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Mystical Interpretation of the Song of Songs in the Light of Ancient Jewish Mysticism

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Mystical Interpretation of the Song of Songs in the Light of Ancient Jewish Mysticism Durham E-Theses Mystical interpretation of Song of Songs in the light of ancient Jewish mysticism. Fawzi, S O. How to cite: Fawzi, S O. (1994) Mystical interpretation of Song of Songs in the light of ancient Jewish mysticism., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1159/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Mystical Interpretation of the Song of Songsin the Light of Ancient Jewish Mysticism S.O. Fawzi The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. A thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Arts The University of Durham in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 1994 AU 6 9P 1996 To Him Who is with me at all times and was with me at hard times Abstract The present work understands the book of the Song of Songs as a mystical composition that can be placed within ancient Jewish mystical literature expressing love for the divine. Aspects of the text, namely structure, unity, theme, literary genre and the nature of love, have been discussed and their mystical characteristics and tendencies are examined accordingly. Also the work discussesthe associationof the Song with the Merkabah tradition and the Shiur Qomah doctrine the most mystical aspectof Merkabah mysticism. This has led to the examination of the grounds behind the tacit restrictions on the text. The work ends by discussing the mystical treatment and understandmg,of the Song in the Middle Ages, also its influence on and its populanty amonost biblical scholars and mystic circles of the time demonstrated by some extracts from their writings. Some parts of Ibn Aknin's Judaeo-Arabic mystical interpretation of the Song have been translated into English and attached as an appendix to this study to illustrate the mystical approach with which the Song was treated and interpreted. Acknowledgments I would like to express my thanks to all scholars, dead and alive, in the field of Biblical Studies and Jewish Mysticism whom I had the honour to have met through their valuable contribution in this field and who have thus helped me to produce this humble work. Without discrediting any one of them I would like to express my special thanks and appreciation to two of them. Amongst the dead, ProfessorG. Scholemfor his valuable and pioneering contribution to Jewish Mysticism which was and still is a source of inspiration to most scholars and students in this field. Among those alive, and I hope for many years to come, I express my endless thanks and appreciation to Dr. J.F. Healey. He is not only my supervisor but also my teacher. I owe him a great deal for his sound and valuable views, remarks and suggestions which helped me immensely throughout my work. Also without his support, encouragement, understanding and most of all his extreme tolerance, this work would have never seen the light. Finally I am very grateful to my husband, Muaadh, mainly for his support and encouragement and secondly for his kind help in typing some parts of this work. Contents Introduction I Major Views of Interpretation Of the Song 6 1- Historical Allegory 6 2- Drama Theory 10 3- Ae King's Weak Theory 13 4- Cultic Theory 18 5- Human Love In the Religious Context 24 Conclusion 35 Unity / Structure of the Text 37 a. Survey of Previous Views 37 b. Present View 41 1- Structure / Theme Relationship 42 2- Repetitions in the Text 51 3- Triadic Dimension of the Theme 62 Present View of Interpretation 69 1. Translation of the Text 69 2. Authorship of the Text 85 3. Genre and Figurative illustrations of the Song 96 4. Analysis of the Contents 112 Conclusion 128 The Song of Songs and development of Jewish Mysticism 134 a. Early Traces of Jewish Mysticism 134 b. Merkabah / Hekhalot Mysticism and the Role of the Song of Songs 138 Grounds for Restriction to the Text of the Song of Songs 147 Restrictions Upon the Merkabah Text ( Ezek. 1) 149 Shiur Qomah Doctrine and Restrictions Upon the Text of the Song of Songs 154 Shiur Qomah and the Targum to the Song of Songs 164 Conclusion 169 The Song of Songs and Medieval Judaism 1721 a. The Rise of Intellectual influences 172 1- Philosophy 172 2- Mysticism 176 b. Ae Impact of Jewish Medieval Thought on the Interpretation of the Songof Songs 184 Conclusion 196 Appendix 198 Introduction 198 Chapter 1 202 Chapter Iff 203 Chapter V 205 Chapter VII 208 Chapter VIII 209 Epilogue 213 Notes 214 Bibliography 215 Abbreviations AER American Ecclesiastical Review. AJSL American Journal of Semitic Languagesand Literatures. BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. BT Babylonian Talmud CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly. Hag Hagiga HAR Hebrew Annual Review. HTR Harvard 'Meological Review. HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual. JA OS Journal of the American Oriental Society. JBL Journal of Biblical Literature. ics Journal of Cuneiform Studies. Jis Journal of Jewish Studies. JPOS Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society. JQR Jewish Quarterly Review. JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. isi Journal of the Study of Judaism. JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. iss Journal of Semitic Studies. JTS Journal of Theological Studies. JTSA Jewish Theological Seminary of America. MGWJ Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums. PAAR Proceedingsof the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. PT Palestinian Talmud RB Revue Biblique. TOS Tosefta VT Vetus Testamentum. ZE Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. ZA W Zeitschrift für die Alttestamenliche Wissenschaft. GLOSSARY Amoraim (Plural) Amora (Sing. ) Title given to Jewish scholars in Palestine and especially in Babylonia between 3rd-6th Cent. C. E. Nagid "Prince" Title applied in Muslim and some Christian countries in the Middle Ages to a leader recognizedby the stateas headof the Jewish community. Karaites Jewish sect founded by Anan ben David in the 8th Cent.. They rejected the Oral Law and deduceda code of life by attemptingto interpret the Bible literally. Al-Mu'tazila Religious movement founded at Basrah in the first half of the 8th Cent. A. D. by W5sil b. 'Ata -1 becoming important , subsequently on of the most theological schools of Islam. Al-Mu'tazila, while rejecting the doctrine of predestination, believed in the affirmation of the absolute responsibility of the individual with regard to his transgressions which could not be in any sensethe work of God. Elkesaites Sect existing between 2nd-4th Cent. C.E. in Transjordan with adherentsalso in Syria and Rome. Like the Essenesthey stressedritual purification but, unlike the Essenes, they observedthe duty of fertility. Valentinians Secondcentury C.E gnostic sectexisting in Alexandria. It is believedthat the most striking parallel to the Shiý'r Qomahfragments was developedby the Valentinian Markos in his descriptionof "the body of the Truth". Al-Maghariyah Jewish sect founded in the first century BCE and deriving their designation from the fact that they kept their books in caves. They believed in an intermediary power. This power was an angel who is God's representative and to whom are referable all the anthropomorphic expressionsconcerning God found in the Bible. Haftarah Additional prayer read immediately after the reading of the Torah on Sabbathsand festivals. Usually it consistsof an appropriateselection from the Prophets. Shiu'r Qomah (lit. "the measureof the body" namely the body of God) Hebrew term for an esoteric doctrine concerning the appearanceof God in a quasi- bodily form. This doctrine developedin the first two centuriesC. E as the most secret part of Merkabah mysticism. I Introduction One of the striking features in the book of the Song of Songsis the nature of its language. Despite its obvious simplicity it seemspowerful enough to introduce themes or to create images and negate them. In 4.12 for beloved is described "a verse example the as gardenenclosed , a fountain sealed" but in 4.15 she is "a well of living water". Her eyes in 4.1 are describedas pure and innocent but in 7.4 they are captivating and overwhelming. On the other hand this power sometimes becomes more of an obstacle than a tool to facilitate expression, especially where feelings or intense emotions are concerned, thus resulting sometimes in what seems to be brief or strange expressions and descriptions. Such inability to use the language rationally is not uncommon in mystic literature in general. Rather it is a basic phenomenon in this connection since mystics usually experience that which is inexpressible. Perhaps the feeling of intoxication generated from being possessedby an intense passion for the divine renders the mystic confused or speechless as someone experiencing a crisis. Therefore the ambiguity of the language or better perhaps "the language crisis" in this context seems to be more left likely a product of an inward crisis of feelings. Accordingly what is unsaid or what is only implied or hinted at in the Song, if it is not more important and more relevant for the overall meaning of the text than what is obviously stated, is certainly as much to be reckoned with.
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