358 LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOM
Odes of Solomon, James Charlesworth argues that these songs are not gnostic
but a mystical Jewish-Christian hymnbook, "a tributary to Gnosticism which
flows from Jewish apocalyptic mysticism."l Whatever the origin and degree of
gnosticism, in their present form it is clear that the Songs of Solomon are
based on Jewish sacred song tradition as exemplified in the Psalms and Song
of Songs, that many of them have been subjected to a Christian overlay, and
that their gnostic references are more significant than their mere inclusion in
the Pistis Sophia. Harris also points out many quotations of the songs in the
works of the early fathers of the church.
The songs were of particular interest because of their christology, that is,
the use of Christ as a speaker in the songs, and for their deep dependence on
the Gospel of John, which is typical of many gnostic texts. Frequently, the
structure of a song consists of a prologue on the part of the singer, then an
oracular statement ex ore Christi, and finally a doxology in which the congre-
gation is to participate.^2 In his study of the Songs of Solomon, Gerald Blasz-
cak notes that they are composed largely in the first person singular as
"individual confession songs."^3
Many of these songs are hauntingly beautiful. The images soar. The diction
is rich with surprising references, such as "milk from the lord," which apolo-
gists, dismayed by the female imagery for the divine, explain away as odd sym-
bolism. Here are songs as poetic, profound, and astonishing as the most
compelling songs and psalms of the Hebrew Bible. So we read: "The dew of
the lord rinsed me with silence and a cloud of peace rose over my head" (Song
35); or, with typical chariot imagery of Jewish mysticism: "I went up to the
light of truth as into a chariot and truth took me across canyons and ravines"
(Song 38). The beautiful imagery encompasses Christian vocabulary as well:
"My heart was cloven and there appeared a flower, and grace sprang up" (Song
11). The thought of all three prevailing traditions, Jewish, Christian, and gnos-
tic, is suggested in Song 7: "The father of knowledge is the word of knowledge.
He who created wisdom is wiser than his works "
- Charlesworth, Odes of Solomon, p. 190.
- Each song ends with "hallelujah," a stock response by the listener or congregation and proba-
bly a scribal addition. The tag is here omitted as unnecessary and distracting from the content
and beauty of the poem.
- Blaszczak, A Formcritical Study of Selected Odes of Solomon, p. 76.
