The Politics of Pessimism in Ecclesiastes

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations

Introduction
The Book's Skepticism
The Book's Pessimism

1. Qohelet's Heterodox Character:
Non-Social-Science Approaches
Ideational Approaches
Non-Ideational Explanations for Qohelet's Heterodoxy

2. Explaining Qohelet's Heterodox Character:
Social-Science Approaches
Marxian Approaches
Postcolonial Approaches
Durkheimian Approaches
Grand Theories
Anthropological Approach
Conclusion

3. Qohelet's Sociohistorical Context
Brief History of the Ptolemaic Kingdom (Third Century b.c.e.)
Ptolemaic Administration
Ptolemaic Taxation
General Benefits of Ptolemaic Governance of Judah
Social Stratification in Ptolemaic Jerusalem
The Degree of Hellenization in Ptolemaic Judah
Conclusion

4. Qohelet and His Audience's Social Location
Possible Allusions to the Milieu in Qohele
Hellenistic Influence in Qohelet
Qohelet: Aristocrat or Middle Class?
Qohelet's Scribal Audience
Qohelet and the Scribal Status Group
Qohelet as Intellectual
Conclusion

5. Synchronic (Literary) Analysis of the Book of Qohelet
The Meaning of ????? in the Hebrew Bible
The Meaning of ????? in Qohelet
God as Primary Orientation for Qohelet and His Audience
God and Humanity: The Great Divide
Qohelet-No Modern Existentialist!
Qohelet's Rhetoric
Conclusion

6. Qohelet, the Problem of Evil, and Cognitive Dissonance
Theodicy Strategies in the Hebrew Bible
Qohelet's Theodicy Strategies
The Assets and Liabilities of Redefining God's Standard of Judgment
The Social Location of Theodicy
Qohelet's Non-Salvific Religious Perspective
Qohelet's Mitigation of Cognitive Dissonance
Conclusion

7. Qohelet's Irrational Response to the (Over-)Rationalization of Traditional Wisdom
The Struggle between the Rational and the Irrational
The Process of Rationalization
The Rationalization of Religion
Rationalization and Consistency
Irrational (or Non-Rational) Reaction
Weber and the Rationalization of Yahwism
Rationalization in the Wisdom Tradition
The Feasibility of the Doctrine of Retribution
Qohelet's Irrational Response to the Over-Rationalization of the Wisdom Tradition
Conclusion

8. The Positive Power of Qohelet's Pessimism
Generic Pessimism
Lowering Expectations in Qohelet
Conclusion

9. The Sociology of the Book of Qohelet's Canonicity
The Degree of Qohelet's Heterodoxy
Qohelet's Canonization as a Misperception
Conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index of Ancient Sources

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Subjects