Song 5:12
Here we have a metaphorical description of her lover’s eyes.
When she talks about them being washed or bathed, we are reminded of the words that sent him away (Song 5:3).
In the final words, the whites of his eyes are again likened to water – apparently referring to a pool from which one draws water (see Song 7:4). This also carries an additional meaning, referring to precious inlaid stones.
Song 5:13
We move from metaphors of fauna to similes of flora.
The first seeks to describe how pleasing the scent of his beard is. His cheeks are like garden beds that grow spices, spices from which perfume is made.
The second says the scent of his lips is as pleasing as lilies, and dripping with liquid myrrh, echoing again an earlier verse (Song 5:5).
Song 5:14
His face, arms, and legs are made of gold and are radiant.
With the mention of his arms, we recall how his hand slipped from the hole in the door. It should be noted that the same word in Hebrew is used for both arm and hand.
These arms are like cylindrical rods that are studded with precious stones.
The beryl that is set in the gold likely refers to his fingernails.
All of the above brings to mind a statue, not of a living person, but rather like the statue of a god in a temple.
The man’s torso is like a slab of ivory, covered with sapphires.
Comparing a human to a statue, even a statue of a god, seems rough and unusual but it does seem to have been postively intended. We’re just not in the same contextual world as the humanistic, naturalistic Greeks, who, even in stone, valued the flesh above all.
BJH1960, you’ve inspired me. Since I snagged the two-volume Nicklesburg commentary on the Book of Enoch a while back I’ve been dipping in here and there, but I can see the value (at least for me) of a more systematic approach. I’ve been enjoying your posts about the SOSs so I think I am going to attempt something similar with the BOE. Christmas is far too hectic to start so I am looking at the beginning of the year. I will enjoy it even if no one else does since writing about a subject is an even more intensive way to internalize it. (Especially when I’m not being graded! Ha!)
Yes, another illustration of the different world the author inhabited.
Looking forward to it. While I picked up the Book of Enoch a while back after you’d piqued my curiosity, I only managed to read a few chapters before I got distracted by something else, an all too common occurrence. This will give me a chance to start anew and with a guide to boot.
Song 5:15
His arms have been compared to rods. Now, his legs are compared to something even thicker, pillars.
The marble pillar is the pale marble set upon pedestals of gold.
She both begins and ends her description of the parts of his body with the color gold.
From the legs, the woman again returns to her beloved’s appearance as a whole and the general impression he makes.
Song 5:16
By returning to his head and mouth, she reminds us that he is, in fact, her living lover and not a statue.
The focus now is on his mouth, literally his palate, which plays such an important role in speech and taste.
The words for sweet and delight rhyme in Hebrew. The former describes pleasing, tempting things (see Prov. 16:21) while the latter refers to precious objects that are longed for (Lam. 2:4; Ezek. 24:16,21).
After describing her lover, she is now ready to answer the question posed in Song 5:9.
His beauty is comparable to the most beautiful of women.
She calls him my friend, which is what she was called by her lover at the beginning of the poem.
Song 6:1
The third and last section of our poem begins with two questions posed by the daughters of Jerusalem.
The woman, in describing her beloved, has piqued her companions’ curiosity, and they agree to help her find him.
One can easily imagine another scenario in which they doubt the existence of her beloved and that they are merely accompanying her so that she’ll be forced to accept he exists only in her dreams and not in reality.
Song 6:2
The woman suddenly realizes where her lover is. This abrupt transition from ignorance to awareness is characteristic of dreams rather than the logic of reality.
He has gone down to his garden, which is a metaphor for the woman in the Song of Songs (Song 4:12), to partake in the pleasures his love will give.
Chapter 7: “A Woman of Valor (א שת חיל)” Prov. 31:10-31—A Conservative’s Response to Song of Songs
I will only briefly summarize this chapter.
The author believes that it was written to replace the idea of femininity found in the Song of Songs with a different female ideal. Instead of a physically beautiful woman, clever, active, and bold, and unconfined by conventions, we have an intelligent and active woman of a different sort: she remains in the house, supervising the household. Her beauty is not mentioned at all, and when parts of her body are mentioned, it’s only because they contribute to the prosperity of the home. One does not find any eroticism. She is not praised by other women for her beauty but by her husband and sons for her industry.
CHAPTER 8: When Did the Allegorical Interpretation of the Song Begin?
This is the last chapter of what has been a very thought-provoking book.
By the end of the first century (Against Apion 1:8), the Song of Songs was recognized as part of Hebrew scriptures. Its sacred status can be found earlier in 4 Ezra, written around the time of the destruction of the Second Temple as well as in scrolls from Qumran. However, there was significant debate over how it should be interpreted. Was it simply love poetry or poems depicting God’s special relationship with Israel?
The literal interpretation was opposed by Rabbi Akiba (Tosefta Sanhdred 12:5), and most Rabbis generally favored the allegorical interpretation (BT Sanhedredin 101a). This view appears in in 4 Ezra 5:24-27 written around the time of the Second Temple’s destruction, and continued through the Bar Kokhba Revolt, portraying the Song as depicting the relationship between shekhinah and Israel. We can also find this in the Mishnah (M. Ta’anith 4:8).
The imagery in John 3:28-29 reflects themes found in the Song of Songs, and prominent Christian authors such as Origen, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great further developed this allegorical interpretation.
It is also found throughout Tannaitic and Amoraic literature. All Midrashim on the Song interpret it allegorically, with the most important being Midrash Song of Songs Rabbah. It was so widespread in Jewish exegesis that, except for one anonymous 12th-century commentator, all medieval scholars believed the Song depicted the relationship between Israel and God.
This interpretation was not, the author believes, a deliberate strategy to silence those who rejected the book’s inclusion into the canon but rather something that arose naturally.
Other biblical books attributed to Solomon contain allegory in the form of personified feminized images, such as Proverbs 9:1-6 and 13-18. Allegory itself is not foreign to the Bible, as seen in Judges 9:8-15, II Samuel 12:1-4, 2 Kings 14:9, Ezekiel 17:1-10, 19:1-14, 31:3-18, 34:2-19, and 37:1-14. Prophetic visions and dreams provided opportunities for allegorical expressions, making it easier for readers to accept such an interpretation.
The absence of any direct reference to God helps. If God had been mentioned alongside the male figures (e.g. groom, shepherd, king), it would have been difficult to identify him as the central male figure. The Bible is clear that man was made in the image of God (Gen. 9:6), and it contains many anthropomorphic descriptions of God, so interpreting the male lover in the Song as God is not such a big leap. We can easily identify the shepherds and kings in the Song with the God of Israel as God is likened to both throughout the Bible (Genesis 48:15, Psalm 23:1-2, Psalm 80:2; Psalm 93:1, Psalm 98:6). In the same way, we can see the female in the Song as representing Israel (Hosea 14:6-8; Jer. 2:2; 6:1-8; Ezek. 16)
The author believes that it is quite possible that the allegorical interpretation is actually what led to the collection of different poems being brought together to be put into the sacred canon.
The scholars who specialize in the Hekhalot literature that came out of early Jewish Merkabah Mysticism speculate that this movement was first to allegorize the Song. Rabbi Akiba was their hero and one of their prime texts was the ** you do not have permission to see this link **
The surviving fragments of the Merkavah literature, which are largely incomprehensible and textually corrupt, are quite clearly related to the Song of Songs. Phrases from this biblical book, particularly the portrayal of the beloved (5:10-16), appear repeatedly in various passages:
My beloved is white and ruddy,
Pre-eminent above ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold,
His locks are curled,
And black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
Beside the water-brooks;
Washed with milk.
And fitly set.
His cheeks are a bed of spices.
As banks of sweet herbs;
His lips are as lilies,
Dropping with flowing myrrh.
His hands are as rods of gold
Set with beryl;
His body is as polished ivory
Overlaid with sapphires.
His legs are as pillars of marble.
Set upon sockets of fine gold;
This is my beloved, and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem
During the first and second centuries, when the Song of Songs began to be interpreted as portraying the relationship between God and Israel, tremendous weight was given to the descriptions of the beloved, who was seen as none other than God Himself, as revealed in the Exodus, in the splitting of the Red Sea, and in the wanderings in the desert. The Shi‘ur Komah fragments followed these bodily descriptions and even surpassed them. Enormous measurements are given for the size of the Creator and for the length of each limb. As if this were not enough, unintelligible combinations of letters are given to indicate the secret name of each part.
Especially interesting in the essay is the discussion of Origen’s awareness of these Jewish mystical traditions. Origen writes:
It is said to be the custom of the Jews to forbid anyone who has not attained a mature age to hold this book [i.e., the Song of Songs] in his hands. Moreover, even though their rabbis and teachers instruct their children in all the books of the Scripture and in their oral traditions, they postpone the following four texts until the very end: the beginning of Genesis, describing the Creation of the World; the beginning of the prophecy of Ezekiel, which relates to the cherubim [that is, the doctrine of the angels and the divine retinue]: the end [of the same book], which describes the future Temple; and this book, the Song of Songs.
Of course by Origen’s time the Christian interpretation saw Christ in the Song.
Bot Hill get more crowded.
BJH1960, are you finished here? I enjoy it very much. There is no substitute for the deep dive. And when you write about your reading it uses another part of the brain. Goes deeper. Sticks around longer.
All you other folks out there, don’t leave me and BJH1960 all alone. Got some obsession or fixation? Some book of the Bible that haunts you? Write about it. We’ll get something out of it and you will to.
Bot Hill get more crowded.
I, too, have found myself exploring these threads and have found so much of interest.
BJH1960, are you finished here?
For the moment, although given my love of the book it’s probably only a matter of time before I pick up something else on it, and when I do, I’ll be sure to share what I’ve found.
There is no substitute for the deep dive. And when you write about your reading it uses another part of the brain. Goes deeper. Sticks around longer.
It really does.
By the way, I am remarkably in possession of ** you do not have permission to see this link ** and I could not in any way be more pleased. I have no idea when I’ll get to it but when I do I’d like to explore in depth chapters of interest.
All you other folks out there, don’t leave me and BJH1960 all alone. Got some obsession or fixation? Some book of the Bible that haunts you? Write about it. We’ll get something out of it and you will to.
Amen.
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
evgendob
Robert
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