Origenes - Werke mit deutscher Übersetzung

The Commentary on the Song of Songs

In his Commentary on the Song of Songs, with which he, according to Jerome, surpassed himself, Origen interprets the dramatic narration of the love between bride and groom as the relationship between the Divine Word and the human soul, respectively Christ and the Church. Since, in Origen’s ecclesiology, the Church represents a collective person formed by the souls of the faithful, the lines between the two interpretations often converge or become indistinguishable. In the course of the exegesis, basic concepts of Christian spirituality are explained in depth, such as the notion of love, the order of love or the understanding of the self as a way to understanding God. The foundation of the exegesis is based upon the Song of Songs being the highest stage of Christian philosophy, where the fully-realized soul attains the vision of God. This interpretation has influenced the Christian exegesis of the Song of Songs, which until the Middle Ages consists of nothing but mere references to Origen. This volume contains the first German translation of the Commentary, with extensive annotations.
Alfons Fürst/Holger Strutwolf, Origenes - Der Kommentar zum Hohelied (Origenes Werke mit deutscher Übersetzung 9/1), Berlin/Boston: Verlag Walter de Gryuter, Freiburg/Basel/Wien: Verlag Herder, 2016, 481 Seiten, gebunden, Leinen, ca. 99,95 €. ISBN Herder 978-3-451-32913-5, ISBN De Gruyter 978-3-11-044255-7