Get Ready
Some are surprised there is a book about sex in the Bible, but they should not be. There is sex in the first chapter of the first book: God created us “male and female.” And one of the major images in the last book of the Bible is of a great and joyous wedding feast [Genesis 1:27 and Revelation 22:17].
Author
Most authorities agree that King Solomon wrote this poem and some translations (such as NRSV) put this in the title. Other translations use “Song of Songs” as the title and identify Solomon as the author in 1:1 (he is also mentioned in 1:5; 3:7,9,11; 8:11-12). According to 1 Kings 4:32, he wrote more than one thousand poems during his reign (970-930 BCE.).
Context
Many scholars believe Solomon wrote this song early in his reign, before he had accumulated the 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) that ultimately led to idol worship and division of the kingdom. This poem stands out for its descriptions of the powerful love the two people had for each other, which would have been difficult in a royal household of arranged political and military relationships.
Structure
Even though it is a short book, Song is fairly complicated for modern readers because the speakers and points of view shift frequently and abruptly. Most modern translations insert sub-headings that help the reader follow the poem.
There are three primary “speakers” in the book:
- The groom, identified as Solomon.
- The bride, identified as “the Shulamite.”
- The “Daughters of Jerusalem,” who function like a chorus or sounding board for the other two players.
There is also a brief reference to the bride’s brothers (1:6), but they do not speak.
The poem itself has two major sections: chapters 1-4 describe the beginning of love between the two people and the remaining chapters (5-8) deal with the development of their love in marriage.
Major Themes
This book, along with the previous one, Ecclesiastes, are the most-often questioned works in the Bible. Some scholars object to Ecclesiastes because it has such a secular or humanist point of view. Others object to Song of Solomon because of its sometimes graphic descriptions of physical love. (Interestingly they are by the same author. Solomon was Israel’s second-greatest king; he began his reign with God’s blessing and promise, but he later ignored God and allowed his many foreign wives to worship idols in his palace and even in the temple.)
Interpreters usually have one of three perspectives on this book:
- Some view the poem as an allegory (extended metaphor) about God’s love for his chosen people, Israel – and now Christ’s love for his church.
- Others see the Song only as a literal expression of the sexual love between the two people.
- Most take a middle view and acknowledge the poem’s erotic images and celebration of physical attraction while accepting the symbolism in the relationship between Solomon (who does prefigure Christ) and the woman (as the “bride” of Christ in the New Testament).
The Song of Solomon is consistent with the rest of the Bible in its celebration of all aspects of love. After all, God created humans as sexual beings and told us to “be fruitful and multiply,” [Gen 1:28]. This poem, like Genesis, presents the beauty of sexual love in a committed relationship between two people. It also reminds us of God’s love for us in Christ. We are able to love – and to enjoy loving another – because he loved us first.
Get into the Word
1. Who wrote this book? What evidence points to this author? What other evidence supports this conclusion? When was the book probably written? Why do scholars think this time period is correct?
2. How is this book organized? What are the primary components? Who are the major characters or speakers involved? Why is the book difficult to understand for modern readers?
3. What is this book about? Why does this cause some people to question its appropriateness in the Bible? How do scholars suggest interpreting the book? How do you think the original readers responded to the book? How do you respond to the book’s subject and imagery?
Notes: Love in the Bible
Paul, the Apostle, sees Christ’s relationship to the church as a marriage [Ephesians 5:22-33]. In Revelation, John presents a picture of a wedding feast as the symbol of Christ’s return at the end of the age.
4. What are the different types of love mentioned in the Bible? How can they be understood in relation to each other? What are the major characteristics of each type? What are examples of each type?
Bible Trivia:
There are almost as many different sets of subheadings for The Song of Solomon as there are translations of the book.Notes: Shulamite [6:13]
There was a town called Shunem in northern Israel which could be the original home of the bride. Solomon may have met her on one of his “inspection” trips to the region.
Doctrine Notes . . .
The Four Loves
C.S. Lewis, the English author and Christian apologist, identifies four different types of love in his book of the same name:
- Affection – the love that grows out of familiarity and relationships. It is the love among members of a family (also called “brotherly love”) or other close relationships. It is a natural, unforced attraction that is not based on any specific characteristics of the people in the relationship.
- Friendship – the relationship between people who have something in common – an activity, an interest, a set of experiences. It is a relationship based on choosing to be with the other person because of the rewards of doing things together (Lewis points to the relationship between David and Jonathan).
- Romantic or Erotic Love – the sexual relationship between two people based on a combination of attractions – physical, emotional and psycholo-gical. The Bible celebrates this love in the context of a committed long-term relationship, and condemns it when it is used for selfish gratification or to harm another person.
- Agape or unselfish love – the love that seeks the welfare of another person. This love is based on a decision, not an emotion or the characteristics or qualities of the other person. It is the love that led Christ to Jerusalem and the cross. It is the love that Paul referred to as “the greatest,” [1 Cor 13:13]. It is the love that forgives our sin and restores us to a relationship with God.
32: Bride, bridegroom and friends —
Song of Solomon 1:1-2:7
Get Ready
As you think about a person with whom you have a very positive, loving relationship, how would you describe the person? How would you describe the relationship? What images or symbols would you use? Do you think the other person would use the same or different images?
The Word
1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
Colloquy of Bride and Friends
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine,
3 your anointing oils are fragrant,
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.
4 Draw me after you, let us make haste.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
5 I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
Colloquy of Bridegroom, Friends, and Bride
9 I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with silver.
12 While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of En-gedi.
15 Ah, you are beautiful, my love; ah, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
16 Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly lovely. Our couch is green;
17 the beams of our house are cedar, our rafters are pine.
2 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
2 As a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens.
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his intention toward me was love.
5 Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples;
for I am faint with love.
6 O that his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me!
7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready! NRSV
Get into the Word:
1. How does Solomon begin this poem? Who is speaking at the beginning? How does she describe her beloved? What images does she use? Where are the lovers? How does she describe his love?
2. Who does she talk to next? How does she describe herself? What does she reveal about herself? What has she been doing? Why does she look as she does?
3. Who does she address next? What does she ask? What image does she use? Why does she want to know this? What answer does she get?
4. Who speaks next? How does he describe his bride? What images does he use? Why do you suppose he chose these images?
5. What does she say in response? What images does she mention? How appropriate are these images [see Notes]? How does she refer to her bridegroom?
6. What happens to the lovers next? Where do they go? How does she feel? What does she wish? What warning does she give to the “daughters of Jerusalem”?
Get Personal:
How does God help you experience the joy of your relationship with him? How about the joy of a loving relationship with another person?
Notes . . .
1:1. Song of Songs — actually a Hebrew expression for “the best.”
1:2. Kiss — an expression of affection and/or passion throughout the ancient world (as well as the modern one).
1:3. Perfume — used to mask unpleasant odors as well as make one’s body smell good, perfumes were also burned as incense to give a pleasant fragrance to a room.
1:5. Black — probably deeply tanned from working outdoors (in v. 6 she explains that her brothers or step-brothers forced her to work in the vineyards where “the sun has gazed on me,” but she was not able to care for herself properly).
Daughters of Jerusalem — probably a poetic device to give the speakers an “audience” and to give the writer a means of commenting on the characters.
Kedar — a tribe of Bedouin Arabs known for tents made of black goat hair.
1:7. Veiled — the custom of the times required women to wear a veil in public but not in the home or where only family members would be present – the bride is suggesting she is part of the bridegroom’s family.
1:9. Mare among Pharaoh’s chariots — not only would a mare stand out among a group of stallions, she could cause
considerable chaos by distracting other the horses.
1:11. Ornaments — also translated “earrings.” High quality jewelry symbolized wisdom and beauty [as in Proverbs 25:11-12].
1:13. Bag of myrrh — the resin from the bark of the plant smells similar to turpentine.
1:14. Henna blossoms — the flowers of this bush smell like roses.
En-gedi — an oasis near the Dead Sea, southeast of Jerusalem – it was in a ravine, which continues the symbolism of “between my breasts.” (David hid here to escape from Saul.)
1:15. Doves — were a symbol of sexual attraction throughout the culture.
2:1. Rose of Sharon — probably a lily or crocus.
2:4. Banqueting house — literally “Wine House” – raisins and apples were delicacies and, along with wine, indicate the richness of the bridegroom’s love.
2:7. Adjure — actually a legal term for putting some one under a vow (as if the other had taken an oath).
Until it is ready — the bride warns about prematurely yielding to the passion of sexual attraction.
Memory Verse
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it, [8:7].
Next Lesson
Isaiah 24: Judgment on the Earth.
