Song of Songs Canticles

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Song of Songs - Canticles

• APTS-BIB508-2006

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Name

• "The title is taken from the editorial
  superscription in 11, ??????????????????. The
  duplication is Hebrew idiom for the superlative
  the greatest song (cf. "King of Kings"). It is
  also known as the "Song of Solomon" in the
  tradition of English versions, and "Canticle" or
  "Canticle of Canticles," following the Vulgate
  (Canticum Canticorum)." Murphy

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Canon Location

• "Its position in the Bible has varied. It comes
  after Job in the Hebrew Bible, and it is the
  first of the five "Scrolls" ????????????? where
  it is designated for the Passover reading. In the
  Greek and Latin tradition it comes after
  Ecclesiastes. It is often associated with
  Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, among the "Books of
  Solomon." Murphy

4
Canon Location Tradition

• "The Song of Solomon is the first of the five
  Megilloth, the five scrolls read by the Jews at
  various feasts Canticles (Passover), Ruth
  (Pentecost), Ecclesiastes (Tabernacle), Esther
  (Purim), and Lamentations (anniversary of the
  destruction of Jerusalem). Normally Canticles is
  placed after Job in the Hebrew Bible." Harrison

5
Canonicity

• "It is, however, included in the list of sacred
  books in the Talmud (Baba Bathra 14) and in the
  Canon of Melito, Bishop of Sardis, who in the
  later part of the second century traveled to
  Palestine to discover what books were considered
  canonical there. It was translated into Greek by
  Aquila between ca. A.D. 90 and 130 and later by
  Symmachus and Theodotion before the end of the
  second century." Pope

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Canonicity

• Rabbi Akiba "Perish the thought! No man of
  Israel ever disputed about the Song of Songs,
  that it did not defile the hands. The whole world
  is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs
  was given to Israel, for all the Scriptures are
  holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of
  Holies if they disagreed, it was only about
  Qohelet that they disagreed." Mishnah, Yadayim
  3.5

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Text Qumran

• 4 Scroll of the Song of Songs were unearthed at
  Qumran (3 from Cave 4 1 from Cave 6).
• 4QCanta has 34-5, 7-11 41-7, 611-12 71-7),
  while 4QCantb has 29-17 3.1-2, 5, 9-10 4.1-3,
  8-11, 14-16 51.
• 4QCanta is missing from 47 to 611, where a new
  unit should begin and end.

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Text MT

• MT "It is generally conceded . . . that the text
  is in excellent state of preservation,
  particularly as compared with some other pieces
  of biblical poetry." Pope

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Text Greek

• "It is likely that the Greek translation of the
  Song of Songs was completed by 100 B.C., probably
  in Alexandria. The translation strives to render
  the Hebrew text as literally as possible. What
  may seem at first glance to be additions are
  often found to be the result of transpositions of
  words or phrases which appear elsewhere in the
  Hebrew text as we now have it. There is no clear
  evidence that the translator was influenced by
  the allegorical interpretation which the
  Synagogues and Church later applied to the text."
  Pope

10
Text Targum

• "The Targum to the Song of Songs is a version
  only in the sense that it is an indirect witness
  to the Hebrew text which it interprets, but it
  could hardly be called a translation. The Targum
  turns the Song into a Haggadah, or Narrative,
  spanning the history of Israel from the Exodus to
  the messianic age to come. The Targumist used
  words and phrases from the Hebrew text as a
  springboard or launching pad, but it is not
  always immediately obvious just what it was in
  the original text that served as the point of
  departure." Pope

11
Authorship

• "The only evidence for attributing the work to
  Solomon occurs in the title, where, where, as in
  other instances, the attributive particle can
  mean "to," "for," "concerning" and "in the manner
  of," as well as denoting direct authorship, so
  that the evidence is quite ambiguous" Harrison
• "The attribution to Solomon may also be based
  upon his prowess as a composer of lyrics (1 Kgs
  432), of which Canticles may be the supreme
  example." Harrison
• The Talmud has Hezekiah and his scribes editing
  it along with other Solomonic material. (Baba
  Bathra 15a)

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ANE Love Poetry

• "Although love poetry has flourished in all
  cultures and ages, it is the literatures of
  ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt which are most
  pertinent for comparison with the Song of Songs."
  Murphy
• "For the most part the Mesopotamian poetry deals
  with divine love between gods and goddesses."
  Murphy

13
ANE Love Poetry

• "The love poetry of ancient Egypt presents
  impressive parallels to the Song." Murphy
• However, these are all poems from man to woman
  without dialogue.
• The terms "sister" and "brother" is used.

14
ANE Love Poetry

• "The collections manifest the same literary
  genres as are found in the Song poems of
  admiration, yearning, description of physical
  charms, boasting, etc. In both literatures the
  senses are deeply involved touching, seeing,
  hearing, smelling (fragrance). Compliments,
  sometimes extravagant, abound. The beloved is
  most beautiful, unique, as in the Song (18
  69). The atmosphere in both the Egyptian and the
  Israelite poems is remarkably similar."Murphy

15
Genre

• "The most neutral designation might be "love
  song." Even here the term "song" should not be
  pressed. It is reasonable to suppose that there
  were love songs in ancient Israel." Murphy
• "The subgenres within the Song can be established
  with some success (Murphy 1981b). Modern
  scholarship has been able to characterize the
  following types yearning (e.g., 124),
  admiration (e.g., 11214), reminiscence (e.g.,
  2817), wasf (a description of the physical
  charms of the beloved, e.g., 417), boasting
  (e.g., 81112), teasing (e.g., 21415), and
  self-description (e.g., 156)." Murphy

16
The Plot

• "The theme of this fascinating monument of
  ancient Hebrew poetry is the celebration of the
  love between a damsel and her swain. It is
  undoubtedly a lawful love to be sanctioned by
  marriage. The damsel speaks of their bed and
  their home (i 16-17), and of the mandrakes which
  married women used to help them in getting
  children (vii 14 cf. Gen xxx 14-15), but the
  consummation of their love is still in the future
  (vii 13)." Segal

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The Plot

• "The damsel is still in the home of her mother
  (iii 4, viii 2). They are indeed already in a
  somewhat intimate personal relationship, as is
  apparent from their detailed description of the
  beauty of each other's body (iv 1-5, vii 2-6, v
  10-16), but the damsel is still in her virginity,
  "a garden inclosed, a fountain sealed" as
  described by the swain (iv 12). The damsel
  repeatedly warns against stirring up the love to
  too high a degree (ii 7, iii 5, viii 4). They are
  evidently a betrothed couple very near their
  marriage. But in one poem, not at the end of
  Song, there is a description of the consummation
  of their love under the figure of a garden with
  its delicious fruits and a reference to the
  banquetting of the marriage feast." Segal

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Theology of the Song of Songs

• ". . . Song of Solomon a book that affirms that
  God oversees human relationships in their
  physical and emotional expressions. The word
  oversees is used because God is not mentioned
  explicitly in the text. God is retained as
  sovereign in the book because the canon includes
  Song of Solomon in its treatment of wise living
  exhibited through wise loving." House

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Theology of the Song of Songs

• "If Proverbs 31 highlights sound advice on
  seeking a suitable mate and Ruth demonstrates the
  way God brings the righteous together for
  marriage, then Song of Solomon illustrates free
  and passionate love between a man and woman.
  Ecclesiastes . . . states plainly that human love
  cannot take the place of one's respect and love
  for one's Creation. Thus Song of Solomon is
  introduced and qualified within the canonical
  context." House

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Theology of the Song of Songs

• "There is no sign that the canonical shape of the
  book ever received an allegorical shaping.
  Rather, its place within wisdom literature
  resisted attempts to replace its message with
  prophetic themes. Nor did the Song of Songs enter
  the canon as a 'secular' love poem in need of
  being made sacred. Instead, the Song entered the
  canon in essentially the same role as it had
  played in Israel's institutional life. It
  celebrated the mysteries of human love expressed
  in the marriage festival." Childs

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Theology of the Song of Songs

• "The Song of Songs was to be heard along with
  other portions of Israel's scripture as a guide
  to wisdom. The canonical concerns were highly
  theological, but expressed in such a way that the
  profane and sacred dimensions of life were never
  separated. The wisdom framework served to
  maintain the Song's integrity as a phenomenon of
  human experience reflecting the divine order
  which the community of faith continues to enjoy."
  Childs