Song of Solomon (Song of Songs)

Composition

The Song of Songs is a collection of love poems or songs. It is also called the Song of Solomon, although his name was attached to the poems later. Some sources refer to it as the Canticle of Canticles. Canticles are hymns, chants, or other religious songs of praise. The book is including in the third section of the Old Testament, a section known as Ketuvim or “Writings” in the Hebrew Bible. The Song of Songs is one of the Megillot, five scrolls of the Hebrew Bible that are read on Jewish religious festivals. The others are Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. The Song of Songs is read on the sabbath of the week of Passover, or Pesah, when Jews celebrate the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.

The poems are believed to have been written about the tenth century BCE during the Davidic monarchy. Those who credit Solomon, whose reign was between about 970 and 931 BCE, point to the references to him in six verses and several references to a king. For example, in Song of Songs 1:4, a woman says, “The king hath brought me into his chambers.” Proponents of this theory note similarity between the verse and Ecclesiastes, which many attribute to Solomon, but evidence suggests Ecclesiastes was written seven centuries after Solomon’s lifetime. Some say the text’s mention of luxuries and royal chariots point to an author with experience of such goods, but no evidence has been found to credit Solomon as opposed to any other wealthy person.

Furthermore, proponents say cities mentioned in the poems, notably Tirzah and Jerusalem, would not have earned such regard if the poems had been written after 930 BCE. This was because the region was divided into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah soon after Solomon’s death. However, these dates are derived from biblical texts and not strongly supported by archaeological evidence.

The language of the title could be interpreted to mean the work is dedicated to Solomon, rather than written by him. Some scholars believe the poems were by several writers, possibly working over several centuries, although others say the repetition of phrasing and imagery suggests the work of a single author.

Summary

The text comprises thirty poems or songs. The poems do not tell a story, although many readers view the text as the progression of a relationship through courtship, marriage, and consummation, or courtship, marriage, and the maturing relationship. They alternate between a male and female narrator, with other passages apparently spoken by friends functioning as a chorus interspersed. Portions are dialogue between the man and woman. Some speculate that the male character is Solomon and the woman his first wife. Some believe the male character is in fact two men, the king who is wooing the woman and the shepherd she loves and chooses in the end.

The woman is referred to as a Shulammite. Varied interpretations say she was from a town called Shulam or possibly Shunem, which in modern times is Sulam in northern Israel. The term may also mean “woman of Jerusalem” from the Hebrew shulammit. The majority of the first chapter consists of the woman addressing the man, urging him to take her away. She describes herself as having dark skin because her brothers made her work in the vineyards in the sun. The friends also speak. The man addresses her, praising her beauty, and she returns the compliment.

The following chapters follow much the same format, with varying compliments and statements of longing and love. Several lines are repeated throughout. The woman says, “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the rose, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please” (2:7). She repeats this admonition for maidens to wait for love in 3:5 and 8:4.

The maiden dreams that she is looking for her lover or, as some interpret it, she goes looking for him. She finds him and they have a lavish wedding or indulge in lovemaking. She compares him to King Solomon. She dreams that her lover is knocking at the door, or she coyly refuses to open the door to him, but when she opens it, he is gone. She looks for him, but the city guards find her and beat her. She calls for the other women to help her find her love, and when the daughters of Jerusalem ask her to describe him, she praises his good looks.

The maiden and her lover meet in the garden, where he showers her with compliments. She wishes they could go away together. They use a great deal of natural imagery, referring to delicious fruits, fragrant flowers, spices, and other pleasures. The man comments that King Solomon has many vineyards (wives and concubines), but he is pleased with his one vineyard, his lover. The man calls the maiden his bride multiple times; this may indicate they have married, or simply that he wants theirs to be a lasting relationship that could lead to marriage.

Themes

The title, Song of Songs, is a Hebrew form of superlative. It is meant to express that this is the most excellent or most beautiful of songs, although the person who gave it that title is unknown.

The Song of Solomon has been interpreted in many ways. Most common are allegorical and literal approaches, but some have made claims it is cultic or dramatic. Arguments for dramatic interpretation are based in part on the structure and tone. The presence of interspersed comments from the chorus of friends, who the maiden calls the daughters of Jerusalem, fits with the style dramatic works of antiquity. Some researchers have made claims that the text is a variation of ancient myths of Mesopotamian peoples, notably fertility goddesses whose reunion with a lost lover brings fruitfulness to the land.

The Jewish interpretation is allegorical. It views this as a story of God’s love for the people of Israel and the bond made through a sacred covenant. Christians interpret it as either the love of Jesus for the church or a celebration of marriage and the joys of physical and emotional intimacy in marriage.

Another point of view is more modern. Many scholars view the text as secular love poems that carry no religious message.

The Song of Songs has not met with agreement as to its suitability as canon. Some scholars note that like the book of Esther it contains no direct reference to Yahweh/God, though some have argued that the author did refer to Yahweh in 8:6 in describing love as a “most vehement flame.” Two major schools of Jewish law from the first century BCE to the second century CE disagreed over inclusion of the Song of Solomon. Bet Shammai was against including the poem in the Jewish canon, while Bet Hillel supported it. Crediting Solomon with authorship may have given the work more credence and suggested it was divinely inspired. The allegorical interpretation of God’s love for Israel was likely another factor in its favor. For example, it makes frequent references to the man as shepherd. Jewish allegorical interpretation is derived from the words of the prophets. Many referred to Yahweh as the husband or bridegroom and Israel as his wife or bride. The biblical prophet Hosea is the first to use this allegory, when Yahweh rebukes Israel as a faithless wife for practicing idolatry. Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah all describe the covenant between God and Israel as a marriage.

Early Christians interpreted the Song of Songs as an allegory as well. They saw it as a reference to the relationship between God and his people, Christ and the church, and Christ and the Christian. Some Christian scholars also advocated for literal interpretation. They interpreted the poem as a celebration of marital love and intimacy blessed by God. However, Church leaders rejected such ideas in the sixth century and such interpretations were not revisited for many centuries. A more modern interpretation is that the poem offers instruction on morality. It celebrates the purity of love in marriage and advises individuals and society to avoid temptation.

The author uses many metaphors and imagery. Chief among these are references to locked gardens, which the reader understands to mean virginity. The lover describes the maiden as a locked garden, and she invites him into the garden. This garden and the pastoral setting in which the lovers meet can also be interpreted as the biblical Garden of Eden, in which God created Adam and from his rib created Eve. Eden was an idyllic land; faith in God promises attainment of the ideal kingdom of heaven.

The Song of Songs has as its central theme love and its power. Depending on the interpretation, this may be love between husband and wife, man and woman, God and his people, etc. The recurring theme of beauty can reference the prism through which one sees one’s beloved—always beautiful. This beauty is frequently described in terms of nature—apple trees, lilies, palm trees, vineyards, and fruits, for example. The poem includes many references to spring and youth as well.

Bibliography

Exum, J. Cheryl. “A Literary and Structural Analysis of the Song of Songs.” Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, vol. 85, no. 1, 1973, pp. 47–79. DOI: 10.1515/zatw.1973.85.1.47. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

Fishbane, Michael. The JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs. University of Nebraska Press, 2015.

Gault, Brian P. Body as Landscape, Love as Intoxication: Conceptual Metaphors in the Song of Songs. SBL Press, 2019.

Igbo, Philip. “The Song of Songs: Its Basic Teaching and Place in the OT Canon.” Journal of Religion and Human Relations, vol. 13, no. 1, 2021, pp. 16–36. DOI: 10.4314/jrhr.v13i1.2. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

Jasnos, Renata. “Nuptial Motifs in Composition: A Key to the Interpretation of the Song of Songs.” Verbum Vitae, vol. 39, 2021, pp. 471–494. www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=975592. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

Robinson, Timothy, editor. A Companion to the Song of Songs in the History of Spirituality. Brill, 2021.