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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dunham, Kyle C. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Peeters 2021
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
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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.
ISSN:2385-2062
Contains:Enthalten in: Biblica
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2143/BIB.102.3.3289779