Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Preface 4 – Biblical commentary 5
The Preface to the Ecclesiastes.
THis Booke is called Heb. foreign a Congregatour, or gatherer together, as Prov. 30. The words of Agur, or Gatherer, there are sentences gathered together. Here observations, touching the vanities of this world, and sentences uttered hereupon, partly as the Authour hereof Salomon, thought in the time of his vanity, and partly after that by repentance he rose up againe, perswading to the feare of God, and to the keeping of his Commandements.
Some there are that make question whether he wrote it after his repenting, or not, or whether he repented and recovered the savour of God, and were saved, but enough hath been said to that upon Prov. 30. and in his History 1 King.
Some doubt whether it be Canonical Scripture; But for so much as it is, and hath been alwayes received for Canonical by the Church of God, have no reason to call it now in question. The name Ecclesiastes is given it by the Septuagint, coming of foreign to call out, or to gather together, Anglice the Preacher, because to him the people gather together in the publike place to hear the Word, and therefore the Title implieth, that the things here set forth, concern the whole Congregation of Gods people, and therefore are by all to be attended unto. But the word is a feminine, as if he had said, a she gatherer; so Ps. 68. 11. It is said, The Lord gave the word, great was the company of Preachers, where Preachers are againe put in the feminine, the reason is yeelded by some, because the greater excellency of Preachers is thus set forth, but I rather think, because a Preacher as a mother travelleth, as it were, in bringing forth through much solicitude, about the conversion of the people, as Paul speaketh, My little children, of whom I travel again Gal. 4. 19.in birth till Christ be formed in you; For their tender and motherly affection then towards the people: they are set forth as Females sometimes; But what excellency is in the Female above the Male, I know not, that the gender should be changed for excellencies sake; and therefore the Jesuite Lorinus.from whom that reason came, was very forgetfull even of the Grammar Rules, which say the Masculine gender is more worthy then the Feminine. For the reason that moveth some to thinke, that it is not Canonical Scripture, viz. because Chap. 2. and elsewhere, be speaks like a carnall man, it is easily answered, that he sustained herein a double person, of a man fallen and living in sinne, as he had done, in which person he speaketh so, and of a man risen up again by repentance, being now ashamed of his sensuall thoughts and pleasures then, and condemning them all as vanities, and perswading to live in feare of God, as to that of which onelyonly true pleasure will come at the last; For his severall names, Salomon, Jedidiah, and Ecclesistes, see before in my Preface to the Proverbs, and for his scope of writing these three Bookes.