In our twelfth episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we continue our journey in Ecclesiastes and consider how Qoheleth begins the second stage of his investigation into happiness. After previously having argued that happiness cannot be found in being better off, he looks for a different principle to guide his investigation and finds the following: there is a season for everything.

00:00 - Happiness is not about better off

05:36 - The structure of Qoheleth’s argument

10:24 - Some initial thoughts about chapter 3 vs chapter 1

13:16 - The new principle: a season for everything

20:01 - The history of God and Israel in 3:1–8

23:21 - The fundamental agreement between Qoheleth and the Author

27:49 - Qoheleth in the context of the covenant

32:46 - Conclusion

Works mentioned:

- Jennie Barbour, The Story of Israel in the Book of Qohelet: Ecclesiastes as Cultural Memory

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