Cover -- CONTENTS -- EDITOR'S PREFACE xi -- PREFACE xiii -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv -- CHAPTER 1: Preliminary Considerations and Introduction 1 -- The Need for Balance in Approaching the Book of Qohelet 9 -- The Question of Contradiction and Tension in Qohelet 10 -- The Question of Genre, Authorship, and Date within the Book of Qohelet 15 -- A Survey of Prominent Motifs Observable within Qohelet and an Inter-dependent Approach to Qohelet 22 -- A Balanced Paradigm for Living: The Inter-dependency of the Prominent Motifs in Qohelet 26 -- CHAPTER 2: The Dilemma of lbh and the Quest for !wrty in the Book of Qohelet 29 -- A Survey of the Use of lbh in the Old Testament 32 -- A Survey of Contemporary Approaches to the Use of lbh in Qohelet 34 -- lbh Understood Exclusively as "Fleeting," "Transitory,"or "Brevity" 35 -- lbh Understood Exclusively as "Meaningless" 37 -- lbh Understood as Denoting Futility Based on the Recognition of Transience 38 -- lbh Understood as "Enigmatic" 39 -- lbh Understood as "Incomprehensible" 40 -- lbh Understood as "Absurdity" 41 -- lbh Understood as "Unsatisfactory," "Frustrating," or "Foulness" 42 -- Other Miscellaneous Definitions for lbh 44 -- lbh Understood in a Unique Sense not Translatable into Any Single English Term 45 -- The Flexible Nature of Metaphor as Depicted in lbh 46 -- lbh as Symbol in Qohelet 47 -- The "Transience Family" 50 -- The "Vanity Family" 52 -- The "Irony Family" 55 -- The "Frustration Family" 58 -- The Dilemma of lbh 59 -- CHAPTER 3: Living "Under The Sun": The Question of Theological Context and Perspective in the Book of Qohelet 65 -- The Scope of Qohelet's Observations-Life "Under the Sun" 67 -- The Distinction between Qohelet's Use of the Phrases "Under the Sun" and "Under the Heavens" 68 -- The Perspective of Qohelet's Inquiry-The Context of Life Observed "Under the Sun" 71.

CHAPTER 4: Looking Through the "Lens of Wisdom": The Role of Wisdom and Genre in the Book of Qohelet 75 -- What Kind of Wisdom is This? 76 -- Looking through the Lens of Wisdom 82 -- Wisdom as Motif in Qohelet 85 -- Concluding Thoughts 91 -- CHAPTER 5: How Inscrutable Are the Ways of God! The Relationship Between God and Man in the Book of Qohelet 95 -- Sovereignty and Determinacy in Qohelet's Theology of God 96 -- The Imposition of Limitation in Qohelet's Theology of Man 102 -- Time, Circumstance, and Probabilistic Wisdom 110 -- CHAPTER 6: The Inescapable Destiny of All Men: The Inevitability of Death Motif in the Book of Qohelet 117 -- Principles on Death and the Afterlife in Qohelet 126 -- CHAPTER 7: What Will the Wise Man Do? The Enjoyment of Life Conclusions in the Book of Qohelet 137 -- Uncomfortable Bedfellows: Joy in the Mist of Toil 146 -- The Divine Gift of Enjoyment 151 -- The Wisdom of Joy 156 -- CHAPTER 8: What Will the Wise Man Do? The Fear of God Conclusions in the Book of Qohelet 161 -- Remembering One's Creator-The Centrality of the Fear of God in Qohelet 161 -- The Fear of God and the "Whole of Man" 168 -- The Fear of God and the Appointed Time of Judgment 172 -- The Enjoyment of Life and the Fear of God 176 -- CHAPTER 9: In Conclusion: The Inter-Dependancy of the Prominent Motifs Within the Book of Qohelet 181 -- The Inter-dependency of lbh to Related Motifs 181 -- lbh, !wrty, and the Pursuit of Wisdom 182 -- lbh and its Relationship to the Inevitability of Death 182 -- lbh and Its Relationship to the Determinacy of God and the Limitation of Man 183 -- The Inter-dependency of Wisdom to Related Motifs 184 -- Realism and the Capacity to Affect Change: Probabilistic Wisdom and Its Relationship to Determinacy and Limitation 184 -- A New Paradigm for Living: How Wisdom Relates to the Enjoyment of Life and the Fear of God 185.

The Inter-dependency of the Inevitability of Death to Related Motifs 186 -- The Ultimate Display of Divine Determinism: The Inevitability of Death, Divine Jurisdiction, and the Inability of Man to Know His Future 186 -- The Inevitability of Death as Motivation to Seize the Day 187 -- The Inevitability of Death as Motivation to Fear God 188 -- The Inter-dependency of the Enjoyment of Life and the Fear of God to Related Motifs 189 -- How the Wise Should Live: The Balanced, Two-fold Wisdom Response to Living in a lbh World 191 -- APPENDIX 193 -- BIBLIOGRAPHY 197 -- Author Index 209 -- Subject Index 213 -- Scripture Index 227.