An Unstudied Interpretation of Ecclesiastes 12:3–6 in Slavonic and Its Context

Abstract

Abstract There is a discussion about the genre labels of Ecclesiastes and some authors consider that the message of the Book is “anti-apocalyptic” (J.N. Douglas 2011). Quotations from the Old Testament Book Ecclesiastes are very rare as a part of the historical and apocalyptic works both in Greek and Old Church Slavonic. For example, it is cited in the Interpretation of the Book of Daniel by Hippolytus of Rome both in the Greek prototype and in the Slavonic translation. An interpretation of Ecclesiastes 12:3–6 has been found in the last folia of a newly discovered manuscript of Russian National Library Q.I.622 (main collection), middle of 15th c. The excerpt is interpreted allegorically and has a typical rhetorical structure for apocalyptic texts. It is interesting not only with arguments for apocalyptic interpretation but also in its language characteristic in comparison with other manuscripts of the Book Ecclesiastes in the translation of Old Church Slavonic. The context of the interpretation also is important concerning the history and transmission of the text, and the understanding of the author’s message in the Slavic milieu.