My perfect one: typology and early Rabbinic interpretation of Song of Songs

The Interpretations Of 'song Of Songs' In The Tannaitic Midrashim, The First Rabbinic Scriptural Commentaries, Employ A Form Of Allegory Known As Figural Interpretation Or Typology In Order To Correlate This Work To Israel's Ideal National Narrative Represented By Events Such As The Crossing Of The Sea And The Giving Of The Torah. This Approach To Interpreting 'song Of Songs' Helped Shape Rabbinic Conceptions Of The Character And Practice Of Model Israel As Well As Of An Idealised Vision Of Their Beloved, God. Song Of Songs As A Divine Love Song -- Song Of Songs And Tannaitic Literature -- Allegory, Mashal, Or Figuration?: Song Of Songs In Early Rabbinic Interpretation -- Song Of Songs And Israel's National Narrative -- Female Beauty And The Affective Nature Of Rabbinic Piety -- Israel's Ideal Man -- Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder? Domesticating The Elusive Lover Of Song Of Songs. Jonathan Kaplan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.