Ecclesiastes

This is the fifteenth in a series of biblical summaries from David Dorsey's book: The Literary Structure of the Old Testament.  This is the fourth in the sub-series of poetic books, covering the Book of Ecclesiastes.

     title (1:1)
a   poem about the brevity and insignificance of life (1:2-11)
     b   wisdom's failure to discover life's meaning (1:12-2:26)
          c   poem about time (3:1-15)
               d   CENTER: fear God! (3:16-6:12)
          c'  poem about time revisited (7:1-14)
     b'  wisdom's failure revisited (7:15-10:19)
a'  poem about life's brevity revisited (10:20-12:8)
     conclusion (12:9-14) 

The 'a' pattern shows an initial section about life's brevity and a section with practical advice in light of that.  Both treat themes of remembering, earth, sun, wind, water cycle, eternity, going, circling, returning, and more.  The first section begins with the motto: 'vanity of vanities.'  The second ends with it.

The 'b' pattern shows an initial section about wisdom's failure to discover life's meaning and the second section brings practical advice to bear on that.  While the 'a' pattern was expressed in poetry, the 'b' pattern is in autobiographical prose on the theme of wisdom.

The 'c' pattern shows an initial section about time and the human inability to see the big picture.  The second section provides practical advice in light of this.  Both sections are short, fourteen-verse poems treating the topics of time, death, birth, mourning, laughter, and destruction.  The first section says there is a time to be born, to die, to laugh, and to mourn.  The second section says the day of death is better than the day of birth, that sorrow is better than laughter, and that the heart of wise is in the house of mourning.

The 'd' section is central.  By fearing God, people learn how to understand this world's moral perplexities and enjoy life despite them.  Dorsey writes, "...they can experience joy by living wisely, choosing what is good, and being careful to enjoy the gifts that God has given, such as food, spouse, and work - gifts that God has given for enjoyment during this incomprehensible, difficult, fleeting life "under the sun." (198)