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OverviewMost studies of the history of interpretation of Song of Songs focus on its interpretation from late antiquity to modernity. In My Perfect One, Jonathan Kaplan examines earlier rabbinic interpretation of this work by investigating an underappreciated collection of works of rabbinic literature from the first few centuries of the Common Era, known as the tannaitic midrashim. In a departure from earlier scholarship that too quickly classified rabbinic interpretation of Song of Songs as allegorical, Kaplan advocates a more nuanced reading of the approach of the early sages, who read Song of Songs through a mode of typological interpretation concerned with the correspondence between Scripture and ideal events in Israel's history. Throughout the book Kaplan explores ways in which this portrayal helped shape a model vision of rabbinic piety as well as of an idealized vision of their beloved, God, in the wake of the destruction, dislocation, and loss the Jewish community experienced in the first two centuries of the Common Era. The archetypal and idealized language of Song of Songs provided, as Kaplan argues, a textual landscape in which to imagine an idyllic construction of Israel's relationship to her beloved, marked by mutual devotion and fidelity. Through this approach to Song of Songs, the Tannaim helped lay the foundations for later Jewish thought of a robust theology of intimacy in God's relationship with the Jewish people. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Jonathan Kaplan (Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX)Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc Dimensions: Width: 15.70cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 23.60cm Weight: 0.499kg ISBN: 9780199359332ISBN 10: 0199359334 Pages: 244 Publication Date: 24 September 2015 Audience: College/higher education , Tertiary & Higher Education , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: To order  Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us. Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations A Note on Translation and Transliteration Introduction Chapter 1 - Allegory, Mashal, or Figuration? Song of Songs in Early Rabbinic Interpretation Chapter 2 - Song of Songs and Israel's National Narrative Chapter 3 - Female Beauty and the Affective Nature of Rabbinic Piety Chapter 4 - Israel's Ideal Man Chapter 5 - Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder? Domesticating the Elusive Lover of Song of Songs Conclusion Bibliography Rabbinic Texts Non-Rabbinic Ancient Sources Secondary SourcesReviewsSong of Songs is love without carpools, in-laws, and budgets, unlike the covenanted love of obligation and loyalty in the rest of Scripture. Later Judaism read Song of Songs as expressing the relationship of God and the Jewish people, fusing intimate love with covenanted love. How did they do that, and why? Kaplan proposes a learned and sensitive answer. --David R. Blumenthal, Jay and Leslie Cohen Professor of Judaic Studies, Emory University Jonathan Kaplan has engaged both the figurative playfulness of the text and the daring probes of rabbinic tradition. In doing so he is creative enough that he has not only opened for us some of the history of interpretation, but in his bold proposals is a participant in that ongoing history of interpretation. With immense learning and discerning erudition, Kaplan shows how the Rabbis tilted the poetry toward paradigmatic reference points in Jewish history. His book is an uncommon achievement, and a forceful invitation to engage this text in awareness that 'history' is thick with possibility. --Walter Brueggemann, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary Jonathan Kaplan provides a methodologically cautious but deeply enlightening guide to the earliest interpretations of the Song of Songs as a divine love song. Readers of many backgrounds will find that his close, perceptive textual readings open a world of exegetical creativity that lies at the heart of a two-millennia love affair of profound beauty and historical significance. --Steven D. Fraade, Mark Taper Professor of the History of Judaism [Kaplan] argues cohesively for a necessary window of discussion in the development of rabbinic interpretation of Song of Songs, which fits into a larger framework for readers of rabbinics to see the tannaitic period as innovative not only in the realm of law but also in theological development. * Daniel Rosenberg, H-Net Reviews * Kaplan's book is a fine study of an important and engaging subject. It highlights a beautiful body of texts from a pivotal moment in not only Jewish history but the history of biblical exegesis broadly speaking. * Laura Suzanne Lieber, Reviews of the Enoch Seminar * Highly focused and erudite, Kaplan's work is to be commended for providing insight into a heretofore underdeveloped area of research. * Joshua Madden, Reading Religion * Author InformationJonathan Kaplan (Ph.D., Harvard University) is an Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Previously he was a Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Postdoctoral Associate in the Judaic Studies Program at Yale University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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