Interpretation Of Song Research Articles

Semiotics of Song Discourse During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Song discourse, as a type of discourse, represents a special field research. A piece of music related to a certain historical context is part of the expression of culture, memory and identity of the nation. The aim of the study is the interpretation of song and poetry works from the period of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), one of the difficult stages in the history of the country, as well as a semiotic analysis of the song texts of the two fighting parties. The analysis of the lyrics makes it possible to determine the key features of the depiction of the military conflict within the linguocultural, linguocognitive, social and political context. The role of song discourse as part of propaganda and a way to rally the population against the designated enemy is defined. In addition, the relevance of the study is consonant with the socio-political course of Spain in the last few years to deal with the traumatic past of the Civil War and the consequent dictatorship of F. Franco. The material of the study is Spanish-language song texts about the period of the Spanish Civil War (1936- 1939). The main research methods are lexical-semantic, contextual, corpus analysis, methods of semantic and pragmatic interpretation. In addition to the study of the song discourse of the Civil War period, the song discourse of the post-war period is also analyzed. The authors conclude that song and poetry texts acted as an effective tool for rallying the people and quickly conveying the position of the conflicting parties, strengthening propaganda. To date, the musical works of the supporters of the Republic who lost the war in 1939 and after 1939, which were censored in Spain, basking in the popularity, given the campaigns of Spanish public organizations to search for the remains of soldiers and perpetuate the memory of the victims of the Civil War of 1936-1939 and the dictatorship.

Воссоздание песенно-танцевальных явлений русского народа в современном этновокальном образовании

At the beginning of the third decade of this century, the problem of broadcasting ethno-singing, ethno-dancing experience, recreating works and phenomena of the art of oral tradition, introducing the younger generation to folk culture was clearly identified. There is an urgent problem of finding new ways to organize ethno-local education aimed at professional training of leaders of folk choral groups, vocal teachers who are ready to organize the creativity of modern performers based on traditions and innovations, to activate the processes of restoration, revival of ethno-singing culture. Song and dance complexes are considered as a powerful educational and training tool that can not only convey the culture of our people, but also actively influence modern youth, causing manifestations of feelings and emotions. The pedagogical technology developed by the author is aimed at the formation of a modern ethno-local teacher who could fix, process, analyze folklore and ethnographic song, instrumental, dance materials, able to comprehend them, reconstruct and adapt them in a cultural and educational environment. This will allow us to solve the issues of stage interpretation of authentic works, song and dance complexes, so that they become understandable and interesting to a modern person.

John Song: Modern Chinese Christianity and the Making of a New Man, by Daryl R. Ireland.

Until now, scholars have remembered the story of Chinese revivalist John Song (Song Shangjie) primarily in the form of variations on a single theme: that of Song’s dramatic encounter with Jesus and resultant conversion experience while a student at Union Theological Seminary in New York, of his facing discrimination under modernist professors who lured him into a mental institution, and of his returning to China to propagate a fundamentalist expression of Christianity through his influential revivals. Daryl Ireland, in John Song: Modern Chinese Christianity and the Making of a New Man, draws on previously unreleased archival material to promote a different version of the story: one featuring Song’s repeated revising of his own faith testimony. Ireland makes the case that Song’s continual reinvention of himself corresponded to the cultural movement in twentieth-century China centered on renewal on both the national and individual levels.The introduction, subtitled “The Quest to Become New,” features the May Fourth Movement, beginning in 1919 and building on the larger New Culture Movement, in which proponents sought to modernize all of China in order to strengthen the nation and overcome vulnerability to foreign oppression. In chapter 1 Ireland reinterprets Song’s sojourn in New York, including at the Bloomingdale Hospital for mental patients. Ireland unveils accounts from Song’s personal journal about intimate spiritual interactions with an all-consuming figure Song called “the Mother,” whose identity apparently combined those of three women accompanying Jesus in the Gospel of Luke: Mary, Jesus’ mother; Mary Magdalene; and Susanna (23). Song’s understanding of the Mother evokes the deities Guanyin and the Queen Mother of the West associated with Chinese Buddhist and indigenous cosmology (34).Ireland asserts in chapter 2 that it was in China, after conversing with missionary W. B. Cole, that Song truly came to view his New York experience as an example of Jesus’s intervention—rather than the Mother’s— and also as a conservative victory in the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy (37). Ireland claims that Song’s career as an evangelist was characterized by his repeated reinterpretation of his testimony, in addition to his strategy to invite the hundreds of thousands who attended his revivals to likewise sever ties with their past and become new. In chapter 3 Ireland describes Song’s adoption of a three-step revivalist method of preaching through the Bethel Mission, as well as techniques associated with traditional Chinese storytelling (74, 78). Chapters 4 and 5 describe Song’s ministry as an independent, itinerant revivalist, marked by wild popularity and significant expansion among the “petty urbanites” (114–15). Chapter 6 highlights the ways in which Song’s scientific education—including a PhD in chemistry—afforded him leeway to promote a supernatural spirituality which the government deemed superstitious, but which women often found salient (156). Chapter 7 emphasizes Song’s faith healing, an alternative route to the bodily renewal which those longing to become New Men and New Women so fervently sought (202). Due to its expansive reach, the expression of Christianity Song promoted—associated with traveling Bible teachers, supernatural healing, and urban life—remains the prevalent form in China and its Southeast Asian diaspora today (204–5, 207).This book offers a nuanced portrait of Song’s ministry and introduces a fresh perspective on his conversion. In retelling Song’s story, Ireland compellingly highlights the influence of women on Song’s work, including his sister (148); his female supervisors at the Bethel Mission (183–84); Mrs. Guan, a woman from whom Song willingly receives spiritual correction (136); and the many Singaporean women serving on evangelistic bands in response to his invitation (145). Ireland also underscores Song’s penchant for applying feminine imagery to himself and to Jesus (127, 148–49, 201). One question I would raise relates to Ireland’s interpretation of Song’s relationship with the Mother. Ireland asserts that Song eventually came to realize that “it was not her, but Jesus Christ” with whom he had interacted at Bloomingdale (51). Given Song’s account of the Mother as one who revealed to him “the failures of Jesus Christ” (23), however, I find it difficult to imagine Song conflating Jesus and the Mother. In light of Song’s claim that individuals who “invoke the spirits” thereby “become the subject of them” (192), I wonder if Song reinterpreted at least some aspects of his connection to the Mother not as union with Jesus, but with a malevolent spirit. Nevertheless, with its groundbreaking research and captivating style, John Song constitutes an invaluable scholarly contribution. I highly recommend this book to professors of World Christianity and church history, and also to seminary students interested in the development of Chinese Christianity.

Texts, Manuscripts, Versions, Canon

Texts, Manuscripts, Versions, Canon Christopher T. Begg, Thomas Hieke, and Fred W. Guyette Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Thomas Hieke Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz Fred W. Guyette Erskine College and Seminary 1836. [Aramaic OT Targums; NT Parallels] Aila Luzia Pinheiro de Andrade and Susie Helena Ribeiro, "Targumim, as traduçōes aramaicas do Antigo Testamento, e alguns paralelos com o Novo Testamento [Targumim, the Aramaic Translations of the OT and Some Parallels with the New Testament]," PT 52 (1, 2020) 55-72. The main objective of this article is to highlight the relationship between the Targumim's Aramaic paraphrases of the texts of the Hebrew Bible and the NT. In this connection, the authors seek to show that the Targumim are the result of a long process of adaptation, revision, and censorship, which finally put into fixed written form traditions that had developed through the centuries. The first three portions of the article are devoted to a presentation of the Targumim in their various aspects, while the fourth and final part discusses selected cases of parallels between the Targumim and the texts of the NT. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1837. [Song 1:5-6] Hans Ausloos, "Between Exegetically Appropriate and Politically Correct: Towards a Responsible Interpretation of Song of Songs 1.5-6," The Song of Songs Afresh, 1-14 [see #2602]. A comparison of ancient and modern translations of Song 1:5-6 confronts the reader immediately with the difficulty of this text. In this passage, the woman presents herself [End Page 687] using two adjectives, "dark" and "lovely." There has been a lot of dispute about the juxtaposition of these two adjectives, particularly in recent decades, and especially regarding the translation of the conjunction between them. According to some interpreters and translators, the woman is "dark but lovely." Others, seeking to avoid the possible suggestion that this rendering presupposes an incompatibility between being "dark" and being "lovely," i.e., the woman is "beautiful" despite the fact of being "dark," translate rather "black and lovely." Although, according to the Hebrew original both interpretations are possible—the conjunction waw can have both an adversative and a conjunctive meaning—this discussion seems mainly inspired by a concern regarding politically correct language. My article addresses the issue in hopes of arriving at an adequate and responsible exegesis of a verse that seems problematic to many contemporary readers. See also #1840. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1838. [The Coptic and LXX Versions of Isaiah 40] Tomasz BĄk, "A Critical Edition and Philological Analysis of the First Chapter of Deutero-lsaiah (Isa 40) on the Basis of the Coptic Manuscript sa 52 (M 568) in Light of Other Coptic Manuscripts Written in the Sahidic Dialect and the Greek Text of the Septuagint," AnBib 9 (1, 2019) 73-100. This article presents a critical edition and philological analysis of Isaiah 40 on the basis of the Coptic manuscript sa 52.2 as well as other manuscripts written in the Sahidic dialect. The article consists of several parts. It begins by providing general information concerning the fragment of codex sa 52 containing the text of Isaiah 40 along with a list and brief characterization of other Coptic manuscripts preserving at least some verses of Isaiah 40. It then proceeds to present the Sahidic text of Isaiah 40 and a translation of this into English. Thereafter, I lay out, in a chart format, the linguistic differences between the LXX text of Isaiah 40 and the Coptic rendering of that text, and conclude with a consideration of the philological problems posed by Isaiah 40. Of special note here are the verses 6, 7, and 8 of Isaiah 40 which occur only in sa 52.2 among Coptic versions of the chapter and which are published now for the first time. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1839. [The Psalm Superscriptions in the Aramaic Targum] Abraham J. Berkovitz, "Translation, Translation Technique, and the Psalm Superscriptions of the Aramaic Targum," JQR 110 (4, 2020) 621-51. This essay will reconstruct the exegetical practices...

Jonathan Kaplan (2015), My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs

Jonathan Kaplan (2015), My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs

How Song of Songs Became a Divine Love Song

Abstract The origin of the interpretation of Song of Songs as a description of God’s relationship with God’s beloved community has been a persistent question in the work’s history of interpretation. Earlier scholarship has provided a number of possible solutions to this problem, none of them conclusive. This article offers another possible answer: the language and imagery of the Northwest Semitic combat myth in Song 8:6-7, which identifies love with Yhwh as the victorious divine warrior, triggers the work’s interpretation as a divine love song. This argument receives support from some of the earliest allusions to Song of Songs in Revelation, which interpret Song of Songs in the context of apocalyptic discourse that likewise draws heavily on the combat myth.

Petrarch's Adamantine Chains: The Anniversary Series of "Love" (RVF 107–118) and the Song of "Glory" (RVF 119)

This article proposes a fresh interpretation of Petrarch's Song of Glory (RVF 119) through the canzone's significant placement after the Anniversary Series of sonnets (RVF 107-118), its link to the Secretum, and, above all, Petrarch's engagement with Stoic philosophy found throughout these poems which ultimately reinforces the poet's critical stance toward glory especially in this canzone. Petrarch composed the Song of Glory, as well as the Anniversary Series, to represent failure within a Stoic ideology and, as a result, this apparent shortcoming also introduces significant questions concerning the humanist program and the experiential limits of imitation itself. Petrarch viewed Stoicism as a moral philosophy to emulate, accentuating the ethical dimension inherent in the value attributed by humanists to imitating classical texts; but in the end the Secretum presents Stoic goals as potentially unattainable objects of desire tantamount to the poet's pursuit of fleeting objectives such as security, tranquility, virtue, and glory. What ultimately emerges in these compelling texts, all linked to Petrarch's year of crisis (1342-1343), is a crucial intersection where the poet confronts his understanding of glory by questioning its meaning.

Jonathan Kaplan. My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. xiv + 225 pp.

Reviewed by: My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs by Jonathan Kaplan Deborah Green Jonathan Kaplan. My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. xiv + 225 pp. In this monograph, Jonathan Kaplan explores the role of Song of Songs in the tannaitic layer of midrash (the earliest stratum of rabbinic interpretation, pre-200 CE). Kaplan begins by covering the history and contexts of the various sources of these midrashim (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai, Mekhilta [End Page 209] Devarim, Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Sifre Devarim) and cautions against reading the midrashim without accounting for their initial cultural milieu. He argues that these early midrashim should be considered something other than halakhic (legal in orientation) and asserts that that the rabbis “have a profound interest in exploring the shape of Israel’s national narrative and in relating aggadic traditions” (3). While this argument is a bit overstated, Kaplan’s decision to confine his study only to the tannaitic layer has historical and contextual value. In the book’s introduction, he also describes the Song itself and touches on the various scholarly theories surrounding the inclusion of the Song in the canon. These points lead him to deliberate on aspects of love as presented in the Torah (i.e., love of God) and those presented in the Song (i.e., erotic love). Chapter 1 addresses the question of genre, specifically, whether the tannaitic readings of the Song should be considered allegory, mashal (parable), or figuration. With the title of the book in mind, the reader will not be surprised to learn that Kaplan argues for a figural or typological reading of the midrashim—but not before an extremely detailed description of the rise of allegory as a method of ancient interpretation and its expressions in Christian literature. Kaplan also gives a useful assessment of the arguments of Daniel Boyarin and David Stern on the role of mashal. In chapter 2, Kaplan turns to the interpretation of the Song in relation to Israel’s national story and situation (past, present, and future). He covers several aspects of the “nation” theme: comparison of Israel to the nations, Israel as God’s special or chosen people over and against the other nations, and Israel being surrounded or possessed by other nations (e.g., Egypt). The third and fourth chapters concern metaphors the rabbis employ for the female and male lovers in Song of Songs. Kaplan begins by looking at three types of description of the female in the Song: a short self-description offered by the woman (1:5–6, 8:10), a short description by the man (usually heavily laden with metaphor as in 1:9, 1:15, and 4:1), and a long description by the man (4:1–7, 4:9–15, 6:4–10, and 7:2–10a). In his discussion of the long description, Kaplan includes comparisons to poetry known by its Arabic name as wasf (which describes another’s body part-by-part, p. 98). In the chapter on the role of the male lover in the Song, Kaplan discusses how the rabbis align Israel, Moses, and the rabbis themselves with the male lover through imitatio Dei, as rabbinic interpretation usually assigns God to the role of the male lover. “Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder,” is slightly inapt as a title for chapter 5, as most of the discussion centers on divine intimacy and immanence even when Israel is in exile. Once again, Kaplan covers a variety of topics while discussing verses from the Song—predominantly those from chapters three and five of the Song, in which the female searches for her male companion. Kaplan focuses on how the rabbis employ verses from these parts of the Song to refocus the poem on God’s attending to Israel during the enslavement in Egypt, Israel’s exodus, and the wilderness journey. Kaplan stresses that the Shekhinah’s (i.e., God’s) presence with Israel in exile constitutes a significant revision of a biblical theological concept from Deuteronomy (i.e., that God is not present when Israel is in exile). Kaplan underscores that...

My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs by Jonathan Kaplan

Reviewed by: My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs by Jonathan Kaplan Deborah Green Jonathan Kaplan. My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. xiv + 225 pp. In this monograph, Jonathan Kaplan explores the role of Song of Songs in the tannaitic layer of midrash (the earliest stratum of rabbinic interpretation, pre-200 CE). Kaplan begins by covering the history and contexts of the various sources of these midrashim (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai, Mekhilta [End Page 209] Devarim, Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Sifre Devarim) and cautions against reading the midrashim without accounting for their initial cultural milieu. He argues that these early midrashim should be considered something other than halakhic (legal in orientation) and asserts that that the rabbis “have a profound interest in exploring the shape of Israel’s national narrative and in relating aggadic traditions” (3). While this argument is a bit overstated, Kaplan’s decision to confine his study only to the tannaitic layer has historical and contextual value. In the book’s introduction, he also describes the Song itself and touches on the various scholarly theories surrounding the inclusion of the Song in the canon. These points lead him to deliberate on aspects of love as presented in the Torah (i.e., love of God) and those presented in the Song (i.e., erotic love). Chapter 1 addresses the question of genre, specifically, whether the tannaitic readings of the Song should be considered allegory, mashal (parable), or figuration. With the title of the book in mind, the reader will not be surprised to learn that Kaplan argues for a figural or typological reading of the midrashim—but not before an extremely detailed description of the rise of allegory as a method of ancient interpretation and its expressions in Christian literature. Kaplan also gives a useful assessment of the arguments of Daniel Boyarin and David Stern on the role of mashal. In chapter 2, Kaplan turns to the interpretation of the Song in relation to Israel’s national story and situation (past, present, and future). He covers several aspects of the “nation” theme: comparison of Israel to the nations, Israel as God’s special or chosen people over and against the other nations, and Israel being surrounded or possessed by other nations (e.g., Egypt). The third and fourth chapters concern metaphors the rabbis employ for the female and male lovers in Song of Songs. Kaplan begins by looking at three types of description of the female in the Song: a short self-description offered by the woman (1:5–6, 8:10), a short description by the man (usually heavily laden with metaphor as in 1:9, 1:15, and 4:1), and a long description by the man (4:1–7, 4:9–15, 6:4–10, and 7:2–10a). In his discussion of the long description, Kaplan includes comparisons to poetry known by its Arabic name as wasf (which describes another’s body part-by-part, p. 98). In the chapter on the role of the male lover in the Song, Kaplan discusses how the rabbis align Israel, Moses, and the rabbis themselves with the male lover through imitatio Dei, as rabbinic interpretation usually assigns God to the role of the male lover. “Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder,” is slightly inapt as a title for chapter 5, as most of the discussion centers on divine intimacy and immanence even when Israel is in exile. Once again, Kaplan covers a variety of topics while discussing verses from the Song—predominantly those from chapters three and five of the Song, in which the female searches for her male companion. Kaplan focuses on how the rabbis employ verses from these parts of the Song to refocus the poem on God’s attending to Israel during the enslavement in Egypt, Israel’s exodus, and the wilderness journey. Kaplan stresses that the Shekhinah’s (i.e., God’s) presence with Israel in exile constitutes a significant revision of a biblical theological concept from Deuteronomy (i.e., that God is not present when Israel is in exile). Kaplan underscores that...

Leonard Cohen, Philosopher

This paper, which the author delivered as his inaugural lecture as the Chair of Philosophy at Maynooth University, explores the relationship between philosophy, poetry, and religion. Through a line-by-line interpretation of Leonard Cohen's song 'Steer Your Way', it discovers the poet in a space between postmodern disillusionment and a desire for faith. What opens Cohen to the latter is specifically the experience of pain and brokenness, which lead him to the figure of Jesus. The paper concludes with a reflection on Richard Kearney's notion of 'anatheism', the return to a 'God after God'.

Tafsir Alegoris, Konstruksi Teologis, dan Unsur Erotis dalam Kitab Kidung Agung

Song of Songs is afforded relatively rare attention in church, where an allegorical mode of reading often continues to serve as the default interpretative strategy for examining this particular book of the Bible. And this remains the case, despite the development of numerous other approaches that can better account for elements of eroticism as contained in that book. In this essay, discursive problematics arising from the interpretation of Song of Songs are considered in detail, in order to ascertain the reason for the church's aversion toward using some such exegetical method that would be more attuned to the erotic elements within Song of Songs. One's own willingness to be open to such erotic elements in Song of Songs may even assist in bringing the church to realize the riches to be found therein. Such riches may then also serve as basis for a more progressive constructive theology concerning human sexuality. As such, the church may thus regard Song of Songs as its biblical warrant for constructing a theology that regards sexuality in a more positive manner.

Attitudes Towards Sexuality in Song of Songs and in the Corpus Paulinum: A Comparison

Throughout history Song of Songs has been read and interpreted from various perspectives. Popular and academic Jewish and Christian publications allegorise and metaphorise the meaning of the words and images in Song of Songs. The focus of this research is on a literary-didactic reading as proposed by Turner, which seems to be the most obvious interpretation of Song of Songs. The research on the sexuality perspective communicated in the Song is then compared with the Pauline attitude to sex and marriage in order to find out whether Paul’s attitude to sex differs from or corresponds with what we find in Song of Songs. The corpus Paulinum and Song of Songs should both be read with their cultural contexts in mind. While Song of Songs focuses on the erotic love between two lovers, the corpus Paulinum focuses on sexual immorality

The Writings

The Writings Christopher T. Begg, Joseph E. Jensen, Fred W. Guyette, and Bradley C. Gregory 2056. [Psalms; Gregory of Nyssa In inscriptiones Psalmorum] Augustinus Friedbert Weber, Der Psalter als ein Weg des Aufstiegs in Gregor von Nyssa's "In inscriptiones Psalmorum" (ÖBS 48; Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 2017). Pp. 722. $112.95, £77, €93.50, SwF 122. ISBN 978-3-631-72097-4. This voluminous opus is the published version of W.'s dissertation that was accepted by the University of Vienna for the doctoral degree in 2016. The work concerns the treatise of the 4th cent. Church Father Gregory of Nyssa, known by the Latin title cited in W.'s own title. In fact, however, the treatise concerns not simply the (LXX) psalmic titles, but also a whole range other questions (e.g., the sequential unfolding of the Psalter and its division into "books") with an overall focus on how the various psalmic features further the Psalter's primary purpose, i.e., to offer those who read and pray it a spiritual resource that can assist in their growth in virtue that will lead to eternal "blessedness." After initial remarks about the character and method of his study, W., in the subsequent chapters, proceeds to address "introductory questions" about Gregory and his writings, provides a German translation of the above treatise along with a summary account of its overall content, an in-depth discussion of selected passages, and concludes with hermeneutical reflections on Gregory's treatise that are formulated in the form of four theses [End Page 677] about its potential value for the Christian appropriation of the Psalter today. The volume's end matter consists of various lists and an extensive, multi-part bibliography.—C.T.B. 2057. [Job 1–21] Choon-Leong Seow, Job 1–21: Interpretation and Commentary (Illuminations; Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2013). Pp. xxix + 969. $95. ISBN 978-0-8028-4895-6. S. offers a literary-theological interpretation of the Book of Job with his own translation, together with a detailed commentary reflecting careful philological and literary analysis. His eclectic approach pays close attention to the reception history of the book, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Western secular interpretations as expressed in theological, philosophical, and literary writings and in the visual and performing arts. The volume concludes with subject, author, Scripture, and ancient source indexes. See also #1774.—J.E.J. 2058. [Song of Songs; Rabbinic Literature] Jonathan Kaplan, My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs (New York/Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2015). Pp. xv + 225. $74. ISBN 978-1-19-935933-2. The tannaim treat the Song of Songs figuratively rather than typologically or allegorically. Drawing on biblical (Ezekiel) and Qumran precedents, they elaborate a theology of intimacy that is anticipated in 4 Ezra and the NT Book of Revelation. God is thereby portrayed as an ideal, faithful husband, unlike the gods of other nations, and his relationship with Israel as enduring through the exodus, the exile, and the period of Roman subjugation. This approach shifts the biblical book's erotic tone to one of affection with an emphasis on the relationship's permanence.—F.E.G. 2059. [Song of Songs] Annette Schellenberg and Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger (eds.), Interpreting the Song of Songs—Literal or Allegorical? (Biblical Tools and Studies 26; Leuven/Paris/Bristol, CT: Peeters, 2016). Pp. xi + 234. €78. ISBN 978-90-429-3374-3. This volume contains essays on the question of the legitimacy of interpreting the Song of Songs allegorically and includes perspectives of scholars representing each of the major approaches to the question. Many of the essays originated as papers at the international meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in July 2014 in Vienna. The articles are abstracted in ##1801, 1802, 1803, 1804, 1807, 1808, 1810.—B.C.G. Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Joseph E. Jensen Old Testament Abstracts Fred W. Guyette Erskine College and Seminary Bradley C. Gregory Catholic University of America Copyright © 2017 The Catholic Biblical Association of America

My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs

My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs

Seeking for a Sense of Belonging: An Interpretation of Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison’s works usually show deep concern not only for the existence and development of the black but also that of human beings. By presenting the story of Dead family in Song of Solomon, Morrison tries to find a way out for black people as well as the whole mankind in this pluralistic modern world. The black’s loss in the novel represents modern men’s loss in a world full of material desires. The protagonist Milkman’s unwitting search for his root enlightens the puzzled modern human beings. The thesis attempts to interpret Morrison’s view of sense of belonging by analyzing the loss of three Macons, the experience of Pilate and the return journey of Milkman. On the whole, it aims at exploring Morison’s proposition that it is essential for one to return to pure traditional culture, nature and one’s true self, thereby owning a sense of belonging.

“We Will Leave Signs!”: The Inter‐textual Song Praxis of Elephant Hunters (Bayege), Within the Greater Sukuma Region of Western Tanzania

In the Sukuma region of Western Tanzania, rural life relies upon cooperative social networks which allocate labor in ways which include hunting, farming, and healing. An important nineteenth‐century Sukuma association was the bayege (elephant hunters). Bayege songs were humorous and celebratory songs which commended hunters for work well done, boasted of the bravery required for the hunt, encouraged initiates to follow in their footsteps after they have left the world, or poked fun at rival hunting groups with whom they had contact. This article examines the music–related practices of this association, unpacks the inter‐textual musical influence of this association on subsequent and current labor associations active in this region, and considers the inter‐temporal interpretation of bayege song by contemporary practitioners.

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

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.

Le Logos et l'empereur, nouveaux Orphée « Postérité d'une image entrée dans la littérature avec Clément d'Alexandrie »

AbstractIn the Protrepticus, Clement of Alexandria suggests Orpheus' song is a prefiguration of the power of the Word. In the fourth century A. D., Eusebius and Themistius will apply this interpretation of Orpheus' song respectively to the Logos and to the Emperor. In the image proposed by Eusebius the Alexandrian's influence is obvious, whereas its transformation in Themistius illustrates its political evolution. An examination of these two different applications shows not only Clement's role in the transfer of a symbolic figure, but also the originality of its first Christian transposition in the Protrepticus.

The Interpretation of Song of Songs in 4 Ezra

AbstractThe article deals with a passage of 4 Ezra that might well be an allegorical exegesis of Song of Songs. The usual allegory sees the bridegroom as God and the bride as Israel. 4 Ezra is contemporary with Rabbi Aqiba's statements on the allegory of Song of Songs, and is further evidence for the existence of allegorical interpretation. Yet it witnesses a different tradition of allegorical exegesis to the one usually found. This conclusion is compared with various views on Song of Songs and its interpretation.

The foxes that ruin the vineyards - a literal interpretation of <i>Song of Songs</i> 2:15: research

This article focuses on a literal interpretation of Song of Songs 2:15. Initially, this verse is identified as an independent unit, as a song intended to scare off. Now it forms part of a garden / countryside scenery (2:8-17). In 2:15 the co-workers of the lover are addressed. They are asked to create an intimate mood by setting the lover free from his work, and to catch the foxes instead of him. Keywords: Exegesis Old Testament, Eksegese Ou Testament, Song of Songs 2:15, Hooglied 2:15, Literal interpretation, Letterlike interpretasie Acta Theologica Vol.22(2) 2003: 72-85