A study of the linguistic and thematic roots of Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is an "odd book" of the Bible, apparently teaching pessimism or nihilism or skepticism or cynicism or agnosticism or hedonism or existentialism. The apparently unorthodox elements of Ecclesiastes have been regarded on the one hand as perplexing and on the other hand as originating in foreign ideas from the surrounding cultures. Scholars have spilled much ink on the question of the origin of Qoheleth's thought. Since the nineteenth century, many biblical scholars have thought that Qoheleth lived in the Hellenistic period and was influenced by Greek philosophy. At the turn of the twentieth century, more and more scholars have pointed out parallels from the ancient Near East. Nevertheless, the opinion that Qoheleth had been predominantly under the influence of Greek thought did not decline. The goal of this study is to provide a more reliable method to find the sources of Qoheleth's terminology and ideas. Many scholars have tried to establish connections based on thematic similarities that give the feeling that Qoheleth borrowed the theme from so-and-so. However, several methodological problems, such as inappropriate comparison, circular reasoning, and generalizing, are often found in studies of the origin of Qoheleth's language and ideas. This dissertation will investigate the historical, linguistic, and thematic evidence for and against each position. Special attention is given to the language of Ecclesiastes to explore linguistic clues that may indicate Qoheleth's contacts with the Greek and Mesopotamian civilizations. We will apply the basic tools and methods of contact linguistics for the first time to find out the source of cultural influence on Qoheleth. We will also examine the thematic references that are thought to support the claims of either Greek or Mesopotamian connections. Our study will reveal that Ecclesiastes seems to contain both Greek and Mesopotamian elements, though there may be fewer Greek elements than currently claimed and more Mesopotamian ones than are currently recognized.