AOTC 16: Ecclesiastes & The Song of Songs

For Daniel Fredericks, allowing the thematic words and phrases of
Ecclesiastes to speak with their Hebrew voices demonstrates its affinity with
the breadth of Old Testament legal, poetic, wisdom and prophetic writings as
well as the teachings of Christ and the apostles. Ecclesiastes is found in the
canon of Scripture because it plays a significant role in a cumulative theology
of the Old and New Testaments. The beautiful and mysterious lyrics of
the Song of Songs have prompted a wide range of interpretations. Daniel Estes
reads the ancient song cycle in terms of its literary genre as Hebrew poetry.
By attending carefully to the literary features of the text, he seeks to remain
sensitive to the emotions that the poet desired to express and to reproduce in
the reader. At the same time, he endeavours to hear the echoes of the Song as
they resonate within the larger context of the biblical canon, and to suggest
how its prominent theme of the nurture of intimacy can be applied to life
today. The Bible is both the inspired word of God for his people,
whether in biblical times or for the church today, and a fully human book,
written in a variety of cultural settings. The Apollos Old Testament Commentary
aims to take with equal seriousness the divine and human aspects of Scripture.
(= 0830825150 / 9780830825158)Authors: Daniel C. Fredericks and Daniel
J. Estes.Series: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, volume
16.