"If it needs a man who has suffered to write a commentary on Job,. . . perhaps the only person
entitled to comment on Ecclesiastes is a cynic who has revolted from the world in disillusionment and disgust”. "If so," writes Michael Eaton, "I qualify." Scholars have long wrestled with the gloomy pessimism and striking omission of any mention of Yahweh in this portion of the Wisdom literature. After setting forth the issues related to the text, authorship, date and canonicity, Eaton assesses the purpose and structure of the book. He then provides a passage-by-passage analysis that attempts to account for the oddities of the text and to show its contemporary relevance. Michael A. Eaton (B.D., Tyndale Hall) is lecturer in Old Testament at Baptist Theological College of Southern Africa and pastor of Rouxville Baptist Church (a multiracial congregation) in Johannesburg.