and the
SONG OF SONGS
HARVEY COX and STEPHANIE PAULSELL
A Theological Commentary on the Bible
general editors
Amy Plantinga Pauw
William C. Placher†
© 2012 Harvey Cox and Stephanie Paulsell
First edition
Published by Westminster John Knox Press
Louisville, Kentucky
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Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and used by permission. Scripture quotations marked JPS are from The TANAKH: The New JPS Translation according to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NIV are from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. Scripture quotations marked REB are taken from The Revised English Bible, © Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1989. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, and 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. Scripture quotations marked TNIV are from The Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version. Copyright © 2001, 2005 International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide. “TNIV” and “Today’s New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society®.
Book design by Drew Stevens
Cover design by Lisa Buckley
Cover illustration: © David Chapman/Design Pics/Corbis
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cox, Harvey Gallagher.
Lamentations and the Song of songs: a theological commentary on the Bible / Harvey Cox, Stephanie Paulsell.
p. cm.—(Belief)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-664-23302-0 (alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T. Lamentations—Commentaries. 2. Bible. O.T. Song of Solomon—Commentaries. 3. Bible. O.T. Lamentations—Theology. 4. Bible. O.T. Song of Solomon—Theology. I. Paulsell, Stephanie, 1962–II. Title.
BS1535.53.C69 2012
223’.907—dc23
2011039955
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About Lamentations and the Song of Songs (Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible)This latest volume in the popular Belief series considers two very different types of biblical writings and two very timely subjects—violence and sex. Well-known theologian Harvey Cox draws on a wide array of sources in his commentary on Lamentations—including poetry, novels, films, paintings, and photography—to offer a contemporary theological reading that is provocative and sure to stir numerous theological reflections and responses. The biblical book of Song of Songs has historically been seen as a book pointing to Christ’s love for the church and has been interpreted in allegorical ways. Yet, it is unique in the canon for its use of erotic poetry, celebrating the human body and human love in graphic terms. Author Stephanie Paulsell suggests that the Song can still have profound meaning for us, teaching us “to love not only what we can see shining on the surface but also those depths of the other which are out of our reach.” |
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