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Document Details : Title: Considering the Book of Qohelet Afresh Author(s): AZIZE, Joseph Journal: Ancient Near Eastern Studies Volume: 37 Date: 2000 Pages: 183-214 DOI: 10.2143/ANES.37.0.1086 Abstract : There is no compelling or even plausible evidence that Qohelet was written under Hellenistic influence. However, the literature of ancient Western Asia offers clear correspondences to Qohelet. Certain principles for evaluating theories of cultural influence and borrowing are adumbrated. A reinterpretation of Qohelet is also offered, which, in some respects, happens to be congruent with ideas current in medieval scholarship. The schoolmen treated Qohelet as a work of spirituality. I suggest that spirituality is far more evident in ancient Western Asia than has generally been allowed. This paper uses a method of ‘comparative spirituality’ to assist in assessing the plausibility of interpretations of spiritual material, where there is no other evidence as to the soundness of the interpretation suggested. |
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