F. Scott Spencer 
Song of Songs [EPUB ebook] 

Arguably the biggest blockbuster love song ever composed, the Song of Songs holds a unique place in Jewish and Christian canons as the “holiest” book, in the minds of some readers, and the sexiest in its language and imagery. This commentary aims to interpret this vibrant Song in a contemporary feminist key, informed by close linguistic-literary and social-cultural analysis. Though finding much in the Song to celebrate for women (and men) in their embodied, passionate lives, this work also exposes tensions, vulnerabilities, and inequities between the sexes and among society at large—just what we would expect of a perceptive, poignant love ballad that still tops the charts.



From the Wisdom Commentary series 



Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.



The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.



Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

Jadual kandungan

Contents

List of Abbreviations   ix

List of Contributors   xiii

Foreword
“Tell It on the Mountain”—or, “And You Shall Tell Your Daughter [as Well]”   xv
   Athalya Brenner-Idan

Editor’s Introduction to Wisdom Commentary:
“She Is a Breath of the Power of God” (Wis 7:25)   xix
   Barbara E. Reid, OP

Acknowledgments   xxxix

Author’s Introduction:
Playing the Song of Songs in a Feminist Key   xli

Song of Songs 1:1
Heading   1

Song of Songs 1:2-8
Comfortable (Mostly) in Her Own Voice and Skin   5

Song of Songs 1:9–2:7
Looking at the Lovers’ Nest—and Letting It Be   25

Song of Songs 2:8-17
Viewing, Cooing, and Wooing   41

Song of Songs 3:1-5
Seeking and Seizing Her Lover   59

Song of Songs 3:6-11
Look Who’s Coming to Town   71

Song of Songs 4:1-7
Formidable Beauty and Fearful Symmetry   83

Song of Songs 4:8–5:1
The Precarious Path to Paradise   99

Song of Songs 5:2-8
Painful Pillow Talk   113

Song of Songs 5:9–6:3
Playful Girl Talk   133

Song of Songs 6:4-10
An Overwhelming Ode to Terrible Beauty   147

Song of Songs 6:11-13
A Flight of Fancy and a Campy Dance   157

Song of Songs 7:1-9a
The Dynamic Delights of Statuesque Beauty   167

Song of Songs 7:9b–8:4
Desiring Old and New, Open and Safe Spaces for Love   193

Song of Songs 8:5-14
The Love Song That Never Ends   207

Works Cited   233

Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings   243

Index of Subjects   247

 

Mengenai Pengarang

Barbara E. Reid, general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the president of Catholic Theological Union and the first woman to hold the position. She has been a member of the CTU faculty since 1988 and also served as vice president and academic dean from 2009 to 2018. She holds a Ph D in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America and was also president of the Catholic Biblical Association in 2014–2015.