This conclusion rests on a variety of considerations, including the text critical,2 the literary critical,3 and the exegetical.4 The most significant of these, however, is the reference to kingship in 2:10, the authenticity of which is regarded as highly dubious prior to the time of the establishment of the monarchy in Israel.5 There is little agreement among advocates of the secondary nature of the song on either the date of its origin or the date of its insertion into its present context. McCarter