One of the most beautiful and mysterious books of the Bible is laid open for all to understand in this unparalleled work by Dr. Craig Glickman. With apparent ease, Glickman unveils the mysteries of the Song of Solomon in a popular-read format. But the surface simplicity is backed up by a lifetime of study and scholarship, three special appendices, and interpretive notes that validate his interpretation. Also included is a fresh translation of the Song published in this book for the first time. Initial readers of this book offer resounding praise. This book is "the most fascinating book I have ever read about the Song," says Dr. Henry Cloud. Old Testament scholars praise it as an academic breakthrough: "clear, cogent, and convincing," says Dr. Eugene Merrill; "a valuable contribution to our translation and understanding of the Song," says Ed Blum, general editor of the HCSB translation. Dr. Paul Meier sums it up in these words, "Craig weaves thousands of years of wisdom together to paint a vivid word picture of emotional and sexual intimacy."

Rabbi Akiba is famously reported to have said, 'Heaven forbid that any one in Israel ever disputed that the Song of Songs is holy, for the whole world is not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies'. This book is an extended elaboration of Rabbi Akiba's statement. It argues that the Song is a Hellenistic composition, drawing on the resources of ancient Near Eastern erotic poetry and characterized by a complex though fragile unity. Through the metaphors, the lovers progressively see themselves reflected in each other, as well as in the world about them and the poetry of love. The poem celebrates the land of Israel in spring, an ideal humanity, and a perfected language. It culminates in the contestation of love and death, and the assertion that only love survives the exigencies of time. The pervasive ambiguity of the Song, in which one never quite knows what happens, is related to the ambivalence of beauty, which is closely related to ugliness. Hence the surrealist imagery of the Song verges upon the grotesque and stretches the resources of our imagination. Through a detailed comparison with the Garden of Eden story, Landy argues that the Song is a vision of paradise seen from the outside, through the ironic poetic gaze, in a world potentially hostile or indifferent.

In unrivalled poetic language, the Song of Songs explores the whole range of emotions experienced by its two lovers as they work out their commitment to each other, consummated in marriage. The Song's powerful and unabashed affirmation of love, loyalty and earthy sexuality is urgently relevant today, when commercialised eroticism is in, and permanency in relationships is out. Tom Gledhill argues that beauty, intimacy and sexual consummation are to be celebrated, but not as ends in themselves. Rather, the point to another world, another dimension, only occasionally and dimly perceived. God has chose the love of a man and a woman as an image of his own love of his people.

The Book of First Kings 4:32 says that Solomon wrote 1005 songs. A song is poetry like the Psalms that were sung to bring forth a message from God. God deemed this song important enough to keep it in His manual, the Bible. The Books of First and Second Samuel are the historical books of David, but His love and emotions for God were written in his Psalms. Likewise, the Book of Revelation is a historical book of the bride of Christ, but the Song of Solomon is the love and emotions of Christ and His bride. This book is being published at the same time as Revelation to be companion books with the same overview. God desired a people who would be adopted into His kingdom. Christ would redeem every person who would acknowledge the plan of God to become children of the Most High God. The Bible was inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16). The Book of Song of Solomon shows the love of the Lord Jesus to His bride, the Church, who is called Shulamite. Shulamite in Hebrew is the feminine noun for Solomon. Solomon in Hebrew is shalom meaning peace unto wholeness. This wholeness comes from a relationship with the Lord which is offered to everyone, male or female, Jewish or Gentile (non-Jewish). Do not think of Solomon in this book as the king, for he too is a believer in the Lord, so therefore He too can be the Shulamite. This is not a picture of Solomons love for a woman, but instead the story of how Solomon came to love the Lord and grow spiritually throughout His life. Both Books (Revelation and Song of Solomon) are actually a symbolic picture of the Ancient Jewish Wedding. The bride is the Church, and therefore, seen as female, yet we know that God is identified as being present in both male and female. Therefore, Solomon is writing as a believer growing in his walk with the Lord. Song of Solomon, like all books in the Old Testament, point to Jesus. It cant be about Solomon and his love for a woman; IT HAS TO BE ABOUT JESUS. Therefore, it shows how a believer grows in their relationship with Jesus. The Jewish wedding takes us from the first time we see Jesus in the spirit and are engaged (salvation) to the time we see Jesus face to face in marriage (our resurrection) to the time we return with Christ to rule and reign as His wife (Millennium) to the time we live in the new heaven and earth (eternity). The intention of this book is to experience in the spirit the life of the believer growing in our knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ.

This original commentary foregrounds at every turn the poetic genius of the Song of Songs, one of the most elusive texts of the Hebrew Bible. J. Cheryl Exum locates that genius in the way the Song not only tells but shows its readers that love is strong as death, thereby immortalizing love, as well as in the way the poet explores the nature of love by a mature sensitivity to how being in love is different for the woman and the man. Many long-standing conundrums in the interpretation of the book are offered persuasive solutions in Exum's verse by verse exegesis. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

In addition to a careful analysis of text, form, and structure, Keel focuses on the metaphorical and symbolic language of this scholarly work, making full use of parallels from Egypt, Palestine, and Mesopotamia, and providing readers with the full symbolism of ancient Near Eastern art. More than 160 illustrations and photos help illuminate the interpretation.

The Song of Songs is a profoundly mysterious poem. It is both deeply spiritual and dangerously sensual. It has puzzled and delighted readers and scholars for hundreds of years, being translated more than any other part of the Bible. Christopher Kelly takes a new approach, uncovering a miraculously complex structure in the Song. Understanding this structure is the key to the Song's lock, opening the door on a true love story. It is the searing narrative of one vulnerable girl's devotion and her sexual and spiritual growth into a woman. Her forbidden passion for the boy, her 'king, ' forces her to arrange a series of secret trysts that grow riskier and riskier as the poem progresses. The Song has the timeless qualities of Romeo and Juliet, with all the excitement and jeopardy such love entails. It also manages to speak to modern issues such as sex, spirituality and feminism. Enjoy the Song again for the first time.

Christopher West makes John Paul II's theology of the body available for the first time to people at all levels within the Christian community. Love, sexuality, and human flourishing are inseparable. Those who doubted this will find West's book a transforming experience, and those who have been wounded will find liberation and peace. A wonderful education on the meaning of being human. Christopher West teaches the theology of the body and sexual ethics at St John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. He is also visiting faculty member of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Melbourne, Australia.

Now, in The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in the Garden, author and artist Debra Band presents a breathtakingly beautiful illuminated work in which these two lines of interpretation are harmonized within a stunning visual context.