Biblical Eloquence in Ecclesiastes 3

As I did some research on the Book of Ecclesiastes it turns out that ecclesiastes comes from the Greek word ekklesiastou which is translated as "teacher." This passage has a very compelling structure to it which seems to have been written by a master rhetorician. This is evident in the third chapter, as we see the rhetorical approach of anaphora, entangled in paralelism.

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

The first verse is a introductory statement of what the subject matter for the following verses will be. If you notice in verses 2-8 the phrase a time to is repeated four times in each verse. It is structurally very beautiful. I almost feel like it is a poem of sorts, with the pattern of such consistency.

This is a way to help people remember a principle even without remembering every single detail, we can learn the pattern. I don't remember exactly what the specific times were, but I do remember that there is a time for everything, and I think that is what is being portrayed in this scripture with the rhetorical approaches mentioned before.