Christian and Jewish Exegesis of Song of Songs

The Song of Songs has a central role in Jewish and Christian self-understanding with respect to God’s relationship to his people. However, the degree to which Christian and Jewish accounts of the Song of Songs coincide and diverge in light of the heightened attention given to this work in the past several decades is an area that has largely gone unexplored.

In order to provide new insight into the central role of this text within each of these traditions,  First Things senior editor David Goldman recently organized a collaborative exercise in exegesis with two of the most qualified scholars in the field: Prof. Shalom Carmy, head of Bible Studies and Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University, and Prof. Paul Griffiths, Warren Professor of Theology at Duke University and author of the Song of Songs volume of the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible .

(Note: We apologize for the audio quality. You may need to turn up the volume on your speakers in order to hear it.)