How deterministic is Qohelet? A new reading of the appendix to the Catalogue of Times

This paper examines the message of Qohelet's Catalogue of Times and its interpretive appendix. Scholars disagree on the extent to which this unit deviates from the traditional free-will theology of the Bible. The paper presents a fresh reading of the passage, which sheds new light on the problem of determinism in Qohelet. Beginning by a novel delineation for the unit, it then suggests fresh solutions for the main exegetical cruxes of the passage (3:14, 15, 17), and finally presents an innovative, somewhat radical, understanding of Qohelet's approach towards the problem of free will.