The Song of Songs is a profoundly mysterious poem. It is both deeply spiritual and dangerously sensual. It has puzzled and delighted readers and scholars for hundreds of years, being translated more than any other part of the Bible. Christopher Kelly takes a new approach, uncovering a miraculously complex structure in the Song. Understanding this structure is the key to the Song's lock, opening the door on a true love story. It is the searing narrative of one vulnerable girl's devotion and her sexual and spiritual growth into a woman. Her forbidden passion for the boy, her 'king, ' forces her to arrange a series of secret trysts that grow riskier and riskier as the poem progresses. The Song has the timeless qualities of Romeo and Juliet, with all the excitement and jeopardy such love entails. It also manages to speak to modern issues such as sex, spirituality and feminism. Enjoy the Song again for the first time.

One of the most beautiful and mysterious books of the Bible is laid open for all to understand in this unparalleled work by Dr. Craig Glickman. With apparent ease, Glickman unveils the mysteries of the Song of Solomon in a popular-read format. But the surface simplicity is backed up by a lifetime of study and scholarship, three special appendices, and interpretive notes that validate his interpretation. Also included is a fresh translation of the Song published in this book for the first time. Initial readers of this book offer resounding praise. This book is "the most fascinating book I have ever read about the Song," says Dr. Henry Cloud. Old Testament scholars praise it as an academic breakthrough: "clear, cogent, and convincing," says Dr. Eugene Merrill; "a valuable contribution to our translation and understanding of the Song," says Ed Blum, general editor of the HCSB translation. Dr. Paul Meier sums it up in these words, "Craig weaves thousands of years of wisdom together to paint a vivid word picture of emotional and sexual intimacy."

This original commentary foregrounds at every turn the poetic genius of the Song of Songs, one of the most elusive texts of the Hebrew Bible. J. Cheryl Exum locates that genius in the way the Song not only tells but shows its readers that love is strong as death, thereby immortalizing love, as well as in the way the poet explores the nature of love by a mature sensitivity to how being in love is different for the woman and the man. Many long-standing conundrums in the interpretation of the book are offered persuasive solutions in Exum's verse by verse exegesis. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

At first reading, the Song of Songs appears to be an unabashed celebration of physical attraction, mutual love, and sexual consummation between a man and a woman. Tom Gledhill maintains that the Song of Songs is in fact just that—a literary, poetic exploration of human love that strongly affirms loyalty, beauty, and sexuality. Yet in God's story, these things are not ends in themselves. They are also transcendental longings, whispers of immortality. Like all of creation they point beyond themselves to their divine author, who in this Song is nowhere mentioned but everywhere assumed. Gledhill explores this unique biblical book that forms an interlude in the Old Testament story. He incorporates reflections on other biblical material concerning issues raised by the Song—such as human nature, mortality, and social and cultural conditioning—while staying focused on the text as an extended love poem, both beautiful and mysterious. Part of the beloved Bible Speaks Today series, The Message of the Song of Songs offers an insightful, readable exposition of the biblical text and thought-provoking discussion of how its meaning relates to contemporary life. Used by students and teachers around the world, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are ideal for those studying or preaching the Bible and anyone who wants to delve deeper into the text. This revised edition of a classic volume features lightly updated language and current NIV Scripture quotations with a new interior design.

Now, in The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in the Garden, author and artist Debra Band presents a breathtakingly beautiful illuminated work in which these two lines of interpretation are harmonized within a stunning visual context.

"The biblical book, richly illustrated in calligraphy, with commentary"--

Offering a fascinating glimpse of Christian theology, these writings encourage us to open ourselves to a new experience of love.