At the feast, Pilate offers to release ( apoluo ) a prisoner to the people. Earlier in Matthew, the verb is used with some frequency to describe the release of a wife, a divorce (Matthew 1:19; 5:31-34; 19:3, 7-8). In other passages, it means “send away,” as when the disciples wish to send away the crowds to get food for themselves (e.g., 14:15). Though the word has a broader meaning, it seems plausible that the marital connotation is faintly present... Read more
Prior to the Song of Songs, women’s bodies are mainly described in terms of function. Eve is the “mother of the living”; wombs are for giving children; breasts are for nursing. Rules of uncleanness for women focus on childbirth and menstruation, again relating the woman’s body to conception, gestation, and birth. Women’s bodies are of interest mainly because they give new life. Everything seems to change in the Song. Solomon revels in the woman’s body as an object of... Read more
In Hebrew, the word nadib does double duty. It describes the “willing” spirit that inspires the people to donate to the tabernacle construction (Exodus 35:5), and the willing spirit that David hopes Yahweh will create in him (Psalm 51:14). It means generous, liberal. At the same time the word means “noble.” In 1 Samuel 2:8, the poor are raised up to sit with the “nobles,” and in the Song of Songs 7:2, the bride is described as the “daughter of... Read more
On the First Things web site today, they’ve posted a little article of mine on Rosenstock-Huessy, in memory of his death, February 24, 1973. You can find it here: http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2010/02/fathers-and-sons Read more
Some conservative commentators on the Song (e.g., Christopher Mitchell) are reluctant to admit hat the Song plays off pagan mythology, poetry, and iconography. But the evidence provided by other commentators (such as Keel) is overwhelming: The Song does make use of standard ANE love lyrics and alludes with some frequency to pagan myths. But all these techniques and allusions push against paganism. Where the myths place a goddess, the Song places a human beloved which, as Jewish and Christian commentators... Read more
Some conservative commentators on the Song (e.g., Christopher Mitchell) are reluctant to admit hat the Song plays off pagan mythology, poetry, and iconography. But the evidence provided by other commentators (such as Keel) is overwhelming: The Song does make use of standard ANE love lyrics and alludes with some frequency to pagan myths. But all these techniques and allusions push against paganism. Where the myths place a goddess, the Song places a human beloved which, as Jewish and Christian commentators... Read more
The bride’s description of her lover is a description of a statue: He has a head of gold (v. 11), hands of gold adorned with beryl (v. 14), an abdomen of ivory with sapphires (v. 14), and legs of alabaster set in pedestals of gold (v. 15). This conjures up the temple and the tabernacle, especially the references to “gold, pure gold.” But it also throws some light on the vision of Daniel 2, and supports James Jordan’s claim that... Read more
Andre LaCocque ( Romance, She Wrote: A Hermeneutical Essay on Song of Songs ) offers an intriguing interpretation of Song of Songs 6:12-13, well-known as one of the most difficult sections of the Song, a passage over which other commentators frequently despair. Through a series of verbal links, LaCocque suggests that the chariot to which verse 12 refers is the chariot of the ark, and that the background is the entryn of the ark into Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6.... Read more
The lover sets the banner of love over his beloved (2:4), and then the bride declares that her lover is a banner prominent among ten thousand (5:10). Both use military imagery; the banner is a military standard. But then the imagery works the other way, and the bride is bannered: as awesome as bannered ones” (6:4). The bride shares in all that her lover has, and if he is a conqueror so is she. Allegorize as you will. Read more
Who are the daughters of Zion in the Song? Literally, they are the bride’s “bridesmaids” who sometimes verge on being the bride’s rivals. They might also be cities of Israel. As the capital, Jerusalem is the Bride, but the other cities that serve and honor the king are bridesmaids. At times, it seems that there is also an Israel-and-nations thing going on. Jerusalem is the capital not only of Israel, but in biblical reckoning it is the center of the... Read more
Leithart
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In