It is an oft-noted fact that Qohelet speaks of God exclusively as אלהים, frequently accompanied by the definite article (ה). In light of the dominant scholarly view that associates Qohelet’s theological idiom with a picture of a particularly dark and distant God, this paper will offer an alternative explanation. I will begin by noting the peculiarity of Qohelet’s God-talk, specifically the clear preference for אלהים over יהוה and the frequent (80%) use of a ‘superfluous’ definite article—i.e., האלהים. After examining typical philological, ideological, and theological explanations for this unusual theological idiom, I will propose a constructive explanation—part intertextual, part grammatical, and part literary—intended to support a ‘positive’ reading of Qohelet (and Ecclesiastes) against the claim that, in Hans-Peter Müller’s words, Qohelet’s use of האלהים constitutes “an undoctrinal inclination” (ein undoktrinärer Zug). Instead, I will contend that the two peculiar features of Qohelet’s God-talk—his choice of אלהים and his use of the definite article (ה)—result from his “under the sun” exploration of the הבל-subjected world that he experiences. Rather than the use of אלהים distancing Qohelet from the covenant perspective associated with the divine name יהוה, the choice of אלהים sharpens his theological focus on the Sovereign who governs the created universe. Similarly, Qohelet’s choice to pair אלהים with the definite article does not reduce אלהים to a de-personalized, vague abstraction, such as “la divinité” (so Jean-Jacques Lavoie), but rather acts as a soft demonstrative—i.e., this God. From the perspective of Qohelet’s existential experiments “under the sun,” האלהים serves as a fitting descriptor for God precisely because it emphasizes this God’s function and vocation as God in stark contrast to both finite humans (who are markedly not God) and the הבל context in which they find themselves. In this reading, the use of האלהים denotes this God as categorically not הבל, but instead as functionally and ontologically sovereignly above the הבל. Therefore, האלהים alone stands as the source of any and all human experiences that, even for a moment, transcend or resist the frustratingly ephemeral, perplexing, and transient nature of life.
OUTLINE
1. The Peculiarity of Qohelet’s Use of האלהים
a. Statistics and Overview of האלהים in Ecclesiastes and the OT
b. Interpretations of the Significance of האלהים in Ecclesiastes
i. Philological Explanations
ii. Ideological or Theological Explanations
2. A Proposal in Defense of a ‘Positive’ Reading
a. On the Use of אלהים over יהוה in Ecclesiastes
b. On the Use of the Definite Article (ה) in Ecclesiastes
c. האלהים in the Old Testament
3. Conclusion: Implications for Reading Ecclesiastes