13. Ecclesiastes

Question 1

What are the arguments against Solomonic authorship?

Answer 1

1. Solomon would not need to use a pen name
2. the author seems impotent to curb the injustices
3. Third, “King in Jerusalem” does not occur elsewhere as a designation for Solomon.

Question 2

What is a possible theory on authorship that Meade put forward?

Answer 2

1. Literary impersonation

2. seeks to recapture a certain spirit represented by the historical person and to speak through his spirit.

Question 3

What clues are there that would lead to believe in literary impersonation?

Answer 3

(1) the Title verse (1:1),
(2) the past tense of the verb in 1:12, which would indicate that the speaker was no longer king over Israel in Jerusalem,
(3) the impotence of the author to affect change in the unjust situations he
(4) late Persian, Hebrew, and Aramaic

Question 4

What is the message of Ecclesiastes?

Answer 4

Because you cannot control your future fear God and obey him.