Song of Songs

by F. Scott Spencer

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814681497
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	02/01/2017
Series:	Wisdom Commentary Series , #25
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	318
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

F. Scott Spencer is professor of New Testament and biblical interpretation at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He has also served as past president of the Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion and current co-chair of the Bible and Emotion group for the Society of Biblical Literature. Spencer’s longtime interest in feminist biblical interpretation is evident in the monographs Dancing Girls, “Loose” Ladies, and Women of “the Cloth”: The Women in Jesus’ Life; and Salty Wives, Spirited Mothers, and Savvy Widows: Capable Women of Purpose and Persistence in Luke’s Gospel.    
 

Barbara E. Reid, general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, and president emerita of Catholic Theological Union (the first woman who held 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 PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America and was president of the Catholic Biblical Association in 2014–2015. Her most recent publications are Luke 1–9 and Luke 10–24, co-authored with Shelly Matthews (WCS 43A, 43B; Liturgical Press, 2021); and At the Table of Holy Wisdom: Global Hungers and Feminist Biblical Interpretation (Paulist, 2023).

F. Scott Spencer is professor of New Testament and biblical interpretation at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He has also served as past president of the Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion and current co-chair of the Bible and Emotion group for the Society of Biblical Literature. Spencer’s longtime interest in feminist biblical interpretation is evident in the monographs Dancing Girls, “Loose” Ladies, and Women of “the Cloth”: The Women in Jesus’ Life; and Salty Wives, Spirited Mothers, and Savvy Widows: Capable Women of Purpose and Persistence in Luke’s Gospel.

Table of Contents

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
 

Editorial Reviews

"Rabbi Akiba claimed that ‘All the world is not worth the day that the Song of Songs was given to Israel' (Yadaim 3:5). Spencer reaffirms that claim. With scholarly insight into the text, sensitivity of gender issues, and a clever yet respectful use of language, he provides a commentary faithful to the principles of this remarkable series. The contributing voices add an interesting layer to the interpretation of this poem that champions human love."
Dianne Bergant, CSA, Catholic Theological Union



"F. Scott Spencer has written a fresh and lively commentary on the Song of Songs, befitting the biblical book's own celebration of love and desire. Spencer offers a rich, careful discussion of the Song's gendered imagery as well as its resonances with contemporary feminist concerns. Brimming with insights on the weighty delight of sexual yearning, Spencer's commentary is uniquely sensitive to the Song's portrayal of embodied existence and its consequences for relating to the others in society and the natural world surrounding us. He offers a commentary fully conversant with the scholarship and attuned to the pressing contemporary concerns about sexuality and the environment."
Dr. Carey Walsh, Professor of Theology and Old Testament, Villanova University



"F. Scott Spencer has written a commentary on the Song of Songs that is not only thoughtful and illuminating but, dare I say it, thrilling! He brings a biblical scholar's depth of expertise to analyzing and interpreting the workings of the poetry and a feminist scholar's attention to the complexities of gender issues and their relationship to justice and equity. He never loses sight of what it is that makes the love poetry of the Song of Songs finally so compelling, namely, that love rules us all and we wouldn't have it any other way."
Tod Linafelt, Georgetown University


"The combination of voices in this volume provides fertile ground for theological reflection. The minimal Hebrew and style of the volume makes it accessible to non-specialists, and the theological reflection will undoubtedly serve clergy who regularly teach with an eye toward modern theological reflection."
Nicholas R. Werse, Catholic Books Review


"Scholars especially will appreciate the liberal use of footnotes, while all readers will enjoy the balance of informed scholarly commentary and readability."
John R. Barker, OFM, The Bible Today


"Spencer offers a fresh reading on the Song's complexities in a style that is both readable and insightful. Supplemental essays from other feminist writers woven throughout add even more depth and context to Spencer's commentary, making it a significant and meaningful addition to any library."
Interpretation

"We should applaud him for presenting a readable commentary on the Song, which adds a refreshing voice to the choir of other Song commentaries, pays attention to literary issues and questions of justice and includes short essays of other authors who contribute their unique perspectives."
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly


"We should applaud him for presenting a readable commentary on the Song, which adds a refreshing voice to the choir of other Song commentaries, pays attention to literary issues and questions of justice and includes short essays of other authors who contribute their unique perspectives."
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

From the Publisher