The woman’s description of her lover in Song of Songs 5:6-10 draws on terminology used to describe the temple – there’s myrrh, sockets, inlays, cedars of Lebanon. More, the sequence of the description is not only head-to-foot, but also roughly follows the pattern of the temple. (more…) Read more
The lover’s eyes are doves, just like his beloved’s (Song of Songs 5:12). John’s description of Jesus in Revelation 1 draws on the model of the Song, with variations. In John’s blason of Jesus, though, the eyes of Jesus are like flames of fire not doves. Though the exact connection eludes, it is possible to trace something of the analogical logic. Eyes are the lamps of the body, not only receiving light into the body but blazing out into the... Read more
LaCocque is irritating. He finds striking parallels between the Song and other biblical texts, but consistently says that the Song is undermining, subverting, reversing the other texts. Very few of these reversals begin to resemble actual reversals. Lamentations 4:1-8, for example, shares several terms with Song of Songs 5:6-10. Whereas Jeremiah is mourning the desolation of a bride, the poet (he thinks, the poetess , another annoyance) of the Song, however, uses the same terms positively. Therefore, the poet must... Read more
Jenson is right: One can hardly read Song of Songs 5:2 without thinking of Revelation 3:20 (or, at least, of cheesy paintings inspired by Revelation 3:20). What does Jesus want? In Revelation, Jesus stands at the door seeking entry, calling to those inside to open He can enter to enjoy a banquet. In the light of the Song, however, the ardent lover pounds the door seeking entry. The sexual imagery of Song of Songs 5:4 is obvious: The lover puts... Read more
Michael Fox writes that “The equality of the lovers and the equality of their love, rather than the Song’s earthly sensuality, are what makes their union an inappropriate analogy for the bond between God and Israel.” That would be persuasive, but for the massive reality of the incarnation. In the mutuality of the Song, we have one of hundreds of hints in the Old Testament that God’s love and promises to Israel could only be fulfilled by Yahweh-in-flesh. The Song... Read more
In his Romance, She Wrote: A Hermeneutical Essay on Song of Songs , Andre LaCocque suggests that the reference to the “mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense” in Song of Songs 4:6 are another references to the “feminine figure, especially as the maiden’s breasts have just been admired in verse 5.” He also sees a reference to the temple: “The har hammor alludes to Mount Moriah (2 Chr 3:1), and the gibe’at hallebona , to Mount Zion.” In... Read more
Israel’s sins are like scarlet, but they shall be like wool, Isaiah says. Scarlet? What’s wrong with scarlet? Why not “black”? Though scarlet is a color in the tabernacle curtains (the word is used 25+ times in Exodus), Isaiah seems to be referring to the association of scarlet with prostitution. Rahab puts out a scarlet cord through her window, and Tamar’s son Zerah has a scarlet cord wrapped around his wrist. Israel has been an unfaithful bride, a scarlet woman.... Read more
Following up on the last post: Perhaps we are to see Judas throwing the money to the priests as a kind of day of atonement. He “throws” ( hripto ) Jesus’ innocent blood, turned to cash, into the temple, then leaves the temple (like a scapegoat) and kills himself. The description of Judas’ death in Acts 1 cannot help but conjure up images of scapegoats tossed from cliffs. The whole procedure looks to be modeled on the day of atonement.... Read more
Jesus’ blood is the blood of the covenant, poured out for forgiveness (Matthew 26:28). How does it remove sin? We find a surprising answer to this when we trace the trail of blood through Matthew’s gospel. Blood is first mentioned in Jesus’ diatribe against the scribes and hypocrites: Jerusalem is the city of blood, and to it will be charged all the righteous blood from Abel on (23:35). Judas later receives money to betray Jesus, money that he comes to... Read more
Why does Jesus get angry when there is no fruit on the fig tree? The Song of Songs, along with Isaiah 5, is in the background. Israel is the vineyard-garden of Yahweh, which also means Israel is Yahweh’s bride. When He comes seeking fruit, it is not only “produce,” but the choice fruits of His beloved – he wants to eat and drink deep of love in the garden of his bride. This picture is in the background not only... Read more
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