The Beliefs of Ecclesiaste, Qoheleth and Solomon - Research Paper Example

The word “meaningless” that was mentioned 35 times encapsulated the message of Qoheleth. Reading closely Ecclesiastes reveals that the author does not share the sentiments of Job’s friends. The belief of Job’s friends relies on the ancient wisdom that punishment comes to wicked people only. Actually, Ecclesiastes is a contradiction of the ancient wisdom and some commentaries support this argument -” wisdom could not achieve its goal”( ABD, II, 276). A classic example of which is Job since he saw many things in his life that did not fall into pieces as what Proverbs has taught about being righteous.

The ancient wisdom that gave the formula – good man plus good works equals blessings did not seem fit to what Qoheleth has witnessed. He taught that life is not a puzzle that you can solve by fitting the pieces together since the parts were designed to fit in properly. Like Job, Qoheleth was perplexed by contradictions in life such as “….the righteous who get what the wicked deserved, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve..” ( Eccl.8:14). There are times that King Solomon is attributed as the author of the book because of his vast experience.

As a ruler, he has been witness to cases of oppression where innocent people die from violence and hunger. Writers of Ecclesiastes have a moral conscience that cared for humanity and got concerned about the fate of man. In fact, warnings were issued to people who considered himself as self- righteous because it has hidden dangers. He said that man should not be “overrighteous, neither be overwise – why to destroy yourself?’.