Book Review: “Reformation Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament IX- Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs”

The Reformation Commentary on Scripture series from InterVarsity Press is an impressive collection of commentaries that feature a wide range of voices from the Reformation period giving insight into biblical texts. The latest volume I got was Old Testament IX: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. I was particularly excited for this volume both because I quite enjoy the books of the Bible it is discussing and because commentary on these books often varies wildly depending upon one’s background beliefs and theological stances.

Proverbs- a book that is confusing for many commentators through history, especially given its sometimes contradictory advice (eg. whether to debate the fool in Proverbs 26:4-5). What are we supposed to do with the book? Reformation commentators varied in their thoughts on the book, too. For example, Peter Moffett, an English clergyman, states that the book is simply a collection of “certain general, short, and pithy sayings, used…. in every person’s mouth” (7). By contrast, Michael Cop, a Swiss Protestant pastor, argued that the book is indeed wisdom that teaches Christ (ibid). The “Proverbs 31 woman” is a popular trope taken by many Christians today to present the model woman. Reformation commentators varied on the meaning of Proverbs 31’s teachings about a woman, including praising women for being strong not just physically but also mentally (John Trapp, an Anglican exegete, 201), considering the passage as showing how rare it is to find a woman with such insight or properties as a kind of backhanded tribute (Michel Cop, 198-199) and, intriguingly, an admonishment against useless and foolish husbands (Cop again, 201). Still more insights include seeing the passage not as an ideal woman but an abstract praising of “womanly arts” that makes it more of an empowering passage than an ideal women must live up to (Lucrezia Marinella, a Venetian poet and writer). Indeed the whole section on this Proverbs 31 passage is worth close reading and consideration.

Ecclesiastes- I’ll not spend as much time reviewing this, but it is interesting to see what the various commentators say about individual passages. I don’t like rushing past this book, which is a favorite of mine, but with limited time for review, suffice to say that the insights are just as fascinating as those in Proverbs.

Song of Songs- one of the more uniquely interpreted books of the Bible both then and now. Reformation theologians saw the book in varied lights. Martin Luther, for example, saw the book as a celebration of the ideal political order (305-306). Others saw it as allegory for love of the Holy Spirit for the church (Francois Lambert, a French Reformed theologian, 304). Others saw it as even more figurative, such as Calvin’s reading of the book as “a figural representation of Christ’s reign” (207). Desiderius Erasmus, famous opponent of Luther and Catholic theologian, was keen to defend the Bible from any kind of sexual impropriety while also arguing the book is not an allegory of the Virgin Mary (304-305, 307). While the allegorical readings were very popular, some theologians still saw it simply as showing the “veiled intimacies of marriage” (eg. Hugo Grotius, a Dutch lawyer and humanist, 313-314). The rest of the discussion of the book is just as interesting, showing an intriguing line that the interpreters walked between attempting to find comfort from the blatant sexual language in allegory while also acknowledging it in their use of allegory. One interesting example is Henry Ainsworth (an English Puritan Hebraist) whose interpretation of Song of Songs 4:4-5 which explicitly praises the breasts of the woman writes that breasts are for “ornament and use” while immediately turning it to being about God and the Church–“So here the ‘breasts’ of Christ’s spouse are compared to ‘roes’ for pleasantness, to ‘fawns’… This signifies how the church is fruitful in good works and words of comfort…” (377). This kind of blunt speaking of the sexual language of the text and immediately re-interpreting it as allegory is common throughout the Reformation period, though there are a few exceptions.

Old Testament IX: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs is an insightful, fascinating look at some of the books of the Bible with the most varied histories of interpretation. I recommend it for readers interested in Reformation theology but also for those who just want some insight into these fascinating, oft-contentious books of the Bible.

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