La lectura helenística del Cantar de los cantares

Abstract

This article examines the Septuagint version of the Song of Songs under two perspectives: as a translation from the Hebrew and in contrast to the Hellenistic erotic poetry. The analysis emphasizes the literalism of the translation: the major part of the deviations from the Masoretic Text admit a textual explanation, while no trace of allegorical interpretation is found. The importance of the version consists of being the first witness of a literal interpretation of the Song of Songs. The author inquires further into the socio-cultural background of the translator and the kind of implicit readers that the Greek version is intended to, and he concludes that, in the light of that text, our knowledge of Judaism in the Second Temple period is enlarged and highly enriched.