The Message of the Song of Songs (Bible Speaks Today) [Paperback]

Tom Gledhill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bible Speaks Today | Publication Date: July 7, 1994

At first reading the Song of Songs appears to be an unabashed celebration of the deeply rooted urges of physical attraction, mutual love and sexual consummation between a man and a woman. Tom Gledhill maintains that the Song of Songs is in fact just that--a literary, poetic exploration of human love that strongly affirms loyalty, beauty and sexuality in all their variety. With tender metaphor and extravagant imagery, the Song writer spins a tale of human love into the cadence of verse, innocent of our quest for historical persons behind the text. But in God's story, human beauty, intimacy and sexuality are not ends in themselves. They are transencedental longings, whispers of immortality. Like all of creation they point beyond themselves to their divine author, who in this Song is nowhere mentioned but everywhere assumed. Gledhill's commentary is a refreshing reminder of the Song of Song's ancient and vibrant affirmation of human sexuality that forms an interlude in the Old Testament story and echoes between the lines of Christian revelation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (July 7, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830812350
• ISBN-13: 978-0830812356
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Biblical and Practical, October 3, 2008

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The Edge (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Message of the Song of Songs (Bible Speaks Today) (Paperback)

This is an excellent commentary on the Song of Solomon. This book gives great detail of the meaning of the text, but then it also excels in making good application of it as well. Hey men, this book of the Bible is the one book God dedicated to romance and loving your wife according to God's Word. This commentary will help you understand this book and also how to apply it in loving your wife like Jesus Christ loves His Church. Only drawback to the book is some of the psychobabble included in it. Otherwise, it is top notch.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Insightful Interpretation of an Intimate Book, August 5, 2010

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K. R. Sperling (Birmingham, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Message of the Song of Songs (Bible Speaks Today) (Paperback)

The first words in the preface are: "The capacity to delight in physical beauty, to be attracted by members of the opposite sex, the desire to form secure and intimate relationships, and to express love and affection in demonstrably physical ways - these are all a very fundamental part of our common humanity. The Song of Songs is an unabashed celebration of these deeply rooted urges." So we learn up front that Gledhill does not interpret the Song of Songs allegorically.

After the preface is a 20-page introduction that covers subjects such as the Song as poetic entertainment, the role of Solomon in the Song, the morality of the Song, and the unity and structure of the Song.

Next is an 8-page overview of the text of the Song in which he outlines his proposed structure of the entire book. This is followed by his own literal translation of the Song in its entirety. Next is his own free paraphrase of the Song in which he attempts to provide us with the poetic effect that the original audience would have had.

The commentary proper starts on page 91 and is a full exposition of 156 pages. There are 117 verses in the Song, so that averages 1.3 pages of commentary per verse of Scripture. The NIV text is included, printed in sections of from one to several verses. His writing is engaging and many times he said things that made me smile. An example is when he wrote that a beautiful woman is like the smile of God and quotes Giovanni Leone: "The strongest evidence to prove that God exists is a beautiful woman."

His discussions of the numerous metaphors throughout the Song are excellent. He explains what each metaphor means, and then usually adds additional insight. For example, commenting on "her lips are like a scarlet ribbon," Gledhill says that this metaphor is more than her use of cosmetics: "apart from the eyes, the mouth and its expressiveness is the most important indicator of our inner state." On the phrase "her breasts are like two fawns," Gledhill writes that breasts are perceptible to the touch like a young deer but then adds "the girl's breasts are the most powerful visible expression of her femininity."

At times throughout the commentary, Gledhill (as he puts it) "meanders a considerable distance away from the actual text of the Song" and provides excursuses on topics related to the text such as self-image, nakedness vs. nudity, beauty, breasts, dancing, arranged vs. romantic marriages, birth control, the different types of love, Sheol, and marital love. He may meander away from the text, but each time he did was fascinating and I looked forward to the next one.

The five best commentaries on the Song are Longman's NICOT, Keel's Continental Commentary, Hess' BCOT, Murphy's Hermeneia, and Gledhill's BST. Gledhill's commentary is unlike the other four in that he seldom quotes other commentators nor does he provide many competing interpretations. That did not take me by surprise because he stated in the preface that he has "chosen to plough my own furrow, with only an occasional sidelong glance at other possibilities; to interact constantly with the opinions of others would be intolerably wearisome." Gledhill also does not have numerous translation footnotes nor does he provide many technical discussions like the other four.

But as far as an intelligent, insightful, and profound interpretation of the Song, Gledhill can go toe-to-toe with any of them. Highly recommended.