ABSTRACT
Biblical texts are essentially cultural entities, which operate within broader cultural paradigms, which arise among human beings living in social communities. The Christian Bible as a social artefact can be situated within this frame. The role of the cultural symbol is thus integrative of the individual to the whole. The identity of the whole group is established by the mirror of life provided by the icon, whose values are transmitted by media and by social critics; in turn the group owns that image and offers it to potential members as a guide to belonging. Ecclesiastes' use of money images can be seen as a neutral cultural imagery, but, equally, it can be viewed suspiciously as the manner in which one particular group seeks to dominate social consciousness and so hold power. In combining social and religious issues Qohelet implicitly queries the cultural icons of commerce and money making, in his time.
