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The End of the Matter: Understanding the Epilogue of Ecclesiastes is unavailable, but you can change that!

One of the most debated subjects in Ecclesiastes studies is the purpose of its epilogue (ch. 12:9–14). Many scholars view the epilogue as a later addition that attempts to tone down the unorthodox message of the book. They tend to overlook the content of the concluding passage and in turn miss out on its significance. The End of the Matter brings a fresh perspective to the epilogue of...

however, overemphasizes the epilogue over Qohelet’s words, and the bulk of the book, become almost irrelevant. It is my contention in this paper that the epilogue of Ecclesiastes consists of the words of one author and that author is the author of the rest of Ecclesiastes. Qohelet, whose words are presented in Eccl 1:2–12:8 is a persona created by the author of Ecclesiastes in order to critique the wisdom tradition.5 The sages are unable to reach satisfying conclusions about life that fully explain
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