Wise and Foolish Love in the Song of Songs (Oudtestamentische Studiën / Old Testament Studies, 75)

"For some time scholars have debated whether the Song of Songs has connections to the wisdom genre and how this changes our understanding of it. In 'Wise and Foolish Love in the Song of Songs', Jennifer Andruska shows that the influence of the wisdom genre on the Song is pervasive, running throughout the book, and offers an entirely new understanding of the book's wisdom message. She demonstrates that the Song has combined elements of the ancient Near Eastern love song and wisdom genres to produce a wisdom literature about romantic love, inspiring readers to pursue a particular type of love relationship, modelled by the lovers throughout the poem, and aiming to transform them, through character formation, into wise lovers themselves."--Page 4 de la couverture Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Chapter 1 Dipping into the Discussion: a New Position among a Plethora of Interpretive Options 1 Position in the Discussion 1.1 Allegorical/Spiritual versus Literal 1.2 To Be or Not to Be Solomon 1.3 Married versus Unmarried Lovers 1.4 Mutual Love or Troubled Relationship 1.5 Celebration of Love versus Wisdom Chapter 2 Methodological Frameworks for Approaching the Song and Its Relationship to Wisdom 1 A Question of Genre 2 A Literary Approach to Character 3 Comparisons with ANE Literature 4 The Final Form of the Text 4.1 Date 4.2 Sitz im Leben 4.3 Author(ess) 4.4 Unity 5 Inner-Biblical Allusion and the Repetition of Wisdom Forms Chapter 3 Instruction Concerning Love in the Song of Songs 1 The Didactic “Do Not Awaken” Refrains 1.1 Option 1: Do Not Allow Solomon and His Court Ladies to Draw the Woman’s Affection away from Her Shepherd Lover 1.2 Option 2: Do Not Force Love Prematurely but Let It Develop Naturally Like the Woman and Solomon Did 1.3 Option 3: Do Not Arouse Love with Artificial Stimulants but Allow It to Develop Naturally 1.4 Option 4: Do Not Incite “Love” until It Desires in the Sense of Naturally Stiffening Physically 1.5 Option 5: Do Not Disturb the Lovers’ Lovemaking until They Are Finished 1.6 Option 6: Do Not Awaken the Other Lover until He/She Pleases 1.7 Option 7: Do Not Arouse Sexual Passion (Become Sexually Active) until the Proper Time (Marriage) 1.8 Option 8: Do Not Awaken Love until You Are Ready for Its Overwhelming Power and Negative Effects 1.9 Option 9: One Cannot Awaken Love or Force It Prematurely Since Love Has a Will of Its Own and Shows Up When It Desires as an Irresistible and Overwhelming Force 1.10 Option 10: Do Not Rush or Force Love Prematurely but Allow It to Blossom Naturally and Show Up as It Did for the Lovers in the Song 1.11 A New Option: Do Not Arouse or Awaken Love until the Type of Love Depicted in the Song Is Present 1.12 The Meaning of the Refrains 2 Characteristics of Love in the Song of Songs 2.1 Mutual 2.2 Peaceful 2.3 Equal 2.4 Proactive 2.5 Devoted/Sacrificial 2.6 Desirous 2.7 Sexual (Erotic) 2.8 Exclusive 2.9 Committed 2.10 Timeless 3 The Mashal in 8:6–7 4 The Seducer: Imitation and Perversion of Love in the Song Chapter 4 Defining Wisdom and Wisdom Influence 1 Social Context and Place among Other Biblical Literature 2 Approaches to Understanding the Distinctiveness and Dominant Focus of Wisdom 3 A Way Forward in the Discussion 4 The Value of This for the Discussion of the Song 5 Wisdom and Wisdom Influence: a Tighter Methodology for Meaningful Connections Chapter 5 Wisdom Features in the Song of Songs 1 Forms 1.1 The Mashal of Songs 8:6–7 1.2 The “Do Not Awaken” Instructions 1.3 Didactic Poem 1.4 Fable/Allegory 1.5 Lists 1.6 Streitgespräch or Dialogue 1.7 Autobiographical Confession/Didactic Narrative Poetry 1.8 Song 2 Themes 2.1 Creation 2.2 Wisdom as Search for Order 2.3 Two Ways 2.4 Wisdom Learned and Given by God 2.5 Life and Shalom as Supreme Good 2.6 Parallels with Lady Wisdom 2.7 Seeks to Impart Wisdom 2.8 Character Formation 2.9 The Fear of the Lord 3 Wisdom Graph 4 One Further Indication of Wisdom 5 Conclusions Chapter 6 The Didactic Nature of Wisdom Texts and the Song of Songs 1 A Closer Definition of “Didactic” 2 The Didactic Nature of the Song of Songs 2.1 The Didactic Aim of the Song of Songs: as Instruction 2.1.1 Instruction in the “Do Not Awaken” Refrains 2.1.2 Instruction in the Mashal 2.1.3 How the Love Song Genre Is Used in Comparison to Similar ANE Love Song Texts 2.2 The Didactic Aim of the Song of Songs: as Character Formation 2.2.1 Identification with the Audience 2.2.2 Identification with the Characters 2.2.2.1 The Lover “Travesty” 2.2.3 The Link between Identification with Literary Characters and the Reader’s Transformation 2.2.3.1 Descriptive Literary Character 2.2.3.2 Descriptive Character Is Prescriptive 2.2.3.3 How Transformation Takes Place 2.2.3.4 Wonder as a Catalyst for Transformation 2.3 Conclusions Chapter 7 Reflections and Avenues for Further Study Bibliography Index of Ancient Sources Index of Subjects