Commentary: On the Song of Songs

Although it is clear that Se‘adya Ga’on composed a Judeo-Arabic translation and commentary on Song of Songs, this allegorical and midrashic commentary is thought to be a later expansion of Se‘adya’s ideas, or perhaps even an elaboration of his lost commentary. Many concepts in this work do, in fact, echo Se‘adya’s confirmed writings, but some of the biblical translations are inconsistent with his, and there are additions by a later author who was probably from Yemen. Here, the writer understands Song of Songs 1:16–17 and 4:10 to refer to historical events in earlier biblical history. Interpreting Song of Songs in this manner has deep roots in rabbinic midrash and the Aramaic Targum of the Song of Songs.