One literal interpretation states that this is a discourse between a young woman betrothed and marrying King Solomon. The Song of Solomon is often interpreted as an allegory by both Jewish and Christian scholars. Song of Solomon. The allegorical interpretation requires a spiritual counterpart for every physical detail; it is objectionable to equate Solomon and his herem to Christ. God didn’t just give us the Song of Solomon to show us something of his love. The Song of Solomon has received various interpretations, the most common being allegorical, dramatic, cultic, and literal. "7 1G. That Solomon being the penman of this Song, yet speaketh of Solomon in the second person, “thou, O Solomon” (8.12), makes it appear that some other was designed than himself. @import url(/cwadmin_wysiwyg.css); In Jewish tradition, Song of Solomon is recited at Passover to commemorate the exodus out of Egypt, and to show God’s relationship with Israel. Hamilton assumes the song as the work of Solomon himself, perhaps an older, repentant Solomon who is casting himself through an idealized lens rather than the historical reality of a man with a thousand women in his harem. I thought the allegorical interpretation is entirely reasonable and responsible. Find books Song of Songs in which he rejected allegorical meaning and read it in its literal and plain sense, as an erotic song. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?” (Proverbs 5:18–20). It depicts a story that is totally symbolic without any historical facts as its basis. Typical Christian allegorical interpretations of Song of Solomon identify God with the man in the story and the church or individual believer with the woman. The Song of Solomon is no doubt the word of God but there is disagreement as to what this song is actually about. Song of Solomon 1:2 —Why do so many people who claim to interpret the Bible literally, spiritualize the Song of Solomon?. The Allegorical Interpretation. John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. This approach originated as a pagan method of interpreting Greek mythology, but was picked up in Jewish and Christian circles […] A Biblical–Theological, Allegorical, Christological Interpretation James M. Hamilton Jr. £ 8.99; Buy 0 and save 0% (£8.99 / book) Buy 10 and save 20% (£7.19 / book) Buy 20 and save 25% (£6.74 / book) Buy 35 and save 40% (£5.39 / book) Qty: Add to basket. Please consider this request from John Piper and become a monthly partner by December 31. We do not think the same or act the same because we serve a different Master. The Song of Songs, also Song of Solomon, Canticle of Canticles, or Canticles, is one of the megillot found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim, and a book of the Old Testament. The book of Exodus consists of two genres, narratives and laws, which were interpreted by Jia` s allegorical method. My question, though, is whether there's more to the Song than merely human love, more that Solomon, whom I take to have written the Song (cf. Is there exegetical evidence for it, though? The Typical Interpretation 3. @import url(http://admin2.salemwebnetwork.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css); It was accepted as canonical because of its supposed authorship by Solomon and based on an allegorical reading where the subject-matter was taken to be not sexual desire but God's love for Israel. Contents Page Sample Product Info Sheet. The oldest known interpretation of the Song (induced by the demand for an ethical and religious element in its content) is allegorical: the Midrash and the Targum represent it as depicting the relations between God and Israel. Really great! Towards a Typical Interpretation of the Song of Songs Below I'd like to offer a typical interpretation of Song of Songs that tries to draw from the strengths of the allegorical and purely natural interpretations but avoids their weaknesses. Let me note that by allegory I don't mean something terribly complicated. the bride of Christ). Is the End of the World Described in the Bible? You can follow Dr. Hamilton on Twitter @drjimhamilton. Early Hebrew and Christian scholars long maintained that the l… So far from being intrinsically evil, it contains for both parties an immeasurable possibility of blessing. Probably the most prominent and forthright champion of the allegorical interpretation of scripture, especially the Song of Solomon, was Origen of Alexandria. What makes it so risky is how explicit the sensuousness is: “Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine. Natural details of facts are not important. So that is Proverbs. All rights reserved. But that is exactly what James Hamilton Jr. does in his recent Focus on the Bible commentary Song of Songs: A Biblical-Theological, Allegorical, Christological Interpretation (Christian Focus, 2015). He is author of. Or, "seeing thou knowest not". 34–37, with specific textual links to Prov 5:18–20), whereas Hamilton presents Solomon as a royal figure, which fits better his emphasis on messianic expectations, rather than as the exemplar of wisdom, as Solomon is portrayed in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and 1 Kings. 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