Best Commentaries on Ecclesiastes

Athas strikes a commendable balance. On the one hand, he focuses on Ecclesiastes’ cultural and social context. On the other, he places the book within the larger framework of the Bible’s story, making connections to Christ and applications for today.

Mathison highly recommends Kidner’s work: “Since one of his areas of expertise is Old Testament Wisdom Literature, his commentary on Ecclesiastes is one of his best.”

Meek’s short book on Ecclesiastes weaves his narrative of faith with his interpretation of Ecclesiastes. This is a unique take on the book’s Genesis-shaped theology. Meek uniquely argues that the term often translated as “meaningless” or “vanity” is a reference to Abel, and this transforms his understanding of the book’s meaning and application for Christians.

Longman observes, “Enns carefully and insightfully interprets the book and shows its immense relevance for those of us who today follow the suffering yet victorious Christ.”

Mathison writes, “With a book like Ecclesiastes, it is sometimes difficult to know how it should be applied. The very format of the NIVAC series demands reflection on application. Provan offers helpful insight into the meaning of the book and its relevance today. This work will prove especially helpful to preachers.”

Longman’s commentary provides a new translation of Ecclesiastes and deals with the book’s literary character and theological message in it’s canonical and Christological contexts. Longman explains his perspective: “I argue that the author is not Solomon, but that Ecclesiastes adopts a Solomonic persona to show the meaninglessness of life.”

Bartholomew’s unparalleled ability to engage biblical texts deeply shines through in this resource. His commentary engages with the history of interpretation and unique linguistic features of Ecclesiastes. Longman says Bartholomew brings together his wealth of knowledge “about the history of philosophy as well as modern philosophy and often brings this expertise in play in his exposition of the book.”

Longman says, “Fox’s idea of Ecclesiastes as a framed monologue is very provocative.” By looking carefully at the language and thought of the book, Fox shows how the author of Ecclesiastes uses contradiction to tear down holistic claims of meaning and purpose in the world then rebuilds meaning in a local, restricted sense. In this way, he sees the book as promoting a bold, honest, and ultimately uplifting vision of life.

Schoors’s commentary is written from a critical perspective, but it’s unsurpassed for its engagement with the book’s many centuries of interpreters. It also thoroughly addresses the many linguistic issues that make the book difficult to translate and interpret.