“Most Beautiful among Women”: Feminist/Womanist Contributions to Reading the Song of Songs

Abstract

The goal of this essay is to explore some of the primary contributions to the interpretation of Song of Songs made by feminist interpreters. An important goal of feminist biblical criticism is to provide interpretations of biblical texts that allow everyone, regardless of gender, class, or race, to find a place of belonging, both in Scripture and in the world. Feminist interpretation has highlighted and celebrated the prevalence of female characters, voices, and roles in the Song of Songs, as well as the egalitarian nature of the lovers' interaction with each other. It also asks readers of the Song to reconsider their own prejudices against people who look or act differently or who come from a different social class, and invites us to think about the frequent assumption that “nice girls” are not sexual beings. The Song of Songs presents a picture of what it means to have power that differs from the more familiar patriarchal representations of power elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. Finally, feminist interpretation of the Song of Songs leads us to revisit other biblical texts, such as Genesis 2–3, and read them in new ways.