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Song of Songs - Canticles

Name. "The title is taken from the editorial superscription in 1:1, ??????????????????. 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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Song of Songs - Canticles

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    1. Song of Songs - Canticles APTS-BIB508-2006

    3. 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]

    6. 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]

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

    8. 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]

    9. 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 4:32), 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)

    12. 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 (1:8; 6:9). 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., 1:24), admiration (e.g., 1:1214), reminiscence (e.g., 2:817), wasf (a description of the physical charms of the beloved, e.g., 4:17), boasting (e.g., 8:1112), teasing (e.g., 2:1415), and self-description (e.g., 1:56)." [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]

    17. 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]

    18. 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]

    19. 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]

    20. 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]

    21. 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]

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