Ecclesiastes 1:1b

Authorship

- The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. -

Gustave Doré; King Solomon Meditating; Black and White Engraving

Well, 1st post, and we’re not even going to finish the first verse.

Let’s dive in :)

As a 21st century individual, you have undoubtedly been instructed to doubt often. Why? Because Science begins with doubt.

The individuals writing and recording the Bible did not document evidence as we do today. They didn’t share our historian’s standards. They didn’t have an APA format to cite their research.

You might be wondering why we are starting with the second half of this verse. Well, because of our modern understanding, whenever we approach a new book of the Bible there is a question that must be answered.

“Is this book actually written by who tradition claims as its author?”

You might find the question superfluous, and you have every right to, just know this is A) a stumbling block for some and B) a modern critique against various books in the Bible.

Ecclesiastes begins with an assertion. The person speaking identifies himself as Solomon. How do we know? Well, he is the son of David and King in Jerusalem. That really narrows it down.

One of the main reasons some scholars object to Solomon as the genuine author is the grammar and vocabulary. They don’t match the styles used in Proverbs or Songs of Solomon, leading some even to claim this is a post-exilic document based on some of the word choice.

Now, it wouldn’t be the first time an ancient author claimed to be someone they were not. A lot of what we have that’s attributed to Confucius was written by other people who wanted to be listened to.

Jealousy motivates us all.

I’ve always found the grammar and vocabulary argument to be reaching. I don’t come at this from a scholarly approach so keep that in mind.

When I write, I have a voice. There is a cadence and a vocabulary to it. But, like other authors, I have several voices that I write with. I have my poetic voice, my first-person voice, my comedic voice, etc.

These all take on different structures. Why couldn’t Solomon have done the same when writing on different topics?

In addition, the book appears to be written in the late years of Solomon’s life, when he knew he had sinned and turned away from God. The book might be read as a public confession.

Don’t you think differently at different stages in your life? Does that impact the way you speak?

You have to make your own decision on who wrote the book and find the evidence that matters to you. Also know it’s a terrifying question to have a modern-true answer for.

I think it’s important that you hear I don’t have the smoking gun that proves Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes. I think it’s equally important for you to hear there isn’t a smoking gun that proves he didn’t.

The hubris of our age is this: because we understand much, we are convinced there is nothing else to know.

We lack an ultimate answer and are left with scholarly best guesses (on both sides) from a time not concerned with documenting evidence in a way a modern person would accept.

So, as a Christian, what should we do?

Allow faith and rationality to speak together. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting that both are gifts from God.

Thanks guys – looking forward to the next post.

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Housekeeping

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