ECCLESIASTES 12.1 3 _1,2.I 4 there is no end. and much study is a weari- one. l4For God will bring every deed intn ness of the flesh. judgment, including' every secrer thing" 13 The end of the matter; all has been whether good or evil. heard. Fear God, and keep his command- THE SONG OF SOLOMON ments; for that is the whole duty of every- a Or into the iudgment on dF book. The words beyond this point are secondary. The call to fear God is found elsewhere in the boq¡ (3.1,4; 5.7;8.I2-I3ìl, but the cali to obey God's commandments is not.

and is a sequence of lyric poems fþe Song of Solomon, also known as "Song of Songs" "Canticles," poetry is graceful, sensuous, and replete with erotic imagery and allu- celebrating human love, The should be read as a single, unified poem or as a collec- sions. It is unclear whether the composition idiom. Nevertheless, the sequence is ¡ien of several shorter pieces written in a common style and and coherent and exhibits a lyrical structure that derives its unity from repetitions iuxtapositions The poem features the rather than from narrative devices such as plot or character development. At times voices of two lovers, one male and one female, and their professions of love for one another, thetwovoices joinindialogue (e.g., 1..9-2.7;4.1-5.1\,butatotherstheyspeakseparately'address- ingeach othef or the woman's companions, the "daughters of Jerusalem" (3.1-5,6-11';7.t-9). Given its style and theme, it is not surprising that there are no specific allusions that would tie it ro a specific historical setting. Although the superscription in 1.1 associates the poem with Solomon, king of Israel (968-928 BCE), he is not the author. The nature of the Hebrew used in the songs, with (perhaps its Aramaisms and possibly even Persian and Greek loan words, suggests a postexilic date sometime in the fourth or third centuries ncr). The connection with Solomon may stem from his reputârion as a composer of songs (1 Kings 4.321, and also perhaps from the account of his large harem (L Kings 11.1-3)' Despite its relatively late date, the Song of Songs is part of an ancient tradition of Near Eastern love poetry. Some of the images and motifs echo those of Mesopotamian sacred marriage poems from the late third and early second millennia scn. A closer parallel, however, is Egyptian love songs from the thirteenth and twelfth centuries BcE. These highly erotic compositions use many of the same genres found in the Song of Solomon: poems describing the lover's physical attractions, poems of yearning, poems of admiration and boasting. Also common to both is the use of sensuous imagery involving sight, touch, hearing, and the smell of aromatic fragrances. The Egyptian poems were likely sung at banquers by professional male and female entertainers, and it is possible that the same holds true for the Song of Songs. Although he disapproved of the practice, Rabbi Akiba (d. 135 cs) arrests rhâr the Song of Songs was sung in banquet halls lTos. Sanh.1'2.101. By Akiba's time the Song had already come to be interpreted as a sacred text; hence its continuing profane use was disturbing. At roughly the same time Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel associated the Song of Songs with harvest fes- tivals in which the young women of Jerusalem would go out to dance and sing in the vineyards, ap- pealing to the young men to notice them as potential btides (m. Ta'anit 4.8)' Perhaps before the turn of the Common Erâ, the Song of Songs began to be interpreted symboli' cally as an account of the love between God and Israel. This interpretation is reflected both in the Targum (Aramaic translation) and in Midrash Rabbah, an early commentâry. In the Jewish liturgy Song of Songs is read during the celebration of Passover. The traditional symbolic understanding re- mained dominant in Jewish interpretation until the modern period; a return to a literal understand- ing is perhaps first reflected in the translation of the Song by Moses Mendelssohn in 1788. Christian tradition also developed a symbolic or allegorical interpretation, reading the Song as an account of Christ's love for the church and later as an expression of the soul's spiritual union with God. Over the centuries many commentators and homilists, such as Origen (third century ce), Bernard of Clair- [ 95R pçnpuv¡ nro¡- I r ôCÕ ------'-' -'-.-'l soNG oF soLoMoN 2.1.0-3.6 SONG OF SOLOMON 3.7_4.8 or a young stag. or a young stag on the cleft oerfumed with myrrh and that have come up from the Look, there he stands mountains.' ' frankincense, washing, behind our wall, with all the fragrant powders of the all of which bear twins, gazing in at the windows, Upon my bed at night merchant? and not one among them is Iooking through the lattice. 3 I sought him whom my soul loves; 7 Look, it is the litter of Solomoh! bereaved. 16 MI beloved speaks and says to me: I sought him, but found him not; Around it are sixty mighty men 3 Your lips are like a crimson thread, "Arise, my love, my fair one, I called him, but he gave no of the mighty men of Israel, and your mouth is lovel¡ and come away; answer.' I all equipped with swords Your cheeks are like halves of a 11 for now the winter is past, 2 "I will rise now and go about and expert in war, pomegranate the rain is over and gone. the cit¡ each with his sword at his thigh behind your veil. 12 The flowers appear on the earth; in the streets and in the squares; because of alarms by night. 4 Your neck is like the tower of David, the time of singing has come, I will seek him whom my soul loves." I King Solomon made himself a built in courses; and the voice of the turtledove I sought him, but found him not. palanquin on it hang a thousand bucklers, is heard in our land. 3 The sentinels found me, from the wood of Lebanon. all of them shields of warriors. 13 The fig tree puts forth its figs, as they went about in the city. to He made its posts of silver, 5 Your two breasts are like two* fawns, and the vines are in blossom; "Have you seen him whom my soul its back of gold, its seat of purple; twins of a gazelle, they give forth fragrance. loves ? " interior was inlaid with love.' that feed among the lilies. l1 its Arise, my love, my fair one, a Scarcely had I passed them, Daughters,of Jerusalem, 6 Until the day breathes and come away. when I found him whom my soul 11 come out. and the shadows flee, 14 O my dove, in the clefts of the loves. Look, O daughters ofZion, I will hasten to the mountain of rock, I held him, and would not let him go at King Solomon, myrrh ll in the covert of the cliff, until I brought him into my ât the crown with which his mother and the hill of frankincense. let me see your face, mother's house, crowned him 7 You are altogether beautiful, my love; let me hear your voice; and into the chamber of her that on the day oÍ his wedding, there is no flaw in you. for your voice is sweet, conceived me. on the day of the gladness of 8 Come with me from Lebanon, and your face is lovely. 5 I adjure you, O daughters of his heart. my bride; 15 Catch us the foxes, Jerusalem, come with me from Lebanon. the little foxes, by the gazelles or the wild does: 1l How beautiful you are, my love, Depart'from the peak of Amana, that ruin the vineyards- do not stir up or awaken love -f how very beautiful! from the peak of Senir and for our vineyards are in blossom." until it is ready! Your eyes are doves Hermon, bchind your veil. from the dens of lions, 'Slhat 16 My beloved is mine and I am his; 6 is that coming up from the Your hair is like a flock of goats, from the mountains of leopards. he pastures his flock among rhe wilderness, moving down the slopes of Gilead. lilies. like a column of smoke, 2 Your teeth are like a flock of 17 Until the day breathes shorn ewes a Meaning of Heb uncertain b Or Looþ and the shadows flee, a Or on the mountains of Bether; meaning of Heb turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle uncertain å Gk: Heb lacks this line Jerusalem. Myrrh, see 1..12-14n.; frankincense, an âromatic resin from Arabia. 7: Litter lit. "bed." 10: Loue, some emend to "ebony" or "stones." 4.'f-5.1: Praise of the woman's beauty. 1t Doues, i.e., bashful and fulÌ of desire. Flock of goats,the 'Winter, "beauty" (Isa 13.19; 23.9); a play on these words is likely intended. 11-13: the season. woman's hair flows over her shoulders and down her back. Gilead, a hiily area of the Transiordan. 2: Her l rainy ¡t Time of singing may also be read as the "time of pruning," which an ancient Hebrew calendar from Gezer teeth are white, all present and in good order. 3: The comparison of cheeþs with the half of a pomegranate rl places between the month of harvesting and the month of summer fruit. 14: Doue (cf. 5.2; 6.91, a evokes rosy cheeks viewed through the ueil, 4: An actual tower of Dauid is unknown. The image of metaphor fo¡ inaccessibility. 15: Although the Hebrew is obscure, the woman appears to answer teasingly bucþlers and shields suggests a necklace around the woman's neck (cf. 1.10; 4.91. The architectural il that, far from being inaccessibie, her sexuality (our uineyørds) imagery (6.4;7.4-51 to the woman may draw on the biblical tft is in full bloom and in danger of being applied here and elsewhere in the Song tll raided by others (/oxes). 16: The mutual pledge of iove echoes marriage and adoption formuiaries. tradition of personifying cities as women (e.g., Isa 47.1.-1.5;54.1-1.7;Jer 31.15-t7;Am 5.1-3; LamT-2). ill 3.1-5: Nighttime search for the beloved.'l: Upon my bed at night, i.e., "Nightl¡ night afrer night." 6: See 2.1,7. Mountain of myrrh, hill of the woman's breasts (cf. 1.13); see 1'.12-14n.;3'6n. ill frankincense, 2:Likelynotquotedspeech,butcontemporaneousnarrâtion:"Iriseup...andsearch." 5:See2.7;8.4. 4,8-5.1: The poem is filled with puns, wordpla¡ and multiple repetitions.4.S: The references to the 3.6-10: Solomon's wedding procession. The significance and exact meaning of this poem is debated. Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, which are located north of Israel in modern-day The beloved is imagined as King Solomon on his weddin g d,ay, 6: Comìng up, commoîly used for travel Lebanon and Syria, symbolize danger and the woman's inaccessibility (cf. 2.1'4\' Amana, Senir, and to Jerusalem up in the hill country. It is a homonym of the common Hebrew noun for "whole burnt Hermon are rhe names of individual peaks in the Anti-Lebanon range. Bride (4.9-10'1'2;5.t) and "sister" offering." Thus the procession, viewed from afar, appears as a column of smoke winding its way to (4.9-!0,12;5.1) are rerms of affection. 9; Rauish, either "you take my heart away" or with more spëcific SONG OF SOLOMON 4.9-5,6 SONG OF SOLOMON 5.7-6.5 9 You have ravished my heart, my Let my beloved come to his garde¡, My soul failed me when he spoke. set with jewels. sister, my bride, and eat its choicest fruits. isought him, but did not find him; His body is ivory work,n you have ravished my heart with a I called him, but he gave encrusted with sapphires.ú glance of your eyes, ( I come to my garden, my sister, no answer. 15 His legs are alabaster columns' jewel with one of your necklace. J my bride; 7 À4aking their rounds in the citY set upon bases of gold. 10 How sweet is your love, my sister, my I gather my myrrh with my spice. the sentinels found me; His appearance is like Lebanon, bride! I eat my honeycomb with my they beat me' they wounded me' choice as the cedars. how much better is your love than honeS they took away mY mantle' 16 His speech is most sweet, wine, I drink my wine with my milk. those sentinels of the walls. and he is altogether desirable. and the fragrance of your oils than I Iadjure you' O daughters of This is my beloved and this is any spice! Eat, friends, drink, Jerusalem, my friend, 11 Your lips distill nectar, my bride; and be drunk with love. if you find my beloved, O daughters of Jerusalem. honey and milk are under your tell him this: tongue; 2 I slept, but my heart was awake. I am faint with love. Síhere has your beloved gone, the scent of your garments is like Listen! my beloved is knocking. O fairest among women? 6 '!Øhich the scent of Lebanon. "Open to me, my sister, my love, s Vlhat is your beloved more than way has your beloved turned, 12 A garden locked is my sister, my dove, my perfect one; another beloved, that we may seek him with you? my bride, for my head is wet with dew, O fairest among women? a garden locked, a fountain sealed. my locks with the drops of fhe Vhat is your beloved more than 2 My beloved has gone down to his 13 Your channel'is an orchard of night. " another beloved, garden, pomegranates : I had put off my garment; that you thus adjure us? to the beds of spices, with all choicest fruits, how could I put it on again? to pasture his flock in the gardens, henna with nard, I had bathed my feet; t0 \4y beloved is all radiant and rudd¡ and to gather lilies. 14 nard and saffron, calamus and how could I soil them? distinguished among ten thousand. 3 I am rny beloved's and my beloved is cinnamon, a My beloved thrust his hand into the 11 His head is the finest gold; mine; with all trees of frankincense, opening, his locks are wavy, he pastures his flock among the myrrh and aloes, and my inmost being yearned black as a raven. lilies. with all chief spices- for him. 12 His eyes are like doves 15 a garden fountain, a well of living 5 I arose to open to my beloved, beside springs of water, 4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, water, and my hands dripped with myrrh, bathed in milk, comely as Jerusalem, and flowing streams from Lebanon. my fingers with liquid myrrh, fitly set.' terrible as an army with banners. upon the handles of the bolt. 13 His cheeks are like beds of spices, 5 Turn away your eyes from me, 16 Awake, O north wind, 6 I opened to my beloved, yielding fragrance. for they overwhelm me! and come, O south wind! but my beloved had turned and was His lips are lilies, Your hair is like a flock of goats, Blow upon my garden gone. distilling liquid myrrh. that its fragrance may be wafted 14 His arms are rounded gold, a Meaning of Heb uncertain b }{eb lapis lazuli abroad. a Meaning of Heb uncertain her lover, akin to 6:.My soul failed. me (lit. "went out"), the woman's deep emotional distress at missing connotations of sexual arousal. 1'l: The scent of Lebanon, i.e., the fragrant cedars. 12: Garden and "she nèarly dies" (Gen 35.18; Ps t46.4\.'V/hen he spoke is surely not right. Either "because of him" or fountain are images of female sexualiry (cf. Prov 5.15-171, he¡e as inaccessibie. 13: Cbannels, i.e., 'rwhen he leÍt." 7: The b¡utai treatment the woman receives.at the hands of the sentinels is abrupt and irrigation channels, or perhaps the area so irrigated. Henna, nard, see 1,12-14n. 14: Saffron, calarnus, shocking. 8: Tell bim úåls is ambiguous. It may also be taken as a negative request: "Do not tell him." cinnamon, aloes are all spices from India. Chief spices, better, "best spices." 16: The man summons the 5,9-6.3: The woman's praise of her beloved frequently usbs images derived from sculpture and the plas- winds of love using the same word (auake) that the woman used earlier to warn about not arousing love ticarrs,asdoestheman's.praisesong(4.1-7).5JùRadiantandruddy,asignof vigorandhealth(Ps prematureiy (3.5; cf. 2.7;8.4). The second couplet is spoken by the woman. 5.1: As elsewhere, earing and 104.15;1Sam16.12;17.4;Lam4.7l.'12:Milå,associatedelsewherewiththeidyliic(Ex3.8,17;Deut6.3; drinking have erotic overtones. lsa55.1; Job29.6;Song4,12;5.1;Lam 4.7).Fitlys¿tassumesthepracticeof makingstatueswithieweled 5,2-6'3: The woman's search. This is the longest poem in the collection, unified by the dialogic frame inlaysforeyes(asin5.14; cÍ,8x25,7;1Chr29.2).14-15:Theimageryintheseversessuggestsâstatue' set up between the woman and the "daughters of Jerusalem." 5.2-8: A sequence like 3.1-4. The verses are the great value and suipadsing beatity of which is uppermost.in mind. 16: His speech (lit' "his palate"), freighted with allusions to sexual intercourse. 2: The juxtaposition of verbs for "sleep" and "wakefulness" meaningkissesaswellaslanguage(cf. 1.2;7.1,0).Su,,eetinNehS.l0referstoadrink (cf.7.L0l.Myfriend suggests a dreamy state. My, the repetition enacts the beloved's knocking.3: The woman's response is intentionally echoes one of the man's,pet names for the woman (cf. 1,.9). probably meant teasingly. S: I arose to oþen, better, "I started to open." Mynh, both the woman's toiletrf 6.4-10: In praise of the woman's beauty (cÍ.4.t-7; 5.9-6.3;6.1,3-7.6). 4z Tirzah (likely Tell el-Farah (she has perfumed herself) and the palpable sign of her lover, who in 1.13 was likened to a "bag of myrrh." North), the capital of the Northern Kingdom in the.late tenth and early ninth centuries. 5b-7: CÍ,4.1'b-3. SONG OF SOLOMON 6.6_7.4 SONG OF SOLOMON 7.5-8.5 moving down the slopes of Gilead. to see whether the vines had budded, tour eyes are pools in Heshbon, There I will give you my love. 6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes, whether the pomegranates were in by the gate of Bath-rabbim. 13 The mandrakes give forth Íragrance, that have come up from the bloom. Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, and over our doors are all choice washing; 12 Before I was aware, my fancy set me overlooking Damascus. fruits, all of them bear twins, in a chariot beside my prince.' i Your head crowns you like Cármel, new as well as old, and not one among them is and your flowing locks are like which I have laid up for you, O my bereaved. 13'Returnr return) O Shulammite! purple; beloved. 7 Your cheeks are like halves of a Return, return,.that we may look a king is held captiræ in the O O thar you were like a brother to me' pomegranate upon you. tresses,4 Õ who nursed at my mother's breast! behind your veil. If I met you outside, I would 8 There are sixty queens and eighty lØhy should you look upon the 6 How fair and pleasant you are, kiss you, concubines, Shulammite, O loved one, delectable maiden!ú and no one would despise me. and maidens without number. as upon a dance before two 7 '{ou are stately" as a palm tree, 2 I would lead you and bring you 9 My dove, my perfect one, is the only armies?" and your breasts are like its into the house of m)¡ mother, one, clusters. and into the chamber of the one the darling of her mother, J How graceful are your feet in sandals, 8 I sây I will climb the palm tree who bore me.* flawless to her that bore her. / O queenly maiden! and lay hold of its branches. I would give you spiced wine The maidens saw her and called her Your rounded thighs are like jewels, O may your breasts be like clusters of to drink, huppv; the work of a master hand. the vine, the juice of my pomegranates. the queens and concubines also, 2 Your navel is a rounded bowl and the scent of your breath like 3 O that his left hand were under and they praised her. that never lacks mixed wine. apples, my head. 10 "Who is this that looks forth like the Your belly is a heap of wheat, 9 and your kissesd like the best wine and that his right hand embraced dawn, encircled with lilies. that goes down' smoothly, me! fair as the moon, bright as the sun, 3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, gliding over lips and teeth./ a I adjure you, O daughters of ' terrible as an army viith banners?'í twins of a gazelle. Jerusalem, 4 Your neck is like an ivorv tower. lo I am my beloved's, do not stir up or awaken love 11 I went down to the nut orchard, and his desire is for me. until it is ready! to look at the blossoms of the a Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain å Ch 7.1 in Heb ll Come, my beloved, \X/ho valle¡ c Or dance of Mahanaim let us go forth into the fields, s is that coming up from the and lodge in the villages; wilderness, 1O: Moonlsun, not the common terms but poetic metonyms, "whiteness" and "heat" (cf. Isa 24,23; 12 let us go out early to the vineyards, leaning upon her beloved? 30.26), which more eloquently evoke dawn imagery. and see whether the vines have ø Meaning of Heb uncerrain å Syr: Heb in delights 6.'11-12 The exact connection of these stanzas to the surrounding material is unclear. 1 1 : The identity budded, c Heb This your stdtule is .d }{eb palate of the speaker is ambiguous. The garden imager¡ usually associated with the woman (e.g., 4.L2), may whether the grape blossoms have e IJeb doun for my louer f Gk Syr Vg: }{eb lips of suggest that the man is speaking. If not, the woman at last responds positively to the man's invitation in opened sleepers g Gk Syr: fleb my mother; she (or you) will 2.10 to accompany him (and it echoes the man's entrance into the garden in 4.16-5.I). and the pomegranates are in bloom. teach me 6,13-7 .13: Praise of the woman and her response, 6.1 3: The exact significan ce of Shulammite is unclear. A dance before tuo armies, if correct, is also obscure. T,'12 Qweenly maiden (Heb "bat nadab"), plays on the reference to "prince" ("nadab?'¡ 1n 6.t2. Your rounded tbighs, better, "rhe curves of your thighs." A,tower of Lebanon is unknown. Lebanon in association with nose is suggestive oÍ fragrance. 5: Carmel 2: Nauel, perhaps also a euphemism or double entendre for "vulva," supported structurally by the cou- is the mountain rânge thât runs southeast of modern Haifa. As a common noun, "karmel" means "gar- plet's placement between couplets describing the womant thighs and belly, Your belly is a heap of wheat. den, orchard." Purple, a dye derived from murex shells, was commonly associated with royalty. 6" How The te¡m for belly frequently designates "womb" (e.g., Gen 30.2; Judg 16.1,7;lsa 13.18). \lhen combined fair echoes the opening of 7.1 ("How graceful"). 7-8: Palm tree denotes inaccessibility; uine anàwine with the image of a heap of whe¿t the associations with fertility and nourishment are palpable, and rhus denote eroticism and sensualit¡ through the repetition of the term clusters. Breatb (\t. "nose"), perhaps eroticism and fertility imagery are closely linked. At another level, the image of heaped whear suggesrs referring to rhe custom of nose kissing. Apples, see 2.3n. 9: Kisses (lit. "palate"), also a reference to wine. the softness and gentle curve of the woman's stomach, as well, perhaps, as its golden and tawny hue. l0: The woman responds. 11: The word for uillages is a homonym, also meaning "henna bushes." 13: 4; Iuory, meant to convey a notion of splendor and opulence (cf. 1 Kings 10.18; Am 3.15; Ps 45.8). The Mandraþes, considered an aphrodisiac (Gen 30.14-191. New as well as old, i.e., "all kinds of." association of eyes and pools puns on the Heb word "ayin," which means both "eye" and "spring." 8.1-4: A poem of yearning. 1-2: The woman wishes her lover were liþe a brother so that they could Heshbon is a city located in the central Transjordanian plateau ca. 20 km (1,2 mi) southwest of Amman. express their love freely and publicly without rebuke. 3-4: Cf .2.6-7. Excavations at Heshbon have revealed a large water reservoir from the ninth and eighth centuries tcr. 8.5-14: Lyrical ending. The song closes with a number of brief poems or poetic fragments. 5: Who is Bath-rabbim, "daughter of noblemen" or the like, as an epithet fo¡ the city of Heshbon, alludes to that coming up from the uilderness is a reprise of 3.6, only it is the womân who is envisioned, not the "O queenly maiden" in 7 .!; as well as to epithets of personified cities elsewhere (Lam 1.6; 2.I3;Isa 23.72), man. In labor can also ¡efer to "conception," which is the more likely image here. 6: Seals were made of soNG oF soLoMoN 8.6-8.14 Under the apple tree I awakened you. 1o Iwasawall, INTRODUCTION There your mother was in labor with and my breasts were like towers; you; then I was in his eyes to the Prophetic Booþs there she who bore you was in as one who brings'peace. labor. 11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon. PLACEMENT AND CONTENTS 6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, he entrusted the rlineyard to ,1',ANONICAL THE AND THE CHRISTIAN canons the prophetic as a seal upon your arm; keepers; N sorH JEVISH books form a distinct section of the for love is strong as death, The two traditions differ, however, with respect to the number, sequence, and placement of each one was to bring for its fruit ¿ l1iït", books. tradition divides the canon (i.e., passion fierce as the grave. thousand pieces of silver. the prophetic Jewish into three parts: the Torah Genesis- 12 the Prophets, Its flashes are flashes of fire, My vineyard, my very own, is D€ureronomy), and the \flritings. The term "Former Prophets" is used to designate the a raging flame. (perhaps for myself; historical books Joshua-2 Kings reflecting a tradition that these books were written by 7 Many waters cannot quench love, you, O Solomon, may have the Drophets), and the term "Latter Prophets" is used for those books that bear the name of a particu- neither can floods drown it. thousand, (i.e., i¿¡ prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets). In Christian Bibles the If one offered for love and the keepers of the fruit two orophetic books form the last section of the Old Testament canon, following the Pentateuch, the all the wealth of one's house, hundred! I' Historical Books, and the Poetical Books. Christian tradition includes Daniel among the prophetic il it would be utterly scorned. tüfritings. 13 books, in contrast to Judaism, which groups Daniel with the Also, Christian Bibles place i O you who dwell in the gardens, which is not a book of prophec¡ immediately after the book of reflecting 8 \(/e have a little sister, my companions are listening for Lamentations, Jeremiah, ii the rradition of the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) that was il and she has no breasts. your voice; Jeremiah \X/hat Lamentations. Likewise, ì shall we do for our sister, let me hear it. the author of in some Christian cânons, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical I on the day when she is spoken for? book ofBaruch comes after Lamentations, because ofthe connection between the prophetJeremiah e If she is a wall, 1a Make haste, my beloved, and his scribe, Baruch. (See further pp. 453-58 nssevs.) we will build upon her a battlement and be like a gazelle of silver; or a young stag THE NATURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE PROPHETIC BOOKS but if she is a door, upon the mountains of spices! The prophetic books are unusual and complex compositions. With the exception of Jonah, which is we will enclose her with boards of a story âbout a prophet, these books all contain extended sayings and speeches that purport to come cedar. a Or finds from the prophet whose name the book bears. ìlhile the books undoubtedly do preserve authentic words of the prophets in question, one should not think of the prophetic books simply as rranscrip- precious and semiprecious metals and stones and were used to seal documents and to indicate ownership, tions of the words of prophets. Although much remains unknown about the composition of the functioning much like a signature. They were worn on a co¡d around the neck (Gen 38.18) or as a ring (Gen prophetic books, it is possible to reconstruct a general picture. Scholars generally agree that the po- 41'.42; Jer 22.24; Sft 49.I1.) and were considered a valuable possession. The woman desires to be etic rnaterials in the prophetic books originated as pronouncements bound closeiy and always to her lover. Loue is as strong as death stresses the inevitabilit¡ the utter oral by the prophet to a public givenness of the woman's love in all of its manifestations. Passion, or "jealous¡" which better conveys audience. These oracles were subsequently written down, perhaps by the prophet or an associate. the image's violence. 7: Many Øaters aÍe associated with the powers of chaos, which the LoRD dominates The circumstances that led to these original written collections were undoubtedly different. A refer- (Gen 1.2; Isa 51.9-10; Ps29.3;76.12-14).8-10: Perhaps playful banter between rhe woman (8.10) and ence in the book of Isaiah suggests that oracles might be written down as a form of authentication her brothers (cf. L6). Spoken for, as in marriage (1 Sam 25.39). 11-12: Here Solomon is addressed (lsa 30.8). The book of Jeremiah describes how Jeremiah, having been banned from speaking pub- literally. The speaker is unclear, though it is likely the man. If so, he is extolling the unparalleled value licly in the Temple, had his assistant Baruch write down a selection of his prophetic words so that of his own vineyard-the woman. Baal-hamon is an unidentified place. My uineyard, my uery otan is the 'lfhen they could be taken into the Temple and read to the people (Jer 36.5-6). King Jehoiakim de- language used by the woman earlier (1.6). 13-14: The concluding poem of rhe sequence, fittinglg ends stroyed the scroll, Jeremiah had Baruch write out another copy, to which they added additional ma- on a note of expectation and anticipation. terial (Jer 36.27-32). This collection may have formed the nucleus of the book of Jeremiah. On the other hand, unlike most of the other prophetic books, Ezekiel may have been composed as a written document from the beginning. Elsewhere in the Bible there is further evidence of prophetic collec- tions; see t Chr 29.29;2 Chr 9.29. Once small collections of prophetic oracles and pronouncements were made, they were subject to further editing, rearranging, annotating, and expansion. In some cases narratives about the prophet were added; these are both autobiographical (e.g., Isa 6; 8; ler 1.4-'1.9; I3.1-1I; Hos 1-2; Am 7 '7-7) and biographical (e.g., Isa 7; 36-39; Jer 26; 3644; Hos 3; Am 7.1,0-1,7). The occasions for such editorial activity would have differed, but national crises may have prompted some of this process. Most likel¡ written collections of the oracles of the prophets Amos and Flosea, which were