pATRIMONIO ARTÍSTICO RElIGIOSO
3.2.3. pintura 1 Calvario
3.2.4.1. Estandartes del Apostolado de la Oración y de las Hijas de María
Qoheleth believes that death must be considered in one’s contemplation of life as life cannot be fully comprehended without its sobering end.41 Anyone who is concerned about life often reflects on the inevitability and normativity of death. Qoheleth sees death walking along in his pursuit of profit, guiding his observations of life, and influencing his teaching on contentment. 42 His words begin with the constant changing of generations (Eccl 1:4) and end with the passing of an individual (Eccl 12:1–7). These passages emphasize the notion of the brevity of human existence and present death as a natural end of human life. While Qoheleth’s teaching is focused on life rather than death, he advocates that life cannot be understood without its expected end. Qoheleth first describes the innate flow of death and life in the introductory poem (Eccl 1:4–11).
41
See also Gese, “The Crisis of Wisdom in Kohelet,” in Theodicy in the Old Testament (IRT 4; ed. James L. Crenshaw; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), 141-53;
1:4 )b rwd Klh rwd tdm( Mlw(l Cr)hw
A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
1:5 #$m#$h )bw #$m#$ xrzw
M#$ )wh xrwz P)w#$ wmwqm-l)w
And the sun rises and the sun sets and to its place it hastens, where it rises.
1:6 bbwsw Mwrd-l) Klwh
Klwh bbs bbwsw Nwpc-l) xwrh b#$ wytbybs-l(w xwrh
The wind goes to the south and turns to the north and turns, turning as it goes; and upon its course the wind returns.
1:7 Myh-l) Myklh Mylxnh-lk
Mwqm-l) )lm wnny) Myhw Myklh Mylxnh#$ tkll Myb#$ Mh M#$
All the streams run to the sea, but the sea is never full; to the place to which the streams run,
there they will turn to run.
1:8 My(gy Myrbdh-lk
rbdl #$y) lkwy-)l tw)rl Ny( (b#&t-)l (m#$m Nz) )lmt-)lw
All things are wearisome; A man is not able to speak [it]: An eye is not satisfied with seeing, and ear is not filled with hearing.
1:9 hyhy#$ )wh hyh#$-hm
h#&(y#$ )wh h#&(n-hmw #$m#$h txt #$dx-lk Ny)w
What has been, that will be,
And what has been done, that will be done; And there is nothing new under the sun.
1:10 rm)y#$ rbd #$y
hyh rbk )wh #$dx hz-h)r wnnplm hyh r#$) Myml(l
There is a matter about which it is said: “See, this is new!” Already it has been for ages before us.
1:11 Myn#$)rl Nyrkz Ny)
wyhy#$ Mynrx)l Mgw Nwrkz Mhl hyhy-)l
hnrx)l wyhy#$ M(
There is no remembrance of people of old And of those who are after them;
There will be no remembrance about them With those who will come [later] after them.
Qoheleth speaks of the transient nature of human existence in this poem and compares it to the permanence of nature. To highlight the theme of death he makes use of the terms Klh and )wb. The term Klh refers to “death” (cf. Eccl 3:20; 5:14– 15; 6:6, 9; 7:2; 9:10; 12:5),43 and the term )wb refers to “birth” (cf. Eccl 5:14–15; 6:4).44 Alison Lo suggests that this poem introduces the theme of death in the book.
43
F. J. Helfmeyer, “Klh,” TDOT 5:388-403; Koehler, Baumgartner, “Klh,” HALOT 1:246- 48; Eugene H. Merrill, “Klh,” NIDOTTE 1:1032-35.
44 Horst Dietrich Preuss, “)wb,” TDOT 2:20-49; Elmer A. Martens, “)wb,” TWOT 1:93-95.
Martens suggests that )wb means “death” rather than birth, but he does not offer any reasons for his suggestions.
The words Klh and )wb do not speak of the continuity of the generations; rather they “reveal the stark reality of human transitoriness.”45
Qoheleth starts his first poem
with the thought of people dying (Klhrwd) to set the background for his discourse—death happens to everybody; death defines life for Qoheleth.
Qoheleth uses the terms Klh five times in Eccl 1:6–7 and )wb once in Eccl 1:5 to demonstrate the swiftness with which things change and pass in the world in which people live; and yet, nature does not come to its end. Although the sun sets ()wb), it does so only to rise again (Eccl 1:5). The wind and the streams go back (Klh) to their beginning to continue on their chosen courses (Eccl 1:5–7). Therefore, Qoheleth masterfully employs the two key terms Klh and )wb in Eccl 1:4–7 to emphasize the brevity and mortality of humanity, on the one hand, and the permanence of nature, on the other hand.
The observations of the transient nature of human life are spelled out further in the next section Eccl 1:9–11. Qoheleth points out that there is nothing new that can be done on earth (Eccl 1:9), and there is no remembrance of people who lived before (Eccl 1:10), a thought that he will reiterate later in the book (cf. Eccl 2:16; 9:5, 15).46 Death obliterates one’s deeds and one’s life. Seow suggests that for Qoheleth death eliminates any hope of immortality or a possibility of living on in the memories of one’s descendants.47
While Seow is correct, it is quite possible for Qoheleth to offer
45 Lo, “Death in Qoheleth,” 85-98. See also Seow, Ecclesiastes, 106. Good proposes to read
Eccl 1:4 as speaking of the same generation’s career, “A generation walks (its way of life) and a generation enters (like the sun into death).” See E. M. Good, “The Unfilled Sea: Style and Meaning in Ecclesiastes 1:2–11,” in Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien (eds. John G. Gammie et al.; Missoula: Scholars, 1978), 59-73. While poetic, Good’s translation requires words to be added to complete both parts of the sentence. Besides, it does not reflect the contrast between the permanence of nature and the transience of human life that Qoheleth speaks about in the opening poem, because Good understands Qoheleth to address only one generation rather than a continuous flow of generations.
46 The idea of remembrance appears again in the latter part of the book, where Qoheleth
encourages his audience to be active at remembering the coming death and their Creator (Eccl11:8; 12:1).He is not the only one, who stresses the lack of remembrance of the past. The obliging servant in the Akkadian composition the Dialogue of Pessimism is quick to identify human forgetfulness of the people of old regardless whether they were benefactors of the society or not. See E. A. Speiser, “The Case of the Obliging Servant,” JCS 8 (1954): 98-105. See also Victor Avigor Hurowitz, “An Allusion to the Shamash Hymn in Dialogue of Pessimism,” in Wisdom Literature in Mesopotamia and Israel (SBLSymS 36, ed. Richard J. Clifford; Atlanta: SBL, 2007), 33-36.
47 Seow, Ecclesiastes, 117. See also Murphy, Ecclesiastes, 7-9; Lo, “Death in Qoheleth,” 88.
Perdue goes even further to portray Qoheleth as an absolute pessimist for whom death completely obliterates life: “For Qoheleth the end, i.e. death, is better than the beginning, since it is human destiny to be born to suffer in ignorance and darkness only to die in the blackness of oblivion and to be erased from human memory.” See Leo G. Perdue, “Wisdom and Apocalyptic: The Case of Qoheleth,” in
an indictment to the present generation who chooses not to remember the deeds of those who have gone before, who have not to learn from past examples, and thus have not changed their behaviour.
Remembering is often associated with acting in a certain way; for example, in Ps 109:16 when the psalmist speaks of people not remembering to show kindness to the poor, he points out the people’s disregard to do so.48
Therefore, Qoheleth’s comment on the lack of remembrance (Eccl 1:11) is a possible allusion to Moses’ admonition to remember which is found in the book of Deuteronomy. Throughout his speeches Moses admonishes the Israelites to remember; remember what God has done for them (Deut 5:15; 7:18); remember who they were in Egypt and who they have become after the exile (Deut 9:7; 15:15; 24:18); remember that everything that they have now is God’s gift to them (Deut 8:18; 32:7–9). Yet, instead of remembering and living according to God’s decrees, people are willing to spend their extremely short lives trying out new things only to learn that it has already been done. Qoheleth connects the theme of remembering with the theme of death to make his audience aware of the fact that death as a natural ending of life has the power to eradicate memory if people choose not to remember.
The introductory poem of Eccl 1:4–11 finds its echoes in the final poem of Eccl 12:1–7. This inclusio emphasizes the importance of the theme of death in the book of Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth’s exhortation to remember the Creator (Eccl 12:1) brings back the indictment of failing to remember the past (Eccl 1:11). For Qoheleth, the end is connected to the beginning; therefore, “to remember the Creator” does not refer to the primordial past but calls attention to the end of time when the spirit given in the beginning returns to the one who has given it.49
12:1 ymyb Ky)rwb-t) rkzw
w)by-)l r#$) d( Kytrwxb Myn#$ w(yghw h(rh ymy
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before come near
the days of evil and approach the years when
Wisdom and Apocalyptic in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Biblical Tradition (ed. F. Garcia Marinez; Leuven: Peeters, 2003), 231-58.
48 In Amos 1:9 Tyre does not remember its treaty with Israel, which means that it has broken
the treaty. In Isa 17:10 the prophet states that to forget God as Savior is substitute him for other gods. In Mal 3:22 [Eng. 4:4] the prophet admonishes to remember God which means to obey him. Cf. Isa 64:4 [Eng. 5]; Exod 20:8; Esth 9:28; Josh 1:13; Deut 3:18–20. See also Andrew Bowling, “rkz,”
TWOT, 241-43; Leslie C. Allen, “rkz,” NIDOTTE 1:1100-1106.
49
Maurice Gilbert, “La Description de la Vieillesse en Qoheleth XII 1–7 Est-Elle
Allégorique?” in Congress Volume, Vienna 1980 (VTSup 32; ed. J. A. Emerton; Leiden: Brill, 1981), 96-109.
Cpx Mhb yl-Ny) rm)t r#$) you say, “there is no pleasure in them for me.”
12:2 #$m#$h K#$xt-)l r#$) d(
Mybkwkhw xryhw rw)hw M#$nh rx) Myb(h wb#$w
Before the sun is darkened,
and the light, and the moon, and the starts, and the clouds return after the rain.
12:3 tybh yrm#$ w(zy#$ Mwyb
lyxh y#$n) wtw(thw w+(m yk tynx+h wl+bw twbr)b tw)rh wk#$xw
In the day when the watchmen of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop,
and the grinders cease for they are few, and those looking through the window darken,
12:4 lp#$b qw#&b Mytld wrgsw
Mwqyw hnx+h lwq wx#$yw rwpch lwql ry#$h twnb-lk
When the doors to the street are shut, low is the voice of the mill, when one rises up at the sound of the bird, and when all the daughters of the song grow faint,
12:5 Mytxtxw w)ry hbgm Mg dq#$h C)nyw Krdb bgxh lbtsyw Klh-yk hnwyb)h rptw wmlw( tyb-l) Mr)h Mydpsh qw#$b wbbsw
when one is afraid of heights, when terrors are
in the road, when the almond tree repulses50,
when the locust tree droops,
and caper tree breaks, because a human being walks to his house of eternity,
and the mourners return to the streets.
12:6 Pskh lbx qtry-)l r#$) d(
bhzh tln Crtw (wbmh-l(dk rb#$tw
rwbh-l) lglgh Crnw
Before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is crushed, and the jar is broken at the fountain, and the wheel is broken at the well.
12:7 Cr)h-l( rp(h b#$yw
bw#$t xwrhw hyh#$k hntn r#$) Myhl)h-l)
And the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath returns
to God who has given it.
The poems of Ecclesiastes 1:4–11 and 12:1–7 form a frame in which the latter reverses the direction of the former.51 If the introductory poem emphasizes the
circular routine of natural processes in the world, the concluding poem focuses on the finality of human life and nature itself. There is consensus among the scholars that Qoheleth speaks about the end of life in Eccl 12:1–7 even though interpretations of
50 I read C)'@@@,,n;,,,ya as hiphil imperfect of C)n “repulse”, “spurn”, which makes a purposeful word
play with Ccn “blossom.” See also Seow, “Qohelet’s Eschatological Poem,” 221-23; idem, Ecclesiastes, 361-62; Lo, “Death in Qohelet,” 97.
this passage vary.52 Alison Lo highlights the rhetorical repetition of the r#$) d( “before” phrases in Eccl 12:1, 2, 6 which connect the poem to the theme of death and finality of the world.53 The first time the r#$) d( “before” statement is used,
Qoheleth admonishes his readers to “remember” their Creator before death makes it impossible (Eccl 12:1).54 In Eccl 1:11 Qoheleth contemplates the fact that nobody is remembered by subsequent generations. In the poem of Eccl 12:1–8 Qoheleth changes the object of remembering. He commends his audience to remember God in the days of one’s youth (cf. Eccl 11:9) so that a person could learn to live out God’s imperative of enjoying life from the beginning of life. Death is a complete end of existence (cf. “the days of darkness” Eccl 11:8); therefore, only the living have the opportunity to be mindful of their God.
Qoheleth employs the phrase r#$) d( “before” for the second time in Eccl 12:2 as he continues his instructions on remembering the Creator. However, this time he emphasizes the urgency to do so before the world ceases to exist,55 “before the sun is darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain.” At first sight it seems as if Qoheleth addresses the end of human life in this verse. He has used the term “light” and “sun” in his teaching previously (e.g. Eccl 1:3; 2:13–24; 5:17 [Eng. 18]; 11:7) to define life. He has even affirmed life a few
sentences earlier, in Eccl 11:7 “Life is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.” At this juncture Qoheleth considers the end of the entire world as all of the luminaries are darkened. Seow points out that the description of the darkening of the
52 There are three interpretive approaches to Eccl 12:1–7—allegorical, eschatological, and
literal. For a detailed discussion of the history of interpretation of Eccl 12:1–7 see Fox, “Aging and Death in Qohelet 12,” JSOT 42 (1988): 55-77; idem, Qohelet and His Contradictions, 281-98. The allegorical interpretation cannot be consistently applied to the entire passage. For example, the allegory works in Eccl 12:3 but breaks down in Eccl 12:5. However, there is no consensus on the meaning of the allegory. For more details on allegorical interpretations, see Gordis, Koheleth, 338-449 and Crenshaw, Ecclesiastes, 181-189. Fox, Seow, and Provan understand Eccl 12:1–7 to speak about the end of the world, rather than an individual. See Fox, “Aging and Death in Qohelet,” 64-67; Provan, Ecclesiastes, 214; Seow, Ecclesiastes, 376; idem, “Qohelet’s Eschatological Poem,” JBL 118 (1999): 209-34. Scholars who take a literal approach do not agree on the meaning of the passage because of the symbolism present there. Thus, Sawyer believes Qoheleth to describe a broken house. See J. F. Sawyer, “The Ruined House in Ecclesiastes 12: A Reconstruction of the Original Parable,” JBL 94 (1976): 519- 31. Yet, Ginsburg suggests that the poem describes a thunderstorm. See Ginsburg, Coheleth, 457-69.
53 Lo, “Death in Qohelet,” 96. 54 Lo, “Death in Qohelet,” 96. 55
Provan points out that the sun, the moon, and the starts grow dark only as a sign of the end of times; e.g. Isa 13:9–10; Ezek 32:7–8; Joel 2:31; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14–15. See Provan,
heavenly luminaries and the light of the day are eschatological in nature.56 In the introductory poem the sun keeps going on its course even though “there is nothing new under the sun” (cf. Eccl 1:5). In the concluding poem the sun is darkened (Eccl 12:2). The absence of light makes it impossible for people to see the good in life or life itself. Thus, Qoheleth calls his audience to remember the Creator who has reversed the order of creation.57
Qoheleth continues to describe the advance of death which, in turn, intensifies the need to remember the Creator in Eccl 12:3–7. The phrase #$ Mwyb “in the day when” (Eccl 12:3) connects Qoheleth’s words to the r#$) d( phrases and furthers the theme of remembrance before the coming of death.58 The metaphorical darkness mentioned in Eccl 12:2 ruptures the circular nature of things (cf. Eccl 1:4–8) and brings about reactions of fear and trepidation from different people. Those who stay inside their houses tremble and stoop; they have to stop their daily work because their number has diminished (Eccl 12:3). The daily rhythm is broken further when the doors to the street are closed (Eccl 12:4), “leading to the cessation of economic and social activities. The desperate situation is reinforced by the silencing of the mill—the cessation of the domestic activities (baking daily bread). The sound of the mill is the sound of human life.”59
In addition, singing can no longer be heard (Eccl 12:4), which points to the interruption of the established continuous routines.
As Qoheleth moves along the description of the end times, he makes it clear that terrors will abound on the road in the days of darkness (Eccl 12:5a). Moreover, nature itself will experience death, as the three dying trees indicate (Eccl 12:5b). The almond tree (dq#$h) repulses those who look at it because of a possible desease and rot of the tree. Seow suggests that an unpleasantly looking almond tree, which is a beautiful sight even without blossoms, is “evidence of a cosmic catastrophe.”60
The locust tree (bgxh) droops under the weight of its heavy pods. And the caper tree (hnwyb)h) breaks unable to arouse desire for food or sex.61 In depicting these trees which are very common in Israel, Qoheleth speaks of a foreboding disaster that has
56
Seow, Ecclesiastes, 353, 376. Cf. Fox, A Time to Tear Down, 322.
57 Seow, “Qohelet’s Eschatological Poem,” 214.
58 Lo, “Death in Qohelet,” 97; Seow, “Qohelet’s Eschatological Poem,” 214. 59 Lo, “Death in Qohelet,” 97.
60
Seow, “Qohelet’s Eschatological Poem,” 223. See also Provan, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 216-17.
already started to affect the entire land.62 Death will not only claim the life of every individual, but of the nature as well.
Qoheleth brings this portrayal of gloom to its climax when he provides the reason for this fright—“because a human being walks to his house of eternity” (Eccl 12:5c). In the introductory poem Qoheleth speaks of endless generations walking (Klwh) the same road while the earth remains Mlw(l “forever” (Eccl 1:4).63 The transient nature of human life has no affect on the unchanging nature of the world.64 In the concluding poem a human being Klwh “goes” to wmlw( tyb “his house of eternity” (Eccl 12:5)65
The phrase wmlw( tyb “his house of eternity” designates for Qoheleth a person’s grave, one’s final destination.66
In the introductory poem
Qoheleth emphasizes the idea of the restlessness of the wind that is turning (bbs) and returning (bbs) to its original place only to start blowing again (Eccl 1:6). Now, Qoheleth shows that it is the mourners who bbs “return” to go around the town in the final bereavement ritual (Eccl 12:5c).
Qoheleth uses the phrase r#$) d( “before” for the third time in Eccl 12:6 to remind his readers about the need to remember their Creator before the ultimate moment of death.67 In order to paint a very vivid picture of humanity’s demise, Qoheleth employs the images, which in other biblical passages represent life—the lampstand (cf. 2 Sam 21:17; 1 Kgs 11:36; 2 Kgs 8:19; Ps 119:105; Prov 6:23; 13:9), as well as the fountain and well (Numb 21:16; Ps 36:9; Prov 5:15;10:11; 14:27; Jer 2:13). Here, however, the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed (Eccl
62
Similar images of dying nature are used in other books of the Bible to portray the disaster and destruction that God’s enemies will experience at his coming (e.g. Isa 34:4; Amos 1:2; Joel 2:12; Hab 3:17; Nah 1:4).
63 H. D. Preuss, “Mlw(,“ TDOT 10:535. Preuss states that the presence of the lexeme rwd
“generation” intensifies the meaning of Mlw( to indicate a time stretching very far into the future. See also Tomasino, “Mlw(,” NIDOTTE 3:347-48. Tomasino states that Mlw( together with the preposition l means “forever” which is longer than the length of one’s life. Cf. Gen 3:22; 6:3; Ps 9:6; 72:17; 78:69; 79:13; 100:5; 148:6; Isa 34:10; 40:8; 60:21; Jer 3:5; 17:25; Lam 5:19; Micah 4:2, 5. So also,