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OverviewThis book is a study of the making of collective memory within early Judaism in a seminal text of the Western canon. The book of Ecclesiastes and its speaker Qohelet are famous for saying that there is 'nothing new under the sun'. In the literary tradition of the modern West this has been taken as the motto of a book that is universal in scope, Greek in its patterns of thought, and floating free from the particularism and historical concerns of the rest of the Bible. Jennie Barbour argues that reading the book as a general compendium in this way causes the reader to miss a strong undercurrent in the text. 'Nothing new under the sun' is, in fact, a historical deduction made by Qohelet on the basis of long-range observation, conducted through his study of his nation's traditions: the first sage to turn from the window to the Book is not Ben Sira, but Qohelet himself. While Ecclesiastes says nothing about the great founding events of Israel's story, it is haunted by the decline and fall of the nation and the Babylonian exile, as the trauma of the loss of the kingdom of Solomon persists through a spectrum of intertextual relationships. The view of Qohelet from the throne in Jerusalem takes in the whole sweep of Israel's remembered historical experiences; Ecclesiastes is revealed as not simply as a piece of marketplace philosophy, but as a learned essay in processing a community's memory, with strong ties to the rest of Jewish and Christian scripture. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Jennie Barbour (Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at Amherst College)Publisher: Oxford University Press Imprint: Oxford University Press Dimensions: Width: 16.80cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 24.50cm Weight: 0.548kg ISBN: 9780199657827ISBN 10: 0199657823 Pages: 248 Publication Date: 06 September 2012 Audience: College/higher education , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: To order  Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us. Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: 'All Princes, I' : The Making of Qohelet's Composite King 2: 'I saw all the deeds that were done under heaven': History in the Opening Poems 3: Remembrance of Kings Past 4: 'The days of darkness will be many': Echoes of Exile 5: 'Woe to you, land': The City-lament Mode in the Closing Poem ConclusionReviewsBarbour makes a strong cumulative case for a (nowadays) unusual approach to Ecclesiastes, which inspires the reader for more in-depth study of both the biblical text and its ancient and more recent interpretations. Zoltan Schwab, University of Durham This is a very good book which can be strongly recommended. Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, Swedish Exegetical Yearbook Barbour makes a strong cumulative case for a (nowadays) unusual approach to Ecclesiastes, which inspires the reader for more in-depth study of both the biblical text and its ancient and more recent interpretations. Zoltan Schwab, University of Durham Barbour makes a strong cumulative case for a (nowadays) unusual approach to Ecclesiastes, which inspires the reader for more in-depth study of both the biblical text and its ancient and more recent interpretations. * Zoltan Schwab, University of Durham * This is a very good book which can be strongly recommended. * Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, Swedish Exegetical Yearbook * Author InformationJennie Barbour is Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at Amherst College. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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