550 Luca Mazzinghi The God of Qoheleth can be considered as the originator (“Urheber”) of a world that has become problematic; the initiator mundi has become the Deus absconditus; this being so, in the face of the totally arbitrary nature (“Willkür”) of the divine behaviour in relation to man, there remains only resignation (21). According to this viewpoint, the text of 4,1 can thus be readily understood as the affirmation of a sage who actually holds God directly responsible for the violence and evil that is in the world. The God that Qoheleth presents us can be considered as a God who is absolutely sovereign, a radicalisation of a theme typical in the traditional theology of Israel. In relation to this God, there would be no room for any personal relationship. God no longer speaks in history. However, the biblical spirit which animates Qoheleth is revealed in his refusal to give meaning to a life which is not a place of encounter with God. The result is that Qoheleth is obliged to live not without God, but without a saving God (22). Qoheleth would not be an atheist, but his God would no longer be the God of Israel’s faith. The possibility of having some kind of personal relationship with this God has disappeared. The only thing possible is a fearful respect towards an incomprehensible despot (23). In his classic work Wisdom in Israel. G. von Rad holds that in the book of Qoheleth “a thorough, rational examination of life is unable to find any satisfactory meaning; everything is “vanity”. God determines every event. Man is unable to discern these decrees, the “work of God” (21) Cf. H.P. MÜLLER, “Wie sprach Qohälät von Gott?”, VT 18 (1968) 507- 522. That the God of Qoheleth is a Deus absconditus is a very widespread view; according to A.A. FISCHER, Skepsis oder Furcht Gottes? Studien zur Komposition und Theologie des Buches Kohelet (Berlin – New York 1997) 245-250, this is precisely the hermeneutischer Schlüssel of Qoheleth’s theology. Cf., also, V. D’ALARIO, “Struttura e teologia del libro del Qohelet”, Il libro del Qohelet. Tradizione, redazione, teologia (eds. G. BELLIA – A. PASSARO) (Milano 2001) 272. (22) “Non sans Dieu, mais sans un Dieu de salut”: L. GORSSEN, “La cohérence de la conception de Dieu dans l’Ecclésiaste”, ETL 46 (1970) 323. Cf. also on p. 313: “On pourrait résumer la théologie de l’Ecclésiaste en disant qu’elle nous présente un Dieu souverain à l’extrème”. (23) Analogous conclusions, but with different premises, are the interesting and provocative theses of E. BICKERMAN, Four Strange Books of the Bible. Jonah – Daniel – Kohelet – Esther (New York 1967). In the face of his God, the sage, Qoheleth, in reality a rich but disillusioned Jew, reduces all his religiosity to a disenchanted warning to be on one’s guard; in fact, one cannot rely on this God at all…!