Political Folly and Royal Wisdom in Eccl 5,7-8
Qohelet’s critique of royal leadership in Eccl 5,7-8 (8-9) constitutes one of the book’s most difficult texts. Recent scholarship has moved toward understanding both verses as a criticism of corrupt government, in that the king is complicit in the graft because he too profits from exploiting the lan...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Biblica
Year: 2021, Volume: 102, Issue: 3, Pages: 335-355 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Kohelet 5,7-8
/ Old Testament
/ Wisdom literature
/ Ruler
|
| IxTheo Classification: | HA Bible HB Old Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Qohelet’s critique of royal leadership in Eccl 5,7-8 (8-9) constitutes one of the book’s most difficult texts. Recent scholarship has moved toward understanding both verses as a criticism of corrupt government, in that the king is complicit in the graft because he too profits from exploiting the land and its farmers. Such a reading comports with the nearly uniform approach to Ecclesiastes in recent scholarship whereby Qohelet is understood as espousing an explicitly negative view of political leadership. In this essay I argue for a fresh understanding of the verses, based on discourse analysis, that favors an older, principally Continental view. In this proposed reading v. 8 offsets v. 7, with the king viewed positively as a mitigation to rampant political corruption when he is committed to order, stability, and productivity. Rather than serving as another pronouncement of Qohelet’s negative view of leadership, Eccl 5,7-8 affirms the proper use of royal power when the king exercises his office legitimately. |
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| ISSN: | 2385-2062 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblica
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2143/BIB.102.3.3289779 |