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Ecclesiastes is unavailable, but you can change that!

The key to understanding this difficult book is God’s wisdom in Jesus Christ. Solomon realistically appraises many human endeavors and finds them to be futile. The things of this world are temporary, and life is fleeting. Yet the Gospel endows our lives with eternal significance. Divine wisdom instills fear and faith in God. This knowledge enables us to serve meaningfully in our vocations and...

אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיָ֖ה מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ׃—The relative pronoun אֲשֶׁ֥ר refers back to עֹֽלָמִ֔ים, the “ages.” Although plural, the word is construed as the subject of the singular verb הָיָ֖ה. With the combination מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ, consisting of מִן + לְ + פָּנִים + נוּ, Solomon describes these ages in relation to his own era: “that were before us.” This appears to be the only case in the OT where מִן + לְ + פָּנִים has a temporal meaning (see BDB, s.v. פָּנֶה, II 5 c). 1:11 אֵ֥ין זִכְר֖וֹן לָרִאשֹׁנִ֑ים—The noun
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