Hi Chavoux! Your wrote: "I just find it interesting that except for Nehemia, the only two places in the Tanach where the word "pardes" occurs, is in two poetic books ascribed to Solomon. Normally, the use of the same unusual words would at least be considered as evidence (not proof) for them having the same author."
I can see a few things to point out here. Firstly, Qohelet is not ascribed to Solomon. It is the combined work of Qohelet and his epilogist. Secondly, Song of Songs 1.1 does not necessarily mean it was written by Solomon. And, in fact, when you consider where Solomon is actually mentioned in the book, he is actually portrayed as a distant figure. And when you consider the rhetoric of the poetry carefully, it is actually quite critical of him. I don't think we can say Solomon wrote it. Thirdly, there is an assumption in your reasoning that an unusual word is most likely used by just one author, and that this is more likely than two authors. I don't see how this logically follows. In any case, this is confusing lexical statistics with idiolect (the particular way a person speaks or writes). Idiolect is usually gleaned by a number of factors, usually having to do with syntax and idiom. If you can show how the use of פרדס in Qohelet and Song of Songs contributes in that way, I'll be willing to concede the possibility of one author for both of them. Nevertheless, this still does not get around the probability that the works in question are from a period much later than Solomon. In other words, even if you could demonstrate the likelihood, or even just the possibility of a common author, you still haven't linked this to Solomon. Cheers! GEORGE ATHAS Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia) www.moore.edu.au _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
