The Philosophy of King Solomon
H01- Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Meredith Craig
Quiz
1. What is the origin of the word “Qohelet” and what is the literal translation of the word?
2. What does Solomon say is the beginning of wisdom?
3. How many wives was Solomon said to have? How many concubines?
4. Solomon’s life seemed to be long on what, while also being short on what?
5. Solomon found understanding wisdom, folly, and madness to be what?
DQ:
Links: Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Overview of Ecclesiastes
King Solomon, also known as Qohelet (literally meaning “gatherer” in Hebrew, but translated to mean “preacher”), was revered as a man of great wisdom, a theist, and the author of the books of Ecclesiastes and most of Proverbs in the Christian Holy Bible. Proverbs summarized the way a man should live to be wise, while Ecclesiastes, written much later in Solomon’s life, was spent mourning the indulgences of the “vanity” he pursued. The two books present wisdom and the pursuit of wisdom in very different lights. The life of Solomon, and his philosophy during his life were an evolving process, which makes the context of his life in conjunction with his philosophy of life endearing.
Proverbs begins with the heading “The Beginning of Knowledge” signifying exactly what the book will be about: wisdom and knowledge. To King Solomon, revered at the wisest man of his time, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and instruction,” as he states in Proverbs 1:7. His attitude towards the pursuit of wisdom, or his philosophy, is hopeful and fresh. Solomon takes the stance that following the law of the Jewish God and fearing him- or revering his authority as God- was the only way to live a life of wisdom. He also argues that any person who is not a fool should chase wisdom. In other words, following the laws of God would be to “walk in the way of good and keep to the paths of the righteous,” (Proverbs 2:20). The wisdom he pursues is not all of religious significance though; it is a book of wisdom in how to get the most full life out of our numbered days, exploring the ways to have productive friendships and the way to work.
Despite Solomon’s concession that the best way to live a wise life is to follow the law of God, he falls away from his own suggestions for the pursuit of “vanity.” Essentially he turns to a life of hedonism- pursuing any pleasure that meets his eye. Solomon chased things that were contrary to God’s law- obnoxious and meaningless worldly possessions, and therefore brought destruction to his life. In Deuteronomy 17:17, for example, God commands the kings that they “must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” Solomon lived a life quite antithetical to that, claiming 700 wives and 300 concubines and accumulating more wealth than any other Israelite king. This vanity, which Solomon then goes on to warn about in Ecclesiastes, was dangerous and destructive.
In contrast with the book of Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes begins with the heading “Everything is Meaningless”- the antithesis of what you would expect to find in a book that is said to contain the meaning of life. Jennifer Hecht, the author of Doubt, calls Ecclesiastes a sort of anomaly for a holy book or “out of sync”. It’s discussion of doubt towards the meaning of life and wisdom seems antithetical to the principles of the Bible on first glance. But the beauty in Ecclesiastes, and the Bible as a whole, is that the flaws and the doubts of each author are included in the narrative. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon reflects on a life that was “long on experience but short on lasting rewards.” Solomon writes: “Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind,” in Ecclesiastes 1:17. After living a long life of chasing the wind after whatever sort of pleasure he wanted, Solomon faced an existential crisis at the end of his life- questioning if his life really had a purpose at all. His doubt according to Hecht, is doubt of “providence, justice and righteousness.” Solomon mourns for the way he lived the middle of his life, full of vanity. In short, Solomon came to the understanding that a life without God is worthless, regardless of what you learn or study or experience.
Ecclesiastes is essentially a return to the principles of Proverbs and a clarification of them after a long life of rebellion towards those principles. Life is unfair, our circumstances will not feel just, but the best thing we can do is “do good and be happy while we live.” Qohelet is broken and mangled over what has come of his life in a lot of ways. The worthlessness he feels causes him to mourn for days of greater purpose. Solomon looks back onto his life and sees the ruin he has created for himself by abandoning the wisdom he has once pursued enumerated in Proverbs- the fear of the Lord. At first glance, he seems to be rejecting the idea of the Jewish God altogether, questioning justice and righteousness, but when taken in complete context from the whole Biblical narrative, he is really just questioning humans and their pursuit of uselessness. But the inclusion of these doubts are an important, unique aspect of the Bible’s honesty about the nature of humans.
According the the Aristotelian notion of teleology, the purpose of wisdom is to lead us to the unmoved mover, in this case, the God of the Bible. Solomon begins to adopt a teleological view of philosophy- that everything has a purpose, and the purpose of wisdom is that it is a tool given to humans to know their Creator more fully. Although contradictory to many other views of philosophy, and many philosophers who found philosophy worthwhile without a discussion of the gods, Solomon, reflecting on his life, comes to the conclusion that wisdom does not have any value without God because the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and without God wisdom is meaningless. To Solomon wisdom is essentially just another vanity if it is not being pursued in the context of knowing his God and living a better life.
https://www.conflictmediationcoach.com/uncategorized/a-comic-ebook-about-ecclesiastes-yes
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/existential-comics-the-best-and-funniest-way-to-le.html
Meredith Craig
Quiz
1. What is the origin of the word “Qohelet” and what is the literal translation of the word?
2. What does Solomon say is the beginning of wisdom?
3. How many wives was Solomon said to have? How many concubines?
4. Solomon’s life seemed to be long on what, while also being short on what?
5. Solomon found understanding wisdom, folly, and madness to be what?
DQ:
- Would you ascribe more to the philosophy that wisdom should be coveted, or that wisdom, just like everything else, will one day be obsolete?
- Many have called the book of Ecclesiastes almost “out of place” among the Bible. Do you agree that this book seems to not belong in relation to the other texts in the Bible?
Links: Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Overview of Ecclesiastes
King Solomon, also known as Qohelet (literally meaning “gatherer” in Hebrew, but translated to mean “preacher”), was revered as a man of great wisdom, a theist, and the author of the books of Ecclesiastes and most of Proverbs in the Christian Holy Bible. Proverbs summarized the way a man should live to be wise, while Ecclesiastes, written much later in Solomon’s life, was spent mourning the indulgences of the “vanity” he pursued. The two books present wisdom and the pursuit of wisdom in very different lights. The life of Solomon, and his philosophy during his life were an evolving process, which makes the context of his life in conjunction with his philosophy of life endearing.
Proverbs begins with the heading “The Beginning of Knowledge” signifying exactly what the book will be about: wisdom and knowledge. To King Solomon, revered at the wisest man of his time, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and instruction,” as he states in Proverbs 1:7. His attitude towards the pursuit of wisdom, or his philosophy, is hopeful and fresh. Solomon takes the stance that following the law of the Jewish God and fearing him- or revering his authority as God- was the only way to live a life of wisdom. He also argues that any person who is not a fool should chase wisdom. In other words, following the laws of God would be to “walk in the way of good and keep to the paths of the righteous,” (Proverbs 2:20). The wisdom he pursues is not all of religious significance though; it is a book of wisdom in how to get the most full life out of our numbered days, exploring the ways to have productive friendships and the way to work.
Despite Solomon’s concession that the best way to live a wise life is to follow the law of God, he falls away from his own suggestions for the pursuit of “vanity.” Essentially he turns to a life of hedonism- pursuing any pleasure that meets his eye. Solomon chased things that were contrary to God’s law- obnoxious and meaningless worldly possessions, and therefore brought destruction to his life. In Deuteronomy 17:17, for example, God commands the kings that they “must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” Solomon lived a life quite antithetical to that, claiming 700 wives and 300 concubines and accumulating more wealth than any other Israelite king. This vanity, which Solomon then goes on to warn about in Ecclesiastes, was dangerous and destructive.
In contrast with the book of Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes begins with the heading “Everything is Meaningless”- the antithesis of what you would expect to find in a book that is said to contain the meaning of life. Jennifer Hecht, the author of Doubt, calls Ecclesiastes a sort of anomaly for a holy book or “out of sync”. It’s discussion of doubt towards the meaning of life and wisdom seems antithetical to the principles of the Bible on first glance. But the beauty in Ecclesiastes, and the Bible as a whole, is that the flaws and the doubts of each author are included in the narrative. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon reflects on a life that was “long on experience but short on lasting rewards.” Solomon writes: “Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind,” in Ecclesiastes 1:17. After living a long life of chasing the wind after whatever sort of pleasure he wanted, Solomon faced an existential crisis at the end of his life- questioning if his life really had a purpose at all. His doubt according to Hecht, is doubt of “providence, justice and righteousness.” Solomon mourns for the way he lived the middle of his life, full of vanity. In short, Solomon came to the understanding that a life without God is worthless, regardless of what you learn or study or experience.
Ecclesiastes is essentially a return to the principles of Proverbs and a clarification of them after a long life of rebellion towards those principles. Life is unfair, our circumstances will not feel just, but the best thing we can do is “do good and be happy while we live.” Qohelet is broken and mangled over what has come of his life in a lot of ways. The worthlessness he feels causes him to mourn for days of greater purpose. Solomon looks back onto his life and sees the ruin he has created for himself by abandoning the wisdom he has once pursued enumerated in Proverbs- the fear of the Lord. At first glance, he seems to be rejecting the idea of the Jewish God altogether, questioning justice and righteousness, but when taken in complete context from the whole Biblical narrative, he is really just questioning humans and their pursuit of uselessness. But the inclusion of these doubts are an important, unique aspect of the Bible’s honesty about the nature of humans.
According the the Aristotelian notion of teleology, the purpose of wisdom is to lead us to the unmoved mover, in this case, the God of the Bible. Solomon begins to adopt a teleological view of philosophy- that everything has a purpose, and the purpose of wisdom is that it is a tool given to humans to know their Creator more fully. Although contradictory to many other views of philosophy, and many philosophers who found philosophy worthwhile without a discussion of the gods, Solomon, reflecting on his life, comes to the conclusion that wisdom does not have any value without God because the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and without God wisdom is meaningless. To Solomon wisdom is essentially just another vanity if it is not being pursued in the context of knowing his God and living a better life.
https://www.conflictmediationcoach.com/uncategorized/a-comic-ebook-about-ecclesiastes-yes
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/existential-comics-the-best-and-funniest-way-to-le.html
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.