given to the great Teacher of the book before us, just as the name
Sophereth was given apparently to a scribe? Delitzsch[1] reminds us
that in Arabic the fem. termination serves sometimes to intensify
the meaning, or, as Ewald puts it, 'ut abstracto is innuatur in quo
tota hæc virtus vel alia proprietas consummatissima sit, ut ejus exemplum
haberi queat.'[2] Thus Qoheleth might mean 'the ideal
teacher,' and this no doubt would be a title which would well describe
the later view of Solomon. It is simpler, however, to take
the fem. termination as expressing action or office; thus in Arabic
khalifa means 1, succession or the dignity of the successor, 2, the
successor or representative himself, the 'caliph,' and in Hebrew
and Assyrian pekhāh, pakhatu 'viceroy.' Comp. (
Greek characters)(Transliteration from Greek: hê exousia), 'die
Obrigkeit.'
The alternative is, with Ewald, Hitzig, Ginsburg, Kuenen, Kleinert,
to explain Qoheleth as in apposition to (Hebrew characters), Wisdom being
represented in Prov. i. 20, 21, viii. 1-4, as addressing men in the
places of concourse (Klostermann eccentrically explains (Greek characters)(Transliteration from Greek: hê syllogizousa)
or (Greek characters)(Transliteration from Greek: syllogistikê)). Solomon, according to this view, is regarded by
the author as the impersonation of Wisdom (as Protagoras was called
(Greek characters)(Transliteration from Greek: Sophia)). It is most unlikely, however, that Solomon should have
been thus regarded, considering the strange discipline which the
author describes Qoheleth as having passed through, and how different
is the language of Wisdom when, as in Prov. i.-ix., she is
represented as addressing an assembly! A reference to vii. 27, where
Qoheleth seems to be spoken of in the fem., is invalid, as we should
undoubtedly correct haqqohéleth in accordance with xii. 8[3] (comp.
hassofereth, Ezra ii. 55).
The Sept. rendering (Greek characters)(Transliteration from Greek: ekklêsiastês), whence the 'concionator'
of Vulg., is therefore to be preferred to the singular Greek rend.
(Greek characters)(Transliteration from Greek: he ekklêsiastria) of Græcus Venetus.
25. Page 210.—Eccles. iii. 11. Might we render, 'Also he hath
put (the knowledge of) that which is secret into their mind, except
that,' &c., i.e. 'though God has enabled man to find out many
secrets, yet human science is of very limited extent'? This implies
Bickell's pointing (Hebrew characters).
26. Page 219.—Eccles. vii. 28. The misogyny of the writer was doubtless produced by some sad personal experience. Its evil effect upon himself was mitigated by his discovery of another Jonathan with a love passing the love of women.' This reminds us of the
