Two approaches to life in the Second Temple period: Deuteronomy and Qoholet

Abstract

The prosaic Mosaic death in Deuteronomy 34 leaves the way of life [foreign font omitted] as constituted in [foreign font omitted]. That is, par excellence: Life [foreign font omitted] is found in words. In Qohelet, another kind of existentialism, in the face of death, is found, namely in the sensual life of enjoyment of food, drink and companionship. These two approaches constitute different, competing Second Temple period conceptions of how to live, despite death, <em>coram Deo</em>. These two conceptions indicate the existence of more than one ethos within ancient Judaic society – a dynamic often lacking in the South African context.<p><strong>How to cite this article: </strong> Lombaard, C., 2009, ‘Two approaches to life in the Second Temple period: Deuteronomy and Qoholet’, <em>HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies</em> 65(1), Art. #185, 4 pages. DOI: 10.4102/hts.v65i1.185</p&gt

The mystifying mosaic of Moses: On Pentateuch theory and Biblical spirituality

“…Whilst it is indeed true that '[w]e know that Moses did not write the Pentateuch. What we are less sure about, is precisely how Moses did not write the Pentateuch' (Lombaard 2009:2), this ought not to be cause for spiritual discomfort, but is, more appropriately, precisely the opposite: such a variety of possibilities is what safeguards Bible readers from repressive mono-spiritualities (cf. Craghan 1983:4-15).…”

Three three-letter words in three recent novels in three different languages: God, sex and joy

“…Lombaard (2009c): 'God is far; life is tough; death is everywhere … The intense irony of this 'theology' is that the finality of death drives one positively to seize the finality of life… In Ecclesiastes 2: 24-25, 3:12-13, 5:17, 8:15 and 9:7 … a divine(-given) hedonism becomes the ultimate, albeit temporary, expression of life in the face of death. Small wonder that 20th century French existentialists seem to parallel this ethos (Lohfink 2003:14;Scheffler 1996:16-22): Acceptance of the inevitability of death brings forth a paradoxical rebellion -a revelling in the (limited) good life has to offer … This exact point has found an interesting turn in a recent philosophy book in South Africa (Goosen 2007), which -as an unintended latter-day analogous work to that of Qohelet -rejects modernist and postmodernist nihilism in favour of sheer happiness… Life, for Goosen (2007:43), is both, and not either, its 'radikale afgrondelikheid' (radical precipitousness) and its 'oneindige eksessiwiteit' (unending abundance).…”