Ecclesiastes 1:1 - 2:23
(Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23)
In honor of Rev. David and Linda Asplin
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Hebrew Interlinear Bible, WLCv, WLC5, CHES, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Chapter XV, On Baptism, Tertullian (c. 198)
- I.13, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
- I.VII.5, III.V.3, First Principles (De Principiis), Origen. (c.225)
- IV.XII, VI.XXXV, VII.L, Against Celsus, Origen (c. 246)
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org. Chapter 2.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "Solomon is here called a preacher, or one who assembles the people, because he teaches the true knowledge of God, and how men ought to pass their life in this transitory world."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
Chapter 2.
- "We here behold Solomon returning from the broken and empty cisterns of the world, to the Fountain of living water; recording his own folly and shame, the bitterness of his disappointment, and the lessons he had learned."
- From
Wesley's
Notes.
Chapter 2.
- "Not only vain, but vanity in the abstract, which denotes extreme vanity."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
Chapter 2.
- "The only fruit he has is, not only sorrows in his days, but all his days are sorrows, and his travail (not only has griefs connected with it, but is itself), grief."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
- Commentary,
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23, Walter C. Bouzard, Pentecost 11C Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2016.
- "Beyond this text, the treasure that is Ecclesiastes appears for only one day in the Revised Common Lectionary."
- Commentary,
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23, Elisabeth Webb, Pentecost 11C Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2013.
- "In the midst of a life that seems rife with monotony and dissatisfaction and sorrow, out of the corners of our eyes we can see small glimmers of God's grace."
- Commentary,
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23, Shauna Hannan, Pentecost 10C Preaching This Week,
WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
- "Allowing this text to speak through your sermon might create a space for your hearers to face their own skepticism and/or cynicism. But first, it will likely have to create space for you to do the same. Perhaps such honesty may lead you and/or your hearers to affirm faith in God as it did for Qoheleth."
- Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series C, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
-
"Vanity and
Faith," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com:
A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
- "In the temptation to give up, we are faced with another choice, a radical choice for real meaning, for ultimate purpose, for God. That choice is truly the important one."
- "Human Ineffectiveness," "Death Makes Work Meaningless," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.
- Koheleth, Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures.
- "Rivalry and Resignation: Girard and Qoheleth on the Divine-Human Relationship," Thomas Bolin, Biblica, 2005.
- "...Girard helps to understand more deeply how and why Qoheleth views human proximity with the divine as the cause of conflict and pain in human life."
- Commentary,
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23, Walter C. Bouzard, Pentecost 11C Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2016.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes
direct links).
- Fox, Michael V., "Qohelet 1.4,"
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - "Homiletical Helps," Concordia Journal, 2010. (Section on this text begins on page 186)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Janzen, J. Gerald, "Qohelet on Life 'Under the Sun',"
Christian Theological Seminary, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Marrs, Rick, "Homiletical Helps on
the LW Series C - Old Testament," Concordia Journal, 2007.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ogden, Graham S., "The Interpretation
of DWR in Ecclesiastes 1.4," Journal for the Study of the Old
Testament, 1986.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ogden, Graham S., "Qoheleth's Use of the 'Nothing Is
Better' Form," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1979.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Verheij, Arian, "Paradise Retried: On
Qohelet 2.4-6," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1991.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Whybray, R.N., "Ecclesiastes 1:5-7 and the Wonders of
Nature," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Fox, Michael V., "Qohelet 1.4,"
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1988.
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
- With Children:
- Drama:
- "The Ladder," John McNeil, dramatix.
- "The Circus of Life," John McNeil, dramatix.
- "Recharge Those Batteries!!" John McNeil, dramatix.
- "Shrinking Your Schedule," Sherm S. Nichols, dramatix.
- "That 70's Skit," Christin Kuck, dramatix.
- "Fun and Games," Fred Lane, dramatix.
- "The Solomon Interviews, Part II," Michael English, Milton Parish Church Drama Resources.
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art, Ecclesiastes 1:2, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
- Hymns and Music:
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Ecclesiastes 1:7. The Cyber Hymnal.
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Ecclesiastes