SONG OF SOLOMON
The themes and descriptions found in Song of Solomon are beautiful but so sensual that this has lead to different interpretations of the book.
The most common interpretation is to understand Song of Solomon as an allegory for God’s love for humans. The Jewish interpretation of Song of Solomon has been that it describes God’s passionate love for Israel. The Old Testament many times refers to God as a husband and Israel as his (often unfaithful) wife, not least in the prophet Hosea. The typical Christian interpretation of Song of Solomon has been that is describes Jesus’ passionate and self-less love for his believers, the church. In the New Testament we find the husband-wife relationship used as a metaphor for Jesus and the church (Eph 5:31-32, 2 Cor 11:1-2, Rev 21:2). Even though this is a legitimate interpretation of Song of Solomon, it is likely not the primary meaning, it probably wasn’t what the author thought he was writing about.
The book primarily is a beautiful and vibrant poem about the attraction, love, marriage and sexual union between a man and a woman. It is strongly linked to King Solomon, who traditionally is held to be the author, but who also appears as a main character in the book. Since Solomon’s name was synonymous with wisdom, this book then likely is a description, model or even handbook for teaching Israel about attraction, love, marriage and sex.
Though this interpretation is very straight forward, it also raises serious questions. Solomon, though wise in other areas, was severely skewed in relation to women: his excessive polygamy (seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines), his clinging to idolatrous foreign women (1 Kin 11:3), his utterly negative view of women (Eccl 7:26,28), his non-existent family life and probable neglect of his many children all make him a very negative role model. God can speak even through somebody as sexually fallen as him, but is it likely?
For this reason some suggest another interpretation of Song of Solomon: Maybe it was written not by Solomon but for Solomon. Both wordings are acceptable translations of SoS 1:1. Maybe there was a godly and wise person in Solomon’s court, who, concerned with the direction Solomon was taking concerning women, wrote a flattering yet convicting piece of poetry to remind him of the beauty of an exclusive, committed monogamous marriage relationship.
There is an undercurrent of tension and challenge in the otherwise beautiful and flattering Song of Solomon: the bride is fighting for the king’s exclusive attention, she finds herself in competition with the sixty wives and the eighty concubines (SoS 6:8-10,13) and pleads for her to be the seal on his heart (SoS 8:6-7). This could indicate when this concerned person addressed Solomon: it was still in the beginning of his reign, when he had sixty wives compared to the seven hundred he has at the end of his life. Maybe the song was written to be performed at his sixty-first marriage to yet another pretty girl? In this sense Song of Solomon is an extolling of monogamy, and a renouncing of polygamy with devalues women and cheats men.
Song of Solomon, though definitely not prude, it is actually moral – all love scenes before the marriage are wishful imaginations (SoS 1-2) – and the book ends with a strong message that those who have self-control bring stability and peace (SoS 8:8-10).
Though Song of Solomon has a high focus on sexual love, it still stresses the utter importance of friendship, of appreciative words spoken, of time spent together, of fellowship and mutuality. The two lovers in Song of Solomon again and again request each other and invite each other. There is a strong theme of the lovers responding to each other by their free will, there never is a demand or a coercion, only a willing giving of oneself.
Song of Solomon also counters the negative Christian outlook of many centuries that sex is only permissible if procreation is intended. Rather this poem wholeheartedly allows for sex to be meant for pleasure, for joyful self-giving, for unity of husband and wife.
Though different interpretation can be considered for this book, no-one denies its appeal and beauty.
The Uniqueness of Song of Solomon
Though several weddings are described in the Bible, and one psalm is a wedding song (Psa 45), Song of Solomon is unique in the Bible. There are other collections of love poems and erotic poems in antiquity, but they are not like Song of Solomon. The Jewish Rabbi Akiba called it the ‘Holy of Holies’ and it was forbidden to be read by unmarried Jews under thirty years of age by themselves. It is one of the most quoted Bible texts throughout the centuries and it was the most copied Bible text in the Middle Ages.
The language of Song of Solomon is vivid, rich, exuberant, highly emotional and downright sensual. Many metaphors is the text can be given a range of translation, from more polite to very sensual, and our modern translations are actually toned down.
Different Interpretations of Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon’s themes and descriptions are so sensual that this has lead to different interpretations of the book.
1 Song of Solomon is an allegory
The most common interpretation is to understand Song of Solomon as an allegory for God’s love for humans. The Jewish interpretation for Song of Solomon has been that it describes God’s passionate love for Israel. The Old Testament many times refers to God as a husband and Israel as his (often unfaithful) wife, not least in the prophet Hosea. The typical Christian interpretation of Song of Solomon has been that is describes Jesus’ passionate and self-less love for his believers, the church. Indeed we find in the New Testament that the husband-wife relationship is used as a metaphor for Jesus and the church (Eph 5:31-32, 2 Cor 11:1-2, Rev 21:2).
But then again allegories in the Bible are clearly marked as such (Jdg 9:8-15, Eze 16, Gal 4:24) and Song of Solomon is not declared to be an allegory in the text. Also the very outright sensual metaphors raise questions: If one is talking about God, why would one say ‘You are stately like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches’ (SoS 7:7). So even though the allegorical interpretation is legitimate, it is likely not the primary meaning the writer had in mind. Never the less wonderful books, glorious pieces of art and great encouragement have been born out of this view of Song of Solomon. It has been the most prevailing interpretation of the book throughout the ages by both Jews and Christians. In this study it will be less focused on as it is the interpretation that is taught widely.
2 Song of Solomon is a teaching about love, sex and marriage for Israel
The book primarily is a beautiful and vibrant poem about the attraction, love, marriage and sexual union between a man and a woman. It is strongly linked to King Solomon, who traditionally is held to be the author (SoS 1:1), but who also appears as a main character in the book. Since Solomon’s name was synonymous with wisdom in Israel, this book then likely is a description, model or even handbook for teaching Israel about attraction, love, sex and marriage.
Solomon was famous for his love for women (1 Kin 11:2). He wrote one thousand and five songs (1 Kin 4:32), so why not this one? Solomon was knowledgeable about plants and science (1 Kin 4:33), which is reflected in the rich use of fauna and flora throughout Song of Solomon.
Though this interpretation is very straight forward and has been held by many over the centuries, it also raises some serious questions. Solomon, though wise in other areas, was severely skewed in relation to women: his excessive polygamy (seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines), his clinging to idolatrous foreign women (1 Kin 11:1-3), his utterly negative view of women (Eccl 7:26,28), his non-existent family life and probably neglect of his many children all make him a very negative role model. Can God speak through somebody as sexually fallen as him? God can, he even spoke through a donkey (Num 22:28). But is it likely?
3 Song of Solomon is a concerned, wise person addressing Solomon
Because of this objection some suggest another interpretation of Song of Solomon: Maybe it was written not by Solomon but for Solomon. The wording in SoS 1:1: ‘The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s’ allows for both translations.
Maybe the author is a godly and wise person in Solomon’s court, who, concerned with the direction Solomon was taking concerning women, tried to address him on this touchy subject. But how to address him? How to make Solomon listen up and re-consider his ways concerning women? To address this issue one would have to write something flattering enough to get a hearing, but convicting enough to make him think. And in a sense that is what Song of Solomon is: a wonderful piece of love poetry, flattering and in no way prude, but holding up the beauty of an exclusive, committed, monogamous marriage relationship.
There is a clear undercurrent of tension and challenge Song of Solomon: the bride is fighting for the king’s exclusive attention, she finds herself in competition with the sixty wives and eighty concubines (SoS 6:8-10,13) and pleads for her to be the seal on his heart (SoS 8:6-7). There are also sentences which are a direct challenge: ‘My vineyard, my very own, is for myself, you, o Solomon, may have the thousand!’ (SoS 12:12).
This verse about the sixty wives and eighty concubines could indicate when this concerned person addressed Solomon: it was still in the beginning of his reign, when he had sixty wives compared to the seven hundred he has at the end of his life (1 Kin 11:3). Maybe the song was written to be performed at his sixty-first marriage to yet another pretty girl? In this sense Song of Solomon is an extolling of monogamy, and a renouncing of polygamy, with devalues women and cheats men.
4 Song of Solomon is a collection of love poems
Some interpreters think that Song of Solomon is a collection of different love poems or erotic poems by different authors over time. This interpretation is not supported by tradition and by the overall symmetrical structure of the book. Also who would have written them, and for whom? Why would it have been put together like this and considered God’s authoritative word?
5 Song of Solomon is a mock poem to Solomon
In this modern interpretation Song of Solomon is written to mock or challenge Solomon. This interpretation suggests that the poem describes a love triangle: the woman, her shepherd lover and king Solomon, who loses out, in spite of his glamor.
Whichever interpretation is assumed, the poem is linked to Solomon, who ruled from 971 to 931 BC and is therefore likely written at that time.
The language and arrangement of Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon is arranged symmetrically like the seven-armed lamp stand in the tabernacle. This is called a chiasm. There are three couples of matching parts (A1=A2, B1=B2, C1=C2, see the chart on the preceding page). The main message in found in the middle (in Song of Solomon the marriage and marriage consummation).
Song of Solomon is written in such a way that it could be easily be performed as a stage play, with the two main figures (bride and groom) and a choir that speaks to them or is spoken to by them, similar to a Greek drama.
Song of Solomon is written in poetry (as most love songs in the world), rich in metaphors and euphemisms. A euphemism is the substituting a more acceptable word for something that is not normally named. It is vivid in its mention of fauna, flora, spices, perfumes, foods appealing to the senses of vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch.
A too literal approach to the many metaphors and euphemisms in Song of Solomon can produce funny results. Here is a lighthearted illustration, drawing the bride as she is described in SoS 4 and SoS 6:
Observing worrying developments at Solomon’s court
How was the situation at Solomon’s court? Let’s assume that he already has sixty wives and eighty concubines, and is heading for wife number sixty-one.
How does he think of women? What influence does this make on his existing marriages? Can anything Solomon experiences be called a true marriage? How would an evening at Solomon’s house have looked like? How would his family life have looked like? Would he even recognize most of his wives? How would continual tension, comparison and competition among the wives influence his relationship with each? Is he setting himself up for emotional manipulation?
Or imagine you are one of the harem. Imagine you were wife number fifty-five. You also are beautiful, you also were once the favored one. Here is Solomon’s newest girl, beautiful she is, no doubt, how will you feel towards her? How will you see her?
Or imagine you are the newly married wife number sixty-one. Maybe your father promised you in marriage to Solomon. Or maybe Solomon actually saw you somewhere, and you pleased him. The mere memory makes your head spin. He is very impressive. Who would not be swept away? But how do you feel? What is your fear? What do you think of the other wives? How long do you think you’ll last? How about ten years from now, when you’re not that new and beautiful any more?
Or imagine you were a friend and trustee of king David. You love God and you are proud to see Israel doing well due to godly leadership. You were happy when David followed through and made Solomon his successor, you thought him the best of the sons. You were in the first row when the temple was dedicated and vividly remember Solomon’s prayer then, though quite a few years have passed. You grew richer and wiser as all did at the court of Solomon. It is the golden times, and you are always careful to acknowledge God, who is the Giver of all this blessing.
But since quite a while you are starting to see things that you do not like. First it just seemed some small things, nothing that important. Just a great man using his great power, and his great freedom. But now patterns are emerging. What looked like a one-off now seems to turn into a habit. You are not small-minded and consider the wealth and international fame of Israel as a good gift of God. But there seems to be more and more indulgence, lots of marriage alliances, with lots of countries, idol worshiping countries. Marriages and more marriages, far more than one a month. You do not begrudge Solomon his wives. But this many? This often? This regular? What is he doing?
How can he even keep any sort of responsibility for his growing family? And what are all these wives doing? Many don’t speak Hebrew, most don’t know God nor worship him. You have heard juicy stories from the harem’s in charge about their quarrels. You know some of Solomon’s sons personally. As a matter of fact you are trying to teach and disciple a few of them. But is this your job? They barely know their father. The all revere their father, grow up with a sense of pride, but pride is no substitute for relationship. The children are abandoned, really, by their father, and discipled by their mothers, discipled in everything except God’s law and Jewish life-style. Where is this going to end?
And then you see an endless stream of pretty young girls arriving at the harem. How will they fare? How long will they last? What are their choices? And where is this leading the nation to? What example is this setting? Is this the example of what God wanted for marriage and family? How is Israel influenced by all this? What will this do to the morale of your nation? What can you attempt to do to prevent it? How can you influence the King on this touchy issue?
Some themes in Song of Solomon
Love is moral
Song of Solomon, though definitely not prude, it is actually moral. The woman is hoping not for an affair, but for a legitimate relationship: ‘tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who is veiled beside the flocks of your companions?’ A veiled woman, or a woman wandering, meant a prostitute, one with whom to have an illicit union. Also the love scenes before the marriage in SoS 3 are the bride-to-be wishing and dreaming about their future relationship (SoS 1:12-2:7, 3:1-5), always concluded by the verse ‘Do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready’. But only after marriage (SoS 3:6-11) is the relationship truly consummated. The book ends with a strong message that those who have self-control bring stability and peace (SoS 8:8-10).
Love lives off friendship
Though Song of Solomon has a high focus on sexual love, it still stresses the utter importance of friendship, of appreciative words spoken, of time spent together, of doing things together, of fellowship and mutuality (SoS 2:8-15, 7:10-13, 8:5).
Love is the free giving of one-self
The two lovers in Song of Solomon again and again request each other and invite each other: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away … Let me see your face, let me hear your voice … Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits … Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the fields, and lodge in the villages, let us go out early to the vineyards … there I will give you my love’. The lovers speak to each other, reveal themselves to each other, suggest, request and call each other. It is a free-will response of the other that is hoped for. There never is a demand, an assumption or a coercion, only a willing giving of oneself. Though their love loses timidity, matures and becomes more confident, it is never a self-assured demanding or an assumed right over the other. Love cannot be forced, it cannot be bought: ‘If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned’ (SoS 8:7).
Love wants to last
It is in the nature of love to want to commit itself to a lasting relationship. Love songs in any nation have the ‘I will always love you’ somewhere contained in it. Since the two lovers give themselves to each other to such a measure, one cannot annul this afterward: ‘Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave’. Why this comparison to death and grave? Death and the grave – once they receive a person – never yield the person back up. These metaphors speak of the irreversible nature of such a high giving of self.
Love wants to be exclusive: The anti-polygamy theme
It is also in the nature of love to want to be the only object of love of that person. Love sons in any nation also have the ‘I will only love you’ somewhere contained in it. Love is exclusive. It wants that one person to the exclusion of others, and it wants to be wanted by that person to the exclusion of others. Though human weakness pulls humans different ways, love always acknowledges that monogamy is the real thing. Polygamy maybe socially acceptable as it was in Solomon’s day, but it cheats women by reducing their role, voice and importance in the marriage and it cheats men out of a true, committed, intimate relationship. Polygamy introduces comparison and competition where comparison and competition should have never been. It makes women vulnerable, having to vie for access even to their own husbands. It may give men power, gratification and sexual license, but it robs them of intimacy and a true family life. Remember just how disillusioned Solomon is with his thousand women: ‘I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found’ (Ecc 7:26, 28).
Depending on who the author of Song of Solomon is taken to be and depending on the interpretation of some metaphors, it can be said that the poem has a strong anti-polygamy undercurrent. The woman fights not to become ‘just one more wife’ in the harem. She may not be so pleased at the comment ‘as a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens’, the comparison tells her how many she is competing with (SoS 2:2). She is crestfallen when he withdraws for the first time, maybe describing the first time he goes back to the harem after their marriage (SoS 5:6). She is hurt and he finds it needful to affirm to her that she does have power over him, expressed in the sudden appearance of army and war imagery: ‘your are beautiful …Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me’…’Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?’ (SoS 6:4,10). She may be praised in comparison to the sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number, but how comforting is that and how long will it last (SoS 6:8-9)? She still finds herself as one dancing ‘before two armies’ (SoS 6:13), by context this must refer to the sixty wives and the eighty concubines. She wants it to be ‘I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine’ (SoS 6:3) and pleads ‘Set me like a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm’ (SoS 8:6). The metaphor of seal means for her to be legally and publicly his wife in an official, permanent and protected commitment. It could even be said that the a little bit obscure verses SoS 8:11-12 are a challenge or taunt to Solomon: ‘Solomon had a vineyard … he entrusted it to keepers; each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, my very own, is for myself; you, O Solomon may have the thousand’ This harkens back to the love that cannot be bought (SoS 8:7), as the vineyard has been a metaphor for the bride herself throughout the poem.
Love is God-given
Attraction, love, marriage and sex are God-given, God-ordained and God-blessed. Song of Solomon thus counters the negative Christian outlook of many centuries that marriage is the less spiritual option (probably stemming from Paul’s comments in 1 Cor 7). Rather this poem wholeheartedly affirms love, marriage, sex and family as God’s design for humans as do other Old Testament passages (Ecc 9:9, Prov 5:15-19).
Also the Christian view of many centuries that sex is only permissible if procreation is intended is countered in Song of Solomon. It clearly allows for sex in marriage to be meant for pleasure, for joyful self-giving, for unity of husband and wife without necessarily leading to procreation. This could also be argued from medical science and the anatomy of the male and female body, as well as that God means sex to be pleasurable for both man and woman.
Though different interpretation can be considered for this book, no one escapes its appeal and its beauty.
Uniqueness of Song of Solomon
- It’s unique in literature, though there are erotic poems or love poems all throughout antiquity
- It’s unique in the Bible
- Historic books describe some marriages and Psa 45 is a wedding psalm but there is nothing like Song of Solomon
- It was called the “Holy of Holies” by the Jewish rabbi Akiba
- It was the most copied text of the Bible in the middle Ages!
- It’s one of the most quoted texts of the Bible throughout the ages
- In the olden days it was forbidden to be read by unmarried Jews under 30y by themselves
- It was never doubted to be canonical, neither by Jews nor Christians
Language of Song of Solomon
- Song of Solomon has very vivid, rich, exuberant, forthright emotional and sensual language
- It is in our translations ‘translated down’, meaning the metaphors are kept low-key or the tamer option was put in
- Story of the translator who submitted his translation of SoS to a Bible Society and was told that the translation was excellent, but couldn’t possibly be printed … PG 13 rated Bible text.
- Song of Solomon is packed with many many euphemisms, toned down referrals to things that are not normally named
Different Interpretations or Questions raised by the book
- SoS 1:1 “Song of Songs” … Hebrew superlative, meaning the ultimate song, the best song ever (like the expression ‘King of kings’)
- SoS 1:1 “which is Solomon’s” … which can mean written by Solomon but also could mean written for Solomon
- Given the sensual language different interpretations of Song of Solomon have been suggested – each with its plus points but also problematics:
1 Solomon as author of love poems / erotic poems … teaching Israel about love
- SoS is a love poems as an expression of his romantic interests, sexual passions.
- SoS is King Solomon, writing a manual on love and sex for Israel. At Jewish weddings one part of SoS is read on each of the 7 feast days (?).
- What speaks for understanding SoS like that?
- 1 Kin 11:2 Solomon marries 700 wives and has another 300 concubines. It says “Solomon clung to these (women) in love”. He is a likely person to write love songs or erotic poems.
- 1 Kin 4:29 Solomon’s name was synonymous with wisdom and wisdom literature
- 1 Kin 4:32 Solomon wrote 1005 songs, so he may well have written this one.
- 1 Kin 4:33 Solomon was knowledgeable about plants and science, which would match the rich use of fauna and flora in Song of Solomon.
- But this interpretations raises some serious problems:
- How can God speak through a sexually fallen person like Solomon on the topic of exclusive love?
- God can speak through anyone, even a donkey (Balaam), but would he have Solomon teach Israel about love, sex, marriage?
- SoS 6:9 “you are my perfect one, my only one” is a bit much to accept from somebody who has 1000 wives!
- SoS 6:8 Even the preceding verse outright mentions 60 queens and 80 concubines looking on, not exactly helping the romantic feeling.
- And if this is romantic Solomon teaching Israel, why are their ‘subversive verses’ like SoS 6:8-9, SoS 6:13b, SoS 8:6, SoS 8:12. Why is there a tension in the book?
2 A love poem collection
- This interpretation claims that Song of Solomon is a collection of a few erotic love poems by different authors over time. Some identify 8 different poems, some as many as 52.
- What speaks for this interpretation?
- Other erotic love poem collections of that time exist.
- What speaks against this interpretation?
- Who was collecting what and why and for whom? using what criteria?
- Also: the overall chiastic structure, repeated themes and central message do not support a piecemeal collection.
- Jewish tradition claims otherwise.
3 An Allegory
This interpretation is held by many, claiming that Song of Solomon is
- an allegory of God’s Love for Israel … the traditional interpretation of the Jewish Teachers.
- What speaks for it is that in the OT God is often presented as husband, the people Israel as his wife (Hosea etc).
- An allegory of God’s Love for the Church … the traditional interpretation of the Church.
- What speaks for this is that in the NT Jesus is presented as the husband, the church or the believers as his bride or wife. For example Eph 5:31-32 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother … this is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church”. Also: 2 Cor 11:1-2, Rev 21:2.
- In my opinion the allegorical approach is a good typological second meaning of Song of Solomon, and you can read it as that and gain greatly from it. Wonderful books have been written using this approach, like “Hind’s feet on high Places” by Hannah Hurnard. In the middle Ages Song of Solomon was understood at Jesus’ love for Mary.
- Yet in the Bible allegories are usually clearly marked and introduced as such: Hosea, Ezekiel 16, Gal 4:24, Jdg 9:8-15 yet in Song of Solomon no allegory is explicitly mentioned.
- To just declare something an allegory can be problematic. There may well be second / typological / deeper meanings to things, but that needs to be established, declared
- Example: the OT “tabernacle” or “temple”, meant “God living among us” which is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, the Immanuel (“God with us”), being the Word that “became flesh and tabernacled among us” Jhn 1:14. This is an example of a type that is clearly established by Scripture.
- Example: Hosea 11:1 “out of Egypt I called my son”, which clearly refers to Israel being saved out of Egypt during Exodus. In the NT this Scripture is quoted in Mth 2:15 as on top of that referring also to Jesus, who spent some early years in Egypt.
- If this is an allegory, why does Song of Solomon contain highly physical and sensual descriptions, like for example SoS 7:7 “You are stately like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches” … surely another picture could have been used if this is allegorical only?
- In Summary: The allegorical interpretation is a legitimate second interpretation, but I don’t think it was the primary meaning of the text.
4 A Mock poem
- This is a modern Interpretation: Song of Solomon depicts a love triangle > Solomon, the woman, her shepherd lover. Solomon losing out in spite of his glamor to the shepherd boy.
- What speaks for this interpretation?
- SoS 12:7 “If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned”
- SoS 12:12 “My vineyard, my very own, is for myself, you, o Solomon, may have the thousand, and the keepers of the fruit two hundred!” … passages like this that seem to provoke or challenge Solomon, would fit the picture of a mock poem and are kind of hard to explain otherwise.
- What speaks against this interpretation?
- How would a mock poem have thrived and survived at Solomon’s wisdom court?
- Why would it have been considered authoritative Scripture?
- Also: how such refined and stunning poetry be written by simple people (the shepherd).
- The fact that this interpretation has only been around for a very short time.
5 A wedding song with a message to Solomon
- In this approach Song of Solomon is understood to be written to Solomon, likely on the occasion of one of his many marriages.
- It is a beautiful and flattering song, extolling Solomon, but yet an underhand challenge to Solomon by a concerned minstrel in his court, challenging his polygamy and licentiousness.
- Maybe a concerned wise men at Solomon’s court tries to remind Solomon of God’s highest, an intimate, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman, based on friendship and mutuality.
- What speaks for this interpretation? There is a undercurrent of tension in the Song, the woman is fighting for her lover’s exclusive love. It is anti-polygamy.
- SoS 12:12 “My vineyard, my very own, is for myself, you, o Solomon, may have the thousand, and the keepers of the fruit two hundred!”
- SoS 6:8-13 … Why are the sixty queens and eighty concubines and maidens without number mentioned? They surely don’t help the romantic feeling!
- Later more on this.
Background Information
Authorship
- The answer will depend on the approach or interpretation:
- Many authors … if it’s a collection of erotic love poems
- The great chiastic overall structure to the whole book, repeated themes and progression speaks of the book being a unit.
- SoS 1:1 Author could be Solomon himself … 1 Kin 4:32 mentions him writing 1005 song, so why not this one?
- Jewish tradition linked to Prov and Ecclesiastes, suggesting that this song is also by Solomon … How does Solomon figure in the song?
- SoS 1:4 “the king has brought me into his chambers …”
- SoS 1:5 “black like the curtains of Solomon …”
- SoS 1:9 “comparing her to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots”
- SoS 1:12 “king on his couch …”
- SoS 3:7 “the litter of Solomon …”
- SoS 3:9 “Solomon made himself a palanquin …”
- SoS 3:11 “Look, o daughters of Zion, at King Solomon on the day of his wedding …”
- SoS 5:10-16 flattering description of the lover
- SoS 12:12 “my vineyard, my very own, is for myself; you O Solomon, may have the thousand …”
- Clearly flattery, positive, attractive … would you write that about yourself? Maybe all-exalted Solomon would be able to?
- But If it’s private self-centered fancy, what is the public aspect?
- Why a sentence like SoS 12:12, which seems challenging Solomon? There is more tension in the song first apparent
- Maybe somebody is writing to Solomon, maybe a wisdom minstrel, on an occasion like a wedding (SoS 3:11). Solomon kept a court of wisdom writers, wisdom literature, wisdom tradition … the author could be by one of that court
- Maybe this is on the occasion another wedding … SoS 6:8 mentions sixty queens and eighty concubines, maybe this was wedding of wife number 61 / or wedding number 141? 700 weddings in 40 years, this is more than a wedding / m.
Date
- In Solomon’s life time (if by him or to him) > 971-931 BC
- Before split kingdom … quite a bit of the imagery refers to Israel … SoS 6:4 “beautiful as Tirza”
- If this was wedding number 61, time-wise this indicates rather towards the beginning of Solomon’s reign, maybe 960s BC, he ends up with 700 wives and 300 concubines eventually (1 Kin 11:3).
Audience
- Maybe to Solomon on his 61st wedding? To Israel to not be derailed by their amorous king?
- Maybe by Solomon to Israel, the wise men, the court …
Main Figures
- Solomon (groom) … Shulammite girl (bride) … choir (daughters of Jerusalem)
Importance of Song of Solomon
- Affirmation and exaltation of love, marriage, beauty, sex, relationship, family as of God and good
- Message of the purity, strength, exclusivity and covenant nature of love, the love-relationship and sexual love
- If it was a challenge to Solomon: needed but unheeded
Literary Type
- All poetry (except SoS 1:1) > figurative interpretation
Structure
- SoS 1:1 calls it a “Song”. Often counted with the Wisdom writings as it is also linked with Solomon.
- Stage drama with a woman, a man and a choir … easily performable
Composition
- Arranged as chiasm
- Many, many Metaphors, Similes, Euphemisms
Main ideas / topics
- Beauty and power of romance and sexual love in a love-relationship leading to marriage
- God’s design, blessing and joy over it > revealing God’s heart
- Commitment and exclusivity versus harem and licentiousness
- Enjoy it within God’s boundaries. The intention for sex was pleasure and intimacy … not just procreation
Main reasons / goals
- To teach Israel God’s celebration and affirmation of romance, sexual love, marriage, family
- To teach Israel God’s design for and blessing of an honorable, exclusive, covenant marriage relationship
- Challenge to Solomon’s lifestyle, an attempt to stem Solomon’s influence on the morals of Israel
Structure
- Drama, the problem is: who is speaking what to whom? When does is switch? Some are clear, others are not
- Example SoS 1:2-4a bride speaking / thinking / dreaming
- Example SoS 1:8-10 groom speaking to bride
- Example SoS 1:11 choir?
- Example SoS 1:12-14 bride thinking / dreaming Color it into your Bible > less confusing
- Different Interpretation see the this slightly different > different emphases
- Chiasm > beauty to Jewish eyes, ears, feelings
- Most important thing in a chiasm is the mid-line > the actual marriage. The book needs to be interpreted from this center of focus on marriage … bedroom scenes before are imagined, bedroom scenes after are real
- More modern western interpretations of ‘free sexual relations as pleases’ are really doing force to the text.
Let’s think: Situation at Solomon’s Court
- Solomon
- Let’s say we are at 60 wives and 80 concubines, and Solomon is heading for wife number 61.
- How does he think about women? What are women for? What do you think it does to Solomon’s mind to have so many? What does it do to a marriage relationship? Can anything Solomon experiences be called a true marriage? How would an evening at Solomon’s house have looked like? How would his family life have looked like? Would he even recognize most of his wives?
- How would continual tension / comparison / competition affect his relationship with each? Setting himself up for emotional manipulation
- Harem
- Imagine you are one of the harem. You were wife number 55. You also are beautiful, you also were once the favored one. Here is Solomon’s newest conquest … beautiful she is, no doubt, but then again: many are beautiful, what do you think about the new girl? What do you feel towards her? How will you get back at her in the daily harem life?
- Shulammite
- Imagine you are wife number 61, your father promised you in marriage to Solomon. Maybe your father is just a friend or ally of Solomon. But maybe Solomon actually saw you somewhere, and you pleased him. The mere memory makes your head spin. He is very impressive. Who would not be swept away? But how do you feel? How would Solomon’s attentions seem? How his words? What is your insecurity?
- What is your fear? What do you think of the others? How long do you think you’ll last? How about 10 years from now, when you’re not that new and beautiful any more?
- Awise man at the court of Solomon
- You knew and loved David, you were one of his officers, later became one of his trustees. You love God and you exalt in the state of Israel due to this godly king. You have known and loved David’s son Solomon, you watched him grow up, grow in grace and in wisdom.
- You were happy, when David followed through and made Solomon his follower.
- You were in the first row when the temple was dedicated.
- You still vividly remember Solomon’s prayer then, though many years have passed.
- You grew richer and wiser as all did at the court of Solomon. It is the golden times, and good times you are having, always careful to acknowledge God, who is the Giver of all this blessing.
- But since quite a while you are starting to see things that you do not like. First it just seemed some blibs, nothing that important. Just a great man using his great power. And his great freedom.
- But now patterns are emerging. What looked like a one-off now seems to turn into a habit. Of course there is wealth, trade, international fame … those are the good gifts of God, but there seems to be more and more indulgence, which starts to worry you. Lots of alliances, with lots of countries, idol worshiping countries. Marriages and more marriages.
- What is Solomon after? Of course, beautiful women are beautiful, and you do not begrudge Solomon his wives. But this many? This often? This regular? What is he doing?
- How can he even keep any sort of responsibility for his growing family? And what are all these wives doing? Many don’t speak Hebrew, most don’t know and worship God.
- You have heard juicy stories from the harem’s in charge about their quarrels. Maybe women always do that?
- But then again what else can they do? You know some of Solomon’s sons personally. As a matter of fact you are trying to teach and disciple a few of them.
- But is this your job? They barely know their father. The all revere their father, grow up with a sense of pride, but really, pride is no substitute for relationship.
- And you see their mothers scheming and competing, over their sons, but also over where Solomon spends his nights.
- The children are abandoned, really, by their father, and discipled by their mothers. Discipled in everything except God’s law & Jewish life-style. Where is this going to end?
- And then you see an endless stream of pretty young girls arriving at the harem. How will they fare? How long will they last? What are their choices?
- And where is this leading the nation to? What example is this setting? Is this the example of what God wanted for marriage and family? How is Israel influenced by all this? What will this do to the morel of your nation?
- What can you attempt to do? How can you influence the King on this touchy issue?
Who is the bride, the Shulammite Woman
- SoS 6:13 Shulammite woman … Actually Solomon, Peace and Shulammite it all very similar in Hebrew
- SoS 1:5 black but beautiful …
- SoS 1:6 dark, sun gazed upon me (not rich) …
- shown as very much in love, but chaste, moral, desiring exclusive love, growing in confidence, self-giving
- SoS 6:8-10 acknowledged beautiful by harem … fighting for his exclusive love … maybe wife number 61, with another 60 wives & 80 concubines looking on?
SONG OF SOLOMON – TEXT
Metaphors and Meanings
- The whole book is poetry, weaving of superb pictures, thoughts, themes, allusions and euphemisms
- The book is ‘translated down’, often much more extreme translations / pictures could be placed … the language allows for both, but in context it’s the extremer, poetically hinted at
- Weaving of sensory language … involving as many senses as possible
- spices / oils / fragrances / smells sense of smell
- Food / drink / honey / milk / wine sense of taste
- Mountains of spices / En-gedi / hills / sense of sight
- Lilies / gather lilies / pasture flock in the gardens / sense of sight
- Even within the very beauty / sight oriented metaphors, there is the Hebrew slant towards essence over looks … we will point this out as we go
- Structure / David Hamilton’s handout > do some scenes showing the progression & figures of speech
The theme of tension, the harem, the fight for exclusive love
- SoS 1:2-4 girl hoping for love … choir: “we will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine, rightly do they love you…”
- SoS 1:7-8 “tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who is veiled beside the flocks of your companions?” This is her inquiring where to meet him, how to spend time, how to get to know him better. But also: I don’t want to be one veiled wandering (prostitute), one at the periphery, don’t want to be a lost sheep, don’t want to be a one of the flock
- SoS 1:8 “follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ tents” … maybe just an indication where he is to be found. Maybe it’s an invitation for her to ‘join the scene’, maybe also a reference to the harem, him saying: if you want me, join the harem!
- SoS 2:2 “as a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens” … surely a compliment, a praise, an affirmation … but how good does it feel? Maybe I’m winning the comparison now, but how about in 3 years? And in 10?
- SoS 3:1-4 her dream of loosing him, a desperation, a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude, but not a very peaceful nor an honoring thing
- SoS 4:12 he stresses her being a closed garden, a virgin, but the same is not asked or guaranteed by him
- SoS 5:6 him leaving at her initial refusal has now, after marriage and consummation become much more upsetting, terrifying, hurtful and desperate.
- SoS 6:1 “my beloved has gone down to his garden … beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens, and to gather lilies”. This could refer to him being back and making love to her, but also of him having returned to the harem for the first time after their wedding …
- SoS 6:3 “I am my beloved’s, my beloved is mine; he pastures his flock among the lilies” … could express the tension of commitment & exclusivity and his harem … this is supported by the following scene
- from SoS 6:4-13 suddenly there is army and war imagery, whereas before is was all spring, fauna, flora, spices and fragrances
- SoS 6:4 maybe he is back, initiating, but finding her hurt … “your are beautiful … terrible as an army with banners. Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me!” … maybe he gives her power after her feeling so powerless / maybe she does gain strength here and he is the one pursuing …
- SoS 6:8-9 There seems to be a need now for him to prove that she is preferred to the harem / that she is superior … even the harem women praise her … which is is nice, but it doesn’t really solve the problem long-term
- SoS 6:10 Maybe his going back to her signaled to the harem that she is a serious contender …. “who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?”
- SoS 6:13 “Return, return, o Shulammite! … that we may look upon you. Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance before two armies?” The two armies are most likely the group of wives and group of concubines this new girl has to contend with > dancing, pleasing, seducing … but fighting for her place > a picture of utter vulnerability
- Clearly now there is a theme of tension, comparison, a power struggle is introduced in this passages
- SoS 7:10 “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.” … more security, but still the theme of exclusivity
- SoS 8:6 set me like a seal on your heart … yearning for commitment / seal / confirmation / permanence / legality / covenant
- SoS 8:6 love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave … unyielding, once engaged / irreversible / fierce / can’t play
- SoS 8:7 many waters cannot quench … what you roused cannot be easily undone / new reality / irreversible … all wealth would be utterly scorned … showing both the value & the strength / tenacity of love … this cannot be undone with a generous gift
- SoS 8:10 “I was a wall > then I was in his eyes as one who brings peace”… faithfulness / exclusive commitment brings peace, security, freedom
- SoS 8:11-12 “Solomon had a vineyard … entrusted it to keepers > each one to bring 1000 pieces. My vineyard, my very own, is for myself; you, O Solomon may have the 1000, and the keepers the 200” … Maybe referring to Solomon’s 1000 wives … him managing, hiring out, keepers maybe eunuchs. The whole being a bit a business (maybe the foreign alliance marriages especially?) … but that is nothing compared to the one.
- Maybe a sore challenge to Solomon
- There are things where to want more than one means to loose everything. Marriage is something like that: you want more than one, you end up with none!
Some basic messages of Song of Solomon
God is the Creator, Inventor, Giver, Blesser of human relationship, love, marriage, body, sex and family
- God created the physical universe. God created the human body. God created sexuality. God created marriage. God created family.
- This is his domain (not Satan’s!!), even though the gifts can be abused, there is a godly version of this, and it is the most fulfilling!
- Sex in not primarily for procreation, it is primarily for joy, for blessing, for pleasure, for fulfillment, for cementing unity between husband & wife in mutuality and self-giving … and yes, it is God’s chosen way, that in the deepest unity would new life come. It is the best place.
- The Jews were much more positive and free in their view of the body, of marriage, of sexuality …
- Ecc 9:9 “enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life …”
- Prv 5:15-19 “drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well … let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be intoxicated always by her love…”
- In Jewish tradition there was only one reason a wise man may sell a Torah: to get married. Jews were commanded to make sure, sex is also pleasurable for their wives. The Jewish tradition was closer to God’s original than some later Christian developments.
- The church has long had much too negative view of the body and sexuality:
- Paul in 1 Cor 7:8-9 … to the unmarried > it is well for them to remain unmarried … but if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion … > marriage as second best
- Churchfather Augustinus > basic sin is linked with sexuality … you were conceived in sin
- Churchfather Origen > castrated himself
- Churchfather Clemens > women, be ashamed of being women
- Churchfather Tertullian > womanly beauty should be shunned
- Churchfather Jerome > the man who loves his wife too much is an adulterer
- Churchfather Augustus ? > if you have sex without the goal of procreation, you are sinning
- Scholar Thomas of Aquinas > the only reason for sex is procreation
- Church history > when with Constantine Christianity became state religion, faith was watered down. In response many went to the wilderness, living lives of chastity, complete devotion, asceticism. These then were called to church leadership, bringing with them their negative view of body, marriage, sex, teaching that church leaders need to be celibate. In this way in the Catholic church celibacy came to be considered mandatory for spiritual leaders. The protestants erred differently but equally, by demanding that people having roles in the church have to be married.
- This negative view has influenced the church for centuries
- Correcting this strongly: God created, designs, wants, blesses the body, human love, marriage, sex, family
- We need to know this, believe this, live this, teach this
- The beauty of exclusive / committed / covenant love
- SoS 6:9 “my dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the darling of her mother … the maidens saw her and called her happy; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her. Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?”
- SoS 8:6 “Set me as a seal upon your heart, for love is as strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame” … Death and grace powerful metaphors: The grave never yields, never gives anyone back.
- Love by its very nature (listen to any love song on radio in any nation!) is exclusive and committing itself eternally
- Love is hollow by definition if it turns away / switches around … it’s against the very nature of love
God’s highest is Monogamy – pleading for monogamy
- By its very nature true love wants to be monogamous
- Polygamy is maybe socially acceptable, but cheats both men and women. Women more obviously, but men equally
- Polygamy by its nature prevention of true, deep relationship, mutuality, trust, reliance, common life, intimacy
- Polygamy by its nature brings comparison & competition where there never should have been > making women extremely vulnerable, hurt, weak
- Polygamy gives to men > power, gratification, sexual license … but it takes from men > true companionship, friendship, intimacy
- Remember that with all 1000 wives fawning him Solomon says in Ecc 7:26 … “I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters” … Ecc 7:28 “One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.” Of course, Solomon, of course, what do you expect except manipulation if this woman sees you once a year maybe?
- Song of songs is a plea for monogamy, powerfully showing the beauty and strength of monogamy
- Some considerations from biology: anatomy seems to indicate clearly that one man and one woman was meant. Also the equal presence of nerve endings in the skin of men and women indicates that sex was designed to be pleasurable for both. etc.
Song of songs in all its focus on physical love is utterly moral
- SoS 1:7 the woman wants a committed relationship (marriage), not an affair/sexual encounter
- SoS 1:9-11 his praise of her revolves around the publicly presentable parts > cheeks, neck, … only after marriage does he praise the parts of her body not presented publicly > hair, breasts, belly, legs, feet … whatever that means she dreams ahead of intimacy … SoS 1:2-4, 1:12-2:7, 2:16-3:7. But only after marriage is it really happening SoS 4:1-5:1 the wedding night, 5:2-6, 6:2-12, 7:1-9, 7:10-8:4.
- SoS 8:6 “set me like a seal upon your heart” … “seal” meaning confirmation, ownership, legal property, lasting legal covenant, continuity, legality.
- SoS 8:6 “for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave” … death or grave never gives anyone up, once there, always there, completeness and irreversibility, wholeheartedness and totality
- SoS 8:8-9 “little sister, wall or door?” > build on her strength, or have to wall her in.
- SoS 8:10 “I was a wall … then I was in his eyes as one who brings peace”
- SoS is strongly commending, modeling, exalting moral love, virginity, faithfulness to God’s standard
- Sex thrives on relationship, intimacy, friendship, time spent, giving
- Sex in Song of Solomon is not only inside marriage, it is set against a backdrop of relationship, friendship, spent time, intimacy other than physical, praise, affirmation, communication, marriage commitment
- Sex thrives only in these circumstances > without them is becomes mostly physical, more mechanical, completely self-focused, self-gratification, selfish > lust becomes power or dominance.
- Sex needs willingness from both sides, even in the very love making … Note that Song of Solomon is full of invitations of one to the other, both of the man to the woman, and the woman to the man
- SoS 2:10 “arise, my love, my fair one, and come away” … SoS 2:14 “let me see your face, let me hear your voice” … SoS 4:8 “come with me from Lebanon” … SoS 4:12 “a garden locked is my sister, my bride, a garden locked, a fountain sealed” …. SoS 4:16 “let my beloved come into his garden and eat its choicest fruit” … SoS 5:1 “I come into my garden”
- a scene that shows a discord between her and him concerning sex is Sos 5:2-6 … he initiates, she is unwilling, then she is aroused, but he is gone … excruciating emotion, tension, desperation, hurt …
- Giving, not receiving is the basic attitude in good sex … the man and the woman learn to respond to each other, to fulfill the needs of each other, rather than ‘I’m not interested’, or ‘I want’, … SoS 7:11-12 “come, let us go forth … there I will give you my love, new as well as old, which I have laid up for you.”
Sex is man-based or man-driven
- Actually, not in Song of Solomon. More verses in the song are spoken by her than him.
- She is the one that rushes ahead with marriage and love hopes (dreaming 3x of future intimacy) … he engages later
- After marriage he initiates SoS 4:1 wedding night … SoS 5:2 the abortive attempt … SoS 7:1 …. only SoS 7:11 she initiates as she gains confidence
- The message is mutuality, both’s initiative, an equality and evenness and freedom
Increasing intimacy / pleasure / giving / confidence as the relationship develops
- The timidity, trepidation, desperation, insecurity displayed in SoS 1:5, SoS 1:7 … SoS 3:1-4 “held him, and would not let him go until I brought him into my mother’s house / chamber” … especially SoS 5:6-8 … then in contrast SoS 7:10-13 “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me. Come … let us go forth … there I will give you my love … fruit, new as well as old.”
- Some medical considerations:
- chastity and faithfulness prevents most all STDs: Genital warts, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, PID, AIDS, … some painful, some itchy, some with risk of infertility, some with risk of mental problems … increasingly untreatable
- body design … complementing of one husband one wife … not polygamy… not homosexuality … vagina can handle intercourse, the rectum or anus cannot really > ripping tissue, bleeding, increased risk of infection
- Hymen … Arab thought: “Here lies the family honor” … Virginity really has nothing to do with hymen, everything to do with choice and action … and it is for both genders equally. Some people born without hymen. Hymen reconstructive surgery may satisfy cultural demands.
- Female Circumcision … cutting away of clitoris, internal labia, external labia, sewing shut everything except a hole for urine > death risk at operation, tremendous scar tissue … often preventing passage at birth > painful, dangerous > rips > infections, fistulas … Why? Nicer for the man? Let her have no pleasure during sex? Painful sex for her? Prevention of unfaithfulness?
- Nerve endings … everywhere, higher concentration on inside skin, highest concentration on penis / clitoris … both genders have equal amounts (unless you do female circumcision) … message of God: both are to have pleasure
- Nerve endings … connection to pain by Jesus on the cross
- Hormones … female Androgen, male Androgen and Testosterone
Some Myths around sex that Song of Solomon contradicts
- Only for procreation
- Only fun for the man, why then did God put sensory nerves on her?
- First is the climax, then slow steady decent > the longer the more boring….
- Self-control before means less pleasure afterward (West)
- Must have. If you don’t have sex > medical or mental problems (West)
- The more experience > the better (West)
- Better sex techniques improve sex (West)
- Evil is bound up in the body of the woman, temptation is ‘her fault’ (East)
- The only value of a woman is in being a wife and mother (East)
- Crazy, proud, fierce, possessive rejected lovers throwing acid is s NOT love (East)
- Our Gender insecurity: Proofs where no proves are needed, competition where complementing was meant, hierarchy, where mutuality was meant
Application
- Challenge to the Married ones: Is this what you are experiencing? Are you sure this is what your spouse is experiencing?
- Challenge to the Unmarried ones: If this thing is so good, why is God not giving it to me? Will I think it un-spiritual and bad? Will I lower its beauty because I might not have it?