Two approaches to life in the second temple period: Deuteronomy and Qoholet

Abstract

The prosaic Mosaic death in Deuteronomy 34 leaves the way of life ~l[ol. / ~lA[-d[; / ~ymiYh;-lK’as constituted in ~yrIbD>h;. That is, par excellence: Life hwhy> ynEp.li is found in words. In Qohelet, another kind of existentialism, in the face of death, is found, namely in the sensual life of enjoyment of food, drink and companionship. These two approaches constitute different, competing Second Temple period conceptions of how to live, despite death, coram Deo. These two conceptions indicate the
existence of more than one ethos within ancient Judaic society – a dynamic often lacking in the South African context.