Bric-a-brac

Just so you guys know I have taken the liberty to abbreviate Song of Solomon as SofS.

Fit:
Into the canon – Mystery of suffering is not very different from the mystery of love.
Not written by Solomon, despite its inscription, but it is part of the ancient tradition of Near Eastern love poetry.

Two most basic theories:
Jewish tradition says God is bridegroom and Jewish people are the bride.
Christian tradition says Christ is bridegroom and believers are the bride.

Theories and Scholars:

• Allegorical Interpretation = Jack Sasson (idea is that this is part of the Chebat service; the SofS was acted out during a Chebat service and then all was well with the village).  Think God and bride, or Christ and bride, depending on the context of your explanation.
• Dramatic Interpretation = Ewald and Driver (thought is that the bridegroom is a young shepherd and his rival is Solomon.  The king has taken the maiden to his palace in Jerusalem 6:10-12 and is trying to win her heart.  She remains true to her country bumpkin by resisting the king and is finally united with the her true love.
• Secular Love Poetry =Rowley (British baptist) and Grotius (i.e. literal interpretation)  This view was very popular during Renaissance in 16th and 17th centuries CE, and favor for it has only surpassed the adherence of the allegorical interpretation over the last 100 years.
• Cult Theory = T.J. Meek and Marvin Pope (btw, Pope has the most exhaustive commentary on SofS, it’s about 800 pages, and he comes up with his theory by taking into account erotic literature from all of the various Mediterranean traditions of that era)
• New riff on Genesis 2 = Phylis Tribble (baptist scholar) –see directly below–

• Without the roles of Gen 2-3
• Without the blame

• Think of language in Genesis 2-3 when Adam and woman have their first encounter
  • “bone of my bone” and Gen. 2 ends with them naked and not ashamed
  • 3 ends with them clothed and ashamed

• Song of Songs is a counter to Genesis 2-3
  • Gen 2-3 is rooted in blame
  • Song of Songs has no blame, and no shame

• The issue here is sexuality
  • Shameful in Genesis 2-3
  • Celebrated in Song of Solomon

Date: Post-exilic
Difficult to date, even by language because there are 50 hapax legomena (word that occurs only once in Hebrew Bible) in 100 verses!  The closest scholars can date SofS is 4th or 3rd century BCE due to the fact that there seems to be quite a bit of international flare with the language (i.e. words are possibly borrowed from Persian and Greek languages and the Hebrew language seems to be influenced by Aramaic–these instances are known as Aramisms).

Key terms:
Be able to define hapax legomena, and Aramism.

Key passages:
Due to the various interpretations of this book, be careful…

Some elements as to how Micah stands out:
*meaning of Micah’s name
*where Micah is from and who he is criticizing

Key date:
715 BCE (i.e. Micah prophesied during King Hezekiah’s rule)

Key Passages:
Micah can be divided into 3 sections (1-3, 4-5, and 6-7).
Chapter 4 is key to understanding the book.
3:9-12 – Zion plowed into field
5:2-6 (is picked up in Matthew…)
6:1-8 – mission statement that is commonly used (What does the Lord require of you?)

Key scholars:
Walter Brueggemann (3:9-12) – Zion plowed b/c of the heads and rulers
Smith-Christopher (3:9-12) – refers to Zion going back to what it was originally, pushes for moving away from centralized economic religious structures and towards the village model.

Context:
Imagine hearing this prophet if you were under Assyrian rule, and think about what it might mean to you from that context rather than your current situation in America.

Key terms:
Micah (meaning of name), judgment, restoration, plowshares, vineyards, fig trees, Assyrian empire

Other texts you may want to look at:
Isaiah 2 (hard to tell if Micah 4-5 or Isaiah 2 was written 1st, or do both come from a 3rd tradition??)
Joel 2 (also compare with Micah 4-5)