My Perfect One by Jonathan Kaplan

My Perfect One by Jonathan Kaplan

Most studies of the history of interpretation of Song of Songs focus on its interpretation from late antiquity to modernity. In My Perfect One, Jonathan Kaplan examines earlier rabbinic interpretation of this work by investigating an underappreciated collection of works of rabbinic literature from the first few centuries of the Common Era, known as the tannaitic midrashim. In a departure from earlier scholarship that too quickly classified rabbinic interpretation of Song of Songs as allegorical, Kaplan advocates a more nuanced understanding of the approach of the early sages, who read Song of Songs employing typological interpretation in order to correlate Scripture with exemplary events in Israel's history. Throughout the book Kaplan explores ways in which this portrayal helped shape a model vision of rabbinic piety as well as an idealized portrayal of their beloved, God, in the wake of the destruction, dislocation, and loss the Jewish community experienced in the first two centuries of the Common Era. The archetypal language of Song of Songs provided, as Kaplan argues, a textual landscape in which to imagine an idyllic construction of Israel's relationship to her beloved, marked by mutual devotion and fidelity. Through this approach to Song of Songs, the Tannaim helped lay the foundations for later Jewish thought of a robust theology of intimacy in God's relationship with the Jewish people.

Highly focused and erudite, Kaplan's work is to be commended for providing insight into a heretofore underdeveloped area of research* Joshua Madden, Reading Religion *
Kaplan's book is a fine study of an important and engaging subject. It highlights a beautiful body of texts from a pivotal moment in not only Jewish history but the history of biblical exegesis broadly speaking. * Laura Suzanne Lieber, Reviews of the Enoch Seminar *
[Kaplan] argues cohesively for a necessary window of discussion in the development of rabbinic interpretation of Song of Songs, which fits into a larger framework for readers of rabbinics to see the tannaitic period as innovative not only in the realm of law but also in theological development. * Daniel Rosenberg, H-Net Reviews *

Jonathan Kaplan is Assistant Professor at University of Texas at Austin.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780199359332
ISBN 10	0199359334
Title	My Perfect One
Author	Jonathan Kaplan
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Oxford University Press Inc
Year published	2015-09-24
Number of pages	244
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.