All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. Song of Songs 3:1 NIV Did not find – There is little doubt that the erotic poem of Song of Songs has caused consternation among translators and commentators. Read as tongue-in-cheek intimations, it…
How fair you are, how beautiful! O Love, with all its raptures! Song of Songs 7:7 JPS Its – Does the second part of this verse sound a bit strange to you? The man begins with something we can easily understand. He thinks his lover is incredibly beautiful. But instead of “O love, with all…
And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? Mark 4:13 NASB How will you understand – What motivates people to become enthralled with mystical approaches to the Bible? What causes them to start reading the text as if it is code for some hidden secret?…
Oh, give me the kisses of your mouth for your love is more delightful than wine. Song of Songs 1:2 JPS Kisses – It’s almost commonplace among critical scholars to point out the misuse of the text when the Song of Songs is treated as a theological description of Christ and the Bride-Church. Various passages…
My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh lodging between my breasts. Song of Songs 1:13 (Tremper Longman III in NICOT) Breasts – But, of course, it can’t mean mammary glands! The Bible would never actually say anything about a man putting his head between the breasts of a woman, especially a woman who…
