This monograph includes four lengthy studies on the Song of Songs, which together identify the northern dialect of the poetry, focus on the literary devices of alliteration and variation, and propose that the composition is akin to medieval Arabic hija’ and tašbīb (or invective) poetic genres, aimed at critiquing the king and his court. The authors conclude that the poem was written during the period of the two monarchies, probably circa 900 B.C.E., somewhere in northern Israel, with the goal of censuring King Solomon and his descendants on the throne in Jerusalem.

Scott B. Noegel is Professor of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Washington. He has published books, scholarly articles, and educational DVDs, including Nocturnal Ciphers: The Allusive Language of Dreams in the Ancient Near East (American Oriental Society), Afroasiatic Linguistics, Semitics, and Egyptology: Selected Writings of Carleton T. Hodge (CDL), and Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique World (Pennsylvania State University Press).

Gary A. Rendsburg holds the Blanche and Irving Laurie Chair in Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. He is author or editor of numerous books, including The Bible and the Ancient Near East (Norton) and Israelian Hebrew in the Book of Kings (CDL). He has also produced two courses for The Teaching Company, one on “The Book of Genesis” and one on “The Dead Sea Scrolls.”