The Preacher Sought to Find Pleasing Words A Study of the Language of Qoheleth
The Preacher Sought to Find Pleasing Words A Study of the Language of Qoheleth by Antoon Schoors, published by Departement Oriëntalistiek in 1992, offers a detailed examination of the linguistic characteristics of the Book of Qohelet. This 260-page monograph delves into the unique language of Qohelet, known for its complexity and distinctiveness within biblical wisdom literature. The author presents a comprehensive analysis of various linguistic features, including orthography, phonetics, morphology, and syntax, while engaging with existing scholarly discourse on the subject.
Readers will find a thorough inventory of the peculiarities of Qohelet’s language, alongside a defense of the prevailing scholarly view regarding its late development in Biblical Hebrew. The study addresses the presence of Aramaisms and critiques alternative theories, such as the Aramaic translation theory and Dahood’s Phoenician theory. This work is situated within a broader context of linguistic and exegetical literature, supported by an extensive bibliography. The second part of this study, focusing on the vocabulary of Qohelet, has been published separately as Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 143.
Official synopsis Publisher
Among biblical wisdom literature the Book of Qohelet is well known for its idiosyncratic ideas. Also from a linguistic point of view, however, this book is a maverick in the Bible. Its language is difficult and puzzling. In most commentaries some linguistic pecularities of Qohelet have received due attention and more recently studies on the language of the book have appeared. The present monograph presents an inventory and a thorough study of those peculiarities in the format of a grammar: orthography, phonetics, morphology and syntax. Against some recent challenges the author defends the general consensus among critical scholars that the language of Qohelet is definitely late in the development of Biblical Hebrew. He accepts the presence of a number of Aramaisms, but rejects the Aramaic translation theory. Also Dahood’s Phoenician theory is discussed in detail and rejected. The whole research is done in a continuous dialogue with linguistic and exegetical literature on Qohelet, as can be seen from the extensive bibliography. The second part of this study – on the vocabulary of Qohelet – has been published as Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 143.
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