Solomon's Vineyard: Literary and Linguistic Studies in the Song of Songs

Noegel (Biblical and ancient Near Eastern Studies, University of Washington) and Rendsburg (Jewish history, Rutgers University) put forth the proposal that the Bible book, "The Song of Songs" was written about 900 BCE, in the northern dialect of ancient Hebrew. They further believe that it was written by one person and may have been in response to what was seen as excesses by King Solomon. To support their argument, they examine the Song word by word, noting linguistic anomalies. They dissect it in terms of alliterative style, literary conventions and similarities to Arabic poetic forms. The work is meticulous and carefully footnoted as is the translation that is appended to the text. The Society of Biblical Literature publishes the paperbound edition; Brill publishes the hardbound. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)