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AN ANCIENT TATTOO
QUESTION What is the hebrew translation of “Eat, Drink and Be Merry – Ecclesiastes 8:15”? I’m planning to get this verse tattooed on my forearm. VANSWER I would agree that the Hebrew will make for a more interesting tattoo than an english translation. The phrase encapsulates Kohelet’s (the writer of Ecclesiastes) response to his theme question in […]
I HATE MY JOB!
Many blogs about finding meaning in our work spoke about the court stenographer who spent years typing random words at his job interspersed with the words “I hate my job.” I responded to a few with this post. If you google “I hate my job” you get about 27 million hits. It is a sad […]
STUPID CAR KEYS
QUESTION If Solomon claimed that all is vanity in this earth in the Book of Ecclesiastes, what’s the purpose of living our lives on this earth? VANSWER There are many times that I walk around my house saying, “Stupid, Stupid, its all so stupid”. My wife may think I am depressed until she hears the real quest […]
NAME THAT PERFUME
QUESTION Ecclesiastes 7:1 “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” Can someone explain it please? VANSWER It would appear that Kohelet, the writer of Ecclesiastes, is referring to the perfumes used to prepare a body for burial. This would fit the remainder of his thoughts […]
WHAT IS IT?
QUESTION What exactly is Ecclesiastes? Is it song? a grand musical composition? or is it a personal journal? a diary…? or a personal memoir? VANSWER Your concept of a personal journal is a fitting description. The book uses many first person examples, “I acquired”, “I became greater”, “I turned away” etc. The thing to note […]
SECRETS OF GOD
QUESTION Is there something particularly interesting about the Book of Kohelet? What is your personal take on it? What insights have you found? Does it contain the wisdom and secrets of God? VANSWER Kohelet’s wisdom has been an incredible inspiration to me. He writes to answer one question, “what do we gain from all our hard […]
SO WHAT?
ONLINE QUESTION Sooner or later every person comes to the message of Ecclesiastes. This short biblical book is the skeptic’s view of life and faith. The author was Solomon, I believe, and he would most likely have written this near the end of his life, though he still had some years left in him. But […]
5 Keys to Understanding Ecclesiastes
The book we have come to know as Ecclesiastes takes its title from the Hebrew name of its writer, Kohelet. At the end of the book his biographer writes, “Kohelet was wise and he passed on his teachings to the people. He pondered, searched out, and set in order many proverbs. He studied to find […]
The Forest for the Trees
Think of the Bible as a forest. As you explore its groves you will find many different ‘trees’; massive oaks, stately pines, weeping birches and other species both exotic and plain. Each tree is quite different from the others but each makes an important contribution to the overall vitality of the forest. Throughout the ages […]
The Pursuit of Wisdom
At first glance Kohelet appears to denigrate wisdom but a closer examination of his teachings shows that he is extremely positive about the place of wisdom in our lives. He tells us that the wise can see where they are going while the fool stumbles along in the dark, that wisdom is like an inheritance […]