What matters in life? An Introduction to the Book of Ecclesiastes and its message to generations based on the analysis of the Book of Ecclesiastes 1,1-11
Abstract
The presented article deals with the issue of translation and interpretation of the original Hebrew text of the Book of Ecclesiastes 1,1-11, a treaty on universal principles of the world, orienting the reader towards the awareness of the cyclical and ephemeral nature of all worldly events. The point of departure is the idea of the text as a certain ""code"" of the realm we live in and its structures.
This notion makes the reader and interpreter obliged to grasp the text as a whole, in its organic unity, to enter the vivid dialogue it provokes and to open to its mind-transforming potential. The article makes use of the method of synchronic textual analysis, accenting the semantic background of particular Hebrew words, non-vocalized and graphic form of the text and also the perception of the spoken text.