April 27, 2011 – Songs 7-8

The book I talked about yesterday is by a priest named Father Roland E. Murphy.  He died in 2002 and was known for being a great teacher of the Old Testament.  The book is called “Seven Books of Wisdom” and is from 1960.  As with some other times before, I am just going to quote some from his book about what we are reading today.  The book has been very insightful so far and I look forward to digging into it some more. 

“True Love (8:6-7) has never been better described than in these lines:

Set me as a seal on your heart,

as a seal on your arm;

For stern as death is love,

relentless as the nether world is devotion;

its flames are a blazing fire.

Deep waters cannot quench love,

nor floods sweep it away.

Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love,

he would be roundly mocked.

The seal, worn as it was around the neck or on the finger, aptly expresses her affection; its use for signatures and identification shows that it is a symbol for the person.  The comparison between love and death emphasizes the relentless pursuit of each for its proper object.  Nothing staves off death; neither can love be defeated by the greatest obstacles. 

Chastity and Its Welcome (8:8-10) begins with the Bride quoting what her brothers have said about her.  Once they had put her to work in the vineyards (1:6) as  a protective measure.  They are concerned about her youth and marriage prospects; she needs to be protected.  They will test her:  if she is of easy virtue (a door), they shall guard her doggedly; but if she is virtuous (a wall), they will reward her.  Her proud answer to this is that she is a wall; she has been chaste and this has made her welcome to her lover.”   Seven Books of Wisdom by Fr. Roland E. Murphy, pg. 82-83

As I am finding out as I dig into some of the writing on the Bible, I don’t know a whole lot about a whole lot.  I still enjoy reading it on my own and coming up with my own thoughts, and am very excited when something I think I have newly thought of I read later by some scholar.  It makes me think I am on the right track.  But there is a lot out there.  I am trying to read more about the Bible to supplement my reading of the Bible which I encourage everyone to do.