Michael A. Eaton - Ecclesiastes (TOTC)

Volume 18

General Editor: Donald J. Wiseman

An Introduction and Commentary

Michael A. Eaton

Additional notes

The aim of this series of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, as it was in the companion volumes on the New Testament, is to provide the student of the Bible with a handy, up-to-date commentary on each book, with the primary emphasis on exegesis. Major critical questions are discussed in the introductions and additional notes, while undue technicalities have been avoided.

In this series individual authors are, of course, free to make their own distinct contributions and express their own point of view on all debated issues. Within the necessary limits of space they frequently draw attention to interpretations which they themselves do not hold but which represent the stated conclusions of sincere fellow Christians.

In the Old Testament in particular no single English translation is adequate to reflect the original text. The authors of these commentaries freely quote various versions, therefore, or give their own translation, in the endeavour to make the more difficult passages or words meaningful today. Where necessary, words from the Hebrew (and Aramaic) Text underlying their studies are transliterated. This will help the reader who may be unfamiliar with the Semitic languages to identify the word under discussion and thus to follow the argument. It is assumed throughout that the reader will have ready access to one, or more, reliable renderings of the Bible in English.

The book of Ecclesiastes has within it much timeless teaching which is still relevant today. Yet it is a biblical book all too infrequently read and is often quoted or studied only in part. While divergent voices are raised regarding its interpretation and applicability, Mr Eaton seeks to bring a balanced, scholarly view throughout. Nor does he ignore practical references to modern life.

Interest in the meaning and message of the Old Testament continues undiminished and it is hoped that this series will thus further the systematic study of the revelation of God and his will and ways as seen in these records. It is the prayer of the editor and publisher, as of the authors, that these books will help many to understand, and to respond to, the Word of God today.

D. J. Wiseman

If it needs a man who has suffered to write a commentary on Job, and if only a restored rebel can comment on Jonah, perhaps the only person entitled to comment on Ecclesiastes is a cynic who has revolted from the world in disillusionment and disgust. If so, I qualify. It is an experience that many have been through, and from which some never emerge. So it is not surprising to find that a most diverse circle of admirers are drawn to Ecclesiastes with a sense of fellow-feeling for one whom they sense is a gentle cynic. Starting from widely separated perspectives, men have seen life, in W. E. Henleys words, as

a smoke that curls

Curls in a flickering skein

That winds, and whisks and whirls,

A figment thin and vain,

Into the great Inane.

One end for hut and hall!

One end for cell and stall!

Burned in one common flame

Are wisdoms and insanities.

For this alone we came:

O vanity of vanities.

(Of the Nothingness of Things)

I bear witness that the Preachers advice, blunt and realistic as it is, is the only remedy to that particular malaise. A handful of quietness (Eccl. 4:6) from him who rules the times and seasons, Qoheleths God and mine, is the only cure. I cast this particular piece of bread upon the waters with the prayer that others may make the same discovery.

This small offering owes much to the advice and help of the Rev. J. A. Motyer in the days when he taught at Clifton Theological College and I used to walk from Tyndale Hall to talk about Ecclesiastes. More recently help from Professor D. J. Wiseman of the School of Oriental and African Studies has been much appreciated. Needless to say, the overall interpretation of Ecclesiastes is my own. I am encouraged that a recent article by R. N. Whybray (Qoheleth, Preacher of Joy, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 23, 1982, pp. 8798) is ready to give much more weight to the joyous side of Ecclesiastes than has been generally the case. It came out too late for me to refer to it in the text.

My thanks go to Mrs Caroline Mullenix who typed the manuscript, and to my wife who prayed the manuscript into existence when I was lost for a spare moment to write. I had the privilege of sharing this material with the morning congregation of Nairobi Baptist Church where I was pastor. The blessings of that particular series of sermons remain with me still.

It is my prayer that God will use this commentary to stimulate fresh thought on Ecclesiastes, that others may be led as I have been through despair to a world-view in which God is God, and people find their rest in him. May a glimpse be caught of the One who fills the gap in Ecclesiastes, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Michael Eaton