Assurbanipal Feasting in Palace Garden
669–627 BCE
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Living a Good Life according to Biblical Wisdom Literature
Biblical wisdom literature shares the educational and intellectual traditions of the broader ancient Near East.
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The Futility of All Activity
The words of Kohelethson of David, king in Jerusalem.
Utter futility!—said Koheleth—
Utter futility! All is futile!
What real value is there for a man
In all the gainshe makes beneath the sun?…

Koheleth’s Attempts to Find Meaning in Life
I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel. I set my mind to study and to probe with wisdom all that happens under the sun.—An unhappy business, that, which God gave men to be…
A Proper Time for Everything
A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven:
A time for being born and a time for dying,
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;
A time for slaying…
Advice and Further Reflections
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. For He has no pleasure in fools; what you vow, fulfill. It is better not to vow at all than to vow and not fulfill. [ . . . ]
If…
Conclusion (to Ecclesiastes)
How sweet is the light, what a delight for the eyes to behold the sun! Even if a man lives many years, let him enjoy himself in all of them, remembering how many the days of darkness are…
Epilogue (to Ecclesiastes)
A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundness of many maxims. Koheleth sought to discover useful sayings and recorded…