Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries

Over the centuries, Ecclesiastes has influenced numerous and diverse aspects of life and thought. Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries assesses the effects of the book on the culture of the various times in religious, artistic, and social contexts.
* Presents an innovative, reception history approach to the study of Ecclesiastes, by tracing its influence on religion, culture, literature, art, and social thought
* Explores a fascinating range of Jewish and Christian readings
* Features engaging and unusual examples from art, music, literature and history: from Thackeray and Orwell, to Salvador Dali's Illustrated Bible, to the inflammatory exposition of Ecclesiastes at the funeral of Queen Mary
* Published in the innovative Blackwell Bible Commentaries series; for further information visit the series website at www.bbibcomm.net

Over the centuries, Ecclesiastes has influenced numerous aspects of life and thought. Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries assesses the diverse effects of the book on culture in religion, art, and social contexts. Ecclesiastes shaped the life of European abbeys of the middle ages. For Renaissance thinkers it provided a sceptical line of inquiry weighted with the disquieting authority of Scripture. It has inspired the imaginations of artists, musicians, and poets from the Renaissance to the present day. The influence of Ecclesiastes on literature has engaged authors as diverse as Bacon, Donne, Eliot, Hardy, Melville, and numerous Elizabethan poets. This commentary traces these influences as well as the fascinating range of Jewish and Christian readings. The result is an informative and broad-ranging approach to the impact of this book through the centuries that will engage all those studying the Bible. For further information about the Blackwell Bible Commentaries please visit www.bbibcomm.net.

Over the centuries, Ecclesiastes has influenced numerous and diverse aspects of life and thought. Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries assesses the effects of the book on the culture of the various times in religious, artistic, and social contexts. Presents an innovative, reception history approach to the study of Ecclesiastes, by tracing its influence on religion, culture, literature, art, and social thought Explores a fascinating range of Jewish and Christian readings Features engaging and unusual examples from art, music, literature and history: from Thackeray and Orwell, to Salvador Dalis Illustrated Bible, to the inflammatory exposition of Ecclesiastes at the funeral of Queen Mary Published in the innovative Blackwell Bible Commentaries series; for further information visit the series website at www.bbibcomm.net