THE
SONG OF LIFE:
THE
MEANING & POWER OF THE CANTICLES OF SOLOMON
[another
scripture essay by textman]
Wisdom is "a Tree
of Life to those who lay hold of her;
Fortunate are they
who embrace her" (Prov 3:18).
CONTENTS:
PART 1: LESSONS
FROM THE HEART
1. Introduction
& Methodology
2. On
Poetry & Romance
3. The
Problem of Life
4. Beyond
the Gender Wars
5. The
Church's Use of the Song
PART 2: THE ARCHETYPE
OF WET-DREAMS
6. The
Life & Death of the Text
7. The
Dream-Song: SS 5:2-6
8. Biblical
Scholarship on Chapter Five
9. The
Wisdom of the Dark Lady Eros
Conclusion:
The Heart of Wisdom
WORKS CITED
"True Wisdom, which is the
art of knowing how to live, and why."
(Fecher,
'Man, Woman & God', p.1)
PART 1: LESSONS
FROM THE HEART
1. Introduction &
Methodology
In this essay we will show that the Song of Songs deals directly with life in several different ways. Of course, the Song's wisdom is always relevant to the troublesome and confusing interactions between men and women, and to the complex reality of the Dyad (aka 'one-flesh'), but it also speaks to the wider general condition of all humanity and the strange paths of human nature. The Song is even relevant to the modern science of biblical studies, and all those seeking to know the ways of love. We shall see how and why it so relevant; and also review the current scholarly assessment of a brief passage of great poetic power. The loss of the wisdom of the Song of Songs will also be dealt with; as well as various related topics of very personal concern to everyone (especially those who would be Christians).
Perhaps the most obvious way in which the Song deals directly with life is through its abundant use of imagery derived from nature. Plants and animals of all sorts abound in the few pages of text that make up the Song of Songs. Indeed, an exhaustive list of the named 'critters and shrubbery' would be half as long as the Song itself! The Song's poetic style and power largely derives from the fact that it is replete with analogy, simile, and metaphor; the vast bulk of which contains natural imagery absorbed from a pastoral environment. This means that the beauty, vitality and abundant life of the natural world as a whole accurately reflects (and indeed is a part of) the love within and between human beings.The central message is clear: love and life are both part of one and the same reality; namely, God's good Creation. But analogies with nature cannot be pushed too far: "Nothing is so unlike the animals as human sexuality. It is not confined to times of being in heat, nor does it merely serve the continuity of the species. It is not limited to the specific genital activity of procreation but encompasses the entire person in an act of complete concentration on and attention to [the Significant Other]" (Goll 26).
In general, the Bible confines human sexuality within the boundaries imposed by (various forms of) marriage, and often illustrates the destructive power of lust. "But Song of Songs, unlike Proverbs, is not a series of warnings on the dangers of sexuality and the need for chastity. It is instead a celebration of the joy and passion of love" (Garr 377). Now this celebration, thanksgiving and praise of passion and joy and romance, of the pleasure and pain of love, is certainly contrary to St Augustine's understanding of human nature and the meaning of life; but it is right at home in the context of the biblical view of human nature and sexuality: "The Yahwist places the sexual in the context of loneliness and fellowship. The Song places it in the context of two people totally wrapped up in their love for each other. Matthew places it in the context of two becoming one in such a way that an unbreakable bond exists" (Goer 43). In fact, the Song brings all these elements together, for all are important aspects of human social and relational (I-Thou) life.Now there are many who would, no doubt, criticize this paper for not being objective enough, for judging many things too harshly or too quickly, and for not being detached enough from the topic to be fair to all sides. When a writer 'loses his objectivity' (whatever THAT means!) and writes with passion, then the writer's soul is sometimes laid bare, and this means that the research paper has somehow seriously blundered by sinning against a cardinal rule regarding the model good-research- paper. But, alas, life is not built to the fine aesthetic proportions of a concise and precise written report. Life, rather, is a very messy and mysterious business. Life is often unfair and unjust; this is a core truth of the Bible's wisdom literature (cf. Job, Proverbs, Psalms, etc).
To write about any wisdom literature means three things above all: (1) one must respect Lady Wisdom and try to follow Her ways (even if She leads us into darkness now and again); (2) one must respect the fullness and complexity and sheer awesomeness of Life, the Universe, and Everything (as in Job and many Psalms); (3) and one must also respect the text for what it is and was, by honestly trying to listen to the authentic voice within the text and the meanings and values that it intends to convey (without first imposing external concepts, judgments, and schemes).
These three hermeneutical necessities apply to all the Psalms and wisdom literature, but nowhere are they so badly needed in persistent application and awareness as in the study of the Song of Songs! These are the first principles of this paper, and I make no apology for following them. Now my own personal beliefs and perspectives may strike many as inconsistent and ultimately irrelevant (to THEIR personal beliefs and perspectives), but I can hardly refrain from introducing (into what SHOULD be an OBJECTIVE paper) an endless stream of opinions, value judgments, 'emotional baggage', etc.; for these are the things which make us who and what we are as unique, individual, limited, and fallible human beings! If any writer keeps his or her self (ie. his/her heart and soul) out of their research paper, then they have thereby cut themselves off from any possibility of truly understanding the full meaning and power of the Bible's Psalms and wisdom literature (which cannot be "objectively known" or reduced to rational categories).
And nowhere is the objective approach to biblical studies more barren and desolate than when applied to the study of the Song of Songs; for this is a book on love and passion, and what it means to have a heart that fully and joyously responds to love. This book is the Song of Life, the Song of Eros, and it demands that we speak in a direct and perhaps even fierce manner. The Song demands the total and heartful involvement of ALL its readers. A hardened heart ought not to even bother turning his/her eyes in THIS direction! In the same way, our final principle is that every exegete, student, and commentator on the Song must be fully involved with both the study of the Song, and the writing on the Song.
This is because contextual theology (unlike the more traditional theologies) does not begin with theological categories, full blown ideologies, and exacting definitions; and then proceed to maneuver any and all topics into its appropriate slot in the scheme of things. Now such a huge and clumsy 'topic' as Life is simply broken-down into manageable chunks until the selected subcategory appears, and then you may do as you like with it. Contextual theology suggests that something important may be lost by this approach; if only because of a handful of topics and problems that don't quite fit the program, and are therefore quietly overlooked. The curious mystery and beauty of human sexuality, and its intimate relationship to the genesis, authorship, and readership (both personal and public) of love poetry is but one such topic that applies especially to this study on the link between Life and the Song.
2. On Poetry & Romance
In his introductory exposition on the 'Sitz im Leben' of the Song, commentator Keel observes that "love poems arise under all kinds of conditions; they are read, recited, and sung under all kinds of conditions ..." (14). And although the general (ie. social and ecclesial) and private usage insures the survival and transmission of the Song, the more particular and concrete situation of the romantically afflicted gives it its primary reason-for-being. "Courtship, in preference to wedding rites PER SE, generally commends itself as a context for the composition and use of love poetry. But specific occasion for, and social interest in, amatory lyrics obviously need not be limited to private interactions between young lovers ..." (Mur'90/p.98). This is because love is never purely a private concern, but its very nature reaches out to touch any and all within reach. Love is human and divine precisely because it is unselfish, relational and social. Love gives BEFORE it receives!Unlike prose and other written forms that engage the mind (and its many rationalizations), poetry speaks directly to the heart; ie. the heart as the seat of eros. [Old Testament anthropology confuses the issue by placing the mind also within the heart, and then spreading the rest 'round-about'] In any case, the Song has a timeless quality just because it is not aimed at the mind, but rather intends to engage the heart directly. The ultimate source of the power of the Song of Songs is none other than the Reader as a concrete person with a heart that 'awakens' to the images and emotions evoked by the words and moods of the various love-songs.
The Song can also be used in a far more personal way to enhance or initiate a romantic relationship. Now this is obvious in relation to the customs and peoples of antiquity; but it is difficult to see how the Song can be used this way in our allegedly enlightened post-modern era. Yet a careful editing, and imaginative reconstruction and enhancement can easily make the love poetry of the ancients into a powerful vehicle for expressing even the modern lover's emotions and hopes.
What the Song expresses in poetry, Nicolas Berdyaev defines in prose:
"Love and friendship are man's only hope of triumphing over solitude. Love is, indeed, the best way of achieving this end, for it brings the Ego in contact with the Other Self, with another Ego in which it is truly reflected. This is the communion of one personality with another ... The personality and love are intimately related, for love transforms the Ego into a personality. Only love can effect that complete fusion with another being which transcends solitude" (Kell 124).This fusion, then, is the meaning of the 'one flesh' Jesus spoke of in Mk 10:4-6. To be in intimate union with another opens the Soul to the possibility of union with others, and with the Cosmos. Love naturally leads to greater life, for Eros is a dynamic, spiritual, and creative force; very like Yahweh (and Jesus!).The Song's poetic power can barely be contained by the various abundant versions, and it constantly bursts free of the forms and structures imposed upon it by the most determined exegetes. Its magic eludes the best efforts of interpreters to pin it down and learn its secrets, yet it also brings forth copious dreams and mystical transports. In one sense, Murphy is right; the Song does not properly belong with the wisdom literature. It belongs, rather, among the Psalms, for the psalms praising creation and giving passionate voice to the stirrings of the human soul are surely incomplete without Scripture's most powerful feminine voice!
The Song of Songs is, then, a psalm of affirmation and hope, as well as a cry of desire. It is as primal and dynamic as any of the great psalms; and there are even various seed-reflections scattered among the Psalter indirectly linking the Song with the Psalms. Significantly, there is a small fraction of the Psalms that closely reflects the language and moods of the Song. [These few scattered verses would include the following: Pss 29:7; 30:1a; 34:10; 45; 78:63; 92:14.] But most of all, the love-songs, like the psalms, are meant to be used, to be sung with the heart. The ultimate value of the psalms and the love-songs lies not in the abstract theological ideas that can be forced out of them; rather, that they are meant to be absorbed into the heart, and lived. They are the scriptural school for the spiritual training and promotion of Christian affections and attitudes toward life and others.
3. The Problem of Life
Unlike R.E.Murphy, the foremost expert on the wisdom literature, Keel has no difficulty placing the Song within the larger Solomonic wisdom tradition; despite his observation that its 'theology' generally clashes with that of the other wisdom books. Thus Keel's vigorously sensible approach to the Song enables him to pick up on certain subtle, but highly significant, elements that are vital to our understanding of the Song's power and relevance. The most noteworthy of these clues comes at the beginning of his commentary. In his analysis of the first poem, entitled 'Longing for the Greatest Pleasure' (1:2-4), Keel notices the significance of the Song's opening verse: "The wish in v.2a to be kissed by 'him' (by whom?) puts the whole song in the context of longing desire and impetuous wishful thinking" (40). Keel also sees that the characteristic structure of most of the love-songs "leads to the conclusion that the basic mood of the songs is a wish for change, a longing for union with the beloved" (19).Since the form of the love-songs is important, their substance ought to be more so: "If one examines the songs for content rather than form, one would have to call almost all of them songs of desire" (Keel 20). 'The Song of Desire'? Now here is a title that makes far more sense than the deliberately obscure 'Canticle of Canticles'; or any of the many other traditional titles! This first poem alone more than justifies its universal use. These songs of desire do not mince words, or ease the reader gently into the lover's mind and heart. Instead the Song starts with a terrible explosion; with an eruption of passion and romance, fantasy and joy, desire and love ... all this in just ten lines! Thus this first song of desire deposits us at once into the very center of life's greatest mystery and problem; which is, in a word, desire.
Now no one recognized the importance and centrality of the problem of human desire more clearly than the Buddha!
He put the matter this way:
(I) Existence is unhappiness.
(II) Unhappiness is caused by selfish craving.
(III) [Fortunately] Selfish craving can be destroyed (Burt 28).
[Anyone who thinks that Buddhism is a pessimistic religion can see the first two points, but obviously does not understand the latter two of the Four Noble Truths!]In Christian terms, the first two points relate to sin and death, and the last to repentance, grace and salvation. So this opening poem is not just a song about some peasant floozy's longing for the so-called greatest pleasure, but is nothing less than a universal expression and manifestation of the fundamental condition of all humanity all the time. This is because the main characteristic feature common to all concrete human beings is the drive or craving to give and/or receive love. This craving does not easily go away; but is apparent from infancy to old age. This most universal craving is beautifully expressed in the songs of desire. In the same way, the full spirit and passion of the Song as a whole is tightly encapsulated within the first line (1:2a), which contains the woman's initial outburst of Eros: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!" St Bernard clarifies the meaning of this statement by way of amplification:
But this is not the selfish craving that brings unhappiness. Rather, this is a selfish AND unselfish other-directed craving in and for love. Moreover, this love is not restricted to two individuals only, but involves others (indeed all others). Thus the maidens are just as caught up in the 'being of love' as the singer herself, who "shows a generous and non-jealous attitude" (Mur'90/127). Thus while craving (or sin) constitutes the fundamental problem of life facing all human creatures, the Song provides an answer that does not depend on destroying the craving/sin, or negating it through sacraments and good works. Instead, the Song suggests that Creation and the fullness of eros/agape expressed through 'the man-woman thing' is a slice of Heaven on Earth, an approach to the divine. In other words: Love redeems the sinner.
4. Beyond the Gender Wars
The Song is relevant to modern life in many ways beyond its role as a teacher of the secrets of human sexuality. It is certainly very significant to biblical studies (especially hermeneutics) and theology; but it is also meaningful for many other areas of our common techno-culture. This would include many aspects of the complex social relations between men and women; but also to politics in general. Indeed it is particularly pertinent to the modern mania for individual rights, privileges, and protections.It all begins with a quality that is found at various crucial moments in the Scriptures: in Jesus, the Yahwist, the Apostle Paul, and the Song of Songs. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Song of Songs is its declaration of the radical equality of man and woman. Now this is not a political, economic, or cultural equality; it is the much more fundamental equality of persons. This is an equality that is rooted in mutual love and admiration, shared passion and desire, and the co-operative creation of an ongoing romantic enterprise. But equality of heart and soul is not at all the same thing as 'equal rights and protections under law'.
'The desire for a woman is God's good gift.' Luther said that as a man, speaking only of male desire. The proper wife, of course, was to act as if she had no such desire, but was only fulfilling her wifely duty in a spirit of dutiful love. In the Song of Songs, however, the woman addresses the man as his equal in every way; she expresses her longing and desire as openly and passionately as he does.According to Karl Barth, what we hear in the Song is "a voice ... which we might miss in Genesis 2, that is, the voice of the woman, who looks to the man and goes to him with no less pain and joy than he feels toward her, and who discovers him in freedom equal to that with which he discovers her" (Goll 36-7). This means that despite the fact that the voice of Woman clearly dominates throughout the love-songs, the commentators and exegetes nevertheless err in their meticulous attention to whether or not this or that statement belongs to the man or woman, and where exactly the changes of speakers occurs, and so on.
Sometimes it is obvious who is speaking, of course, but at other times this is unclear, perhaps because Lady Wisdom is androgynous? In either case, the gender of the speaker is not always of primary relevance; for the bulk of the thoughts and emotions are common to both lovers, and can be spoken by either one (eg. by simply changing the pronouns). Although the physical mechanisms naturally differ in focus and expression, the love and erotic fire of passion that ignites and inflames them is essentially the same for both. They are indeed, two sparks of the same divine flame, the eros/agape-flame of spiritual-love.
5. The Church's Use of the Song.
Unlike the dispossessed book of Obadiah, which is never used by the Church, the Song of Songs is used in various ways on various occasions. Firstly, 2:8-14 CAN be used as an optional first reading during the liturgy of the Word for December 21. Secondly, the same verses, along with 8:6-7, are recited during religious profession, specifically at the consecration to a life of virginity! Thirdly, 3:1-4a is the first reading for Mary Magdalene (July 22). Fourthly, 8:6-7a is again heard for the Common of Virgins. Fifthly, the carefully edited series of verses - 2:8-10,14, 16a; 8:6-7a - is part of the marriage ceremonies. [All NRSV readings are taken from the Lectionary for Mass: Weekday Edition.]Another important liturgical use is the presence of various themes, images, phrases and ideas (derived from the Song) in the liturgical hymnals. Now the first, third and fifth uses listed above are certainly justified and appropriate, but the two uses in connection with virginity strikes us as rather bizarre; although it is understandable in light of the Church's preferred method of allegorically interpreting the Song (which continues to this very day). This traditional approach suggests that the Song expresses the love between the 'greater realities' whom the lovers symbolize: Christ and his Bride (the Church), the Lord and the individual Christian soul, the seeker and lady Wisdom, or even between Mary and her Son.
This allegorical method goes hand in hand with the priestly anthropology which recognizes only two states or conditions as legitimate for women: Virgin or Mother (both after the manner of Mary the Model). Hence, Pius XII strange assertion that 'Woman as virgin is the highest calling and closest to God'. Moreover, virginity, according to John Paul II has a spousal character: in their 'vocation to virginity [women] find Christ first of all ... and they respond to this gift with a sincere gift of their whole lives ... They thus give themselves to the divine Spouse'. Now this is putting allegory into life, with a vengence. If allegory is the highest reality, then of course it is better for a woman to marry a dead man, and thus shun all actual living males, and never, ever to marry a real man; and all this is done, supposedly, for love! Such is the juvenile papal anthropology of women. Needless to say, the Song itself in no way supports such a deviant understanding of womankind, but shows Her in a rather different light. It is the blatant contradiction between these two visions of Woman that partially accounts for the Church's bizarre and minimal use of the Greatest Song.
By 'elevating' the meaning of the Song to the level of theological symbolism and monastic ideology, the traditional methods of interpretation, by relying heavily on the use of analogy, unwittingly and unintentionally divorces the Song from Life, and so makes it relevant only to those with a talent for mystical transports, and those who can find theological meanings by imposing pretty pictures where they are neither required nor needed. The Church's current use of the Song simply continues this traditional reliance on the analogical hermeneutics which is already well discredited by modern biblical scholars:"When the details are transposed to another level, the door is open to fanciful interpretations which disfigure the original insight. The language of love, whether human or divine, is too delicate for that." It is this respect for the language of the text that has led modern scholars to claim that the literal sense of the Song "is the expression of human sexual love. ... [It] presents us with a biblical model of human intimacy" (NJBC 463). Now our approach takes this insight one step deeper, into the very essence of the human soul. It
All this simply means that the apostles, prophets, teachers, disciples, and followers of Jesus Christ "are not called to embody an abstract principle or a set of values, but a distinctive existence" (Spo 109). In other words, all Christians are called to live a distinctive way of life; one that is not only modeled after Christ's saving deeds, but also after his affections. To have the spirit of the loving heart of the Lord within us is what it ultimately means to be a Christian. Actions in and of themselves are simply not enough to define our essence or personality; although they certainly can sometimes do reveal who and what lurks beneath the various masks of social roles and reputations. Actions are not enough because even hypocrites, liars, perverts and other stony hearts can 'do the liturgy', and act nice and charming when the occasion arises.But the only way to truly know the sheep from the goats is to test their hearts; for it is not what goes into someone that makes them evil, but what comes out from within. Therefore the human heart is the core of the Christian religion. This is where the stirrings of the spirit are most subtlety felt. This is where the saints and mystics are touched by the divine finger. The heart of the individual believer is where the light of Jesus shines strongest (or not at all). This is the canvas upon which Christianity is lived, by one and by all, day in and day out, generation after generation.
If the heart is more important than mind and actions (and we maintain that the voice of Lady Wisdom in The Song of Songs claims that it is), then the things that reside there (ie. the affections and central dispositions) are of the utmost importance and concern, not only to the individual believer, but to the local assembly, and (ultimately) to all the People of God.
PART 2: THE ARCHETYPE OF WET-DREAMS
6. The Life & Death of the Text.
For a thousand years the love-songs that were later collected and shaped into the canonical format, usually called the Song of Songs, belonged to the life of the people. They were sung with zest in the taverns and banquet halls, and in the vineyards and orchards during the harvest time festivals. There was no question then about the nature and meaning of these love songs. But time eventually caused all this to change. In the first and second centuries of the common era, the rabbis had grown accustomed to the method of allegorical interpretation, and also forbade the people their 'demeaning' popular usage. Threats of damnation were called upon to motivate the people to a more religious and respectful attitude.In this way the Song was taken away from the people who owned it for a thousand years, removed from its dynamic setting in life, and re-installed in the studies of the rabbis, scribes, monks, and theologians for their exclusive use and mystical illumination. Thus was the Song of Songs consigned to oblivion for the next two millennia! In the sterile environment of the chaste minds of Jewish and Christian sages and theologians, the Song gave forth new wisdom undreamed of by the original writers and singers of these love songs. But not even the holy purity of the medieval monastery could prevent the recognition of the life-giving value and power of the Song:
In other words, the only method that truly unlocks the secrets of the Song is the way of love. The key to the Song is also the key to the entire Bible, and to life as a whole: a force as strong as death (and in Christ, stronger even than death). Love is an elemental fire; a divine flame. It is a force of divine creation that far surpasses human control. And it is the failure to use this insight as the essential hermeneutical key that has led to the bewildering variety of interpretive schemes and conflicting meanings imposed upon the text. In the same way, the lack of love in the hearts of most Christians throughout history has led to the now traditional neglect of the text. But where it is used (eg. in hymns and liturgy), it is always used very very carefully and judiciously. We sometimes get the impression that Christians would be much more content if the Song of Songs had no place in the Bible.[See Ginder, 'Binding with Briars', for the full story behind the ecclesial attitude toward, and treatment of, human sexuality (and thus the Song as well), which persists to this very day. For a new traditional-type commentary see Stang, 'Love's Greatest Song'. It is a recent and local Catholic meditation on the spiritual meaning of the Song of Songs for the Christian believer seeking perfection. In our view it is an extremely horrid piece of work; very unlike Ginder's book, which is astonishmg in its sheer honesty.]
But serious study of the Song of Songs begins with the simple admission that the bulk of the love-songs were written by literate female poets who certainly knew the Torah and the Psalms. These love-songs of noble ladies survived for centuries in conjunction with the wisdom traditions, but at the same time lived vigorously in the life and songs of the people. Being thus subject to growth and development in both the oral and written traditions of Israel and Judah, we might suppose that the final redaction that fixed the canonical shape of the Song happened relatively late in the history of Tanakh (perhaps somewhere near the border of the Persian and Greek periods).
This final editing and forming of the Song of Songs doubtless occurred in Jerusalem under the skillful hand of one or more male sages and scribes who gave the haphazard collection an amazing precision and balance resulting in both loss and gain. The loss of much of the original bawdiness and rudeness was needed to enhance its mystical power and overall aesthetic attraction. The introduction of new verses, and repetition of key verses, also served this end. These sage-scribes clearly did their work very well (although scribal errors did later enter the text); but none of this should obscure the fact that this book is the voice of Woman speaking in and through Scripture as the Word of God, and the Word of Lady Wisdom both.
Most commentators today prefer the anthropological hermeneutics, and so "seek to discover the full mystery of love as it reveals itself in human passions, desires and movements as celebrated in the interpersonal relationships of the Song" (Rees 213). Now this anthropological approach clearly has certain practical advantages; such as not getting bogged down in historical and lexical details (as with Pope). Thus the 'king' and his 'dark lady' are not about any two particular people long-dead, but an expression and reflection of the eternal feminine mind, which is hardly confined exclusively to females. "The identity of neither the woman nor the 'king' is revealed at any point of the Song. Given its final form as an expression of biblical wisdom, such a complete masking of the identity of its two leading protagonists makes them symbols of dimensions of practical human wisdom in the realm of loving rather than concrete individuals" (Rees 216).
More to the point, I think, is that the voices of the Song transcend gender altogether. They become our own voices; but only when love strikes us down. If we do not know love, then - and only then - do questions of structure and authorship and 'spiritual' meanings become important. To focus on the matters that usually fill up the many and varied commentaries on the Song is to reduce the Bible's love-poems to a "Text" that requires dissection and analysis in order to uncover its "hidden meaning". This is to miss the point entirely, of course; for the Song is meant to be lived, and (like the Psalms) to be taken into the heart and be swept away by its power and truth. Only such a personally involved reading can bring life and the Song together, and so do justice to the inner nature of the text. If we do not recognize this book as the Song of Life, then it is all too easy to kill it. For dissection can only be done on a corpse; and objective analysis always works best when the subject is cold and unmoving!
7. The Dream-Song: SS 5:2-6
In daily life, as in the Song of Songs, the all-pervasive power of love not only bursts the bounds of marriage and social conventions, but also breaks through the darkness of night and the little-death of sleep. Not even the light of day and the brightness of ordinary consciousness can completely contain its strength. But in the deep of the night, the ego slumbers, and all its endless cares and concerns are as strange vapors clogging the mind and chilling the heart. And with the absence of the madness of awareness, the truth known to the body and soul emerges with full power and passion.Nowhere is this important human reality better illustrated than in the dream-song of 5:2-6. Here in the quiet-time, Woman is seized by erotic feelings and irresistible impulses that burst forth in a dream so vivid and intense that Her heart and body are totally given over to it. After the rudeness of consciousness that ends the dream, all that is left behind is the certainty of His presence, and the aftermath of the elemental power of love (and the need to love and be loved in return). Curiously enough, it is the very intensity of the lady's response that awakens her. But full consciousness only returns with the final phrase; by speaking She breaks the spell, putting an end to the dream, and signaling the return of 'reality'.
This dream-song not only uses "the usual indirect figurative manner characteristic of the Song", but uses it with stunning clarity and force. Moreover, these verses (5:2-6) are very clearly a self-contained unit; but recognition of this (by the exegetes) is hard to come by. To us it seems that v.7-8 are an amplification gloss. The use of the refrain here is intended to reconnect this independent story with the surrounding text. But Keel sees neither pause nor break between 6e and 7a; although even the most superlative gloss (eg. v.7-8) cannot disguise the obvious fact that this song of desire ends with her speaking (as it began with his speaking). Nothing more is required. The poem is both perfect and complete according to our edited version as presented above. The problem for the Song's final redactor was how to smooth the way back into the collection.Now Pope treats all of chapter five as a single unit. Nevertheless, he presents many interesting items of high relevance. Of particular interest to us is his presentation of an authority on the dream-theory approach: Freehof "has taken this verse [2a] as the key to the entire book. As a description of an actual occurrence, the scene makes little sense, but as a dream it is typical, almost classic ..." (510). In fact, dream features are scattered throughout the book: running through streets and fields, sudden movements and the rapid succession of scenes, overdrawn and exaggerated descriptions; all these indicate the mysterious and improbable landscape of the dream-world. "In dreams there is no logic except perhaps some deeper hidden logic. A dream cannot be explained, but must be interpreted according to its own strange laws" (511). Now the 'strange laws' that pertain to these types of dream-events are the creative and dynamic laws of eros. Hence the recurring cry: 'do not awaken love till it desireth'. This means: Do not awaken me from my slumber, for I wish to continue to dream the dream of love'.
8. Biblical Scholarship
on Chapter Five
+
[Perhaps
the best way to appreciate the significance of the Song for modern
biblical
studies is to examine some of the best available commentaries
and
see what light they may shed on this confused and confusing text.]+
A prime authority on the wisdom literature is R.E.Murphy, and in his recent commentary on the Song of Songs he favors a more literal and historical interpretation of the events described here. Disregarding the dream-theory approach, he sees 5:2-6:3 as the main narrative unit; which he entitles 'A Dialogue Between the Woman and the Daughters'. But Murphy also admits to some slight confusion on one very important point: "When she says that her fingers dripped myrrh, she means that she placed her hands on the annointed lock. The precise symbolism of the myrrh is not easy to determine" (Mur'90/171). Now no reasonable woman reading these lines could possibly reach this conclusion! Murphy obviously misses the point of our 'song of desire' by a wide margin!Indeed there is no problem about the source of the mysterious myrrh; as the source is none other than the good lady herself. The emphasis on the words 'flowing', liquid', 'dripping', and the repetition of 'myrrh' at this most crucial moment in the narrative - 'at the climax of the story', if you will - ought to be more than enough to alert the careful reader that we are not dealing here with closed doors and oily locks, as the overly-historical and too-literal commentators suppose. In fact, the meaning of the abundant myrrh is to indicate the irresistible physical and spiritual power of love as reflected in the extreme intensity and excitement of her unconscious arousal; the evidence of which is literally dripping off her fingers, and impossible for her ego (ie. her conscious rnind) to ignore. In other words, his presence fills the room even when unseen by her eyes. When she speaks, she breaks the dream-spell, and so creates her own rude awakening which abruptly ends the story and the song.
Reese also seems to have a curious misreading of this passage: "keeping up the playful mood, the woman refuses to admit him because she does not wish to disturb her comfort ..." (Rees 233). Now any reading which sees Her as displaying a 'playful mood' anywhere in this particular song strikes us as absurd in the extreme. Nor does the rest of Reese's reading of 5:2-8 offer much that is helpful, but rather it seems a willful attempt at confabulation and misdirection in order to avoid clarity and understanding. Therefore this is a very good example of a typically 'male-reading' of the text.
Now Keel, in his commentary, entitles the song of 5:2-8, 'A Missed Opportunity', thereby showing himself to be largely in agreement with Murphy's literal approach. Thus he claims that the woman "hesitates in seeking the beloved and opening herself to him; as a result, because the lover is impetuous and impatient, she misses the opportunity." Then he goes on to say that "as a love poem this passage does not intend a realistic description of an actual event or dream" (186). But Keel seems to be wrong about both claims, for v.2-6 are, in fact, a stunningly realistic description of a very real dream-event that, while not common by any means, is yet experienced (even today) by at least a few passionate young women.
But the commentators and exegetes, not being passionate young women themselves, will naturally fail to see the realism and universality inherent in this archtypal human experience. But this is no excuse really; for even a straight-forward reading of (our version of) the text clearly reveals no hesitation whatsoever on the lady's part. On the contrary, she is the one who is impetuous and impatient from the very moment her dream-lover speaks the words [note that 6c naturally precedes 2c] announcing his insistent passion. He says, in effect: 'receive my phallus at once, for I am about to burst forth with the drops of the night' (ie. semen). He is already in such a state of excitement that ejaculation is imminent, and therefore there is simply no time for foreplay (ie. his excitement reflects her own)!
But Keel does not see things this way: "Many exegetes are puzzled by the woman's reaction [in v.3]. They think they need allegory, mythology, or depth psychology to explain her behavior. But what she does is hardly out of the ordinary" (189-90). Now this is quite true; but Keel does not discern that the Woman-in-love is the real reason why. Rather, Keel supposes that what we have here is a locked-out lover; hence "she may be exacting a little revenge or teasing a bit" (190). But, in fact, the door poses no barrier at all to the dream-lover, since he has entered her presence immediately after knocking. Whether he has opened the door and walked in, or simply appeared by her bedside, is irrelevant (although in dreams the latter is more likely).
In response to his passionate outburst of urgent longing, she does not even think to tease him; rather, her questions (v.3ab) indicate her inability and unwillingness to refuse his highly improper request (ie. 'open to me for immediate penetration'). In essence She says: 'Since I am already naked and excited and prepared for sex, how can I possibly turn him away?' Revenge is clearly the furthest thing from her mind, as the next verse (4ab) graphically demonstrates: He touched me, and I yearned for him. In any case, it is clear that at this point Keel's common-sense and 'define-everything' approach fails to do justice to the text. Obviously something more than a literal approach is needed.
Yet Keel is determined to continue. Observe his version of 5:4: "My beloved thrust his hand through the opening in the door, (b) and my inmost being yearned for him" (185). Why such a childish action should cause her sudden turnabout is hard to see; but Keel explains her extreme response as a result of her sympathy: "This verse describes the lover's second attempt to achieve his goal - this time without words" (190). Keel's scenario assumes that the words were to no effect; a confusion caused by the unfortunate misplacement of 6c, which tells us otherwise. However, Keel's translation nicely covers up the problem of displacement: "I was completely stunned by his retreat" (185). But according to Keel's own definition of the Hebrew root word in the first clause (cf. 121), a better translation might be: "I was completely stunned with the breath of desire".
But, of course, this does not really fit well with Keel's version of the latter clause, and he suggests instead that her condition 'means a complete disappearance of the will to live'; not 'because of what the man SAYS' (as in the NRSV), 'but because of his retreat' (194). Our view is that the problem is more easily solved by simply moving the verse back to where it belongs, than by engaging in lexical contortions to change its meaning. In any case, we are now to believe that the impatient lover's speechless interaction with the locked door stirred up her compassion, and this caused the turnabout in her attitude toward the nocturnal visitor. How compassion instantly transmutes into sexual yearning is not explained, but simply implied and left dangling in mid-air without any visible means of support.
Now this is a most amusing interpretation, to be sure, but it hardly fits the mood of the (narrative) moment (especially in light of our far more 'Hebrew' rendition). Allegorical and literal interpretations aside, the question still remains whether or not this dream-song has any value as Scripture. Can anything spiritual or theological or wise emerge from a young woman's wet-dream? The traditional answer, by way of deliberate neglect and willful confusion, clearly says 'NOT!' And indeed there is no wisdom to be found here ... unless, of course, you are willing to take the radical step of affirming that every powerful and meaningful human experience is relevant, that passion and romance are a divine concern, that love - in all its magical and mysterious manifestations - is a vital aspect of Christian life: "If there's anything Catholics and others have in common, it's our understanding that faith, hope, and love abide, but that the greatest of these is love. Is anything else more important than this?" (RCL). And since human life, in all its disorderly confusion and misplaced concerns is of vital concern to contextual theology, we must affirm that this dream-song has something important to teach all Christians!
And what might that be? Well, according to the ancient Greeks, Eros is the 'spirit of life'. In the dream-song of chapter five the power of eros is strong enough to break through the 'little-death' of sleep, and leaves the poor girl confused, panting, and very wet. An unstoppable force indeed! But in the light of day the illusions of awareness fill the mind with a thousand petty concerns such that eros is not so much denied as ignored and forgotten. The daymare landscape of reason, labor, and society leaves no room for eros; but nature will not be shunned with impunity, and so, in the dark of night, when the mind has quit its pointless and wearisome toil, life bursts forth and seizes us by the short and curly's. Passion & Craving are set loose from the chains of civilized conventions and self-imposed inhibitions. In the intensity of her very real physical response to the phantom-lover's words and touch, fantasy and reality collide and merge, thus forming a communion as complex as that between mind and body, as joyful and confusing as that between text and reader, as intimate and personal as that between passionate lovers. This is the message and meaning of this particular dream-song.
9. The Wisdom of the Dark Lady Eros
The Lady's breathful response to her beloved's needful plea is the prime model for the exegete's response to the Song. His words evoke the 'breath of desire', which is to say, the 'breath of life', which is spirit and eros. [Biblical anthropology distinguishes between spiritual and physical; in human beings they are distinct but not separate realities.] Thus the lady's erotic response, her 'breath of desire' and quivering loins, is necessarily a spiritual response as well. Although society can and does object, prompting her rationalizations over her unwillingness to refuse the beloved's plea to 'open', her passion precedes and supersedes her thoughts; for it is her body that leads her thoughts, words, and actions. And her body simply follows after her heart (which is to say, the core of her inmost being, which is nothing other than love). In other words, a life-affirming response to Creation, nature, and love (and to the Song of Songs as well) involves both eros & agape, body & soul, heart & mind, male & female, passion & craving, I & Thou, Yin & Yang.
Thus the dream-song of chapter five recounts an unusual experience that, in its concrete physical features, no man can have (simply because he lacks the proper equipment). On the literal level, then, this song is 100% female, and 100% feminine. However, it can in no way be held exclusive and utterly foreign to the male and masculine. Men too can dream, and dream with passion, though perhaps only very rarely. This is why the Song of Songs transcends gender, making no clean-cut definitions about what is proper and natural to the male and female roles, let alone what is the precise nature of masculine and feminine.The radical equality between the sexes that is so clearly recognized by the Song hinges precisely upon the fact that these timeless songs of desire and love transcend the easy limitations of gender (and gender issues), and so speak directly to the human condition in its most universal aspects. In other words, the Song's meaning and power has its source and reflection in the very depths of the reader, because life and love do not exist within the text itself, but only within the heart of the attentive reader; ie. within that most concrete, limited and fallible human creature, the individual existent (as the existentialists would say).
Now we are in a better position to see what the spiritual and theological sense of the text might be. While the beloved is not there physically, there is still a powerfill presence near her that speaks to her spirit, and touches the core of her being. The fullness and ecstatic nature of her erotic response is a symbol and model for the reader's response to the Song; for the believer's response to God, Creation, and life; and for the Church's response to her Lord. For this is what it means to love with all your heart and mind and strength, and so manifest God's Kingdom on Earth. It's no wonder that Woman prefers the dream to reality! She is the one who sells all she has in order to gain the pearl of great price!In the dream-song of 5:2-6 the Woman responds to love easily and naturally, and perhaps even without conscious volition. The fullness and eagerness of her response serves as a powerful poetic symbol of how the human heart can and should respond to love. This also has clear implications for how the Christian should live a good, moral, and noble life: "Love is the norm and the central motivation in New Testament ethics; because it is initiated by God, it always has the character of response" (Spo 106). The Dark Lady responds to love with the totality of her being: her body and her heart, her mind and her spirit, all are ablaze with the passionate fire of a comingled explosion of eros and agape: "Its flashes are flashes of fire; a flame of Yahweh." The theological meaning of this firey symbol can be found in 1John 4:16: "God is Love, and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them".
Lady Wisdom here shows us that the Christian response to love (both human and divine) is not a mere intellectual assent but demands nothing less than total full-hearted involvement. A Christian with a heart of stone is a contradiction unto herself. For it is not what we say or do that makes us who and what we are, but rather, it is our affections that ultimately define who we really are. A heart made of flesh is a heart that responds. People with such a heart respond to life because they are filled with love. A loving heart responds to life and love in a moral and noble way, and so obeys the divine will. But a stony heart does not respond to life, or to love, because it is filled with apathy and non-involved detachment (and other unsavory things), and so lives an unethical, ignoble, and perverse existence. It is a meaningless existence that ultimately despises love, and so spurns the will of God after the manner of fools, madmen, and liturgical lesbians (who fancy themselves holy and pleasing in the eyes of God)
Thus the responsive heart and the apathetic heart are oriented to conflicting and opposing values and goals: "For where your heart is, there will your treasure be also" (author's corrected version of Mt 6:21). The reason why the Song of Songs is in the Bible, and its lasting importance to Christians, is none other than the same purpose and meaning of all great love-songs. All the truly great biblical and non-biblical love-songs are an expression and manifestation of the power of eros in human life (a power which the priests - in their childish terror - must forever deny).
The 'goal' or 'theological significance' of the Song is to awaken the human heart to the universal reality of love (human, cosmic, and divine). In the Song of Songs the voice of Woman also speaks for Lady Wisdom with a power and persuasiveness that is usually rather lacking in all the other wisdom books in Scripture. In this loveless and faithless age of universal apathy and despair, the time has come for men and women to finally open their ears and hearts to what the First Lady really has to say. After all, the history of the interpretation of the Song of Songs illustrates one thing above all others: 'There are none so blind as those who will not see'.
CONCLUSION: THE HEART OF WISDOM
Despite the shameless and flowery language of the Song, and the amazing intensity of its erotic fervor, the message of 'the songs of desire' is nothing less than the true secret of the 'one flesh' that Jesus spoke so commandingly about. There are different ways of stating this secret, of course, but I think the Bird's say it best: "Loving doesn't start with the one loved, it starts with the one loving" (119).This truth is beautifully illustrated by the dream-song of chapter five, where the desire and love take on an elemental force that literally takes her breath away, and sweeps her up into ecstasy without the necessity of the Ego's intentions and needs. The body indeed has a wisdom of its own, and knows how to respond to love, to love's words, to love's gestures. But the Song's wisdom goes beyond even this. It binds together the heartful wisdom of the Yahwist and the equally heartful wisdom of the Messiah:
However, the de-facto suppression of the Song throughout the Judeo-Christian centuries and traditions is a powerful testimony to gender-based prejudice and oppression. One of the reasons why the Song has the most battered and bruised history of interpretation is because all of its commentators have been males; and you know what that means!Clearly, a book by women, and reflecting the feminine psyche, will deal with the basic issues of life and love in a way quite different from the male-centered scriptures. Hence the hermeneutical confusion and trickery so beloved of the devious and cunning masculine mindset. Hence also the obvious conclusion that the best qualified interpreter of the Bible's love-songs will be a woman who knows and loves life, as much as she knows and loves the Holy Bible in all its fullness and hoaryness; and even despite its rude and heavy-handed maleness.
Today the Song is one of the most actively ignored books in the Bible, but it is also the voice that modern readers most need to hear. Without the corrective adjustment that the Songs of Desire provide, Israel's religious response to Creation, and its Creator, simply cannot be properly known. One day the Song of Songs will be the center-piece of a balanced and moderate humanist theology that will bring forth great riches from The Holy Book. Until that day, it will remain what it always was: unfinished business ...
But if Lady Wisdom is to be judged by the sheer abundance and variety of the fruits produced by her wisdom-tree, then She has well obeyed the command to 'be fruitful and multiply' in the few pages of the Song of Songs. "Not only the original text itself but also the variety of commentaries it evoked have exercised a profound influence on both Jewish and Christian spiritualities" (Reese 211). We have tried to show that this profound influence extends well beyond the 'spiritualities' as such. And if mixing the old with the new is a sure sign of a rich and rewarding quest for knowledge and wisdom, then the Song of Life is surely a fertile field for such biblical theological, and spiritual endeavors.
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