The Song of Solomon is different from any other book in the Bible. Some people are surprised at its content. It seems like letters two lovers wrote one another where the male and female describe the other from their perspective. The poems express excitement at the thought of the other and sometimes depict the physical attributes of the object of affection in vivid language. Some scholars have argued that the book is best understood as expressing the relationship between man and God. Is such a reading viable? If so, why such a format?
Name, Authorship, and Plot
The Song of Songs is also called the Song of Solomon because it opens with the verse “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.” The term “song of songs” is a Hebrew idiom that expresses a superlative, like “King of kings” or “Holy of holies,” which indicates that this is the ultimate song.
Many readers believe Solomon wrote the book, though it seems more likely that it is a compilation of poems that a woman and her man had written for each other. The female voice contributes most of the content, and the male voice responds. He does not seem to be Solomon, though the book mentions his name seven times. The book depicts an exclusive relationship where the lovers only have eyes for one another, and Solomon, who had 700 wives and 300 concubines, is not a likely contender (1 Kings 11:1-3). Some scholars have suggested that the Song of Songs should be understood as a book in the wisdom tradition of Solomon, rather than authored by him.
The book’s plot is a love relationship between a beautiful Shulamite woman who seems to be a peasant and a man who appears to be a shepherd but later turns out to be a rich king. Initially, their infatuation with and desire for each other has to be restrained, but later it is free to come to fruition.
Several other players appear from time to time in the poems. The first are her friends, who the text describes as the daughters of Jerusalem. They seem to vicariously experience love through the main female protagonist in the Song of Songs. Another group that appears in the poems are the woman’s brothers who are very protective of her and want to make sure that she remains pure until marriage. The text also mentions the watchmen who she encountered as she was looking for the king but who, on another occasion, beat and bruised her.
Structure and Content
Some scholars suggest that the book is neatly divided into three sections. In the first, the lovers long for each other but are betrothed, and their desires cannot come to full fruition yet (Song of Solomon 1:2-3:5). The second section depicts their wedding (Song of Solomon 3:6-5:1), and the third section describes the time they are married (Song of Solomon 5:2-8:14).
In the first chapter, the woman starts speaking and expresses her desire for the man in vivid, descriptive language that shows her infatuation with him. She is insecure initially because her skin is darkened by the sun as she tends to her brothers’ vineyards. She could therefore not have been of royal descent but rather fit the peasant class. The text goes back and forth as she speaks, and he responds. Their desire for each other is intense and one theme that recurs is seeking and finding. They would seek, and sometimes find, one another, and embrace. These scenes are often cut short and a new cycle of seeking and finding starts.
Another recurring theme is their physical descriptions of one another. Their attraction is palpable. These descriptions are symbolic, not visual. The man compares the woman to a royal mare among chariot horses, presumably depicting her attractiveness to men who observe her (Song of Songs 1:9). He compares her neck to jewels and her eyes to doves (Song of Songs 1:10, 15), and in turn her descriptions of him portrays him as an apple tree in a forest that shades and provides nourishment (Song of Songs 2:3-5). She compares him to a gazelle and a stag, and she is infatuated with him (Song of Songs 2:9). Her descriptions often point to his wealth, agility, and status, indicating strength and that he would be able to provide protection and security (Song of Songs 1:17, 2:4-6, 2:8).
In the first section, the descriptions relate characteristics that anyone could notice who has been near either of them. Their desire for each other is clear, but in chapters 2:7 and 3:5 the warning sounds “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” The warning suggests that their love during this period could not be consummated yet.
The second section (3:6-3:11) suggests that a wedding took place. King Solomon, if not the male protagonist, is in attendance. The description of the woman is much more intimate than it has been before. Starting by likening her eyes to doves as the poet did before, the man continues to describe her hair, teeth, lips, mouth, cheeks, and neck.
The descriptions are vivid and sensual, suggesting they are alone in a private setting. His description of her breasts, breathing and the taste of her lips indicate they were consummating their marriage. Her response in Song of Songs 4:16 supports this notion when she says: “Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits.” The section closes with him stating: “I came to my garden, my sister, my bride, I gathered my myrrh with my spice, I ate my honeycomb with my honey, I drank my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love!”
In the third section of the Song of Songs, the theme of seeking and finding resumes. Here, there seems to be confusion as the woman dreams about a separation between them, which may depict her subconscious insecurities. Nevertheless, she finds her love, and their relationship blossoms further. The elaborate ways they describe each other continue as their love increases after marriage. Again, these descriptions are not visual, but symbolic and should be interpreted within the context of what those symbols meant at the time.
The lovers delight in one another and as the depth of their love matures, the woman expresses the power of their love. She states:
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised” (Song of Songs 8:6-7).
The Song of Solomon is open-ended, highlighting the opportunity for love to develop and grow continually.
Why is the Song of Solomon in the Bible?
So, considering that the Song of Songs does not mention God once, why was it included in the Bible? In the Jewish tradition, the Song of Songs is an allegory for the relationship between God and Israel. The woman symbolizes Israel and the man is God. Their love represents the covenant relationship between God and his chosen people.
With the introduction of the Christian era, the idea that the Song of Songs represents a relationship between God and man continued, but the characters differed. The book became a depiction of the relationship between Christ and the Church. This idea was in part supported by passages like Ephesians 5:25-33 which starts by comparing the relationship between a man and a woman to that of Christ and the Church, saying: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Though these views have been held for many centuries, recent discoveries of similar poetry from ancient Egyptian and Babylonian cultures have suggested that the Song of Songs is what it presents itself to be: love poetry. Recent discoveries of works using similar language and imagery to the Song of Songs supports this view. In Judaism and Christianity, it reflects the divine gift of love which is healthy when practiced within the parameters of a marriage. That does not invalidate some of the parallels theologians draw between the two protagonists of Song of Songs on the one hand and God and man on the other.
As with other sections of scripture, there may well be a dual applicability to the Song of Songs that speaks to the relationship between a man and a woman and between man and God. The way Song of Songs uses garden imagery is reminiscent of the first chapters of Genesis where Adam and Eve lived in harmony with each other and God in paradise.
