The Scribal Pen

Book Reviews Becoming Obselete?

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:07:14 -0400

Book Reviews Becoming Obselete? : This is an interesting discussion about the relevance of book...

Celebrating Associate Clergy Persons

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:30:05 -0400

Celebrating Associate Clergy Persons: The above link is to a compact unit I wrote for the African...

Daniel Fleming Video Lecture(s) on Ancient Israel

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:30:05 -0500

Daniel Fleming Video Lecture(s) on Ancient Israel: Yesterday as I was surfing the net, I came across...

OT Introduction and Thoughts about Introductions in General

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:30:05 -0500

OT Introduction and Thoughts about Introductions in General: On March 1, Fortress Press will release...

A Hostile Relationship? Israelite and Canaanite Religion

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:14:00 -0500

A few months ago, I gave a quick overview about the book, “Religious Diversity and Ancient Israel...

Greetings fellow readers (if you’re still there)! I am...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:04:44 -0500

Greetings fellow readers (if you’re still there)! I am back in the saddle. On my last post, I told you I was getting married on December 25th and needed to take some time away from blogging to adjust to my new life. All is well. I have married my best friend! Our honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico was fabulous. Lots of rest, relaxation and enjoying each other.

Much has happened in the scholarly world during my 45 day-long hiatus. Also, there are a few things on my mind I want to talk about. So stay close!

In honor of my recent marriage, I have posted a picture of my wife and I after the wedding ceremony.

Kind regards,

Ramone

To my followers: As some of you know, I am getting married to...

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:17:10 -0500

To my followers:

As some of you know, I am getting married to a wonderful woman on December 24th in Birmingham, Alabama. Also, I am finishing up some writing for my Ph.D. supervisor, which I am trying to complete before my wedding. Therefore, I will not be posting any more blog entries until the second week in January 2012. My January 2012 blog entries will begin with me talking about my wedding and honeymoon. After that, I will get back to Hebrew Bible topics. In celebration of my upcoming wedding, I have posted a picture of my soon-to-be wife (Eva) and I.

Happy Advent, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ramone Raschad Billingsley

More on Getting Published

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:09:13 -0500

More on Getting Published: In the link above, Kwok Pui Lan blogs about her thoughts from a SBL...

Biblical Research on "Satan"

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:59:00 -0500

Biblical Research on "Satan": Recently, someone sent me an e-mail asking about Hebrew Bible...

Academic Publishing Lessons from John Byron and Stanley Porter

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:51:52 -0500

Academic Publishing Lessons from John Byron and Stanley Porter: Since starting research for my Ph.D....

Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah—Initial Thoughts

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:04:53 -0500

Yesterday, I received a book I ordered entitled, “Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and...

Scrivener and Writing

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:38:07 -0500

Scrivener and Writing: Finding the right writing software to plan my writing projects has been a...

RIGHT IN THE THROES OF MEETING DEADLINES

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:32:00 -0500

Well today is Wednesday, November 16th and it is a good day! Yesterday I did not blog about...

A Jewish feminist Scholar's Thoughts on Bible and Sexuality

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:32:06 -0500

A Jewish feminist Scholar's Thoughts on Bible and Sexuality: Amy-Jill Levine, a renown...

Among the images used to describe human sexuality within the...

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:28:00 -0500

Among the images used to describe human sexuality within the Song of Song are the images of creation. Creation is described as a witness to the ways in which human love and sexuality are portrayed. Also, it is a means by which the lovers experience each other.

For example, the beloved is described as a garden/vineyard (4:12-13) that produces choice fruit. In 7:12, the lover takes his beloved to the vineyard in order to give his love to her. The beloved describes her lover as an apple tree among the trees of the wood to compare the lover to other young men (2:3). Using the imagery from the animal kingdom, the beloved describes the strength and vitality of her lover with the image of a gazelle (2:9). In 5:1 (English), the lover invites the beloved to his garden to watch him play with spices, honey, wine and milk.

The point here is that human love and sexuality is not something experienced in isolation. It is an experience that is celebrated by all of creation. One could dare to say, that aspects of creation help to heighten the experience of human sexuality.

The above picture is a portrait by the artist He Qi. Dr. He Qi is a Chinese artist whose work is celebrated in many parts of the world. The picture here is a scene from the Song of Song. Of particular importance are the creation images he uses to capture the ways in which creation celebrates and participates in the lovers’ sexuality.

Shalom!

RRB

Desire and Lovesickness: A Stanza from An Egyptian Love Song

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:21:00 -0500

The subject of “desire” is a well-known topic discussed among scholars studying the Song of Song...

Scholars Discussing The Song of Song

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:22:30 -0500

Scholars Discussing The Song of Song: This is a YouTube clip of some scholars from University of...

Song of Song: Love Poetry and the Ancient World In reading the...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:32:04 -0500

Song of Song: Love Poetry and the Ancient World

In reading the Song of Song, it is clear that its genre is unique within the Hebrew Bible. By genre, I am referring to its categorization as a type of literature. For instance, stories in books such as Genesis, Samuel, Kings, etc., are all narrative books. We categorize these books as such, because they contain all the elements of narratives: characters, plot, and point of view. Poetic books express ideas in parallel lines where the thought in the first line is complement, contrasted, or expanded in a second or third line. In addition, poetry also makes extensive use of metaphors.

Although the Song has narrative-like elements, it is poetry not narrative. But, its poetry is not like Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes or the Psalms. It is unique among Poetic books because it is love poetry. Along the way, some group decided to include this hot, lusty, and romantic book into the Canon of Scripture. Of course, this did not happen without debate.

In order to understand the Song as love poetry, scholars have compared the Song to extant love poetry in the ancient world. Among the scholars worthy of mention are Michael Fox. His book, “The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Song” is a classic in this regard. Fox, through comparative methods, has compared the Song of Song to Egyptian love poetry. The results of his study allow readers to note the shared characteristics of love poetry within the ancient world. One of the main characteristics shared between ancient love poetry and the Song is that of dialogue.

The two lovers in the Song enter into a dialogue about their desires. They describe each other’s effect on them as well as describe how they appear to each other physically. An important observation in this regard is that the female initiates the dialogue and thus starts the path of igniting desire for both of them. However, a major difference between ancient love poetry and the Song is the absence of metaphors of God (although this has been challenged in some respective by others).

For instance, look at this line from “The Crossing,” which is an Egyptian love poem. This is the female voice speaking to her lover. Notice the ways in which she invites her love to experience her desire. Also, note how she describe him in the opening line:

“My god, my lotus….

The north wind [blows]

Pleasant it is to go to reach [the river]

…breath…

…flower…

My heart desires to go down

To bathe myself before you,

That I may show you my beauty

In a tunic of the finest royal linen,

Which is drenched in tisps-oil,

[my hair plaited] in reeds.

I’ll go down to the water with you,

And come out to you carrying a red fish,

Which is just right in my fingers.

I’ll set it before you,

While lo[oking upon your beauty.

O my he]ro, my brother,

Come, look upon me!

(Translation taken from Michael Fox “The Song of Songs and Ancient Egyptian Love Poetry)

Untamed Passion and Otherness: A Reading of Song of Song 1:2-8

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:37:06 -0400

Today’s post is longer than I had planned. However, I hope you enjoy this post as I think through...

The Song of Song, Eroticism, and Subversion

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:31:06 -0400

Perhaps I should not confess this but I will. Out of all the traditions in the Hebrew Bible, wisdom...