{"product_id":"9781540968234_the-testament-of-ecclesiastes","title":"The Testament of Ecclesiastes","description":"Humanity's enduring fascination with the purpose and meaning of life has made Ecclesiastes a classic among Old Testament books. But what does its author, Qoheleth, really say about these topics? Is there a time for everything, or is all \"vanity and a chasing after wind\"? Is he a pessimist or an optimist?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeading Old Testament scholar Katharine J. Dell offers a new framework for reading Ecclesiastes, one that holds its contradictory accounts of life in tension rather than resolving them. She argues that Qoheleth is best understood as a realist--one who sees human life from many angles and evaluates it in his own idiosyncratic way. This book\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e· explores inheritance and remembrance, the purpose of toil, and the pursuit of meaning;\u003cbr\u003e· explains that Ecclesiastes belongs to the ancient \"testament\" genre, in which a sage nearing the end of life passes on wisdom to those who come after;\u003cbr\u003e· shows how Qoheleth considers God, time, and ultimately death as the great relativizer of all things; and\u003cbr\u003e· demonstrates how Qoheleth's hard-won wisdom offers guidance to future generations as his legacy to the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDistilling a lifetime of scholarship into a short, approachable book, Dell shows the relevance of Ecclesiastes for modern life as she reveals an ancient sage's musings on the deep questions that trouble us all from time to time. \u003ci\u003eThe Testament of Ecclesiastes\u003c\/i\u003e will serve as a useful textbook for Old Testament courses and will also interest pastors and church study groups.","brand":"Katharine J. Dell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53459581141304,"sku":"9781540968234","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0927\/9963\/1672\/files\/9781540968234.jpg?v=1792642748","url":"https:\/\/bakeracademic.com\/products\/9781540968234_the-testament-of-ecclesiastes","provider":"Baker Academic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}