Not a Naïve Reading: An Interview with Prof. James Kugel

In this connection I’d like to mention something in the Song of Songs that even the great Marvin Pope’s commentary gets wrong. The first line been mis-pointed. It shouldn’t be “Let him kiss me (yi-shaqeni) with the kisses of his mouth…”—is there some other kind of kissing that I’ve missed?—but yashqeni, “Let him give me to drink from the kisses of his mouth.” These words are then immediately followed by the reason why: “For your love is better than wine.” This explanation clause only makes sense if it is preceded by something having to do with drinking, that is, yashqeni.