Dianne Bergant, The Song of Songs

Bibliographical details:
Bergant, D. (2001). The Song of Songs. Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.

Publisher’s information:
This commentary views the Song of Songs as a collection of love poems that pays tribute to mutual love, and it carefully examines features of Hebrew poetry in order to uncover the delicacy of their expression. It is unique in the attention that it gives to the obvious feminine perspective of the poems and to their ecosensitive character. Wheter it is the woman in awe of the strength and splendor of her lover or the man praising her physical charms, the descriptions all call on elements from the natural world to characterize the feature being described.

Dianne Bergant, C.S.A., Ph.D., is professor of biblical studies and director of the Joint Doctor of Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union. She has been an active member of the Catholic/Jewish Scholars Dialogue for twelve years. She is on the editorial board of The Bible Today, having previously served as its general editor for five years. She is also on the editorial boards of The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Biblical Theology Bulletin, New Theology Review, and Chicago Studies. She works in the areas of biblical interpretation and biblical theology, particularly with issues of peace, ecology, and feminism.

Table of contents:

Introduction … vii
Canonicity, Authorship, and Interpretation … vii
Hebrew Poetry … xi

Superscription (1:1) … 3

Mutual Yearning (1:2–2:7) … 7
Love Better Than Wine: 1:2-6 … 8
A Beloved beyond Compare: 1:7–2:7 … 17

An Opportunity Lost, Then Found (2:8–3:5) … 27
The Springtime of Love: 2:8-17 … 27
Whom My Soul Loves: 3:1-5 … 34

Ravished by Beauty (3:6–5:1) … 37
Solomon’s Procession: 3:6-11 … 37
An Ode to Her Body: 4:1-7 … 42
My Garden, My Bride: 4:8–5:1 … 49

One of a Kind (5:2–6:3) … 59
A Search at Night: 5:2-8 … 60
An Ode to His Body: 5:9–6:3 … 67

The Admiration of a Lover (6:4–8:4) … 75
A Woman of Singular Beauty: 6:4-10 … 75
Signs of Spring: 6:11-12 … 79
An Ode to the Dancer: 6:13–7:5 [MT 7:1-6] … 80
The Desires of Love: 7:6-9a [MT 7:7-10a] … 88
Desire Realized: 7:9b-13 [MT 7:10b-14] … 90
A Secret Rendezvous: 8:1-4 … 92

Love Affirmed (8:5-14) … 95
Out of the Wilderness: 8:5a … 95
The Power of Love: 8:5b-7 … 96
The Little Sister Matured: 8:8-10 … 100
Solomon’s Vineyard: 8:11-12 … 102
The Final Exchange: 8:13-14 … 104

Works Cited … 107
General Index … 111
Index of Hebrew Words … 116
Index of Scriptural References … 119

You may also be interested to read the reviews by Richard G. Smith, David M. Carr and Francis Landy, all published in the Review of Biblical Literature.

Buy this book from Amazon, have a look at some top titles in biblical studies, or visit the following link for further information on the commentary series Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry.