The Song of Songs: The World's First Great Love Poem (Modern Library Classics) [Paperback]

Ariel Bloch (Translator), Chana Bloch (Translator), Robert Alter (Afterword), Stephen Mitchell (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Modern Library Classics | Publication Date: October 10, 2006

“Next to Genesis, no book in the Hebrew Bible has had a stronger influence on Western literature than the Song of Songs.”
–The New York Review of Books

One of the greatest love poems ever written, The Song of Songs celebrates the sexual awakening of a young woman and her lover and the intoxicating experience of falling in love. Composed more than two thousand years ago, this book of the Old Testament is not only an essential religious and literary text, but also a source of inspiration to modern-day poets and lovers. Enhanced by an Afterword by the esteemed scholar Robert Alter and a new Foreword from the noted translator Stephen Mitchell, this definitive volume showcases Chana Bloch and Ariel Bloch’s sensuous translation which has “a lyrical purity that is delightful” (W. S. Merwin).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ariel and Chana Bloch's new translation of the Song of Songs--the most sexually explicit and sensually rich book of the Bible--is pure delight from beginning to end. Its introduction is an accessible, sophisticated, entertaining, and comprehensive orientation to the literary and religious history of the Song of Songs. The Blochs say the speakers in this poem "don't suffer love, they savor it." Their translation, overflowing with full--almost to the point of florid--feeling ("Feast, friends, and drink / till you are drunk with love!"), arrives at a time when many Jews and Christians are opening themselves to the religious dimensions of sexuality and human love. Song of Songs has a great deal to teach us; this translation is sure to attract many eager students. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The Blochs, he a professor of Near Eastern history and she a poet, have teamed up to render a strikingly beautiful translation of this oldest of Western erotic love poems. The Blochs' translation captures the frank sensuality and rich erotic lyricism that earlier translations have often missed. The poem is accompanied by a splendid introduction that traces the social, historical, and literary contexts of the poem. The afterword, by biblical scholar Robert Alter, praises the Blochs' translation by comparing it with older ones, while an exegetical and expository commentary offers readers a chance to see why the translators made certain choices in rendering their version. Evocative lyrics and lucid expositions make the Blochs' offering one of the best of recent versions. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library (October 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812976207
• ISBN-13: 978-0812976205
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable translation of "The Song of Songs", April 17, 2000

By 

Esther Nebenzahl - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Song of Songs: A New Translation (Paperback)

Reading "The Song of Songs" directly out of the Bible and reading the work of Ariel and Chana Block is a complete different experience. The later enriches the first! An academic approach providing a first rate translation of "The Song of Songs," an in depth study and analysis of the poem itself, will broaden your understanding and enjoyment of this forever lasting and debated love poem. Its love transcending sexual imaginary!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual & Romantic - with excellent commentary, March 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Song of Songs: A New Translation (Paperback)

As love poetry in the midst of theology and prophecy, The Song of Songs (or "of Solomon") is an often-ignored book of scripture. This translation celebrates its important place in our faith traditions. While it is aimed for the Jewish reader, as a Christian in love I found this a moving book, and as a scholar I found the commentary useful. Thank you for showing this to me, Rebbe!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic & Beautiful - Capturing the Mystery of Love, September 1, 2010

By 

J. Davies (Pelham, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Song of Songs: The World's First Great Love Poem (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

The best translation, hands down, is this Modern Library Classics by Bloch and Bloch. The layout is very user-friendly, with the original Hebrew on one side, with the English translation on the other. Anyone who knows or is studying Hebrew will appreciate this feature. Also the Song jumps between voices and narration without the typical "he said"/"she said" obtrusions that are common to modern writing. Using context clues it is not too challenging to figure out if the lines belong to the Lover or the Beloved, but the translators' use of italics and bold, makes this distinction clear and renders a very smooth reading.

What makes this translation supreme is Bloch and Bloch's great command of Biblical Hebrew combined with their artistry in maintaining the poetic beauty of this text. They took great care to translate this text as closely as possible to the original Hebrew, but still made some artistic adjustments when a too literal translation would be awkward.

This edition includes a wonderful introduction which discusses the various historical interpretations of this text, as well as their own take. A detailed commentary follows which explains in minutiae the justifications for various translation decisions. For example the word "love" in 5:1, Bloch and Bloch argue has in Hebrew really the specific meaning of "love-making" as opposed to other Biblical terms for love such as the NT Greek "philos," or "agape," or the OT Hebrew "chesed" all of which can have meanings quite different from the act of coitus implied in "love-making." But the Blochs are careful to point out that the same Hebrew word used for love in 5:1 is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, and in those instances is very clearly in the context of romantic lovers spending the night together.

The Bloch translation manages to capture the mystery, the beauty, the sensuality of the language, in a way that is fresh, readable, and true to the Hebrew.