Commentary on Song of Songs

by John F. Brug

Publisher:

Northwestern Publishing House

, 1995

Overview

The Song of Songs is one of the most challenging books in the Bible. The Song is filled with so many rare Hebrew words that it is sometimes hard to make sense of the sentences, but the book of Job has even more rare words and hapax legomena. There is considerable difference of opinion about the outline and the divisions of the Song, but it is equally hard to connect the verses in Proverbs or the chapters in Psalms. There is, however, no other book for which there is such basic disagreement about the theme and topic of the book as there is for the Song of Songs. What is the book about? Is it primarily about the love of woman and man, or is it about the love of God and his people? The Song is so difficult, on so many levels, that it has been compared to a lock for which the key has been lost.

John F. Brug's Commentary on Song of Songs is a solid, well-researched, and practical commentary based on the Hebrew text. Brug approaches Song of Songs with a literal and an allegorical interpretation—in its interpretation of the text this commentary presents the insights and applications of both of these approaches to the Song. In each section it begins with a literal interpretation of the text, followed by the application of its statements both to male-female love and divine-human love. In order to grasp the depth of this wonderful book of the Bible, Brug convinces that both approaches are needed: "The Song originated not in a pagan society, but among God’s people. More specifically, it was given to them by the God who is love. As we study this Song we will ponder the mystery and beauty of love between man and woman, but our sight will also rise above this to the love of God and His people." This is a concise commentary that you will refer to time and time again.

The entire Hebrew text of the Song is included with the author's own translation, and with the Logos Bible Software edition all Scripture passages in John F. Brug's Commentary on Song of Songs are tagged and appear on mouse-over. What’s more, Scripture references are linked to the Hebrew texts and to the wealth of language resources in your digital library. This makes these resources more powerful and easier to access than ever before for scholarly work or personal Bible study. With the advanced search features of Logos Bible Software, you can perform powerful searches by topic or Scripture reference—finding, for example, every mention of “love,” or “marriage.”

Key Features

• Hebrew text of the Song of Songs included
• Thorough introduction covering authorship, style, structure, history of interpretation, and more
• Study questions provided by the author—great for sermon and classroom preparation

Praise for the Print Edition

. . . .the best at combining the theological-pastoral dimensions that I continually consult and recommend.

—R. Todd Stanton, Adelaide College of Ministries, Adelaide, Australia

Product Details

• Title: Commentary on Song of Songs
• Author: John F. Brug
• Publisher: Northwestern Publishing House
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 96

About John F. Brug

John F. Brug has a Ph.D. in ancient Semitic languages and archaeology from the Center for Ancient Studies of the University of Minnesota. Using this knowledge, Brug participated in excavations at Tel Michal, Tel Gerisa, and Jaffa, Israel.

Brug taught Old Testament, Psalms, Christian Doctrine, and Church Fellowship at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for more than thirty years. He also taught short-term at six other seminaries around the world and served as a professor at Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota, from 1978 to 1983. He retired from teaching in 2015.

In addition to his academic contributions, Brug served as a parish pastor from 1971 to 1978, organizing three mission congregations in western Pennsylvania.

More recently, Brug served as the General Editor and Old Testament Editor of the Wartburg Project. He has also served as the editor of Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly for more than twenty years. Brug lives in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, with his wife Irene.