JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs

Michael Fishbane is the Nathan Cummings Distinguished Service Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot (2002); the National Jewish Book Award–winning Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel; and The Kiss of God: Spiritual and Mystical Death in Judaism. Fishbane received a lifetime achievement award for scholarship from the National Foundation of Jewish Culture and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

"This series is an indispensable resource, and Fishbane's new work is among the most rewarding entries."-Howard Freedman, jweekly.com"This multilayered commentary makes for an absorbing, enriching and satisfying immersion in this endlessly fascinating Song."-Pinchas Roth, Jewish Book Council "This most interactive book invites the reader to engage with its multiple levels of understanding and interpretation. It provides abundant material for both sermons and for study sessions."-David J. Zucker, CCAR Journal "Michael Fishbane, one of the most penetrating Bible scholars of our time, has surpassed himself in this magnificent study of The Song of Songs, combining scholarly erudition, poetic sensibility, theological depth, and an unmatched mastery of the history of interpretation of this most difficult yet lyrical testimony of love. A masterpiece of scholarship!"—Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, emeritus chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth. "Fishbane's commentary on 'the great songbook of the Jewish soul' is a tour de force. There is nothing like it for opening up the inner depths of the biblical dialogue of love."—Bernard McGinn, Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor emeritus, Divinity School, University of Chicago

• PrefaceAbbreviations and Other ConventionsIntroduction to the Commentary: Song of SongsSongs of LoveThe Language of LoveOther Love Language and Lyrics in AntiquityGetting Love Language RightThe Many Poetics of Love in Jewish TraditionThe Song of Songs and Jewish Religious PracticeReading the CommentaryNotes to the IntroductionFull Hebrew-English Text of the Song of SongsThe Commentary to the Song of SongsFour Levels of Commentary: Peshat, Derash, Remez, and SodChapter 1:1-17            First Words, First EncountersChapter 2:1-17            Love in Its Proper TimeChapter 3:1-11            Inner Experience and Shared JoyChapters 4:1-5:1          The Beautiful Maiden, So PraisedChapter 5:2-16            In Quest of the Marvelous BelovedChapter 6:4-10            The Maiden, Lovely and LuminousChapters 6:11-7:11      Love OverwhelmingChapters 7:12-8:14      Longing, Love, and LossNotes to the CommentaryExcursus        A History of Jewish Interpretation in the Song of SongsPeshat: The Exegetical Revolution and Its ExemplarsDerash: The Forms and Formulations of Covenant LoveRemez: Personal Love of God—With All One's Heart, Soul and MindSod: The Most Hidden Truth—Divinity and Divine Love in the Depths         Notes to the ExcursusBibliography