Editing Ecclesiastes (section)

===Genre and setting===
Ecclesiastes has taken its literary form from the Middle Eastern tradition of the fictional autobiography, in which a character, often a king, relates his experiences and draws lessons from them, often self-critical: Kohelet likewise identifies himself as a king, speaks of his search for wisdom, relates his conclusions, and recognises his limitations.{{sfn|Fox|2004|p=xiii}} The book belongs to the category of [[wisdom literature]], the body of biblical writings which give advice on life, together with reflections on its problems and meanings—other examples include the [[Book of Job]], [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]], and some of the [[Book of Psalms|Psalms]]. Ecclesiastes differs from the other biblical Wisdom books in being deeply skeptical of the usefulness of wisdom itself.{{sfn|Brettler|2007|p=721}} Ecclesiastes in turn influenced the [[deuterocanonical]] works, [[Wisdom of Solomon]] and [[Sirach]], both of which contain vocal rejections of the Ecclesiastical philosophy of futility.

Wisdom was a popular genre in the ancient world, where it was cultivated in scribal circles and directed towards young men who would take up careers in high officialdom and royal courts; there is strong evidence that some of these books, or at least sayings and teachings, were translated into Hebrew and influenced the Book of Proverbs, and the author of Ecclesiastes was probably familiar with examples from Egypt and Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Fox|2004|pp=x–xi}} He may also have been influenced by Greek philosophy, specifically the schools of [[Stoicism]], which held that all things are fated, and [[Epicureanism]], which held that happiness was best pursued through the quiet cultivation of life's simpler pleasures.{{sfn|Gilbert|2009|p=125}}