My personal approach is more toward the ‘interpretive dynamic’, whenever possible. However, the problems associated with such an approach are many, especially when metaphors, euphemisms, and idioms are not well understood or cannot even be correctly identified. When I am faced with this kind of problem, I fall back to the more formal, word-for-word approach for that passage.

I enjoyed reading your commentary on SoS. While I don’t pretend to know much about the Bible, I would like to suggest that Soloman had his imperfections. How he partook in the religions of his many wives is one example. I think by God’s design the Bible consists of experiences of flawed people. Somehow God brings all these teachings together as a cumulative message. SoS may not dictate that sex is to be confined to marriage, but the cumulative teaching does demonstrate that as his will.