Five Festal Garments: Christian Reflections on the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther (Volume 10) (New Studies in Biblical Theology)

This is a good book by Dr. Barry Webb, I enjoy his style of writing.The Five shortest books in the Writings, the third final part in the Hebrew canon. Traditionally they are known simply as ‘the Scrolls’ (Megilloth)Dr. Webb refer to them as five ‘garments’, a metaphor that was suggested to him by the passages below, where Joseph is at last reconciled to his brothers.To [a]each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments (Genesis 45:22) NASBTo all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. (Genesis 45:22) KJVThe key issue was how the Scrolls were to be ‘worn’. The solution that eventually emerged in Judaism was their adoption as lectionary readings for five of the major festivals: Passover (Song of Songs), the Feast of Weeks (Ruth), the Ninth of Ab (Lamentations), the Feast of Tabernacles (Ecclesiastes) and the Festival of Purim (Esther)The Five Festal Garments:Chapter 1 Song of Songs: Garment of loveChapter 2 Ruth: Garment of kindnessChapter 3 Lamentations: Garment of sufferingChapter 4 Ecclesiastes: Garment of vexationChapter 5 Esther: Garment of deliverance

This is the second of the works I have read comprising the New Studies in Biblical Theology series published by IV Press. Although this book was not quite as good as Dominion and Dynasty, it is still well worth reading. Author Barry Webb offers an interpretation of the five Old Testament books traditionally known as "the Scrolls": the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther. They are among the most neglected books of the Bible--all of them are marginal in one way or another. They could perhaps even be considered "problem" books, raising unnerving and difficult questions. Webb offers an interpretation of these books, examining each in relation to the rest of the Old Testament, as well as to the New Testament gospel. In this way, Webb offers wonderful insights to these five neglected books. Reading Five Festal Garments certainly increased both my understanding and my appreciation of the place these five books have in the greater canon.

I will never read Ruth the same way again after reading what this book says about it. I've always seen the interesting love story and incredible loyalty, but have never pictured it as a romantic comedy. I found that to be intriguing and will enjoy reading this Biblical account every chance I get. (And will now be more than once a year!) The info on the other four books is great as well. The five books are Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations.

A wonderful, evangelical "reading" of these five biblical books. I find it extremely insightful, and that's even though I see Song of Songs a little differently than the author. More than worth the price of the book if you want spiritual scholarship.

The chapters on the book of Ruth are an unmatched resource for preaching this forgotten but essential part of the canon, not least because it shows the kindness of God as well as the genealogy of Jesus.

Barry G. Webb. Five Festal Garments. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, March 26th, 2001. 151 pp.This book is on a Christian examination of five books in the Old Testament that are most neglected in the Bible: The Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther. If you want to learn more about these five books and gain rich insights on them then this volume is worth getting. This work is a part of the New Studies in Biblical Theology series edited by D.A. Carson. Personally it was the second title in the series that I read which I looked forward to with much anticipation since the first book I read Adopted into God’s Family left a strong impression. Five Festal Garments didn’t disappoint. In fact it exceeded my expectation!As mentioned earlier the five books that the author Barry Webb focused on is often neglected by Christians. There’s also a lot of questions about these five books. For instance three of the books have been questioned concerning their inspiration (Esther, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes) while the other two have been questioned concerning where it should be placed in the Jewish canon (should Ruth be in the Prophets or the Writings?) or whether it should be its own book or a supplement to another book (Lamentations). As the epilogue correctly noted the author’s examination of the structure of each book along with the book’s place within the canon along with each contribution to the flow of biblical theology had advanced the frontier of biblical studies.I enjoyed the three part format of each chapter in which each chapter goes over an individual book of the Bible and the three part sections is marked as I, II and III. The first section looks largely within the book itself and attempts to uncover the book’s structure, agenda and shape. I have personally found there’s a lot of interpretative insight here in the first section! The next section then explores how the book relates to the rest of the Old Testament while the final section discusses the book in relations to the New Testament and the Gospel. The book is quite organized which is helpful for serious Bible students and exegetes.I highly recommend this book for pastors who are faithful in expository preaching and also serious lay Christians looking for resources to study deeper the Bible. In my personal reading of this book I took a lot of notes and I highlighted a lot of things within its pages. The content found within this book is rich and worth purchasing!

I'd been recommended this book years ago, and I now wish I'd read it sooner! It's not a typical commentary but rather traces themes in a superb example of biblical theology. The analysis is clear and warm, with helpful reflection from a Christian perspective.If you want to study Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, or Esther, buy this book.

Very helpful but not much content on each section.