Song of Songs by F. Scott Spencer

Abstract

Reviewed by: Song of Songs by F. Scott Spencer Annette Schellenberg f. scott spencer, Song of Songs (Wisdom Commentary 25; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017). Pp. lxiv + 252. $39.95. The commentary on the Song of Songs by F. Scott Spencer was written for the Wisdom Commentary Series, which aims at “making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students” and thus hopes to “aid all readers in their advancement towards God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all” (back of the book). Spencer, who is professor of New Testament and Preaching at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, does an excellent job in reaching these goals. His commentary interprets the Song “in a feminist key” (pp. xli, xlii), offers solid scholarship, is written in an engaging way, and includes (some) reflections on the theological significance of the Song while primarily cherishing its erotic and most “worldly” character. After acknowledgments, S. opens his commentary with an introduction (“Playing the Song of Songs in a Feminist Key”), in which he lays out his basic approach. He starts with some explanations of his intent to interpret the Song as a feminist—stating that he can only present his feminist reading and commenting on the fact that he is male (and white, late middle-aged). He then lays out his own methodological approach, explaining that he wants to “attend to linguistic and other literary features of the poem within its broad social and cultural milieu” (p. xliv), paying attention to comparative ancient Near Eastern traditions but primarily focusing on the Song itself. [End Page 519] In a first subsection (“Voices and Valence: The Choral Factor”), S. introduces the speakers of the Song and then concentrates on the woman. After stating that he assumes “a singular female singer throughout the Song” (p. xlv) and not multiple female voices collected in an anthology (see again p. li), he points out that the woman with her strong voice is only “a poetic persona, a literary construct of a passionate vocal woman” (p. xlviii). Thus, he addresses the possibility that she is just a male fantasy so that, after all, the Song still propagates not a female but a male perspective (as Donald C. Polasky [“What Will Ye See in the Shulammite? Women, Power and Panopticism in the Song of Songs,” BibInt 5 (1997) 68–81] and David J. A. Clines [“Why Is There a Song of Songs and What Does It Do to You If You Read It?,” in idem, Interested Parties: The Ideology of Writers and Readers of the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup 205; Gender, Culture, Theory 1; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1995) 94–121] have argued), but concludes with Cheryl Exum that, even if this was (partially) true, it remains that the female “protagonist is assertive, determined, and . . . vulnerable” (p. li; see Exum, “Ten Things Every Feminist Should Know about the Song of Songs,” in A Feminist Companion to the Song of Songs [ed. Athalya Brenner and Carole R. Fontaine; 2nd rev. ed.; Feminist Companion to the Bible 1; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 2000]), so that there is no reason why feminists (and others) might not just enjoy the text. In the second subsection of the introduction (“Harmony and Counterpoint: The Compositional Factor,” pp. li-liv), S. addresses the (related) question of whether the world of the Song is ideal, whether there is indeed full equality and mutuality between the two lovers. He acknowledges that the Song is full of “positive notes for feminists’ interests in women’s agency, opportunity, and equality” but denies that the Song depicts a “feminist Utopia or Eden,” pointing out especially Song 5:7 (p. liii). Thus, S. “attempt[s] to follow the Song’s score carefully . . . , alert to discordant detours and minor-key modulations along the way” (pp. liii-liv). Spencer next explains his reading strategy, concentrating particularly on the question of whether there is a narrative thread in the Song (“Score and Story: The Choreographical Factor”). He is aware that only a few passages in the Song “have an obvious story structure,” but nonetheless is willing to “succumb . . . to the temptation to find narrative threads” (p. lv...