CANTICLES (kanii-lelz), or Solomon's Song . shir'hash-irim; Sept. dcrt.ta noµl TaPV; Vulg. Canticurn Canficorum ; all signifying the Song of Songs), is generally believed to have been so denominated in the inscription, to denote the superior beauty and excellence of this poem.
It is one of the five megilloth, or volumes, placed immediately after the Pentateuch in the present manuscript of the Jewish Scriptures in the following order, viz.: Canticles, Ruth, Lamenta tions, Ecclesiastes and Esther, although this order is sometimes violated (see SCRIPTURE, Hots). It also constitutes the fourth of the Cetubim, or writings (hagiographa), which in the Jewish enumeration comprehend the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth. Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel and Ezra, which last includes the book of Nehemiah. These books arc supposed to have been so called in contradistinction to the Law, which was delivered orally, and to the pro phetical books, which were dictated in a peculiar manner. The Cctubim the Jews regard as the inspired writings of men who had no prophetic mission (see HAGIOGRAPHA).
1. Canonicity. In favor of the canonical au thority of this book (which has been questioned in ancient and modern times) we may observe that it is found in all the copies of the Hebrew Bible which have descended to our times, as well as in the version of the Seventy, which was finished some time in the second century before the Chris tian era. It is also found in all the ancient cata logues which have come down to us from the early Christian church. The most ancient which we possess, that of NIclito, bishop of Sardis (A. D. 17o),preserved by Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. iv, chap. 26), professes to give an account of the books of the Old Testament, according to the order in which they were written, from accurate informa tion obtained in the East. The names of these books, he acquaints us, are as follows: 'Of Moses, five books, Genesis, Exodus. Leviticus. Numbers, Deuteronomy': Jesus Natie. Judges, Ruth; four books of Kings; two of Paralipomcn ; Psalms of David; Proverbs of Solomon ; Ecclesiastes ; Song of Songs; Job; of Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah; of the twelve Prophets. one hook; Daniel, Ezekiel. Esdras.' The book of Canticles is invariably con. rained in all subsequent catalogues. It has con sequently all the external marks of canonicity possessed by any other book of the Old Testa mcnt not expressly cited in the New. Those who
have questioned its right to a place in the sacred volume have proceeded more in dogmatical than on historico-critical grounds. It has been. indeed. attempted to be shown that the Song of Solomon was not included by Josephus in his account of the books of canonical Scripture, on the following grounds: Josephus divides these books into the 'five books of Moses; thirteen books containing the history of their own times, written by the Prophets who succeeded him, to the time of Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes, King of Persia; and the remaining four consisting of hymns to God and admonitions for the conduct of men's lives. It is generally supposed that these four books are Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Canticles, and that the thirteen other books, included under the term Prophets, are Joshua, Judges and Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, the twelve minor Prophets, and the book of Job. But it has been maintained that this last book more appropriately belongs to the lour which contain hymns and admonitions for human conduct than to the Prophets who wrote the history of their own times after Moses, and consequently that there is no place left for Canti cles. Those who adopt this view are compelled to separate the book of Ezra from that of Nehe miah in order to make up the number of thirteen prophets; but whatever appearance of truth there may be in this reasoning, which is that advanced by Mr. William Whiston, in his supplement to his Essay Towards Restoring the Text of the Old Tes tament, it is overbalanced by the fact already stated, that this book formed part of the Jewish canonical Scriptures and of the Septuagint ver sion. It is true that other books are found in the copies of this latter version, which were either originally written in Greek, as the Book of Wis dom and others, or are translated from the He brew or Chaldee, as Ecclesiasticus, and the first book of Maccabees; but it is confessed that these never formed part of the first or Jewish canon. The Book of Canticles was also translated into Greek, from the original, by Symmachus the Jew, and by Aquila, in the second century.