Qoheleth as a Realist

What is it about?

The biblical book of Ecclesiastes has often been regarded as a pessimistic work, but not entirely with some preferring optimism, scepticism or irony to characterize the work. However this contribution argues that the author is a realist, offering pragmatic advice, a starting point in experience and a balanced view of options in life for human beings. Key indicators of this realism are found in the use and placement of three major poems in the book, in the author's choice of phrases around 'knowledge' and in his use of examples in story form that ground abstract musings in a concrete reality.

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