Song of Songs
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 April 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0215
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 April 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0215
Introduction
The Song of Songs has been deemed the most sublime song, the holy of holies, and the interpretive key that has been lost. Although a small book with only eight chapters and 117 verses, the Song of Songs has generated thousands of works since its canonization in the 1st century. The book was at the center of controversy starting from the process of its inclusion in the canon for its literary genre, authorship, literary unity, frequent change of scenes in the text, gender relations, as well as its lack of explicit “God-content.” The book’s history of interpretation is one of the most fascinating subjects. From the early centuries until the medieval period, the allegorical interpretation dominated the understanding of the book. Within the allegorical interpretation is also the Jewish historical allegory, the Christian mystical allegory, and the Catholic Marian allegory. With the rise of the historical critical method in the 19th century, interpretation expanded beyond the allegoric to include the dramatic interpretation, the cultic interpretation, the wedding interpretation, the funerary interpretation, and various strands of feminist and intertextual interpretations. Contemporary scholarship sees the book as a collection of love poems between a man and a woman. Yet its exact interpretation still thrives with intrigue and tension in the present day.
Introductory Works
The introductory works are generally brief and concise. They provide an overview of the issues involved in studying the Song. Archer 1964 is a critical introduction to the Song and serves as a textbook for Old Testament survey courses. It is a starting point for a quick glance of the book. Brueggemann 2005 and Freedman 1992 are Bible dictionaries that provide introductory materials regarding authorship, date, literary features, theological messages, and background information of the Song. Keck 1997 is a concise discussion of the Song, commented on by paragraphs rather than verse by verse. Walton 2009 gives a visual presentation of the images in the Song, connecting text with images. Longmanand Enns 2008 contains three chapters on the Song with bibliographical materials.
Archer, Gleason L., Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Chicago: Moody, 1964.
This is a brief introduction to the Song of Songs. It is one of the starting places for a big-picture view of the content and basic issues of the book.
Brueggemann, Walter, ed. The New Interpreter’s Bible: Old Testament Survey. Nashville: Abingdon, 2005.
This is a concise edition of the survey on the Song of Songs without verse-by-verse commentary. The chapter on the Song of Songs is written by Renita J. Weems (pp. 262–269).
Freedman, David Noel, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 6. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
The section of the Song appears on pages 150–155. The bibliographic material is limited to the time period prior to 1982.
Keck, Leander E. The New Interpreter’s Bible: Vol. V, Introduction to Wisdom Literature, The Book of Proverbs, The Book of Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, The Book of Wisdom, The Book of Sirach. Nashville: Abingdon, 1997.
The commentary on the Song of Songs appears on pages 363–434. The introductory section appears in “The New Interpreter’s Bible: Old Testament Survey.” The commentary is brief but helpful in getting the gist of the passages. The author provides useful reflections after each literary unit.
Longman, Temper, III, and Peter Enns. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Academic, 2008.
This dictionary devotes three chapters to the Song. The first chapter provides a general overview of the book. The second chapter gives the ancient Near Eastern background of the book. The third chapter deals with its history of interpretation. A great resource for scholars and a general audience.
Walton, John H. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary. Vol. 5, The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.
The chapter on the Song of Songs appears on pages 518–533. It includes several pictures of Egyptian portraits including Akhenaten and his queen, Egyptian love poetry, Pharaoh’s horses, and date palm trees, all of which reflect the images emerged from the Song.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Nabataea and the Nabat...
- Aaron
- Acts of Peter
- Acts of the Apostles
- Adam and Eve
- Aelia Capitolina
- Afterlife and Immortality
- Agriculture
- Alexander the Great
- Alexandria
- Altered States of Consciousness in the Bible
- Ancient Christianity, Churches in
- Ancient Israel, Schools in
- Ancient Medicine
- Ancient Mesopotamia, Schools in
- Ancient Near Eastern Law
- Angels
- Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
- Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
- Apocryphal Acts
- Apostolic Fathers
- Aram
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Ammon and the Ammonite...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Aram and the Arameans
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Judah and the Judeans ...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Moab and the Moabites
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Phoenicia and the Phoe...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of the Kingdom of Israel ...
- Archaeology, Greco-Roman
- Art, Early Christian
- Asceticism
- Astrology and Astronomy
- Athaliah
- Atonement
- Augustus
- Babylon
- Baptism
- Barnabas, Epistle of
- Benefaction/Patronage
- Bible and Film
- Bible and Visual Art
- Bible, Exile, and Migration, The
- Biblical Criticism
- Biblical Studies, Cognitive Science Approaches in
- Caesarea Maritima
- Canaanites
- Canon, Biblical
- Ceramics
- Cherubim
- Child Metaphors in the New Testament
- Children in the Hebrew Bible
- Children in the New Testament World
- Christian Apocrypha
- Christology
- Chronicles, First and Second
- Cities of Refuge
- Clement, First
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement, Second
- Clothing
- Colossians
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversion
- Corinthians, Second
- Cosmology, Near East
- Covenant
- Covenant, Ark of the
- Crucifixion
- Cyrus
- Daniel
- Daniel, Additions to
- David
- Death and Burial
- Deborah
- Demons
- Deuteronomistic History
- Deuteronomy
- Diaspora in the New Testament
- Didache
- Digital Humanities and the Bible
- Divination and Omens
- Domestic Architecture, Ancient Israel
- Early Christianity
- Early Christianity and Slavery
- Ecclesiastes/Qohelet
- Economics and Biblical Studies
- Edom
- Education, Greco-Roman
- Education in the Hebrew Bible
- Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Election in the Bible
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Enoch
- Ephesians
- Epistles, Catholic
- Epistolography (Ancient Letters)
- Eschatology of the New Testament
- Esther and Additions to Esther
- Ethics
- Evil Eye
- Exodus, Book of
- Exorcism
- Ezekiel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Faith in the New Testament
- Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament
- Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible
- Food and Food Production
- Friendship, Kinship and Enmity
- Funerary Rites and Practices, Greco-Roman
- Galatians
- Galilee
- Genesis, Book of
- Gentiles
- Gilgamesh
- Gnosticism
- God, Ancient Israel
- God, Greco-Roman
- God, Son of
- Gospels
- Gospels, Apocryphal
- Great, Herod the
- Greco-Roman Meals
- Greco-Roman World, Associations in the
- Greek Language
- Hagar
- Heaven
- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Law in the
- Hebrew Language
- Hebrews
- Hell
- Hellenistic and Roman Egypt
- Hermas, Shepherd of
- Historiography, Greco-Roman
- History of Ancient Israelite Religion
- Hittites
- Holy Spirit
- Honor and Shame
- Hosea, Book of
- Idol/Idolatry (HB/OT)
- Idol/Idolatry (New Testament)
- Imperial Cult and Early Christianity
- Infancy Gospel of Thomas
- Interpretation and Hermeneutics
- Intertextuality in the New Testament
- Isaiah
- Israel, History of
- James
- Jeremiah
- Jeroboam
- Jerusalem
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Christianity
- Jewish Festivals
- Jezebel
- Job
- Joel, Book of
- John, Gospel of
- John the Baptist
- Joshua
- Jubilees, Book of
- Judaism, Hellenistic
- Judaism, Rabbinic
- Judaism, Second Temple
- Judas, Gospel of
- Jude, Epistle of
- Judges, Book of
- Judith, Book of
- Kings, First and Second
- Kingship
- Lamentations
- Latino/a/e and Latin American Biblical Interpretation
- Letters, Johannine
- Letters, Pauline
- Levi/Levittes
- Levirate Obligation in the Hebrew Bible
- Levitical Cities
- Leviticus
- LGBTIQ Hermeneutics
- Literacy, New Testament
- Literature, Apocalyptic
- Lord's Prayer
- Luke, Gospel of
- Maccabean Revolt
- Maccabees, First–Fourth
- Man, Son of
- Manasseh, King of Judah
- Manasseh, Tribe/Territory
- Mari
- Mark, Gospel of
- Martyrdom
- Mary
- Matthew, Gospel of
- Medieval Biblical Interpretation (Jewish)
- Mesopotamian Mythology and Genesis 1-11
- Messianism
- Metaphor in the New Testament
- Midian
- Midrash and Aggadah
- Minoritized Criticism of the New Testament
- Miracle Stories
- Modern Bible Translations
- Moses
- Music
- Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
- Myth in the Hebrew Bible
- Nahum, Book of
- Names of God in the Hebrew Bible
- New Testament and Early Christianity, Women, Gender, and S...
- New Testament, Feminist Scholarship on the
- New Testament, Men and Masculinity in the
- New Testament, Rhetoric of the
- New Testament, Social Sciences and the
- New Testament Studies, Emerging Approaches in
- New Testament, Textual Criticism of the
- New Testament Views of Torah
- Numbers, Book of
- Nuzi (Nuzi Tablets)
- Old Testament, Biblical Theology in the
- Old Testament, Social Sciences and the
- Orality and Literacy
- Otherness in the Hebrew Bible
- Pain and Suffering in the Hebrew Bible
- Parables
- Paraenesis
- Passion Narratives
- Pastorals
- Paul
- Pauline Chronology
- Paul's Opponents
- Pentateuch
- Performance Criticism
- Period, The "Persian"
- Peter
- Philemon
- Philippians
- Philistines
- Philo of Alexandria
- Piety/Godliness in Early Christianity and the Roman World
- Poetry, Hebrew
- Pontius Pilate
- Priestly/Holiness Codes
- Priest/Priesthood
- Prophets
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Pseudepigraphy, Early Christian
- Pseudo-Clementines
- Q
- Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls
- Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels
- Revelation (Apocalypse)
- Romans
- Ruth
- Sacrifice
- Samaria/Samaritans
- Samuel, First and Second
- Satan
- Scriptures
- Second Baruch
- Sects, Jewish
- Septuagint
- Sermon on the Mount
- Sexual Violence and the Hebrew Bible
- Sin (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
- Sirach
- Slavery
- Sojourner
- Solomon
- Solomon, Wisdom of
- Song of Songs
- Succession Narrative
- Synagogue
- Synoptic Problem
- Tales, Court
- Talmud
- Targum
- Temples and Sanctuaries
- Temples, Near Eastern
- Ten Commandments
- The Bible and the American Civil War
- The Bible and the Qur’an
- The Bible in China
- The English Bible: History and Translations
- the Hebrew Bible, Ancient Egypt and
- The New Testament and Creation Care
- Thessalonians
- Thomas, Gospel of
- Tobit
- Trauma and the Bible, Hermeneutics of
- Twelve Prophets, Book of the
- Ugarit
- Virtues and Vices: New Testament Ethical Exhortation in I...
- War, New Testament
- Wisdom
- Wisdom—Greek and Latin
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testa...
- Worship in the New Testament and Earliest Christianity
- Worship, Old Testament
- Zadok
- Zechariah
- Zoology (Animals in the New Testament)