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Five Festal Garments: Christian Reflections on the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther is unavailable, but you can change that!

These five Old Testament books, traditionally known simply as “the Scrolls,” are among the most neglected parts of the Christian Bible. In Judaism, the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther were eventually adopted as lectionary readings for five of the major festivals. In Christian tradition, however, no consensus has emerged about their proper use. Each book presents...

always believed that a willingness to start with the obvious is an essential element of good literary criticism. It is a form of epistemic humility, a willingness to submit to the text and to let it determine the shape of the interpretation; a readiness to be attentive, and to be led from the obvious design features of the text into its more subtle levels of meaning. The charm and apparent simplicity of the story are in fact quite deceptive. Ruth has a finely articulated plot, and, as with all stories,
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