Polar Structures in the Book of Qohelet

152 Pages·1979·4.28 MB·English

by  J. A. Loader

J. A. Loader
Polar Structures in the Book of Qohelet

J. A. Loader
Polar Structures
in the Book of Qohelet
w
DE
_G
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
1979
Beiheft zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Herausgegeben von Georg Fohrer
152
CIP-Kurztitelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek
Loader, James Α.:
Polar structures in the book of Quohelet / James A. Loader. - Berlin,
New York : de Gruyter, 1979.
(Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft : Beih. ; 152)
ISBN 3-11-007636-5
©
1979
by Walter de Gruyter & Co., vormals G. J. Göschen'sche Verlagshandlung - J. Guttentag,
Verlagsbuchhandlung - Georg Reimer — Karl J. Trübner — Veit Sc Comp., Berlin 30
Alle Rechte des Nachdrucks, der photomechanischen Wiedergabe, der Ubersetzung,
der Herstellung von Mikrofilmen und Photokopien, auch auszugsweise, vorbehalten.
Printed in Germany
Satz und Druck: Hubert & Co., Göttingen
Bindearbeiten: Lüderitz &c Bauer, Berlin 61
Aan die
Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika

Preface
I owe thanks to professors A. S. van der Woude (Groningen), W.Zim-
merli (Göttingen) and A. van Selms (Pretoria) who at various stages offered
me their critical views on my Qohelet studies. I am also indebted to the
University of Pretoria and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk, whose
generous grant made the publication of this book possible. In this regard
special mention should be made of professor W. C. van Wyk (University
of Pretoria) and mr A.B. van N.Herbst (Ned. Herv. Kerk) whose under-
standing of the administrative and financial aspects of publication has
been very helpful.
My wife typed the manuscript and discussed its contents with me
even when her own professional duties made it seem that hä'et would
interfere—which really makes her one in a thousand.
Finally, I wish to thank professor D.Dr. Georg Fohrer for not only
accepting my book into the Beihefte to ZAW, but also for personally
seeing to the Auszeichnung of the typescript, thereby saving time and
costs.
Pretoria, April 1978 J. A. Loader

Index
Chapter I: Introduction 1
Chapter II: Formal Literary Aspects 4
1. The composition 4
a. The debate 4
b. Similarities 5
c. Criticism 6
d. Conclusion 8
2. Figures of style 9
a. The parallelism 9
b. The chiasmus 10
c. Other figures of style 14
3. Metre 15
Excursus I 16
4. Gattungen 18
a. The Qattung of royal fiction 19
b. The Wahrspruch and maxim 20
c. The töb-saying 21
d. The comparison 22
e. The metaphor 23
f. The parable 23
g. The allegory 24
h. The observation 25
i. The self-discourse 25
j. The woe-saying and benediction 26
k. The antilogion 26
1. The rhetorical question 26
m. The admonition 26
n. Concluding remarks 27
Chapter III: Polar thought patterns 29
PART A
1. Conservation, life—abandonment, death 29
a. 31-9 29
b. 71-4 33
X Index
2. Worth(lessness) of wisdom 35
a. 1 12 - 226 35
b. 413-16 42
c. 7s-7 44
d. 7 n-14 45
e. 7 is-22 46
f. 723 — 81 50
g. 8 16-17 54
h. 911-12 56
i. 913—101 58
j. 10 2-7 61
k. lOe-n 63
3. Risk and assurance (11 i-ό) 66
4. Political power(lessness) (82-9) 69
5. Talk and silence 73
a. 4i7-5e 73
b. 1012-15 a 76
C. 1016-20 . 78
d. 610-12 80
7e-io 81
6. Wealth has no value (59—69) 81
7. Labour without product 88
a 88
b. 310-15 88
c. 44-6 90
d. 47-12 91
8. The inhuman human 93
a. 3 16-22 93
b. 4i-3 96
9. No retribution where expected 97
Excursus II 97
a. 810-15 99
b. 91-10 101
Summary of divisions 1—9 104
10. Toil and joy 105
a. 312-13 105
b. 322 105
c. 815 106
d. 97-10 106
e. Il7-12e 107