to show that the cumulative effect of the language and images of the Song is to orient us toward that place of ultimate intimacy with God. Indeed, even the book’s unusual title may begin pointing us in that direction. The phrase “the Song of Songs” is (grammatically) a superlative; it means “the best song.” No other biblical book makes such a claim with its title; moreover, this particular grammatical formula, “the X of Xs,” is rare in Hebrew. It occurs in only a few other phrases—and significantly,