The Politics of Pessimism in Ecclesiastes
Subtitle: a social-science perspective
By: by Mark R. Sneed ; volume editor, Victor H. Matthews
Series: Society of Biblical Literature ancient Israel and its literature ; v. 12
Publisher: Society of Biblical Literature
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Atlanta
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 341
ISBN-13: 9781589836105; 9781589836358
Copyright date: 2012
Subjects: Criticism, interpretation; Pessimism; Bible; Biblical Sociology; Social scientific criticism
Description: Scholars attempt to resolve the problem of the book of Ecclesiastes' heterodox character in one of two ways: either explaining away the book's disturbing qualities or radicalizing and championing it as a precursor of modern existentialism. This volume offers an interpretation of Ecclesiastes that both acknowledges the unorthodox nature of Qoheleth's words and accounts for its acceptance among the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible. It argues that, instead of being the most secular and modern of biblical books, Ecclesiastes is perhaps one of the most religious and primitive. Bringing a Weberian approach to Ecclesiastes, it represents a paradigm of the application of a social-science methodology. - Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction.; title: The book's skepticism; title: The book's pessimism; title: Qohelet's heterodox character : non-social science approaches.; title: Ideational approaches; title: Non-ideational explanations for Qohelet's heterodoxy; title: Explaining Qohelet's heterodox character : social science approaches.; title: Marxian approaches; title: Postcolonial approaches; title: Durkheimian approaches; title: Grand theories; title: Anthropological approach; title: Conclusion; title: Qohelet's socio-historical context.; title: Brief history of the Ptolemaic Kingdom (third century B.C.E.); title: Ptolemaic administration; title: Ptolemaic taxation; title: General benefits of Ptolemaic governance of Judah; title: Social stratification in Ptolemaic Jerusalem; title: The degree of Hellenization in Ptolemaic Judah; title: Conclusion; title: Qohelet and his audience's social location.; title: Possible allusions to the milieu in Qohelet; title: Hellenistic influence in Qohelet; title: Qohelet : aristocrat or middle class?; title: Qohelet's scribal audience; title: Qohelet and the scribal status group; title: Qohelet as intellectual; title: Conclusion; title: Synchronic (literary) analysis of the book of Qohelet.; title: The meaning of hebel in the Hebrew Bible; title: The meaning of hebel in Qohelet; title: God as primary orientation for Qohelet and his audience; title: God and humanity : the great divide; title: Qohelet : no modern existentialist!; title: Qohelet's rhetoric; title: Conclusion; title: Qohelet, the problem of evil, and cognitive dissonance.; title: Theodicy strategies in the Hebrew Bible; title: Qohelet's theodicy strategies; title: The assets and liabilities of redefining God's standard of judgment; title: The social location of theodicy; title: Qohelet's non-salvific religious perspective; title: Qohelet's mitigation of cognitive dissonance; title: Conclusion; title: Qohelet's irrational response to the (over-)rationalization of traditional wisdom.; title: The struggle between the rational and the irrational; title: The process of rationalization; title: The rationalization of religion; title: Rationalization and consistency; title: Irrational (or non-rational) reaction; title: Weber and the rationalization of Yahwism; title: Rationalization in the wisdom tradition; title: The feasibility of the doctrine of retribution; title: Qohelet's irrational response to the over-rationalization of the wisdom tradition; title: Conclusion; title: The positive power of Qohelet's pessimism.; title: Generic pessimism; title: Lowering expectations in Qohelet; title: Conclusion; title: The sociology of the book of Qohelet's canonicity.; title: The degree of Qohelet's heterodoxy; title: Qohelet's canonization as a misperception; title: Conclusion