317-548-2146

The Five Scrolls have a long and storied history ranging from questionable canonicity to moral ambiguity. Robert Williamson identifies Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and the Song of Songs as the five forgotten books that barely made the cut, but eventually were elevated by the Jewish community to the special status of Chamesh Megilloth.[1] Ultimately, the Jewish tradition assigned each of the books to be liturgically read during a Jewish holiday: Song of Songs at Passover, Ruth at the Feast of Weeks, Lamentations on Tisha B’av, Ecclesiastes at the Feast of Booths, and Esther at Purim.[2] However, to suggest that the later Jewish tradition provides the connective glue between the books risks an anachronistic application. The question is how the original message of the Five Scrolls connect to each other and influence their function, not only between each other, but also the rest of the Old and New Testament. The answer lies in the theological and textual links between the books of the Megilloth and the remainder of the canon.

Scholars have approached literary connections between the books of the Megilloth from both a diachronic and synchronic perspective. Leaning toward a diachronic perspective, Amy Erickson and Andrew Davis reference the work of Timothy Stone, who follows the ordering of the Leningrad Codex and highlights the similarities and contrasts of Esther and Ruth.[3] The female protagonists are obvious, but Stone also contrasts the excellence of Ruth, who seeks refuge in God, with Esther, a pseudo-hero who has forgotten God.[4] The book of Lamentations is also compared to the Song of Songs, which share several uncommon literary motifs. Stone explains that both alternative voices lack a well-defined plot and use the phrases “daughter(s) of Jerusalem” (Song 1:5; 2:7; 3:5, 10; 5:8, 16; 8:4; Lam 2:13, 15) and “daughters of Zion” (Song 3:1; Lam 1:6, 2:1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 18; 4:22).[5] Many scholars have also recently addressed the connections between the books of the Megilloth synchronically. Katrina Larkin notes that both Ruth and Esther focus on the relationship between foreigners and the Israelites, and she also contrasts the familial sphere of Ruth with the international sphere of Esther.[6] Furthermore, and more extensively, Orit Avnery finds that Ruth and Esther have similar plot lines, stylistic tendencies toward realism, a motif shaped by the reversal of fate, incongruence between the opening line and the remainder of the plot, and heroines who are closely accompanied by an advisor, specifically, Mordecai in Esther and Naomi in Ruth.[7] An example of the shared stylistic and literary tendencies of realism arises in Esther’s use of geographic locations, indigenous names, and the realistic details of government processes, while simultaneously, Ruth prominently features place names, named characters, and detailed descriptions of agricultural activities.[8] The realism provides support for the reliability of the events.

Scholars have also engaged various theological relationships between the books of the Megilloth. Erickson and Davis explain that a “relative absence of God as an active presence” exists in all five books.[9] For example, the Song and Esther do not mention God, God is mentioned in Ruth but appears to work behind the scenes, while Ecclesiastes suggests God is somewhat inaccessible, and Lamentations bemoans an absent God during their plight. The result is that many scholars have either ignored the Megilloth or argued for a strong theology of divine providence.[10] Alternatively, Megan Strollo asserts that the absence of God in the Megilloth highlights the importance of human responsibility and notes that often the roles of the humans are ascribed to God in the remainder of the canon.[11]

Where is God in the Megilloth  182x300 - Canonical Context of the Five Scrolls

Where is God in the Megilloth? (Oudtestamentische Studiën / Old Testament Studies, 73)

For example, Boaz provides protection in the book of Ruth, and humans console each other in the book of Lamentations.

Personally, the way I see the Scrolls relating and functioning within Scripture aligns more closely with a nuanced version of Melton’s thesis in her book, Where is God in the Megilloth?[12] As opposed to a certain absence, Melton suggests an elusive presence of God. In other words, sometimes God is “oppressively present,” and sometimes God is “actively absent.”[13] Scholars could accuse such ambiguity as a postmodern approach to interpretation, and, in a sense, Melton may agree. For example, Melton states that the reader is “permitted to sense God’s presence in a particular text one day and the next day read it as a text about God’s absence.”[14] However, the reality of an intentionally ambiguous God does not require an ambiguous reader. Instead, the reader can allow the text to determine God’s intentional ambiguity through both His presence and absence in the text, while also recognizing that an absent God may be hidden rather than removed.[15] In other words, silence is not absence, and God’s presence can be experienced in His silence. An obvious example is the clear involvement of God in the book of Esther with no divine reference. Nevertheless, allusions to divine presence do abound in the Megilloth. Melton explains that Edenic allusions occur in Lamentations, which parallels the expulsion from Eden, while the Song reimagines a return to Eden.[16] Melton also sees God’s hand in the concept of miqreh in Ruth and Ecclesiastes, but God’s behind-the-scenes providence is seen “only in retrospect, once all outcomes are realized.”[17] In sum, the canonical connectivity between the Scrolls rests on each of the books engaging the paradoxical ambiguity of a God who is hidden in plain sight.

The Megilloth also has literary and theological connections with the remainder of the biblical canon. As mentioned above, Barry Webb affirms Melton’s observation regarding the affinity between the Song and Genesis 1-3, which include the central garden motif and the lovers return to Eden.[18] Furthermore, Webb explains that the love in the Song is a sign pointing to a full consummation in a final union with Christ (Rev 19:6-10).[19] Also, the book of Ruth provides a fascinating exploration into the flexibility of applying the Torah to everyday life. On the one hand, the redemption of property appears to be interpreted rigidly, while the ban on Moabites entering Yahweh’s presence in Deuteronomy 23:3-6 appears to be ignored.[20] Life is more complex than following rules, and Scripture can handle the complexity. Also, it is difficult to miss the theological significance of the genealogy of David in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 as Ruth, the Moabite, is not only grafted into Israel, but also into the lineage of Christ.[21] Additionally, the exilic suffering in Lamentations may overtly connect with the rest of the Old Testament more than any of the other Scrolls. The precursor to the event and suffering was both the Mosaic Covenant and the Old Testament prophets who pointed to the potential punishment. However, it is in the New Testament that God’s righteous wrath in Lamentation meets God’s hesed at the cross.[22] Webb also explains that Ecclesiastes draws from Genesis 1-11, which highlights that hebel is built into God’s creative order. [23] Ecclesiastes also complements the book of Proverbs as it provides the providential deterministic balance to the human responsibility emphasized in Proverbs.[24] Furthermore, the clearest link to the New Testament, according to Webb, is Romans 8:19-24 where a frustrated creation is, at least partially, released from hebel in Christ until the final consummation occurs.[25] Finally, it is difficult to miss the connections between the deliverance of the Jews from potential annihilation in the book of Esther and the covenant promise to Abraham that God will bless all nations through the Jews (Genesis 12:1-3). Webb acknowledges that the Abrahamic covenant ultimately points to the new covenant in Christ where the elect are defined by their identity in Christ rather than adherence to the law.[26] Without question, the literary and theological relationships between the Five Scrolls provide the glue for canonical connectivity. Each of the five individual books points to additional canonical connections with the remainder of the Old and New Testaments that enhance both Scripture’s obvious diversity and integral unity.

_________________________________

[1] Robert Williamson, The Forgotten Books of the Bible: Recovering the Five Scrolls for Today (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018), xv–xvi.

[2] Ibid., xvi.

[3] Amy Erickson and Andrew R Davis, “Recent Research on the Megilloth (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther),” Currents in Biblical Research 14, no. 3 (June 2016): 304.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Timothy Stone, The Compilational History of the Megilloth: Canon, Contoured Intertextuality and Meaning in the Writings (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013), 207.

[6] Erickson and Davis, “Recent Research on the Megilloth (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther),” 305.

[7] Orit Avnery, “Ruth and Esther: A Journey Through Gender, Ethnicity and Identity,” in Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship, ed. Brad Embry (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Phoenix, 2016), 45–50.

[8] Ibid., 45.

[9] Erickson and Davis, “Recent Research on the Megilloth (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther),” 307.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Megan Strollo, “Initiative and Agency: Towards a Theology of the Megilloth,” in Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship, ed. Brad Embry (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Phoenix, n.d.), 150–160.

[12] See Brittany Melton, Where Is God in the Megilloth? A Dialogue on the Ambiguity of Divine Presence and Absence (Boston: Brill, 2018).

[13] Ibid., 101.

[14] Ibid., 41.

[15] Ibid., 103.

[16] Ibid., 122–129.

[17] Ibid., 139.

[18] Barry Webb, Five Festal Garments: Christian Reflections on the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2000), 30–31.

[19] Ibid., 34–35.

[20] Ibid., 54–55.

[21] Ibid., 55–57.

[22] Ibid., 80–81.

[23] Ibid., 103–105.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Ibid., 107–109.

[26] Ibid., 130–131.

 

Bibliography

  • Avnery, Orit. “Ruth and Esther: A Journey Through Gender, Ethnicity and Identity.” In Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship, edited by Brad Embry, 43–71. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Phoenix, 2016.
  • Erickson, Amy, and Andrew R Davis. “Recent Research on the Megilloth (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther).” Currents in Biblical Research 14, no. 3 (June 2016): 298–318.
  • Melton, Brittany. Where Is God in the Megilloth? A Dialogue on the Ambiguity of Divine Presence and Absence. Boston: Brill, 2018.
  • Stone, Timothy. The Compilational History of the Megilloth: Canon, Contoured Intertextuality and Meaning in the Writings. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013.
  • Strollo, Megan. “Initiative and Agency: Towards a Theology of the Megilloth.” In Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship, edited by Brad Embry, 150–160. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Phoenix, n.d.
  • Webb, Barry. Five Festal Garments: Christian Reflections on the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2000.
  • Williamson, Robert. The Forgotten Books of the Bible: Recovering the Five Scrolls for Today. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018.
Wilder - Canonical Context of the Five Scrolls
Derek Wilder Executive Director
DEREK WILDER, PhD, is the Executive Director of Lives Transforming Group, Inc., a Christian counseling ministry focused on personal transformation, and the author of FREEDOM and Minds on Fire. Wilder has a Master of Theological Studies, an MDiv in Pastoral Counseling, and a PhD in Biblical Exposition. Wilder's scholarly focus lies in Pauline studies, with his doctoral dissertation specifically examining the ontological implications present in the eighth chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Wilder, an adjunct professor, founded Convergence Therapy, integrating cognitive therapy and grace-based theology into the accredited college course: “Thought Life & Spirit Growth.”