Song of Songs [Hardcover]

Hess' work will revolutionize one's understanding of this seemingly nebulous book of Hebrew poetry. It makes an excellent undergraduate textbook and can be read from cover to cover like an ordinary book. All of the Hebrew vocabulary is transliterated, making it accessible for those unfamiliar with the language. After a brief, but informative discussion of the history of Song of Songs interpretation, Hess begins a verse-by-verse discussion of the entire poem. He divides his commentary into seven chapters, the first of which discusses the book's introduction. The remaining six chapters deal with the individual sections of the poem. Each section unfolds the linguistic meaning of the text and its poetic imagery along with its underlying cultural/ Ancient Near Eastern background. Hess concludes each of the six sections with a discussion of its theological implications for Christians today. He adeptly demonstrates how Hebrew word usage in other parts of the Old Testament informs the usage of those same Hebrew words in the Song of Songs. He gently dismisses allegorical interpretations of the poetic imagery and instead views the poem as a celebration of love as it is fully expressed within the covenant of marriage. His insights regarding the contemporary relevance of Song of Songs for Christians, particularly in the theological sections, are superb! They provide excellent guidance both for preaching and for teaching the book's message. Pastors and teachers could easily craft an excellent series of six sermons (one for each of the major sections) for a marriage seminar using Hess' commentary, which successfully dispels the myth that Song of Songs is inappropriate for public teaching and preaching. He advocates a high view of the marriage covenant and the fulfillment/enjoyment/impact of love (and its various expressions) within that relationship as a gift intended to honor God who gave it. He emphasizes how love's full expression within the marriage covenant is a picture of Christ's love for the Church without attempting to overspiritualize or allegorize every symbol (a tactic that some overly sanctimonious interpreters of this book have tried to do throughout the history of its interpretation). This commentary not only helps readers gain a better understanding of the book's intended meaning, but also of its place within the canon of Scripture. It is a welcome corrective for a Church that is being increasingly ravaged from within by sexual promiscuity, adultery and divorce. Highly recommended for pastors, teachers and laypeople!!!

I'm a pastor who is planning a sermon series through Song of Songs. In my research on the book I decided to purchase this commentary and have become fond of it. It's worth noting that the editor of this Baker Commentary series (Longman III) wrote his own commentary on the Song of Songs in the NICOT series. Because of this, I believe Hess had an unspoken (or maybe even spoken) understanding that he had better do a first rate job on this commentary. I believe he has done just that.

When the author of the Word Commentary on Genesis (Wenham) writes a rave review on an Old Testament Commentary of any book, it is worth noting, because of his extensive knowledge of ancient near eastern culture.

First we have about 285 pages on this 8 chapter book. He lays the material out in a very readable form. Hess reviews the options and declares his position without being shy about it. Sometimes he does not explain his reasons in depth, but you do find out where he stands. For example in his introduction he simply says that the Song of Songs should not be read as a drama (one major view), but that it closely resembles ancient neareast poetry, especially Egyptian love poetry. He gives an extensive 17 page bibliography on Song of Songs associated material at the end of the book. For students doing research, here you go!

Hess also gives you good nuggets for further study on a variety of issues, like dating, authorship, the history of interpretation of this book, etc... On the history of interpretation he cites Pope as the most extensive known history of interpretation on Song of Songs. Things like this reveal a breadth of knowledge on the subject and also assist new students in sorting through the myriad of potential sources. He's excellent in this way throughout the book.

One criticism: he often refers to a wasf in his outline and in the book. Unfortunately the definition of this term is hard to find. I stumbled across it in the middle of some text on page 31. I would prefer that they asterisk that term and send you to the definition page whenever they use it or at least in the first chunk of the book. Since many people do not read commentaries from cover to cover, that's frustrating. (By the way it is an arabic term for love poetry).

After what I would consider a short introduction, he gives an outline for the book and then begins his commentary. His outline is as follows:
I. Title
II. Prologue: first coming together and intimacy 1:2-2:7
III. Lovers joined and separated 2:8 to 3:5
IV. Love and marriage at the heart of the song 3:6 to 5:1
V. Search and reunion 5:2 to 6:3
VI. Desire for the female and love in he country 6:4 to 8:4
VII. Epilogue: The power of love 8:5 to end

Hess comments with references that are easy to read, but on the technical side as far as Song of Songs commentaries go. This is no devotional commentary. It has transliterations of ancient language terminology throughout. He often cites how many times a term appears, where it first appears and how that is all relevant to the text at hand.

This commentary has no excursions. There are no articles on theological implications that draw out Christological allusions or parallels. It is entirely focused on a literal rendering of the book.

On the actual text Hess provides his own translation. If you are working on a specific verse in Song of Songs, it is easy to navigate Hess. The commentary relationship to the text is clearly marked. Overall this commentary is very valuable and one that I have been referring to regularly since I received it. Get a copy today.

In light of the dozens of scholarly commentaries on the Song of
Song, the work by Professor Hess is concise and careful. He provides excellent footnotes supporting his interpretive
strategies as well as the most balanced summary of the interpretation and dating questions of this book of the Bible.
The strength of the book is that it recognizes theological as well as literal approaches as equally valid. For a student who wishes to read a solid introduction to the Song of Songs, I
recommend this volume