Ecclesiastes

Summary

We come to Ecclesiastes by Knut Martin Heim expecting realism, and we are not disappointed. Ecclesiastes does not flatter our plans or baptise our ambitions. It exposes the limits of life under the sun, presses hard questions about toil, time, pleasure, injustice, and death, then repeatedly drives us toward the fear of God as the only sane anchor.

This volume in the Exegetical Commentary On The Old Testament series is shaped by discourse analysis and close attention to how Qoheleth speaks. We are helped to track argument, shifts in voice, strategic repetition, and the book’s rhetorical craft. That matters in Ecclesiastes, because the meaning often lies in tension, in provocation, and in carefully placed conclusions rather than in isolated sayings.

Why Should I Own This Commentary?

We should own this commentary if we want help preaching Ecclesiastes without smoothing away its edge. Many treatments either turn it into bleak scepticism, or rush too quickly to tidy optimism. Heim models a third way. We are taught to listen to the book as it stands, to honour its dark questions, and to let its summons to fear God arise as the deliberate resolution rather than a late doctrinal patch.

We also benefit from the way Heim handles the book’s internal logic. Ecclesiastes can feel like a set of loops, revisiting the same frustrations from new angles. This commentary helps us see when the author is repeating for emphasis, when he is intensifying the argument, and when he is setting up contrast between what humans can grasp and what God alone governs. That is gold for sermon preparation, because it helps us shape faithful sermons that move with the text, not merely around it.

Because this is an exegetical and technical work, we will use it best when we have time to work carefully. We do not need to be experts in Hebrew to profit, but we do need to be willing to think. If we are, we will find a commentary that steadies our interpretation, sharpens our outlines, and makes our applications more honest. Ecclesiastes is a book for the weary and the proud alike, and careful handling serves the church.

Closing Recommendation

We are glad to commend this as a strong, pastor safe technical commentary. It is especially valuable for those who want to understand how Ecclesiastes argues, how its repeated refrains function, and how its realism is meant to shepherd God’s people into reverent, obedient joy.

As a next step, we can use the Bible Book Overview for Ecclesiastes, browse Top Recommendations, or consult the Reformed Commentary Index for a fuller shelf and a clearer pathway into the book.