John H. Choi, «The Doctrine of the Golden Mean in Qoh 7,15-18: A Universal Human Pursuit», Vol. 83 (2002) 358-374

Two issues surrounding the doctrine of the golden mean in Qoh 7,15-18 are addressed. First, a review and critique of previous research demonstrates that the passage indeed supports the golden mean, and does not present a theological problem to the reader. Secondly, the view that the golden mean is a Hellenistic product is challenged by considering: (1) the dating and (2) nature of cultural exchange between Greece and the Near East; (3) linguistic data indicating an early date of composition for Qoheleth; and (4) the presence of Near Eastern and Eastern ideas of the golden mean. These four factors demonstrate that the golden mean in Qoheleth likely is not of Greek origin from the time of Alexander the Great, but is likely a universal phenomenon.

        Widely held to be the first group of Greek settlers in the Levant, the Philistines introduced and maintained several distinct, Greek cultural elements into their new homeland⁵⁴. Further, a royal dedicatory inscription from Ekron, likely dating to the 7^th century BCE⁵⁵, may also reveal that the Philistines maintained a trace of the Greek language in the Levant. The inscription, written in a peculiar Semitic script⁵⁶, dedicates a temple in Ekron to an unknown female deity ptgyh - "...for pt[g]yh, his lady, May she bless him, and protect him, and prolong his days, and bless his land"⁵⁷. On the basis of paleographic analysis, Aaron Demsky notes that ptgyh should be read as ptnyh, vocalized as potnia⁵⁸, "the common Archaic Greek word