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something beyond themselves." However, discovering contradictions present in justice, wisdom, and toil and calling everything "absurd" ("vanity" in most translations), Qoheleth tears down life's meaning. Yet, the sage identifies ways in which humans can make the best of this world, which do not solve contradictions in life but open a way to cope with the vacuum of life's meaning.Fox's mastery of Ecclesiastes is evident on every page of the book. Particularly helpful is his proposal that Qoheleth not only deconstructs but also reconstructs life's meaning. However, Fox's emphasis on the centrality of "meaning," a concept more philosophical than ethical in Qoheleth's discourse, unnecessarily distorts the sage's interest in character formation through axioms and exhortations: Qoheleth is interested more in a meaningful life than in life's meaning.One more specific comment could be mentioned. Fox claims that an unjust world ruled by a just God is a paradox. However, Qoheleth seems to redefine divine "justice" as a way of ruling the world according to the persistence of injustice in the world (3:16-17; 9:1-2). Thus, Qoheleth's God is no longer a judge who exercises retributive justice but a sovereign whose way of ruling betrays human expectations. It is in this betrayal of God's governance that the contradiction lies.Although Fox's frequent use of transliterated Hebrew texts, instead of their translation, makes this book less readable for those who do not have a knowledge of biblical Hebrew, both pastors and teachers will find this exposition rewarding as they "reread" the familiar words of Qoheleth and discover a constructive way of living in a world full of absurdity.

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