Illuminating Love. The Reception of the Song of Songs and the Role of Authority in Syriac Biblical Interpretation

Love is the central theme of Song of Songs, unparalleled among biblical books in its portrayal of passion and sexual desire. It was because of that romantic nature that Song of Songs’ place among Early Christian holy texts was contested, and attitudes to the Song ranged from outright rejection  to admiration and figurative interpretation.  Ancient and medieval Syriac Christian texts offer especially rich examples of this interpretative diversity. Yet while the reception of the Song in Greek and Latin Christianity has been amply studied, this is hardly the case for Syriac Christianity. This project will therefore present the first extensive and detailed study of the Song’s reception among Syriac biblical interpreters. It will focus on several larger textual corpora devoted to the Song as well as on occasional references to the Song in other Syriac texts.

The project will examine what authority interpreters attached to the Song and take into account their views of King Solomon – known in Antiquity for his many romances and authorship of the Song – to better understand their interpretations of the Song. Also, the project will provide insight into the role of compilation texts in the creation and transmission of authoritative interpretations of the Song. In this way, the project will contribute to the study of Syriac Christian biblical interpretation and the study of the Song’s reception history. Moreover, it will shed light on how texts claimed, received and lost authority.