A Specific Application of the Proverb in Ecclesiastes 1:15

Abstract

The article seeks to apply the interpretative content of Ecclesiastes 1:15 within a specific situation. The quest to do so uncovers a surrounding literary structure (1:13–18) that describes two parallel tasks. With specific reference to one of the tasks (1:16–17 + 18) and its thematic expansion in 2:12–17, the article understands the proverb of 1:15 to describe a crooked world which is without any permanent reward for the wise. The article also proposes that the proverb depicts the strong presence of a subjective idealism in the evaluation of the world’s events.