Westminster Bible Companion: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs
Overview
These books of the Bible, despite their differences, all treat the phenomenon of what it means to live wisely before God. In this readable commentary, Ellen Davis points out that the writers of these books considered wisdom—and the fruits of wisdom, a well-ordered life and a peaceful mind—to be within the grasp of anyone wholeheartedly desiring it.
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- Contains concise introductions to each book
- Unfolds the various contexts and principles found in Scripture
- Helps prepare pastors, students, and laity relay the Bible's teaching in a clear way
Top Highlights
“Far from being a secular composition, the Song is profoundly revelatory. Its unique contribution to the biblical canon is to point to the healing of the deepest wounds in the created order, and even the wounds in God’s own heart, made by human sin. Most briefly stated, the Song is about repairing the damage done by the first disobedience in Eden, what Christian tradition calls ‘the Fall.’” (Page 231)
“Although it is unlikely that Solomon wrote the Song, nonetheless there is a sense in which it may justly be called his. He never appears as a speaking character, yet Solomon—or Solomon’s world—figures importantly in the lovers’ imaginations, both positively and negatively. The woman imagines herself in the royal court with the lover she calls ‘the king’ (1:4, 12). On the other hand, the man feels pity or contempt for Solomon, the husband of too many wives, when he himself is so happily devoted to one woman (see the comment at 8:11–12).” (Page 239)
“But the great teacher Rabbi Akiba made the defense speech that settled the matter: ‘All the Scriptures are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies’ (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5) Maybe Akiba, himself a profound mystic, meant exactly what he said.” (Pages 240–241)
“I hope to show that the sexual and the religious understandings of the Song are mutually informative, and that each is incomplete without the other.” (Page 233)
“Yet a rabbinic story suggests that some ancients believed that the Song of Songs was worthy to replace the Temple as a means of access to God.” (Page 240)
- Title: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs
- Author: Ellen F. Davis
- Series: Westminster Bible Companion
- Publisher: Westminster John Knox
- Print Publication Date: 2000
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Pages: 320
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. O.T. Proverbs › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Ecclesiastes › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Song of Solomon › Commentaries
- Resource ID: LLS:WBCS20PR
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-08T01:14:09Z
Reviews
1 rating
Harlan P. Hock Jr
3/18/2015
This book was highly recommended and referenced by a Catholic theologian so I checked it out and bought it. I was very impressed. Her WISDOM is very practical and thought proviking. Many times I wanted to send her an email and tell her how greatful I was for what she had written. I definitely thanked God as I read her commentary on Song of Songs and fell deeply in love with God. Yes it's that good. It's now my Sunday readings that i use to help me enter meditation.
