or slaves was anything but advantageous. Slaves were

known to flee when they realized they were being taken to Egypt. There was virtually

unlimited exploitation, and revolts, strikes, and protests in Egypt were invariably crushed bymercenary troops. Rostovtzeff notes that the technological advances in agriculture led to a

rapid transformation in which slavery played a principal role. Primitive agricultural meth

ods were left behind, and slave labor began displacing the independent artisans and domestic manufacturing with devastating effects.

Needed for their economic productivity, the Semitic people of Palestine were the

objects of exploitation, according to Hengel. Zenon's papyrus takes note of the disadvantage

of the poor in Palestine. The document deals with the complaint of a peasant who had hissalary retained many times and was discriminated against for not being a Greek. "They have

seen that I am a Barbarian, and I do not know how to live as a Greek," testifies the papyrus.

As in all empires, the Ptolemies supported the aristocracy in the provinces in order tomaintain their imperial power. While enjoying religious and cultural freedom, the nobleswere kept outside of economic or political power. In Palestine, the Tobiad family was a col

laborator of the empire.13

The historical background of the book is, it seems, the very one rejected and classifiedas hebel in Qoheleth's discourse. Under the overwhelming presence of newness and efficien

cy, under the Ptolemaic sun, the wise eye of the narrator sees only a profiteering empire

that exploits the provinces. This is not only old hat for the sage, it ishebel. He finds thehegemony so powerful and implacable that it is dehumanizing, a "machine" impervious to


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that described in 1:4-11, cannot point the way to a utopia. Qoheleth is confronted with apresent that lacks any possibility of fulfillment.

TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY AND WISDOM AMID ABSURDITY

Qoheleth's day was not the time for liberation, as was the case in the past when Israel

was formed as a people. The Jews would soon come into struggle with the Seleucids. But

Qoheleth does not announce, much less promote, the Maccabean revolt. For him, the time

of revolution is not propitious. His advice takes another route: resist wisely in the face of

absurdity. This is the most important message of his discourse: how to survive with dignityin a dehumanizing and annihilating reality.

Time as a structure ofpossibility. Time is a central theme in Ecclesiastes. The chronological

times ofthe past, present, and future seem to have conspired against human beings, denyingthem any recourse to alternatives for cultivating the good or pleasant life. Qoheleth does

not even dare to affirm a better future in view of the messianic promise. There is no clarity

in the past or in the future. Both times refer hopelessly to the present: a devastating present,

hebel. There is no room for the liberating God of the exodus, who with a strong armsnatched God's oppressed people from the hands of Egypt's pharaoh. Neither doesQoheleth grant credibility to the announcement of liberation in Deutero-Isaiah and his

Utopian visions of the new heaven and the new earth. In Eccl 7:10, we read: "Do not say,cWhy were the former days better than these?'" The narrator bars the way to the past to gain

new strength for transforming the world and realizing Utopian dreams. Even worse, there isno glimpse in the sage's discourse of a different future, a liberating vision to help communi

ties withstand the dehumanizing present (6:12; 8:7,17). This is the greatest anguish of the

narrator: his incapacity to decipher the future, to penetrate the mystery of the historicfuture and find traces of a new society. The horizons are closed. To look toward the future

would be an illusion lacking in hope. There is something in this hebel that is dreadfully discouraging to those who are not deceived by all this newness (of the foreign order). Wisdom

of this kind causes pain (1:18).

To escape the malaise of this reality in which the chronological times preempt all

human efforts to achieve fulfillment, the narrator has no alternative but to re-configure the

times as a structure of possibility, to turn to a kairological vision of time. "For everythingthere is a season and a time" is an affirmation of faith, pure and simple. This is the sage's


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seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun (4:3). The narrator uses a beautifully crafted

poem to invite the reader to rethink his or her attitude when confronted with frustrating

events. The faith that everything has its time and season permits him to confront the present with maturity, confident in the grace of God. God is the subject in the change of times.

The first and last phrases frame the poem (3:1, 9), which is constructed with fourteen

antithetical pairs. Each contains the term "time" (Hebrew ct). Here, the meaning of time

does not stamp moments with the character of temporality but alludes to situations and

particular occasions, that is, the concrete structure of a given situation.14 The poem covers

the totality of human existence. With fourteen pairs, the double of seven, the poem con

notes totality. The phrases are impersonal: they lack both a subject that executes the actionand an object that receives it. Qoheleth seems to indicate that in extreme cases, such as

birth and death, there is no room for interference. The whole poem, thus, is an invitation to

accept God's grace and to have faith that situations will change.

Wisdom discerns good times amid evil times. When one is enduring misfortune, one

not only has to have faith that the situation will change, but also has to know how to live in

those times. For example, ifwe live in a time to pluck up what is planted, we plant anyway,

even without the hope for a great harvest. And ifwe

find ourselves in a time ofhate, welove in spite of the timebut without hoping for an effusive return of love. If the times are

ofwar, we must struggle for peace, even realizing that it will not bear much fruit. It is

important not only to know with certainty that the times will change, but also to know how

to discern the times in order to resist them better. In this way, we can take advantage of

those moments that bring joy to life in the midst of misfortune. When we know that we are

living in good times, we need to take advantage of these times and make use of them the

best way we can, knowing that situations can, indeed will, change for the worse.

To affirm that each event, affair, or human activity has its time implies that we do not

need to become alarmed; everything is in the hands of God.15 God is the implicit subject of

the actions presented in the poem. The sense of the text, including its historical context,

cannot be interpreted to affirm only that humans should passively cross their arms while

waiting for better times. Closer to the sense of the text is the message that we cannot let

ourselves be crushed by the present or worry ourselves with insane anxiety about the

future. There is no point in living disillusioned or frustrated all the time: God has control

over the events under the sun. We must receive life as a gift from God and take advantage ofthe gratifying moments that humanize even when they seem insignificant.


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times, no less, in key parts of the book (2:24; 3:12-13, 22; 5:18; 8:15; 9:7-9). The narrator

works, examines, reflects, searches, and arrives at the conclusion that in his reality ofhebel

there is nothing better than to affirm the real and sensuous life. Each refrain articulatesQoheleth's affirmation of life and happiness in slightly different ways. In 9:7-9, the call to

life appears in its most complete form. The larger setting of this passage is the reality ofdeath (9:1-3, 10-12). That is why the verses in 9:7-9 are cast in the imperative. A way out

for Qoheleth is to reject the present

by confronting it in a positive way,

We must receive life as a gift from God

and take advantage of the gratifyingmoments that humanize even when they

seem insignificant.

or, in other words, to affirm what

the present is incapable of offering:rest, happiness, shared meals. This is

a rhythm where chronological time

does not matter. He speaks of thelife of human beings, satisfying with

joy their fundamental needs: food,

drink, love, and happiness. That means eating what is available without hurrying, as if wewere to live eternity within countable time, without taking time into account because the

minutes cannot be counted. In Qoheleth's proposal, time is not gold, as it is for the banks,the market, the stock market, and the toil of production. What counts are the live bodiesand life on the earth, before death.

The rhythm of affirming life by joyfully eating bread and drinking wine with a loved

one opposes the dehumanizing rhythm profiled at the beginning of the book, which makes

no room for grace. Qoheleth's proposal affirms real life in opposition to the dehumanizing

rhythm of the Ptolemaic system of elevating the value of production, which cast humans as

objects that produced objects, not as complete persons or subjects.A joyously shared supper (9:9) is humanizing, and this humanizing act pleases God. God enjoys when God's crea

tures enjoy. For the narrator, food and drink are gifts of God, and it is the right of humans

to be happy without guilty feelings. Qoheleth challenges those who work incessantly to

accumulate riches. It is not worth it, he says. To enjoy life intensely, even if it is only for a

short time, is of more worth than riches, a long life, and the blessing of many children (6:3,

6).

For Qoheleth, the affirmation of faith that everything has its time and season and theaffirmation of the concrete, sensuous life are two proposals that enable human beings to


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same advice is counterproductive. The sayings are practical advice to preserve life. Onemust be astute in difficult times so as not to self-destruct before one's time. We have to

choose, as we would say today, "between the lesser of two evils or between the best of twogoods." We do not know what will happen, for the horizons are opaque and do not allow usto see beyond the present. We have to visualize possible escapes and be very cautious (7:18;11:46). Solidarity is the best option because unity makes for strength (4:9-12).

CONCLUSION

The book of Qoheleth can be interpreted in various ways, and that has been truethroughout the ages. Nevertheless, when we take into account the socio-economic, political,and cultural context out of which this work emerged, as well as the context of those for

whom the work was written, the interpretation offered above takes on greater meaning forreaders. There will be times in history when it does not contribute much at the global level,and there will be times in which it becomes profoundly pertinent. Today, at the beginning

of a new millennium, after a miserable decade dominated by the globalized free market,Qoheleth has an important word to say. Faced with a world in which efficiency and tech

nology are the norms, the sage lifts up concrete real life and humanizing values such as solidarity, sensitivity, and communion. "Save yourself if you can" is the implicit slogan of competition in which millions of persons are considered disposable by the commercialized andconsumer society. It is tragic that the world's powerful ignore the terrifying data of the

United Nations Program on Development concerning the impact of globalization on thepoorest and on the eco-system. For most, it is more attractive to observe the latest inventionin the mass media than to begin to think critically about the non-intentional effects of the

globalized economy and the technological advances of market efficiency. For those of uswho are disillusioned and frustrated with today's reality, the message of Qoheleth is simpleand wise: Don't let yourselves become dehumanized in a dehumanizing society; affirm a

real and sensuous life when you can; know that better times will come because everythinghas its time and season. Be prudent and cautious so as not to die before your time.16


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Elsa Tamez,Qohelet