Part 42

Fear of God (5:1-9)

(5:1—7) Moving to a quite different theme again, Qoheleth advocates caution in dealings with God, emphasizing the risks rather than the benefits of such dealings: 'fear of God' often has a more general implication of piety and fairness in the OT, but in v. 7 its sense is literal. The particular risks here involve speech: hasty words and unfulfilled vows may both incur divine displeasure, and there is specific reference to the Torah (v. 4 is a paraphrase of Deut 23:21-3, and 'mistake' in v. 6 is a technical term for an unwitting sin). Such speech may lead to the divine destruction of one's work. In w. 3, 7, a plethora of words is associated with dreaming. The former is

(6:10—12) This point is explained in a summary passage that picks up earlier themes and provides a transition to the next main section. Since everything has been defined, humans are known to be inherently incapable of pleading or contesting a cause with whoever is stronger than they. Words, therefore, are futile: no one can tell mortals what they should do in their brief lives, or what will follow them.

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Collection of Aphorisms (7:1-14)

accounting or reckoning. In this quest for the abstract, all he finds, though, are people: the dangerous woman of 7:26, the one man in a thousand of 7:28, and the human behaviour described in 7:29. As it stands, furthermore, 7:28 is absurd: the traditional interpretation, that Qoheleth found no 'good' or 'wise' women, has no basis in the text, but, equally, he can hardly be claiming that he encountered no women at all. It may be helpful to think in terms of the influential personifications of wisdom and folly as women in Prov 1-9, not least because the woman in 7:26 here is strongly reminiscent of wisdom's dangerous counterpart in that work. His discovery of this woman therefore satisfies the second part of Qoheleth's stated quest, the recognition of folly, leaving him to find wisdom and the hesbon (the sum); in 7:29 he recognizes the human capacity to create hessebondt (schemes), which is probably a play on hesbon (reckoning). Only wisdom is left, then, and 7:28 may be an acknowledgement of Qoheleth's failure to find her. The section as a whole, then, suggests that it is not so easy to find either wisdom or any definitive explanation of the world.

The style of this section imitates that of the 'sentence literature' collections (e.g. Prov 10:1—22:16), and the sayings are linked, as normally in such collections, by catchwords and thematic links with their predecessors. The overall theme is broadly temporal: wisdom is associated with the need to look forward rather than focusing upon the good or bad times along the way. v. 14 sets this point in context: God has made bad times as well as good, to prevent humans from knowing what will follow them.

w. 1—4 begin with a stylish play on words, but then present death and mourning as better than life and celebration, w. 5—7 pick up the wise/foolish contrast and the rejection of celebration, with a comment on the transience of fools' laughter

(again involving a play on words), but this is itself rejected as hebel, with a comment on the potential impermanence of wisdom, w. 8-10 deal with the need to take a long-term view of life when reacting to adversity: it is not wise to react quickly or to question the passing of prosperity, w. 11—12 commend wisdom as a source of protection, presumably taking it in the sense outlined above. The ideas are reminiscent of Prov 8, where wisdom, better than gold, promises life. Given Qoheleth's earlier comments on the insecurity of wealth, this is a two-edged commendation, v. 13 is similar to 1:15, and again emphasizes the impossibility of human influence on the world. Its expression, though, is more daring, with 'crookedness' directly identified as the work of God. v. 14 gives a general conclusion, but its affirmation of joy in times of prosperity seems to contradict w. 1-4. Qoheleth advocates an approach that incorporates wisdom's long-term view when contemplating adversity, but rejects it for those times in which one can rejoice. The view of divine action picks up his earlier conclusions.

8:ia may be a gloss, if it is not the author's or Qoheleth's own ironic commentary. The term peser refers, in late Hebrew and Aramaic, to the interpretation of texts and dreams, and the line effectively doubts that anyone is wise enough to interpret what has been said; the secondary Hos 14:9 is a similar, though more positive comment. 8:ifc has no obvious relevance to what precedes, or, despite Fox (1989), to what follows. Elsewhere, the shining of a face expresses contentment or favour, not intelligence, and is used of God (e.g. Num 6:26), while the LXX legitimately understands the second clause to mean 'and the man shameless in his face will be hated'. If the saying originally followed straight after 7:29, we might read: 'A human's wisdom makes him (God) favourable, but the impudent will be hated.'

Neither Too Wise nor Too Foolish (7:15-22)

Human and Divine Authority (8:2-9)

(7:15—20) This advice, to adopt some parts of wisdom but not others, is now generalized and made explicit. The best course is to be neither too wise and righteous, nor too foolish and wicked, but to be a bit of both; whoever fears God will succeed in both (or escape the consequences of doing neither: the Heb. is ambiguous, but the basic meaning clear). These remarkable assertions do need to be put in context: they arise not only from the observations of the previous section, but from the experiences asserted in v. 15, and so there is, perhaps, a wry or bitter edge to them.

Qoheleth uses conclusions drawn from the observation of human authority as the basis for an understanding of divine authority. There are several difficulties in the first two verses, and the sentence division is unclear. The sense may be that one should watch out for royal anger, and flee as soon as it happens, or, more probably, that one should avoid both hurrying to leave the king and joining conspiracies against him (cf Whybray 1989). The key point is in v. 5: it can do no harm to obey a command, while the wise mind will be aware that a reckoning is coming (mispat means 'justice' or 'judgement' rather than 'way' here); the thought is similar to that of 3:17. Qoheleth once again stresses, though, the impossibility for humans of knowing outcomes: there is no one to tell them. Equally, no human has control over the wind (or 'spirit') or over his or her death. There is no release from the situation in which people find themselves: v. 8 probably means that battle offers no more possibility of deliverance than does wickedness. Qoheleth, then, restates his views on human ignorance and impotence, but commends obedience to a secular ruler as the safest course.

(7:19—22) These three sayings are puzzling. The second clearly relates to the theme of 7:15-18, and the third may be an attempt to illustrate its point. Fox (1989) and others reposition the first after 7:12, which is drastic, but reflects the difficulty of finding a context for it here. The intention, however, is possibly another ironic comment on wisdom, exaggerating the idea in such sayings as Prov 24:5-6: to have ten rulers is to have nine too many, just as wisdom itself goes too far.

The Search for Integrity (7:23-8:1)

Fear of God is the Wisest Course (8:10-17)

The key problem here is to reconcile what Qoheleth claims to have found with his claims to be seeking wisdom, a knowledge of folly and wickedness, and, above all, a hesbon—an

This idea is now applied in the religious context, in a passage which echoes the thoughts of 3:16—17. The lack of any

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immediate punishment of the wicked, along with their apparent prosperity, leads others to follow their example. But Qoheleth affirms again that the appearance is deceptive: it is still safer to 'stand in fear before God'. He goes on further to note, though, that the righteous are sometimes treated as though they were wicked and vice versa, a hebel which drives him again to commend enjoyment. He finishes by once more claiming that human comprehension of the world is deliberately prevented by God, and he now explicitly rejects the claims of the wise to know such matters. (8:10) is difficult. Most commentators emend qeburim, 'buried', to qerebim, 'draw near', and see a reference to worship; Fox (1989) retains the idea of burial, and envisages burial processions from the temple or synagogue. 'Praised' reflects an alternative reading in some MSS and versions: MT has 'forgotten', suggesting that the second part compares the more forgetful attitude towards those who have done good. (8:13) uses ambiguous imagery: 'like a shadow' refers either to the transience of the wicked, or to the stretching out of their lives. (8:16) does not make clear whether the sleepless eyes are a part of the general human business, or a parenthetical exclamation, referring to Qoheleth's endless observation.

envisage it as a place of weakness (e.g. Isa 14:9-11), and as a leveller of the dead (Ezek 32:17—31). The shades who dwell there are impotent, miserable creatures.

Unpredictability and Injustice (9:11-16)

(9:11—12) After stressing death's lack of discrimination, Qoheleth turns briefly to its unpredictability. Those who should win or gain things have no control over them, but are at the mercy of events. Humans cannomoreforesee disaster than can animals foresee the traps in which they are caught. There is no suggestion that this is a matter of random misfortune, though: 'time and chance' is a hendiadys, meaning something like 'the turn of events', and the point is not that humans are lucky or unlucky, but that they cannot know what will happen.

(9:13—16) Qoheleth now returns to the theme of wisdom, and this will remain his principal topic until n: 6. He begins with a short anecdote, the point of which is unclear: many commentators think it tells the story of a wise man who could have saved a town had he been heeded, but the Hebrew reads more naturally as a claim that he really did save the town. The various elements are best explained on the assumption that he saved it, but that his contribution went unrecognized. The role of this anecdote is also difficult to pin down. Described as a 'great example' of wisdom, it lacks both the detail that would make it convincing evidence, and the symbolic aspect that would encourage us to view it as a parable. It seems most likely, then, that Qoheleth is summarizing a story familiar to his readers. He picks up the story's intended message, that wisdom is superior to might, but then puzzles over the failure to respect the poor man's wisdom.

The Common Destiny (g:i-io)

The theme continues. The righteous and wise are under God's control, but even they cannot know his attitude towards them; all that is obvious is that the same end seems to come to all, whatever their behaviour or religious conscientiousness. This again drives humans to evil and to madness. In 3:16—4:3 such ideas led to the conclusion that it was better to be dead or unborn, but Qoheleth's thought has moved on: the living still have some knowledge—if only the knowledge that they will die. The dead can take nothing more from the world, and what they gave is now gone. The section ends with Qoheleth's fullest expression of his exhortation to enjoy life to the full, while it is still possible to do so.

Sayings and Counter-Sayings (9:17-11:6)

The issue raised in Qoheleth's mind by the story leads on to the book's most curious section. In 7:1—13, Qoheleth employed the sentence-literature style to make some key points of his own. Now he uses it as, effectively, a witness against itself. How far he is citing sayings that already existed is unclear: he may simply be inventing new sayings with the right style and tone. In any case, the basic technique is to set sayings together in such a way that they are undermined or reduced to absurdity. So 9:17—10:1 follows the story by initially proclaiming wisdom's superiority, but ends with the observation that it is outweighed by even a little folly. In 10:3, the metaphorical imagery of the saying in 10:2 is taken literally, to conjure up the comic image of fools walking differently from everyone else. The career-orientated advice in 10:4 is set against the observation in the next verse of a society in which rank has no basis in reason. The dangers and difficulties in 10:8—lob can patently not be overcome by wisdom, as io:ioc asserts, even if there were any chance to apply it in time (10:11). The claim in 10:12, that fools will be consumed by their speech, is enlarged upon in 10:13, but abruptly deflated in 10:14 by me observation that, nevertheless, they talk on and on; Qoheleth draws out the implication that the future is simply unpredictable, before recalling the comic image of the fools on the road. In 10:16-20, condemnations of revelry, drunkenness, and sloth are met by the claim that the first two are good things, while the third is no problem if one has money. The very notion of criticizing the rich and powerful

(9:1—2) is difficult in MT, and the NRSV translation reflects a common emendation. Some scholars (e.g. Gordis 1968; Crenshaw 1988) retain MT and understand 'everything is before them, everything the same for everybody'. The reference is probably to what they can observe. In v. 2, 'and the evil' is lacking in the Hebrew, but its presence in the LXX suggests that it is original. (9:4) probably refers not to 'hope' as such, but to the confident knowledge outlined in the next verse. Dogs are not highly regarded in most ancient literature, and it is interesting to note the use of'dead dog' in expressions of self-abasement or insult (e.g. 2 Sam 9:8; 16:9). (9:7-9) resembles a number of passages in ancient texts, but has particularly close links with the imagery of a passage in the Epic ofGilgamesh, where the hero is advised to abandon his quest for immortality. A direct dependence on this text is possible, but indirect knowledge of it, through other sources, is at least as likely. Such behaviour is here justified as something pre-ordained by God. (9:10) refers to Sheol, the underworld, to which all humans were believed to descend after death. Biblical descriptions

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in this way is itself condemned by the flight of fancy in 10:20, which would seem to have its tongue firmly in its cheek. 11:1—2 again stresses Qoheleth's concern with the impossibility of knowing the future. Finally, 11:3-6 sums up his point: the phenomena in 11:3 are not only absurdly obvious, but inevitable and uncontrollable; instead of wasting time watching for such things, which are beyond one's comprehension, it is better to get on with one's work, and to cover ones bases. Inherent in this is a more general criticism of any endeavour to comprehend the world through wisdom: it is not only foredoomed, but a waste of valuable time. (9:18) contrasts wisdom with the hots', 'bungler' in NRSV, but more literally 'sinner'. Given the usage of this term elsewhere in the book, it is unlikely to be devoid of moral or religious connotations here.

the coming judgement is not an exhortation to behave in a particular way. Rather, it is both a simple warning, on which one cannot act to any effect, and a spur to proper enjoyment of what one has now. In 12:1, this requirement to enjoy oneself is again picked up, but now with an emphasis upon one's inability to do so in old age.

(12:2—5) has been taken by most ancient and modern commentators to contain a series of symbolic, metaphorical descriptions of the physical degeneration which accompanies old age. This interpretation is not without its problems, and there is some disagreement about details, but it remains more persuasive than alternative readings (e.g. Fox 1989). It is bolstered, furthermore, by the existence of a Sumerian poem that applies the same technique to the same theme, albeit in a more obvious way: this supplies an analogy and suggests, perhaps, that the poem belongs to a particular genre. In any case, the symbolic interpretation should not be rejected because the symbolism is sometimes obscure: the passage has an enigmatic character, which may be as deliberate as in a riddle. Taking this approach, v. 2 refers to growing blindness, and v. 3 to trembling limbs, a bent back, the loss of teeth, and poor sight, v. 4 presents greater problems: we should translate 'Doors are shut on the street when the sound of the mill grows low, but it rises to the sound of a bird while all the song-notes are brought down'; the references may then be to the ears and voice: hearing fades as the voice grows quiet, and the latter rises to the pitch of bird-song, though that can no longer be heard, v. 5 begins with the frailty of the old, for whom falling and going out become more dangerous. The second half is more obscure: the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper 'makes itself heavy', and the caper (which NRSV misleadingly translates as 'desire') either fails or bears fruit (depending on the derivation of the verb). These may be references to nature's ability to renew itself, in contrast to the inevitability of human death (cf. Job 14:7—10), but the locust would be an odd component for such an image, while the caper is not known for its fruit (the 'capers' used in cookery are pickled buds from the bush). If they continue the symbolism of old age, then the almond tree may be the whitening of the hair, and the grasshopper the impotent penis (as suggested in early rabbinic exegesis); the symbolism of the caper is obscure, although it, too, has white flowers, v. 5/7 returns to Qoheleth's initial point, that death is coming, at the end of old age.

(10:1—2) v. i presents several problems. 'Flies of death' is a curious way to say 'dead flies': it might mean 'dying flies', but it is best to follow an old suggestion, and redivide the text to read 'a fly dies' (cf Fox 1989). NRSV leaves untranslated a reference to the flies making the ointment 'bubble', or 'ferment'; this might be a gloss, or a corruption of some term meaning 'preparation' or 'container' (cf. LXX). For 'wisdom and honour' (lit. weight) we should read 'a great weight of wisdom', v. 2 assumes the common metaphor of a 'way' through life, which the next verse takes literally; right and left have moral connotations in later Jewish literature. (10:4-7) v4 probably commends 'soothing' rather than 'calmness', w. 5—7 are strongly reminiscent of a theme popular in some much earlier Egyptian literature: the topsy-turvy society brought about by a failure of leadership. The error in v. 5 is probably ascribed to the ruler, not just compared with a ruler's error. (10:10) is notorious for its obscurity. The form shows that it is paired with v. n, while the theme links it to the preceding sayings: 'iron' is a cutting instrument or axe (cf. 2 Kings 6:5). The sense 'edge' forpanim is improbable: we should probably emend Id '-panim to lepanim, point qlql as passive, and read: 'If the axe is blunt but is sharpened beforehand, then it increases in strength.' The syntax of the second part is difficult, but most commentators agree that it refers to wisdom being advantageous. The saying refers, then, to the benefits of wisdom in forearming one: a claim undermined by the next verse's observation that that is not always possible. (11:1) is similar to a saying in the late Egyptian Instruction of 'Onchsheshonqy (19.10), where a good deed is to be thrown in the water and recovered when dry: it may have been a familiar metaphor. As in the next verse, the issue is cautious preparation for the uncertain times ahead.

(12:6^7) w. 6-7 pick up the 'remember.. .before...' structure of 12:1—2, and this marks them as a separate subsection. The imagery in v. 6 is usually taken to refer to death, but conceivably we have moved back to old age here, and the reference is again to parts of the body, perhaps the genitals and bladder. In any case, v. 7 certainly concerns death, and seems to have in mind the ideas of Gen 2:7 and 3:19. The breath here is not a 'spirit', but the animating breath lent to humans for the duration of their lifetime, v. 8, the monologue closes with an echo of the motto which began it, in 1:2.

Youth and Age (11:7-12:8)

The end of Qoheleth's monologue offers a summary of his advice: life is good and to be enjoyed, especially by the young who can enjoy it best. Against that enjoyment, though, must be set the recollection that darkness is to follow, and that deeds will be judged: to remember one's creator is also to remember one's judge. Although these two ideas seem very different, there is no real contradiction here. Qoheleth has already rejected any idea that humans can know the criteria against which they will be judged, and so his advice to bear in mind

Epilogue (12:9-14)

The book finishes with an epilogue attached to Qoheleth's speech, which is probably the work of the author rather than a secondary addition. This falls into three parts: a brief description of Qoheleth's work (w. 9—10), a comment on study

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should translate 'furthermore', rather than 'beyond these'. For the first and only time, the writer uses the address 'my son', which is common in the instructional literature of Proverbs, v. 13 does not describe keeping God's commandment's as the 'whole duty' of everyone, but as something applicable to everyone.

(w. 11-12), and a closing admonition (w. 13-14). In the first, the emphasis is on Qoheleth's literary activity, and he is portrayed as a collector and arranger of sayings. The second is more obscure, but it seems to compare such sayings to goads—which leads to the mischievous suggestion that too much study wears out one's flesh. The final admonition seems to draw on some of Qoheleth's conclusions—that one should fear God, and that there will be a judgement (cf esp. 11:9). The advice to obey God's commandments, however, lends the saying an orthodox tone which is quite absent in the monologue. (12:11—13) vn uses a double comparison: the sayings are like ox-goads, and the individual parts of a collection like the nails stuck in a stick by a shepherd. The shepherd is not God, nor is there any admonition to heed only one writer—'one' here is simply an indefinite article, v. 12 is an additional comment: we

Crenshaw, J. L. (1988), Ecclesiastes (London: SCM). Fox, M. V. (1989), Qothelet and his Contradictions (Sheffield: Almond). Gordis, R. (1968), Kohekth—The Man and his World, 3rd edn. (New

York: Schocken). Ogden, G. (1987), Qohekth (Sheffield: JSOT). Whybray, R. N. (1989), Ecclesiastes (London: Marshall, Morgan &

Scott).

21. The Song of Solomon ATHALYA B R E N N E R

A. Introduction. 1. The Song of Songs, as the first two words of its superscription (1:1) imply, is lyrical poetry (Heb. sing. sir. song, poem; pi. hassirim: of songs, of poems), originally intended to be performed, i.e. sung to music, on suitable occasions. The meaning of the name is variously explained further as 'the most sublime', the 'best' song (a superlative construction) or collection of songs (one song or poem constructed of a plurality of poems). On the rest of the superscription, 'of, 'by', 'for', or '[dedicated] to' Solomon, see below (s.2).

or as part of the family ritual, in accordance with the customs of the Jewish community concerned.

2. The placing of the Song in the Hebrew canon testifies to its lateness:the mention of Solomon in the superscription, as well as in other passages of the book (1:5; 3:7—11; 8:12), is ambiguous. It does not necessarily uphold the traditional Jewish view, probably shared by the editor who added the superscription, that King Solomon was the author of the book. The language, which is varied and sometimes contains Aramaisms, is relatively late biblical Hebrew. This points to a date of composition, or at least collection and editorship of the final text, not earlier than the Second Temple era. Therefore few modern scholars, with the notable exception of Rabin (1973—4), argue f°r a tenth-century (possibly Solomonic) date. On the other hand, the attribution to Solomon was probably influential enough for accepting the Song as a canonical text. Discussions in Jewish sources (m. Yad. 3:5; 'Abot R. Nat. i; t. Yad. 2:4; Sank. 12:10; b. B. Bat. 14-15; Sanh. loia) show that acceptance of the Song as a sacred text was problematic and largely conditioned by two factors: its acceptance by Rabbi Aqiba and the Hillel school; and its understanding not as secular erotic lyrics, but as an allegory of the historical love between God and his people, the Jewish nation. This allegorical understanding, which completely disregards God's absence from the Song by way of positing it as its hidden but true subject, is already fully developed in the Aramaic Targum of the Song and was subsequently taken up by all mainstream Jewish commentators (see Song Rab., and Rashi, for instance), to be further elaborated in mystical works (cf. the Zohar and Hekhalot literature). Christianity took the allegorical principle in different directions, first Christological (an allegory for the relationship between Christ and the individual believer's soul, or Christ and the church) and later Mariological (between Mary and the believer, or Mary and the church community). Works on the Song by Christian mystics such as Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Gregory of Nyasa, continue to witness its evocative power, interpreted as a celebration of mystical divinehuman union rather than human erotic love.

2. The second verse (1:2) conveys the subject-matter:'Let him kiss me from the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.' ('From' is the literal meaning of the Heb. text, rather than NRSV 'with'.) The songs/poems are secular love poems about heterosexual, erotic, passionate relationships. Indeed, the songs celebrate love between unmarried, seemingly young, female and male lovers. The form is, mostly, that of monologues, dialogues, and chorus rejoinders delivered in the first person mode: the voice of the narrator(s) per se is not directly heard. The predominant speaking voice is female. There are no direct references to religious, ethical, or national values. YHWH is never mentioned (although some interpreters find a reference to him in the component -ya, added to the Heb. word for 'flame', in 8:6). The geographical settings vary, as do the implied economic and social settings. Urban, sophisticated backgrounds interchange with nature and natural and rural settings. Imagery of food, drink, flora and fauna interchanges with metaphors of fortifications and military phenomena. In short, and in spite of the mention of place-names (such as Jerusalem, Tirzah, Gilead, Lebanon, Hermon), the universal phenomenon of erotic love is communicated in a largely universal manner, hence its appeal.

B. Place in the Hebrew Canon, Date, and Text. 1. The Song is one of the Five Scrolls, a collection of short texts (also Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther) placed within the third and latest division of the HB (the ketubim: Writings). These texts are called 'scrolls' since, in this form, they are used for reading as part of the liturgy of various holy days. In the case of the Song it is read on Passover, either in the synagogue

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Possibly, there are three songs strung together here. The first (w. 2—4) sets out the subject: the love of a woman for a man. In the second (w. 5—6) a woman defiantly explains that she is 'dark and [or: but] beautiful' (NRSV: 'black and beautiful') as a result of being assigned to outdoor occupations by her maternal brothers, presumably in a vain effort to preserve her sexual modesty. In the third we watch her search for her male lover (v. 7), who—and this is the first male voice we hear—teases her to try and find him (v. 8). Exactly at the collection's centre, 4:8 (HB 4:9)—5:1, a seduction scene takes place. It is metaphorical, gentle, and polite. Unmistakably, though, at its end a young man has obtained a young woman's consent to have sexual relations. Consummation is followed by a celebration, with food and drink. At the end of the collection, ch. 8, maternal brothers set out their concern for their sister's chastity, and the means they will employ to preserve it when that becomes necessary (w. 8-9). A woman's voice responds, defiantly (v. 10 or w. 10—12). After an unclear interlude (v. 13) the book ends when a woman's voice sings to her lover: run away, jump like a deer on the fragrant mountains (v. 14). Thus, at the end of the Song readers, and lovers, are precisely where they were at its beginning. Although a poignant personal credo of what love is about is voiced by a female to a male, and is placed in 8:6-7, it does not end the whole. At the end lovers are, once more, apart. They look, search, depart and go—especially the female lovers, who are more active than the males. And yet, a clear act of consummation has occurred in the exact quantitative centre of the book. The collection's movement, then, is not linear (as in a regular narrative plot) but circular, with its presumed climax situated at its middle rather than at its end. This, and the fact that parallels are chiastically placed on either side of the climactic 4:8 (HB 4:g)-5:i passage, once again signify editorial rather than authorial intent. In other words, the cyclical 'plot' seems to be the result of a plan to unify the whole by means of its structure.

3. At any rate, it is clear that, through divorcing the Song from its original setting and understanding it as religious poetry, a trend which has continued until modern times, both the emerging Judaism and Christianity of the second century CE had already accepted it as sacred literature. But the text's popularity is attested as earlier by its existence among the Qumran MSS. Four MSS of the Song were found in Qumran, three in Cave 4 and one in Cave 6.4. The first three (4QCanta, 4QCantb, 4QCantc) contain larger or smaller fragments of Song 2:1—5:1. The fourth MS (6QCant) contains verses of ch. i. The Qumran texts are somewhat shorter than the MT texts: Tov (1995: 89) defines them (at least the first three) as abbreviated texts, based on one similar to or identical with the MT. If Tov's position is accepted, the Song already existed as a well-formed text quite early, in the second century BCE. Given the nature of the Qumran community, the Qumran Song texts perhaps also attest to its popularity even then as a secretive religious text. (In addition to the Jewish sources mentioned, see also the indirect evidence of ist-cent. CE 4 Ezra 4:24, 26, and the Ta'anit scroll.)

C. Style and Structure. 1. The Song is best viewed not as one single poem but a collection. To begin with, there is no unified style. Conventional poetic devices are certainly much in evidence. Parallelisms, refrains, alliteration, wordand soundplay, puns and repetitions are rife, but not in any way that could be considered typical to the Song. Metaphors and symbols derived from many areas of human experience are heavily used in a combination of conventionality and originality but, once more, it is difficult to attribute any specificity of single authorship, place, and time to this variety. In addition, while a structural unity is discernible, no narrative plot sequence—in the sense of a story, a linear trajectory leading from beginning through to end—is obtainable. In short, the Song is best viewed as an anthology of love lyrics. This is the position adopted here, although from ancient times until this century, many exegetes and scholars (Exum 1973; Goulder 1986; Landy 1983) have preferred to view the Songasaunified composition containing a single, ongoing love story.

D. Contents and Set of Characters. 1. In attempting to divide the Song into individual songs, let us remember that boundaries between individual pieces are fluid and also blurred; and that many passages have been artfully organized, so that they run into each other and form larger sequences. The following, therefore, is a feasible division only: other divisions are conceivable. The songs will be labelled 'female' or 'male' if the speaker is clearly one or the other. 'Dialogue' is between female and male lovers unless otherwise indicated.

2. Even so, some problems remain concerning the boundaries of individual songs—there are no rhymes and, in most MSS and printed editions, no indications of lines. Change of speaker, from female to male or vice versa, do not necessarily constitute a departure or a new unit. Neither do changes of settings, places, times, and so on. In short, the principles of unit boundaries and organization as well as the organization of the whole are not easy to uncover. The fact that some passages are repeated verbatim or almost so (cf. 3:1-4 with 5:6—7, or 4:1—3 with 6:5/7—7) is best interpreted as a structural (editorial) device, rather than a repeated stage in a plot sequence. Nevertheless, some songs do combine, by verbal and narrative association, into a larger mini-story—such as the sequence beginning in 5:2: a woman refuses to admit her lover; he departs and she seeks him, without success (5:2—7); she asks the daughters of Jerusalem to find him (5:8), they wanthis description (v. 9), she complies (w. 9-16); they agree to look for him (6:1) but, by that time, the lovers are reunited

(1:1) Superscription. (1:2—6) Two female songs (see above). (1:7-8) Dialogue: female searches for male, he teases. (1:9-17) Male praises female; dialogue; seem to be meeting in the open air.

(2:1—3) Dialogue, in the open air. (2:4-17) Several female poems, 'reciting' embedded male voices. Main imagery is again of flora and fauna. Includes the first appeal for help to the 'daughters of Jerusalem', for the speaker is lovesick.

(3:1-5) A tightly constructed female song: she looks for her lover in the city streets, at night (or in a dream), is not helped by the city guards but manages to find him and bring him to her 'mother's house'. Second appeal to the 'daughters'.

(6:2-3).

3. At the beginning of the Song, 1:2—8, it is clearly a woman's or women's voice that we predominantly hear.

431 THE SONG OF SOLOMON

(3:6-11) One or two poems describing King Solomon's train, and bed or palanquin, coming out of the desert surrounded by his mighty men; and his wedding, at which his mother is present but not his father. The speaker's gender is unclear.

2. This survey shows that the Song can be understood as a collection of love lyrics, performed by one couple and two choruses ('daughters' and 'maternal brothers'). However, variety and the repetitions point in the direction of multiplicity of settings, backgrounds, moods—and cast of characters. That is, if we agree that a structural 'plot' only is in evidence, then there is no reason to assign all female lines to a single female textual speaker, or all male lines to a single textual male speaker. This has been done in some older translations, dividing the lines between 'bride' and 'bridegroom', or some similar arrangement. However, notwithstanding a description

(4:1^7) (cf. 6:3/7—7); a male's wasf (see SONG E.I) describing his female lover from head to breasts. Imagery mainly of flora and fauna, also of fortifications and military weapons.

(4:8-5:1) A dialogue, the 'seduction and consummation' scene (see SONG 0.3). Male seduces female, with extravagant images of food and aromatic herbs and flowers; she consents; the male closure (5:1) and the call to eat and drink imply consummation.

(3:9-11) of Solomon's wedding (which might be a satire or parody, see Whedbee 1993), nothing in the Song points to a marital setting or conclusion for lovers, as we have seen. Furthermore, there is no compelling reason to assume that one couple only is reflected in the Song, or even a love triangle (as in some older scholarship, where a triangle of SolomonShulamite—shepherd lover is found). Rather, a multiplicity of voices is heard in the Song, as befits such an anthology on a universal topic. Looking for a comprehensive, all-embracing interpretation for the book may form a link with allegorical renderings of it (since those depend on a comprehensive reading, with a single, well-defined pair of lovers), but seems unwarranted by the text itself.

(5:2-9) (cf. 3:1-5); female refuses to welcome male into her room at night (in reality or a dream); when she changes her mind he disappears. She looks for him in the city and the guards beat her up. She appeals to the daughters of Jerusalem to help her lovesick condition.

(5:9—6:2) The daughters want to know what the male lover looks like. A female lover describes him in a wasf, from head to toe. The imagery is of fauna and flora for the head; minerals, metals and precious stones for the rest of his body. The daughters agree to look for him but, meanwhile, he is found and seems to be enjoying his 'garden' again (see SONG £.3). If 6:3 belongs here, it contains a female affirmation of her love.

3. Clearly, though, the female voices far outstrip the male voices in the Song. Female voices search; male voices tease and escape. Females become lovesick; males allow themselves to be found and led to the 'mother's house' (fathers are as absent from the Song as the figure of a God.) Females are articulate (they have almost two-thirds ofthe text!), unconventional, risk-takers. Males are loving but less adventurous. Therefore, whereas Trible (1978) maintains gender equality in the Song, perhaps we should do better to recognize female superiority in it. Whether this signifies female authorship, or an original background of female performance, remains uncertain (see Goitein 1988 for female authorship and performance). At any rate, also from this perspective of gender affairs, the Song is an exception in the HB. Although traces of a patriarchal framework are apparent in it (the brothers' role as custodians of female sexual modesty; the guards' beating up of a woman searching at night), nowhere else in the HB do women roam and make love so freely, outside the framework of marriage, in the open, without chaperones. Nowhere are 'they' allowed such outspoken voices on erotic love and desire (as is the case in other ancient cultures too; and see SONG c). It is perhaps worthwhile, therefore, to read the Song as if it contained traces of female voices (Brenner and van Dijk-Hemmes 1993), not just as if it contained male voices

(6:4—9) A male song of praise for a female lover, partly parallel (w. 5/1—7) to the wasf of ch. 4.

(6:10-12) Either a male monologue—male praises female in a garden—or a dialogue, with a questionable voice attribution for v. ii and the difficult v. 12.

(7:1—10) Wasf, probably in a male voice, calling to a female (the Shulamite) to dance and then describing her body from toe to head (w. 2-7). A response indicating male desire (w. 89), perhaps followed by a female retort (v. 10) rounds off this passage.

(7:11—14) One song, or several songs in a female voice, seductively inviting a male lover to go outdoors where she will give herself to him (cf. 4:9-14).

(8:1^7) A female passage, again probably or possibly more than a single song: a woman would like her lover to be her brother, so that they can be together in her 'mother's house'

(w. 1-2; cf. 3:4); they embrace (v. 3; cf. 2:6); another appeal to the daughters of Jerusalem (v. 4); two fragments (v. 5; cf. 3:612, 2:3). w. 6—7 are, once again, in a female voice:

(which is the biblical norm).

4. What, then, can we say about the kinds of love described and celebrated in the Song? Erotic yearnings are complementary, never in contrast, to emotions and feelings. In a sense, love in the Song is unproblematic: although preor nonmarital, no complications of unwanted pregnancies result from sexual relations. Joy and exaltation indeed interface with heart-sickness and despondency: much depends on lovers' availability for each other. High seriousness interchanges with humour (3:7-11; 7:1-10). Passion can be painful as well as uplifting. Socio-moral norms prohibiting nonmarital sexual unions are ignored or disregarded. Lovers exist

This declaration, surely, might have constituted a suitable end for the whole book. Nevertheless,

(8:8-14) (see SONG c-3); maternal brothers decide how to keep their sister's virginity, when necessary (w. 8-9). She answers mockingly (v. 10 or 10—12; cf. 1:5—6). An unclear verse is followed by the very last verse: a female voice calls to her male lover to run away, like a gazelle or deer, to the distant nevernever land of the perfume hills. Thus, love's game can begin afresh, suspended in timelessness and moving cyclically.

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male lover receives the woman's permission to enter 'his garden' and eat its fruit (4:16; cf, more articulately, 7:13—14), it is quite obvious what transpires through the use of garden/ orchard/aromatics imagery.

in a world of their own creation, as they would. One spectrum of emotion and behaviour is conspicuous by its absence, however. Jealousy, betrayal, violence borne out of frustration, infidelity—the negative facets of love are simply not in evidence. Idealization? Perhaps, although not fully, when the suffering and difficulties recounted (especially for female lovers) are noticed.

F. Ancient Extrabiblical Parallels. Pope (1977) supplies exhaustive lists of Song parallels in the ancient and pre-modern world, especially the Mesopotamian, Indian, and Islamic worlds. Fox (1985) does the same with Egyptian love poetry. Rabin (1973-4) and others draw attention to parallels in Tamil. A curious feature is that, in most if not all parallels, women's voices are quite pronounced in the context of premarital love poetry (in distinction from their situation in marital contexts). However, the subject-matter and experience of heterosexual love and passion is so universal as to render the parallels less significant than they would otherwise have been.

E. Poetics, Forms, Imagery. 1. As noted at SONG A.2, the Song is composed of monologues (or soliloquies), dialogues, and choruses. These are sometimes combined into composite poems (5:2—6:2; and see Falk 1982). A special poetic genre is the wasf (from Arabic: description). In this type of song the lover's body, be it a male's (5:10—16) or a female's (4:1—7 with a partial parallel in 6:3-7; 7:I~7 MT), is referred to by means of a series of delightful and sensuous images and in a certain order: from head to toe in chs. 4 and 5, and from toe to head in ch. 7. Pope (1977) cites many examples of wasf-type parallels from Arab and other sources.

G. Biblical Intertexts. 1. In prophetic books such as Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah 40 ff and Malachi there obtains a metaphor of divine-human marriage covenant. The male partner is YHWH; his wife is variously Jerusalem (or Samaria, or both cities), the land of Israel, or the Israelite or Judahite people. The divine husband is presented as constantly and ceaselessly loyal to his spouse, of whom he takes care. The wife is presented as a creature who is adulterous, fickle, and prostitutes herself, and who keeps looking for fresh lovers and fresh sexual sensations (in the plural). The husband punishes his wife, who stands accused but mostly does not get a chance to defend herself.

2. The imagery of the Song draws on many areas of human experience: natural phenomena, zoology, botany, agriculture, art, trade, precious materials, architecture, and much more. It appeals to all senses, even floods them. A recurrent, deceptively simple simile/metaphor, 'your eyes are doves' (1:15; 4:1) invokes a synesthetic response of sight, sound, and emotive content—as does the more explicit elaboration of this metaphor in 5:12, 'His eyes are like doves'. Or the praise, 'your breasts are like young twin gazelles' (4:5; 7:4), that signifies colour, movement, size, texture, shape, perhaps smell—all of these, or at least several. Translations of the Song that attempt to convey this sensuous imagery, together with the rhythm and spirit of its poetry, are no simple tasks. Two such recent translations, by Falk (1982) and by Bloch and Bloch (1995), are recommended for their poetic quality.

2. When the Song is interpreted allegorically, the situation is reversed. Here it is clear that the woman searches for her man and remains faithful to him. This reversal, theologically interpreted, is significant: for theological thinking, it might afford hope to the post-Roman conquest nation. It might have provided at least part of the motivation to interpret the Song as religious rather than secular love poetry—despite the fact that such allegories require sacralization of a secular text and its transformation by interpretation into a comprehensive unit focused on only one male and one female lover. It also requires a displacement of the female lover to a secondary position relative to the male's (now divine) position, and an introduction of the missing divine element into the Song in the guise of a divine (male) lover. The early Jewish allegories which, in turn, mutated into Christian allegories, are thus rooted not only in practical theology (a response to the politically troubled times of the Roman conquest and the loss of land, political organization, and autonomy) but also in biblical intertexuality.

3. Perhaps the most astounding and complex are metaphors relating to nature, especially as it reawakens in springtime. The image of the orchard, or garden, will serve as an example. On the first level, much of the action in the Song— lovers meeting, lovers departing, lovers talking—happens outdoors. The garden or orchard, then, is the natural backdrop, and represents realism as well as an optimistic setting for love meetings. On the second level, gardens and orchards—especially in spring—symbolize an option of love's flowering and growth. On the indexical level, their flowering and fruitfulness are akin to sexuality in the human world. Ultimately, then, the garden/orchard are metaphorized into human sexuality (fourth level). And finally, by way of specification, the garden/orchard stand for female sexuality, especially female erogenous zones: in other words, on the fifth level of meaning (or signification) female sexuality is metaphorized into a garden/orchard. This symbol/image/indexical notion/metaphor is sensuously rich: it appeals to sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. The richness is especially apparent when a perfume garden is invoked, as in the central seduction scene of 4:9-5:1. There, by naming plants and gardens and foodstuff and aromatics, a male lover manages to talk his female lover into having sexual relations—without ever speaking directly. 'They' are in a physical garden (outside), they are a garden, love is a garden, the woman is a garden, her anatomy is a perfumed garden. And when the

H. Epilogue: Directions for Reinterpretation. 1. In contemporary scholarship various trends can be discerned. Some scholars re-examine the possibility of an early, perhaps even Solomonic, provenance for the Song in the light of extrabiblical parallels (Rabin 1973-4; F°x I9^5)- Others attempt to reconcile allegorical and surface (Heb. pcsal: simple) meanings. According to Rabin, Murphy (1990), and others, the possibility that the Song was, from its very inception, a double-tiered composition relating to both human love and divine-human love should be explored. Yet other scholars,

433 ISAIAH

such as Pope, look for a goddess in the Song, again an allegory, if of a modern kind.

Clines, D. J. A. (1995), Interested Parties: The Ideology of Writers and

Readers of the Hebrew Bibk, JSOTSup. 205 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press), 94-121. Exum, J. C. (1973), A Literary and Structural Analysis of the Song of

2. Feminist critics have paid a lot of attention to the predominance of female voices in the Song. Understanding this phenomenon and its implications, even though it reflects similar phenomena in the love lyrics of cognate cultures, requires further deliberation. Already there is a backlash against feminist appropriation of female voices by way of reclaiming male authorship for the Song (Clines 1995).

Songs', ZAW&y 47-79. Falk, M. (1982), Love Lyrics from the Bible: A Translation and Literary

Study of the Song of Songs (Sheffield: Almond). Fox, M. V. (1985), The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs

(Madison: University of Wisconsin Press). Goitein, S. D. (1988), 'Women as Creators of Biblical Genres', Proof-

texts, 8:1-33,trM. Carasik. Goulder, M. D. (1986), The Song of Fourteen Songs (Sheffield: JSOT). Landy, F. (1983), Paradoxes of Paradise: Identity and Difference in the

3. Ultimately, it is the sheer beauty of the poems, the unadulterated strength of the lyrics and imagery, that keeps it so attractive, be its interpretation secular or religious. Regrettably, part of the experience, the musical aspect of the performance—for songs are there to be performed to music rather than merely recited—is lost to us. Fortunately, in the newly minted traditions of Zionism and modern Israel, many of the songs of the Song have been set to music afresh. I grew up on this music, these lyrics: for me they are inseparable— and intrinsically secular.

Song of Songs (Sheffield: Almond). Murphy, R. E. (1990), The Song of Songs, Hermeneia (Minneapolis:

Fortress). Pope, M. H. (1977), The Song of Songs: A New Translation with

Introduction and Commentary, AB 7C (Garden City, NY: Doubleday). Rabin, C. (1973—4), 'The Song of Songs and Tamil Poetry', Studies in

Religion, 3: 205—19. Tov, E. (1995), Three Manuscripts (Abbreviated Texts?) of Canticles

from. Quniran Cave 4', JSS 46: 88—in. Trible, P. (1978), God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (Philadelphia: Fort-

ress), 144-65. Whedbee, J. W. (1993), 'Paradox and Parody in the Song of Solomon:

Bloch, A., and Bloch, C. (1995), The Song of Songs: A New Translation

with an Introduction and a Commentary (New York: Random House). Brenner, A., and van Dijk-Hemmes, F. (1993), On Gendering Texts:

Towards a Comic Reading of the Most Sublime Song', in A. Brenner

(ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Song of Songs (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press), 266-78.

Female and Male Voices in the Hebrew Bible (Leiden: Brill), i—n.

22. Isaiah R. COGGINS

Overview. 1. It may come as a surprise to some readers to discover that the whole book of Isaiah is being dealt with in one article. One of the success stories of the historical-critical method of biblical study has been to establish that the 66 chapters of the book come from a variety of backgrounds, and the custom has been to treat chs. 40—66 independently of the earlier part of the book. These chapters are said to come from 'Deutero'- or 'Second Isaiah' (40—55), usually with chs. 56—66 further isolated and ascribed to 'Trito'- or 'Third Isaiah'. It is argued that historical references and stylistic features alike enable them to be distinguished from the Isaiah of the earlier chapters, and it might seem perversely old-fashioned to go back to treating the whole book as a unity.

historical assessment the words referring to him must have been written after that date. It is generally agreed, therefore, that chs. 40—55 come from a Babylonian setting and should be dated in the 5403. Chs. 56-66 offer fewer clear indications of date, but the general consensus has been to place these chapters later still, perhaps in Jerusalem in the time when the work of restoration was going slowly forward in a disillusioned and demoralized community.

4. Literary. In terms both of detailed vocabulary and more generally of style there are important differences which come over clearly even in translation. Numerous phrases and expressions characteristic of the earlier chapters ('briers and thorns', 'remnant') are not found in the later sections, whereas such terms as 'create' and 'redeem' are peculiar to the later chapters. Again, there are marked stylistic differences, the sharp, brief, and often bitterly condemnatory oracles of the early chapters (e.g. the 'woes' of 5:8-23) contrasting markedly with the repetitive, dignified style of 40—55, where many Psalm-like passages are addressed to God rather than to a human audience.

2. It may be helpful to rehearse briefly the relevant findings of historical criticism with regard to the different elements in the book. Broadly speaking they fall into three categories: historical, stylistic, and theological.

3. Historical. Many references in the early part of the book (e.g. ch. 7, chs. 36—9) as well as places in 2 Kings where Isaiah is mentioned by name (e.g. 19:2) make it clear that the prophet's life and activity were envisaged as taking place during the last third of the eighth century BCE, when Judah was under threat, first from its Northern neighbours, Israel and Damascus, and then from the Assyrians. But from ch. 40 all this has changed; the people addressed are pictured as being in Babylon, and Cyrus of Persia, who overthrew the Babylonian empire, is mentioned by name (44:28; 45:1). Cyrus became king in 550 BCE, and if we are to use any of the normal criteria of

5. Theological. From ch. 40 onwards major theological themes emerge which have played little or no part earlier: concern with the Exodus and wilderness deliverance, clearly pictured as the model for a new return from exile to the promised land (40:3-5); the restoration of a destroyed Jerusalem as a symbol of renewed divine favour (ch. 52); the concentration on creation, with the use of the distinctive Hebrew verb bam', used in Gen i but rare elsewhere, to speak of divine

ISAIAH 434

between chs. 39 and 40. From a somewhat later period it is clear that the New Testament regards Isaiah as one book. Among many passages which could be quoted, perhaps the most striking is Jn 12: 38-41, because of the way in which it links material from different parts of the book of Isaiah.

creative action; the concern with the role of a servant. All these themes have no obvious parallel in the earlier chapters.

6. Until a decade or so ago these considerations were generally regarded as sufficient to justify treating the book of Isaiah as two, or three, separate and unconnected blocks of material. Some of the points made by historical critics may be less securely based than might at first sight appear; in particular their tendency to treat poetry as if it had precise reference to historical events can give a false sense of security. We shall note this particularly when we look at the 'Babylonian' chapters, 40—55. Nevertheless the substance of their work has not been challenged. Yet despite this, the agenda of Isaiah studies has changed dramatically, so that a recent survey of such studies can speak of 'the current focus' of scholarly attention being 'the final form of the book of Isaiah as a whole' (Sweeney 1993: 141), an issue barely touched on in most historical-critical work.

10. All the ancient testimony, therefore, points to Isaiah as being one book. It seems improbable, though the possibility cannot be totally ruled out, that that oneness consists simply in the bringing together of wholly disparate blocks of material, a merely accidental juxtaposition. Again, such theories as those which propose that the shortage of material in exile led to the reuse of existing scrolls, or that the prophet called Deutero-Isaiah was actually named Isaiah, and so had his work linked with that of his illustrious forebear and namesake, reflect more on the ingenuity of those who propose them than on any historical likelihood. There are, indeed, certain features which recur throughout the whole book of I saiah (the characteristic description of God as 'the Holy One of Israel' is a case in point), which also make any suggestion of mere accidental linkage a most unlikely one. We are left with the conclusion that, though an authorial unity of the book of Isaiah, in the sense of it all going back to one individual, is most unlikely, there is a real sense in which we may view it as a redactional unity, that is, a work which has been brought together as a deliberately structured whole. It is to the nature and purpose of that redaction that much recent scholarly attention has been devoted.

7. A number of reasons for this shift can be put forward, but it may be helpful at the very outset to distinguish between two basic approaches, each concerned with the final form of the book. One approach looks for its unity in and through the circumstances in which it developed. It will envisage an Isaiah 'tradition' or a 'school', and seek to discern some basic elements holding the whole block of material together through differing historical circumstances. The other regards the concerns of this kind of historical approach as largely illusory; what we have is a book, so let us treat it as a book, regardless of the particular circumstances which are alleged to have led to its composition. We read and can appreciate a classic novel without enquiring into the background of its composition; similarly, it is argued, Isaiah can be read as a whole without exploring what are regarded as irrelevant details. There are obvious differences, for Isaiah is mainly poetry, without any storyline. Nevertheless certain basic themes run through the whole book which are of intrinsic importance.

11. Was there a School of Disciples? One theory which has been a good deal discussed in recent years is that Isaiah's own words were gathered together and handed down by his disciples over a period of perhaps two or three centuries. Some of those disciples, it is argued, were among those exiled to Babylon, and they included among them the great poet who came to be known as Deutero-Isaiah, who was responsible for chs. 40—55 of our present book. There are certain clues which seem to favour this line of interpretation. 8:16 is a difficult verse, but a typical translation is that of NRSV 'Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples.' (For other ways of understanding this verse, see the commentary.) Various scholars have supposed that this is an indication of the beginning ofa process thatlasted atleast 200 years. Eaton, for example, detects a 'definite connection of master and disciples with the centre of worship (i.e. Jerusalem), yielding a disciplined succession into and beyond the exile' (Eaton 1982: 59). On this view there was a clearly structured tradition, owing its origin to the historical Isaiah of the eighth century (sometimes rather misleadingly described as T saiah of Jerusalem'), closely linked in its concerns and manner of expression with the worship of the Jerusalem temple, and reaching new theological and liturgical insights as its conviction grew that the days of exile were coming to an end (Eaton 1979. Albertz 1990: 253-5 recognizes the force of these links, but notes also that the later stages of the Isaianic tradition drew on sources other than words attributable to Isaiah himself).

8. The two approaches to which we have referred may for convenience, though with some ambiguity, be described as 'historical' and 'literary'. They seem to be radically different; whether they can be reconciled to one another, as some have claimed, must remain doubtful. In the commentary which follows more attention will be paid to the second approach, partly because it has been less prominent in commentaries on Isaiah. It is hoped, however, that the important concerns of the first approach have not been ignored.

9. There are some issues which the two views have in common. We may accept that the various parts of the book of Isaiah are diverse in their origin. What next should be examined is the fact that this heterogeneous material has been brought together into one book. In this connection we must first of all remember the unanimous testimony of the ancient witnesses to the unity of Isaiah. The book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), in the Apocrypha, refers to Isaiah in an eighth-century context, but also ascribes to him the theme of comforting 'those who mourned' (8^48:24), a clear reference to Isa 40, i.e. the later part of the book. The chronological problem is resolved by the supposition that the prophet himself 'saw the future'. That evidence comes from the second century BCE. From roughly the same period the scrolls of Isaiah from Qumran, among the earliest found and best preserved of the Dead Sea scrolls, do not reflect any division

12. The existence of such a school is certainly possible, but other scholars have not been slow to point out some of the difficulties of this view. Clements, for example, notes that we know little of how such a school of authors (for whose existence there is, in any case, no certain testimony in the book of Isaiah and no independent evidence from other sources)

435 ISAIAH

Vermeylen claims that one redactional 'layer' was a process of anti-Samaritan polemic which cannot be dated earlier than the fourth century.

would have evolved, or what kind of connection between different parts of the book is implied. His own proposal is that the material in chs. 40—55 was 'intended to develop and enlarge upon prophetic sayings from Isaiah of Jerusalem' (Clements 1985: 101). He then illustrates this point by drawing attention to a number of themes which are common to different parts of the book, in which it is possible to see a development throughout. We are in the world of redaction criticism; less interested in authors and precise historical circumstances, more concerned with the way in which particular themes and motifs developed within a specific literary tradition.

16. More recently, however, a number of studies have rejected this historical concern out of hand. These represent what we have already referred to as a 'literary' rather than a 'historical' standpoint. In this approach what we have is a piece of literature, which should be read and appreciated like other pieces of literature, without constantly breaking off to speculate about the historical circumstances from which its elements emerge, either in their original form or in the process of editing. The title of Conrad's book (1991) is significant: Reading Isaiah. Tsaiah' here clearly refers to the book; now only minimal attention is paid to the 'historical Isaiah', the eighth-century figure of whom we can in any case know very little. Indeed there is a real sense in which Isaiah becomes a fictional figure. We need not doubt that such a person did indeed exist, but it would be misleading to suppose that the book gives us access to his actual words and thoughts. But the other word in his title is also highly significant: it is the reading, and the reader who engages in that exercise, that take centre stage. For an approach of this kind it is a book to read, to savour as a piece of literature, to reflect upon its message. But this scarcely says enough. 'To reflect upon its message' may imply that there is an objective 'message' there, equally accessible to all. Much traditional interpretation of Scripture has indeed claimed just that, that it refers to something beyond itself. The emphasis on the reader, to which reference has been made, is inevitably much more subjective. For a start, it will ask: Who is the reader? Is it a man or a woman? There is much feminine imagery in Isaiah, some of it dismissive (3:16-4:1) but some of it much more positive. Sawyer (1989) offers an interesting and illuminating comparison between the 'servant of the Lord' and the 'daughter of Zion' imagery in the second half of the book. Or again: From what social and economic background does the reader come? The book speaks harshly against those who 'join house to house... until there is no more room' (5:8). One's attitude to that might differ according to whether one were involved in the property market, or were anxious to alleviate a housing shortage. Or again: What is the reader's attitude towards religious practice? Many readers of the Bible might be thought to be favourably disposed towards it; how then will they react to the fierce criticism of religious practice in 1:11-15? 17. In this kind of reading of the text not only the concerns of historical criticism, but also those of redaction criticism, are now dismissed as of no more than marginal relevance. Such an approach is a far cry from that of most traditional commentaries upon Isaiah. It is too early as yet to say whether it will become the norm, or whether it will itself be regarded as a curious sidetrack. Unclear also is the extent to which the historical and the literary approaches are totally independent of, and perhaps even hostile to, one another.

13. One important element in this development has its roots in the work of the historical critics. As we have seen, the conventional division was between chs. 1—39 and what followed, with 1-39 described as 'Isaiah of Jerusalem'. But it has long been recognized that a large part of chs. 1-39 could not simply be ascribed to the eighth-century Isaiah. Much in the foreign nations oracles (13—23) seemed to come from a period later than that of Isaiah. Chs. 24-7 betray some of the features of the apocalypses, and have usually been thought of as the latest part of the whole book. Chs. 33—4 have characteristics which again suggest a late date, while 35 has so much in common with 40-55 that it has sometimes been attributed to Deutero-Isaiah. Chs. 36-9 are substantially identical with 2 Kings 18—20, and the dependence has usually been held to be on the side of Isaiah. Detailed critical study, therefore, has found material going back to Isaiah himself only in chs. 1-12 and 28-32.

14. Even in those chapters, however, the tendency has been to discern a radical process of development. Kaiser at the outset of his commentary makes it clear that only 'the earliest prophecies, contained in chs. 28-31, should be identified with sayings of Isaiah' (Kaiser 1983: 2). The remainder of this material only began to be collected in the fifth century, that is, at a time later than the traditional date for DeuteroIsaiah! Vermeylen engaged in a detailed study of the stages by which the book reached its present form, and suggested that the influence of those responsible for chs. 56—66 can also be traced in 1-39, again reversing the conventional order of composition (Vermeylen 1977-8: 757). The subtitle of Vermeylen's work gives a good indication of his view of the process of composition: Tsai'e I—XXXV, miroir d'un demimillenaire d'experience religieuse en Israel'. An analogous approach is that of Ackroyd (1987), who examines some of the issues involved in the gradual development of the complete book of Isaiah, and then goes on to look in greater detail at chs. 1-12, in which he is able to discern 'the presentation of a prophet'—the reflection of a later generation on how the ideal prophetic figure should be delineated.

15. The above studies, and others that could be listed, retain something of a historical concern, but with a difference. Whereas in earlier writings questions of historicity related to the amount of material which could plausibly be traced back to Isaiah himself and the circumstances of the eighth century, now the historical concerns are those relating to the process of redaction and editing. Kaiser, for example, sees much of Isa 1-39 as an attempt to come to terms with and offer a satisfactory explanation for the downfall of Judah and the exile of its leading citizens in the sixth century. In a comparable way

18. However that may be, it will be clear from the above brief survey that many of the questions habitually raised in introductions of this kind no longer seem to be as central as once they were. As recently as 1989, the excellent commentary by J. Jensen and W H. Irwin on Isa 1-39 in

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the NJB C began with a section devoted to 'The Prophet and his Times', outlining the history of Judah in the last third of the eighth century and placing the activity and oracles of Isaiah within that context. Such an approach has become steadily more difficult, and will not be attempted here. It is likely that the final redactors of the book of Isaiah drew on something akin to our present 2 Kings as one of their sources, and the modern reader who wishes to find out how much we can know about Judah in the second half of the eighth century BCE must do the same. By the time that Isaiah reached its final form the time of the monarchy, the pre-exilic period, was a distant memory.

(Ch. i) provides a good illustration of the way in which interest in the literary structure of the whole has replaced some of the older historical questions. It concludes (v. 31) with a reference to the burning of those who trust in their own strength, in a fire which cannot be 'quenched' (Heb. root: k-b-h). This relatively rare word is also found in the last verse of the whole book (66:24: 'their fire shall not be quenched'), linking together beginning and ending of the book. But it is also used of the servant in 42:3, of whom it is said, by contrast, that 'a dimly burning wick he will not quench'. Again, the fire devouring Edom will be quenched (34:10), and those who oppose the LORD'S path are 'quenched like a wick' (43:17). It is obviously possible that these uses are coincidental, but even if that were true the reader is surely invited to see and reflect upon this linkage. It will be noted, of course, that the five examples which have been given take in all three of the parts into which Isaiah has customarily been divided.

19. That is not to say that little or nothing of what has been preserved for us in the final form of the book goes back to Isaiah himself. Rather, it implies that the process of editing and shaping the collection of material, and then the composition of a completed book, gives us a different perspective, one which stretches over several centuries of the growth and development of the Jerusalem community. It has the simple practical consequence for this commentary that the word Tsaiah' will, unless otherwise stated, refer to the book rather than to the figure of an individual. (Indeed the paucity of references to Isaiah as an individual within his book is striking; there are 16 such references, compared with more than 130 to Jeremiah in the book that bears his name (Conrad 1991: 34). It also means that more attention than has been usual will be paid to linkages within the whole of Isaiah, the sense in which the whole book is a unity. As has already been made clear, that need not have any implication that the individual Isaiah son of Amoz was not himself responsible for particular sayings; it does emphasize the clearly patterned overall structure of the book. For believers in particular the question may become acute. Is their concern as they approach the book of Isaiah a desire to find out the underlying historical circumstances of each part of the book, and to discover a specific point of reference—historical, doctrinal, ethical—in each passage? Or is it rather to come to the text as literature and let it speak to them as a 'holy text' ?

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