In our fifteenth and final episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we look at Qoheleth’s closing thoughts as well as the closing thoughts of the book of Ecclesiastes. In doing so, we come face-to-face with the fundamental unpredictability of reality, and consider Qoheleth’s advice for how to live in the presence of this. We close by thinking about the relationship between the author of Ecclesiastes and Qoheleth: Do they agree with one another? Are they the same person?

00:00 - Introduction

02:35 - Many examples of incongruity (9:11–10:20)

10:04 - What do we do in the face of incongruity? (11:1–10)

18:39 - Qoheleth’s closing words (12:1–8)

22:44 - The Author’s closing words (12:9–14)

34:28 - Conclusion

Works mentioned in this episode:

- George Athas, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs: The Story of God Bible Commentary 16

- George Athas, “Qohelet in his Context: Ecclesiastes 4,13-16 and the Dating of the Book”, Biblica 100.3. https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?id=3286872&url=article

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