Things You Need to Know... from Song of Solomon
Hence, it is better to see the title “Song of Songs” (Song 1:1) as describing this as the best of songs (just as “King of kings and Lord of lords” refers to the best king and lord), rather than as a collection.
Why is this seemingly erotic little book included in the sacred canon? What is its message? Part of the answer is that it speaks of an order of creation that is both pedagogical and eschatological. It speaks of marriage as it ought to be.
The Bible does not see marriage as an inferior state, a concession to human weakness. Nor does it see the normal physical love within that relationship as necessarily impure. Marriage was instituted before the Fall by God with the command that the first couple become one flesh. Therefore physical love within that conjugal union is good, is God’s will, and should be a delight to both partners (Prov 5:15–19; 1 Cor 7:3).
The author has presented the Song of Solomon as a series of exchanges, mostly between the shepherdess and the shepherd, with the chorus-like “others” sprinkled in. These others usually pick up items from the lovers’ speeches and urge the two forward in love. There is also a refrain, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, … that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (2:7; 3:5; 8:4; variation in 5:8), spoken by the shepherdess, which is understood as her urging the other women not to push this love too fast, in order to let it reach its consummation at the right time (the marriage bed, which seems to begin in 8:5).
According to the reading followed here, the middle section of the book (3:1–6:3) describes the shepherdess’s dream, anticipating the consummation of their love. This is suggested by 3:1 (“On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves”) and 5:2 (“I slept, but my heart was awake”). The content is what one expects in such a dream: sexual longings, fears of loss, nightmarish scenes (5:7), and an imaginative transformation of the beloved into a Solomon figure (3:6–11). The dream expresses the eager erotic desires that the young man and woman have for each other; within the context of biblical morality, this longing is a part of God’s good gift, looking forward to the consummation of their love.
The lovers speak in different ways, reflecting the difference between how a man and a woman experience being in love. The man’s speech focuses entirely on the woman: he does not address anyone else in the Song of Solomon; he frequently addresses the woman directly, praising her admirable qualities; and though he does occasionally speak about himself (e.g., 5:1; 7:8; 8:13), readers learn only how fully his thoughts about the woman have taken over his imagination.
The woman is not nearly as exclusive in her speech, addressing “the daughters of Jerusalem” as well as the man. Of course, that does not make her distant: when she speaks to others, it is often about her beloved (e.g., 2:8–9), his admirable qualities (5:10–16), and her desire for him (2:5; 5:2–8). She describes what her beloved means to her (1:13–14), and her desire to be with him and give herself to him (7:12–13). She finds pleasure in the way her beloved desires her (7:10). The Song of Solomon portrays the young woman with sympathy and subtlety; she is perhaps the most clearly drawn female character in the Bible.
All 117 verses in Solomon’s Song have been recognized by the Jews as a part of their sacred writings. Along with Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Lamentations, it is included among the OT books of the Megilloth, or “five scrolls.” The Jews read this song at Passover, calling it “the Holy of Holies.” Surprisingly, God is not mentioned explicitly, except possibly in 8:6. No formal theological themes emerge. The NT never quotes Solomon’s Song directly.