The Song of Solomon

The inherent problem with a single volume commentary for Song of Solomon in an introductory series is that there are too many words per verse. While a book like Genesis feels constrained by space, this volume would probably have benefited by inclusion with Ecclesiastes. Dr. Carr does a clever job of using this space by including what he called Subject Studies on the Garden, Love, Beloved and Wine before beginning his commentary on the text. Combined with a solid introduction especially on the type of literature represented by the Song and its interpretation through history, this book gets off to a fine start. It is the commentary that sometimes becomes too much of a word by word study for the beginner. While there are many rare words in the text, at times it simply seems to delve too deep into the Hebrew. Regardless this is a book worth reading, just be prepared for the Hebrew analysis.

Carr’s volume is another popular-level commentary, but one that has a lot of scholarly research behind it. He takes that non-allegorical approach and writes with concision. Jim Rosscup commends Carr’s scholarship but also says he is “lucid in his lengthy introduction, statement of theme (two people celebrating a literal love relationship), and verse-by-verse commenting.” [Full Review]

Lloyd Carr's contribution to the Tyndale series of commentaries is a very helpful work on the Song of Solomon. Like Gledhill, Carr takes a non-allegorical approach to the book, and provides numerous insights. [Full Review]

Evangelical discussion of this book as love poetry. [Full Review]