Ecclesiastes - Concordia Commentary

“All is vanity!” [1:2] is the broken, Ecclesiastic cry. What are we to make of it? In this original translation and commentary, Rev. Dr. Bollhagen suggests that while Solomon faces a sad, sinful world in Ecclesiastes, he nonetheless preaches a childlike and resilient faith in the promises of God. Bollhagen dwells with Solomon on the question, “Where is joy in suffering?” and locates it in the hope of salvation we receive through the person of Christ. Here, the fleeting nature of earthly life is acknowledged, but Ecclesiastes’ Divine wisdom instills both faith in and fear of God.

Included Essays

• Pessimism, Realism, Faith, and Hope in Ecclesiastes
• God’s Wisdom is Divine, and Wisdom Begets the New Creation
• On Riches According to Ecclesiastes

About the Author

Dr. James G. Bollhagen formerly was a professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He currently serves as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, Florida. He studied at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (M.Div., S.T.M., Ph.D.).

Endorsments

"The forte of the commentary lies in the well-written textual notes, which draw upon the Hebrew, Greek, and even Syriac versions of the text of Qoheleth. Nonetheless, oftentimes this rich textual knowledge fails to percolate through into the actual commentary per se. The third and fourth hermeneutical methods mentioned above seem to be neglected and not followed through systematically in terms of their application. The commentary is positively rich with allusions to the various passages of the New Testament. These allusions are sometimes well positioned to enhance the meaning of the text and message."

–Bálint Károly Zabán Hungarian Reformed Church Cluj-Napoca, Romania

About the series

The Concordia Commentary Series: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the Biblical text.

The series will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, with an original translation and meticulous grammatical analysis of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek of each text. The foremost interpretive lens centers on the unified proclamation of the person and work of Christ across every Scriptural book.

The Commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture; Each passage bears witness to the confession that God has reconciled the world to Himself through the incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ His Son.

Authors expose the rich treasury of language, imagery, and thematic content of the Scripture, while supplementing their work with additional research in archaeology, history, and extrabiblical literature. Throughout, God’s Word emanates from authors careful attention and inculcates the ongoing life of the Church in Word, Sacrament, and daily confession.

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