Ecclesiastes by Tremper Longman III

For information on this author see post below.

I just finished a Bible class on Ecclesiastes and this was an indispensable source. This is in the NICOT series (New International Commentary on the Old Testament) – a quality series published by Eerdmans.

This is one of the few commentaries that you could from cover to cover. Longman is not dogmatic concerning various interpretations of some of the more difficult passages (which add up to more than I assumed). Longman is also very conversant with many of the “standard scholars” on Ecclesiastes – Blenkinsopp, Crenshaw, Fox, Ginsberg, and Whybray. This is an added benefit to this book because he frequently includes their views and provides pros and cons for each and then presents his personal opinion.

For the class I had also picked up Provan’s work on Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon in the NIVAC series (The NIV Application Commentary). I was in the habit of reading through Longman first and felt as if Provan added little.

If you need an aid for Ecclesiastes, go with Longman. He is brilliant and his strength is Old Testament Poetry.