Larry Lyke ( I Will Espouse You Forever: The Song of Songs and the Theology of Love in the Hebrew Bible ) notes the use of the word “skirts” (Heb. shwl ) in Lamentations 1:9, and comments that outside Jeremiah, Nahum, and Lamentations the term “is always used in reference to . . . . Continue Reading »
In response to the overview of the Song of Songs that I proposed a few days ago, James Jordan suggests the following, more compressed, scheme: 1. Israel in bondage, longing for her sleeping Lord to awake, 1:2-2:7. 2. Yahweh comes and calls Israel to the springtime, 2:8-17. 3. Yahweh’s absence . . . . Continue Reading »
Yesterday, I suggested that the sequence of sacrifice in the Bible, reflected in Leviticus and the Song, is this: Like the original Adam, adams are divided and pass through the fire into order to be transformed into fiery bridal food, fragrance satisfying to God. That is only an extension of . . . . Continue Reading »
Raymond Jacques Tournay argues convincingly that the cautions about “awakening love” in the Song refer to the sleeping bridegroom, rather than the sleeping bride. The motif comes to a conclusion in 8:5, where the bride says that she awakened the lover under the apple tree. Which . . . . Continue Reading »
How does the theme verse of the Song (8:6) summarize the message of the Song? Death is never mentioned earlier in the Song, and the threats to the bride do not seem mortal threats. She is wounded in the streets, but survives the attack and finds her lover again. Otherwise, the . . . . Continue Reading »
James Jordan has pointed out that Adam is first called “man” (Heb. ‘ish ) when Eve is presented to him (Genesis 2:22). He further suggests that ‘ish is punningly connected with the Hebrew word for fire, ‘esh . Adam, the man of earth, becomes enflamed, burns . . . . Continue Reading »
The Song of Songs is about Yahweh and Israel, but the history it allegorizes is not a history of grueling slavery, battle, conquest, exile. All that history is portrayed as light romantic comedy. Which it is: Light romantic comedy is the story of the world. The crises that the bride . . . . Continue Reading »
The Song portrays the longing of the bride for her lover, the king, Solomon. There is an advent scene in 3:6-11, but this Solomon is elusive. Even at the end of the Song, the bride is still urging the lover to hurry up and come to her. A once and future Solomon, an already-not yet . . . . Continue Reading »
Wine is a sign of kingship, and so Solomon is a king of wine. His kisses are better than wine; he is himself a source of intoxication for the bride, Israel (Song 1:2, 4). Solomon, though, is not merely a giver of wine, but in giving the wine of his love to Israel, he makes Israel into a . . . . Continue Reading »
At the right, you’ll find a link to the Amazon page for my forthcoming book on Constantine. Take a look! . . . . Continue Reading »
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