102 Colloquium 40/1 2008

the f l ame of yahwe h: s e xual i t y i n the ol d

te s tame nt
Richard M. Davidson
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 2007), xxix + 844 pp. ISBN 9781565638471.
Richard M. Davidson has produced an immense and valuable compendium
on sexuality in the Old Testament. He has organized his vast wealth of
research into three sections based on his view of the theology of sexuality
as presented in Scripture: Sexuality in Eden, Sexuality outside the Garden,
and Return to Eden. Davidson presents a theology of sexuality as founded
primarily upon the ideals of the Hebrew creation account in Genesis 1
3. He then sees the presentation of sexuality in the Torah, Prophets and
Writings as a redemptive engagement of distorted sexuality outside Eden.
From Davidsons perspective the Song of Songs is the theological conclusion,
focused on the full redemption of sexuality to the paradigm of Eden.
Davidson exhibits an excellent depth of dialogue with scholarship on the
creation accounts in Genesis and successfully presents a strong argument
for sexuality as dened by Eden as an inuential motif for later biblical
writings on issues of sexuality.
Davidson goes beyond exploring the Edenic theology of sexuality by
making overt connections to modern relationships. hrough his exploration
of the Edenic paradigm Davidson majestically reopens the way back to Eden
for the modern Christian couple. Davidson denes the Edenic paradigm of
sexuality as liberated, intimate, holistic, covenanted and sacred. he reader
is invited to embrace this paradigm in modern marriage. Davidson also
describes the Edenic sexual paradigm as egalitarian, which he supports
through a close reading of the Hebrew of Genesis.
It was an unexpected disappointment, however, to see Davidson contradict
his Edenic paradigm in an attempt to reconcile the egalitarian Eden with
other wider biblical norms of sexuality that promote hierarchy. Davidson
relinquishes his fascinating thesis and makes an unsatisfying attempt at
reconciliation using Gen 3:16 as a key prop. Davidson claims that regardless
of the Edenic paradigm the modern Christian marriage relationship is not
to be fully egalitarian (76). Women, according to Davidson, must continue
to play a non-egalitarian role with respect to their male marriage partner.
Davidsons argument (7180) on this subject seems to lack the objectivity
and consistency that he declares as the basis of his study, the hermeneutic
of consent (3).
Davidsons section on Sexuality outside the Garden is a masterful
103 Book Reviews
analysis of Scripture dealing with every possible facet of normative (and non-
normative) sexuality in the Torah, Prophets and Writings. A particularly
interesting feature of Davidsons research is his regular forays into
comparative legal studies in the ANE. hough Davidson characteristically
presents Ugaritic and other extant literature of the ANE in a negative light
in comparison to Mosaic law, his location and collation of this historic data,
and the scholarship surrounding it, is a valuable resource. Of interest is
Davidsons critique of the fertility cult of the ANE and its social impact. His
presentation of the redemptive quality of the Old Testaments theology of
sexuality in this case is persuasive.
In the concluding section, Davidson presents the Song of Songs as the
biblical picture of the redemption of sexuality, Eden re-entered. Davidson
prefers a natural interpretation of the Song of Songs, as do many modern
scholars. However his exegesis of the Song produces unusual conclusions
considering the general consensus of Songs scholars such as Landy, Pope,
Fox, Exum, Keel and Brenner. Davidsons highly conservative and yet
highly unusual approach does not adequately represent the challenges of
interpreting the Song. Davidson presents the authorship of the Song as
by Solomon in his early years (566) and its subject matter concerning his
long-lasting (568) marriage to the Egyptian Princess. Davidson details
scriptural support for his view but his conclusions remain tenuous. It seems
highly unlikely, considering Solomons place as monarch in Hebrew society
and the precedent set by his father and brothers, as well as the legitimizing
customs of the times, and his later fame as a husband of a thousand women
(1 Kgs 11:3), that Solomon would, as Davidson claims, choose to enjoy a
lengthy monogamous marital relationship with one woman (567) and that
this experience produced the Song of Songs. he theology that Davidson
develops from the Song is well worth consideration but seems inappropriately
balanced on the tenuous setting and authorship he proposes for the Song
and altogether too neatly conservative. Davidson ignores any provocative
message the Song may have for the religious establishment of the time, and
also overplays the mutuality of the two protagonists in the Song.
Davidson provides in his book Flame of Yahweh a valuable resource by
compiling a wealth of information, scholarship and comparative data on
sexuality in Ancient Israel and the ANE. Davidsons arrangement of his
research into theological categories Sexuality in Eden, Outside the Garden,
and Return to Eden are very signicant categories in the exploration of a
consistent Old Testament theology of sexuality.
Yael Klangwisan