Introduction:
Song of Solomon
These commentary notes are not intended
to be in depth or as exhaustive as most of the verse by verse notes on this
website (see
available verse by verse commentaries). The intent instead is to give an overview because there are
probably more unusual interpretations of the Song of Solomon than for any
other book in the Bible, and it would be easy for a sincere student of
the Word to totally avoid this book out of frustration, as so often occurs
when studying the book of the Revelation (the veritable plethora of
prophetic commentaries overwhelming many to exclaim "No one can understand
the Revelation!" I beg to strongly disagree, but see Revelation commentaries
for more discussion).
As discussed below, the reader should be
aware that the interpretative approach adopted in these notes is to take the
text in its literal, natural, normal meaning and not to seek hidden,
"spiritual" or mystical meanings. Such a literal approach does not mean that
there are not many practical applications, but only that such applications
be based upon an accurate interpretation, lest one suffers the consequences
inherent in misapplication of the Word of Truth.
In addition to the brief explanatory
comments, the notes include the devotional and applicational comments from
Today in the Word's
month long series on the Song of Solomon (June, 2004).
It has been said that
Nowhere in Scripture does the unspiritual
mind tread upon ground so mysterious and incomprehensible as in this book,
while the saintliest men and women of the ages have found it a source of
pure and exquisite delight. (Quoted by J. Sidlow Baxter. Explore the
Book)
Baxter goes on to add...
There is no book of Scripture on which
more commentaries have been written and more diversities of opinion
expressed than this short poem of eight chapters" - so says a learned
expositor. We shall be wise, therefore, to avoid adding unprofitably to an
already liberally discussed subject. Fortunately, in the process of the
long-continued discussion certain broad facts have gradually emerged with
increasing clearness, all converging toward the same result; so that we are
now in a position to sum up and draw fairly mature conclusions.
Irving Jensen offers an
interesting introduction noting that...
A healthy balance in Bible study is
maintained when the Song of Solomon is studied along with Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes focuses on the intellect of man -- his mental outlook on life.
The Song of Solomon is a book about the emotions of man -- in
particular the emotion of love.
It is a recognized fact that man's total
experience is directed by these three responses: intellect, emotions and
will. Actually, all three responses are involved in a full experience of
genuine love, just as this is true of genuine faith. To say that the Song of
Solomon is a book about the emotion of life is not to rule out intellect and
will. (E.g., a person in love exercises his will in choosing whom to love.)
It is just that the emotion aspect is prominent in te story.
But the Song of Solomon is more that a
human love story. It is a picture of the love between the Lord God and His
people. If your study of the Song of Solomon will arouse in you a more
genuine love for your Lord, as well as a deeper gratitude for His love to
you, then it will not surprise you that God chose to include such a love
story in His Holy Scriptures. (Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament. Moody
Press. 1978)
Interpretative Approach
Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon is one of the most
controversial and difficult books in the Bible to interpret, with a wide
range of approaches summarized in the following synopsis (very brief - see
introduction in the commentary by Keil and Delitzsch for elaboration
although they interpret the Song as a play or drama, not as a literal
discourse. As an aside Delitzsch wrote that “The Song is the most
obscure book in the Old Testament").
G. Lloyd Carr observed that...
Among the books of the Bible, the Song of
Solomon is one of the smallest, most difficult, yet one of the most popular
with both Jews and Christians. Over the centuries hundreds of books and
commentaries have been written and unnumbered sermons preached on these 117
verses. (The Song of Solomon)
The commentator Pope writes that no
other composition of comparable size in world literature...
has provoked or inspired such a volume
and variety of comment and interpretation"
Recommended Resource concerning
introductory comments on the Song of Solomon - Although an Mp3, Steve
Kreloff gives an excellent, well reasoned introduction to this somewhat
controversial and too often misinterpreted book - Invest 46' to listen to
Kreloff's
Introduction to the Song of Solomon.
(Recommended)
Here are the major interpretative
approaches to the Song of Solomon...
(1) Allegorical: Sadly, the majority
of interpreters (who seem to not want to believe that God could actually
speak on the subject of intimacy between a husband and wife) favor the Song as an allegory which conveys hidden, mystical
and/or "spiritual" meanings. Jewish interpreters favored this approach
picturing Yahweh as the lover and the woman as Israel. The NT church (early
church fathers, later commentators including the reformers, and many modern
scholars) see the lover as the Bridegroom Christ and the woman as His bride,
the Church, some to the point of absurdity.
A major problem with the allegorical
approach is that it normally ignores the intended meaning of the text and
degenerates into eisegesis (reading into the text whatever the reader
wishes).
For example, the Early Church
Father Origen wrote 12 volumes allegorically explaining the Song! Bernhard
of Clairvaux was not much better, actually dying (1153AD) after he had
delivered 86 sermons and only reaching the end of Chapter 2! Clairvaux's
disciple Gilbert Porretanus carried forward the allegorical absurdity for 48
sermons only to reach Chapter 5:10 before he died! The most serious flaw of
the allegorical approach in interpretation of the Song of Solomon (or other
Biblical books, this caution applying especially to commentaries on the
Revelation! See related discussion of the
interpretative approaches to the Revelation;
see also
the rise of allegorical interpretation)
is that this approach is predominantly subjective with no way to verify or
discount the commentator's interpretation.
See also a historical summary of Bible
interpretation by Dr Robert Lewis in his course on hermeneutics (Hermeneutics - Study of Interpretation of Scriptures -
especially the overview of the history of Bible interpretation - beginning
on page 22). (See also
Dr Anthony Garland's discussion on
Interpreting Symbols which includes an
interesting section entitled
The Rise of Allegorical Interpretation)
As Roy Zuck explains that...
Allegorizing is searching for a
hidden or secret meaning underlying but remote from and unrelated in reality
to the more obvious meaning of a text. In other words the literal reading
is a sort of code (Ed note: Does this sound familiar? cp
The Bible Code,
which preceptaustin.org thoroughly rejects as unfounded, without merit and
very misleading!), which needs to be deciphered to determine the more
significant and hidden meaning. In this approach the literal is superficial,
the allegorical is the true meaning. (Roy
B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook
Communications, 1991) (Bolding
added)
Criswell rightly comments that the
allegorical...
approach often finds as many
interpretations as interpreters, which shows its dubious value. Genuine
allegory will usually yield basically the same interpretation to its varied
interpreters (Ed comment: As a corollary thought, keep in mind that even
figurative language always has a literal meaning, but as with all Scripture
may have multiple valid applications).
(Criswell,
W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas Nelson)
Warren Wiersbe
comments that...
While the Song of Solomon illustrates the deepening love we can have with
Christ, we must be careful not to turn the story into an allegory and make
everything mean something.
All things are possible to those who
allegorize—
and what they come up with is usually heretical.
It's almost
laughable to read some of the ancient commentaries (and their modern
imitators) and see how interpreters have made Solomon say what they want him
to say. The language of love is imaginative and piles one image on top of
another to convey its message. But to make the bride's breasts represent the
two ordinances, or the garden stand for the local church, or the voice of
the turtledove mean the Holy Spirit speaking, is to obscure if not destroy
the message of the book. Other texts in the Bible may support the ideas
expressed by these fanciful interpreters, but their ideas didn't come from
what Solomon wrote. (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament) (Bolding
added)
(2) Typological (See
discussion of Study of Biblical types): This
approach admits to the the historical reality of the Song but goes on to
envision Solomon as typifying Christ and the Shulammite woman as a type
of the church, thus picturing Christ's the Bridegroom's love for His Bride,
the Church. You may be thinking that this sounds like an allegorical approach,
but it differs in interpreting Solomon as a literal, historical person and
by not seeking "hidden" or mystical meanings as in the allegorical
approach. Scripture does in fact sanction the use of types, Adam
for example being "a type of Him Who was to come" (see note
Romans 5:14),
but the Song of Solomon contains no verses that can be interpreted as
indicating the various aspects of Solomon’s life are divinely intended to
represent a type
of Christ. Therefore this interpretative approach is to be as assiduously
avoided as the allegorical approach.
In summary, both of the previous
interpretative approaches (1 & 2) invoke the church as vital to their
respective interpretative schemes (allegorical or typological), but the
careful student of Scripture will note that neither approach can be the
primary interpretation since the doctrine of the church was a
mystery, a truth previously hidden in the Old Testament and only revealed in
the New Testament. Paul wrote that...
by referring to this (the mystery), when
you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which
in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now
been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit...and to bring
to light what is the administration of the mystery (of the church) which for
ages has been hidden in God, Who created all things (See notes
Ephesians 3:4;
3:5;
3:9)
(3) Literal, Historical and
Grammatical: (discussion
of literal approach) This
approach is the only objective mode of interpretation, and seeks to attach
the normal meaning to the words thus taking them at "face value".
The earliest of the so called Early Church Fathers interpreted
Scripture literally for the most part. Regarding the meaning of literal
interpretation, Peter Lange writes...
Literal is not opposed to
spiritual but to figurative; spiritual is an antithesis on the
one hand to material, and on the other to carnal (in a bad sense). The
Literalist is not one who denies that figurative language, that symbols are
used in prophecy, nor does he deny that great spiritual truths are set forth
therein; his position is simply, that the prophecies (Ed note: and
the Song of Solomon) are to be normally interpreted (i.e., according to the
received laws of language) as any other utterances are interpreted-that
which is manifestly literal being regarded as literal, and that which is
manifestly figuratively being so regarded. The position of the Spiritualist
(Ed note: AKA "allegorist") is not that which is properly indicated
by the term. He is one who holds that certain portions are to be normally
interpreted, other portions are to be regarded as having a mystical sense.
The terms properly expressive of the schools are normal and mystical. (John
Peter Lange, A Commentary on the Holy Scripture: Revelation, p. 98)
Sidlow Baxter observes that those
who take the literal approach...
rightly understand the book to be an
historical record of the romance of Solomon with a Shulammite woman. The
“snapshots” in the book portray the joys of love in courtship and marriage
and counteract both the extremes of asceticism and of lust. The rightful
place of physical love, within marriage only, is clearly established and
honored. Within the historical framework, some also see illustrations of the
love of God (and Christ) for His people. Obviously Solomon does not furnish
the best example of marital devotion, for he had many wives and concubines
(140 at this time, Song 6:8; many more later, 1 Kings 11:3). The experiences
recorded in this book may reflect the only (or virtually the only) pure
romance he had. (J. Sidlow Baxter. Explore the Book)
Criswell notes that some who take
the literal approach go a bit too far and...
maintain that the poem is therefore
merely a secular love song expressing human romantic love at its best
without spiritual lesson or theological content. They value the Song only as
a divine sanction upon marital love and a timely warning against perversions
of marriage popular in Solomon's time. However, there is also the option
that the poem is a vital expression in frank but pure language of the divine
theology of marriage as expressed in the love between husband and wife in
the physical area, setting forth the ideal love relationship in monogamous
marriage. Even the most intimate and personal human love is according to
divine plan and as such is bestowed by God Himself (cf. Ge 2:18-25; Mt
19:4-6). The richest and best of human love is only a foretaste of the
matchless, greater love of God. In this book, the scarlet thread of
redemption is revealed, as man, through seeing and experiencing the purity
and holiness of earthly love in marriage, gains a better and clearer
understanding of the eternal, heavenly love of Christ for His church.
(Ibid)
Morris makes an interesting
comment noting that
Although there have been a number of
interpretations of this book, the most obvious interpretation is no
interpretation at all. That is, it is simply what it purports to be--a
romantic love poem describing the love of young Solomon and a Shulammite
maiden who became his first bride. There is nothing unseemly, of course,
about a book of the Bible depicting the beauties of pure courtship and
marital love. The union of male and female in holy matrimony is intrinsic to
the creation itself (Genesis 2:24-25). In this sense, the narrative of the
Song can be considered as an idyllic picture of courtship and marriage that
might apply, with varying details, to all true love and marriage as ordained
by God. (Morris,
Henry: Defenders Study Bible Online)
Clearly Morris' "non-interpretation"
approach is a plea for us to interpret this beautiful love poem in its
natural, literal sense.
The highly respected evangelical theologian Roy Zuck notes that...
Some Bible teachers view the Song of
Songs as an extended allegory to depict God's relationship to Israel or
Christ's relationship to the church. However, since there is no indication
in the book that this is the case, it is preferable to view the book as
extolling human love and marriage.—Basic Bible Interpretation (Roy
B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook
Communications, 1991) (Bolding
added)
Jensen adds that...
The literal purpose of the book has
often been twisted by those not prepared to read frank and intimate
expressions of love. Asceticism and lust--two perversions of the holiness
of marriage-- are slain by the message of this book. If the reader is
licentiously excited when he reads the Song of Solomon, he is out of tune
with its purpose. The book's literal message is perverted only by those
who do not see the purity and true beauty of all of God's creative acts.
(Ibid)
Farrar summarizes such a long
list (some 19 different ideas - see list below) of interpretations of the
Song of Solomon one wonders how anyone could hope to glean any divine
truth from the text. Farrar laments...
Can anything be more grotesque and more
melancholy than the vast mass of hypotheses about the latter (the Song of
Solomon)—hypotheses which can make anything of anything? Like
Esther (Song of Solomon) never mentions the name of God and it narrowly
escaped exclusion from the canon (The Jews forbade any one to read it
before the age of thirty, and anathematized its literal interpretation.
Sanhedrin, iii. 1. and Sanhedrin, f. 101, i. … “Whoever recites a verse
of the Song of Solomon as a secular song … causes evil to come upon the
world.”).
It represents, say the Commentators,
(1) the love of the Lord for the
congregation of Israel (Targum)
(2) it relates the history of the Jews
from the Exodus to the Messiah (R. Saadia Gaon)
(3) it is a consolation to afflicted
Israel (Rashi)
(4) it is an occult history (Ibn
Ezra)
(5) it represents the union of the
divine soul with the earthly body (Joseph Ibn Caspe)
(6) or of the material with the active
intellect (Ibn Tibbon)
(7) it is the conversation of Solomon
and Wisdom (Abravanel)
(8) it describes the love of Christ to
His Church (Origen, and the mass of Christian expositors, except Theodore
of Mopsuestia [Ed note: he has been called "the prince of ancient
exegetes"], the school of Antioch [Ed note: AKA, "The Antiochene
Fathers" who otherwise generally emphasized a return to historical/literal
interpretation], and most modern scholars [Ed note: This was
published in 1886])
(9) it is historico-prophetical
(Nicolas of Lyra)
(10) it is Solomon’s thanksgiving for a
happy reign (Luther, Brenz)
(11) it is a love-song unworthy of any
place in the sacred canon (Castellio, Dr Noyes)
(12) it treats of man’s reconciliation
to God (Ainsworth)
(13) it is a prophecy of the Church
from the Crucifixion till after the Reformation (Cocceius)
(14) it is an anticipation of the
Apocalypse (Hennischius)
(15) it is the seven days epithalamium
on the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh (Bossuet)
(16) it is a magazine for direction and
consolation under every condition (Durham)
(17) it treats in hieroglyphics of the
sepulchre of the Saviour, His death, and the Old Testament saints (Puffendorf)
(18) it refers to Hezekiah and the ten
tribes (Hug)
(19) it is written in glorification of
the Virgin Mary. (Many Roman Catholic commentators)
Such were the impossible and divergent
interpretations of what many regarded as the very Word of God! A few
only till the beginning of this century saw the clear truth—which is so
obvious to all who go to the Bible with the humble desire to read what it
says and not to import into it their own baseless fancies—that it is the
exquisite celebration of a pure love in humble life; of a love which no
splendor can dazzle and no flattery seduce. (Farrar, F. W. History of
Interpretation (32). London: Macmillan and Co. 1886)
Osborne in his work
The Hermeneutical Spiral: A
Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation
quotes from Childs who notes five
different ways the Song of Solomon has been interpreted throughout
history...
(1) Judaism and the early church
(as well as Watchman Nee, among others, in modern times) allegorized it as
picturing the mystical love of God or Christ for his people.
(2) Some modern scholars have
seen it as a postexilic midrash on divine love (similar to the first
option).
(3) A common view sees it as drama,
either of a maiden with her lover (the traditional view) or with three
characters (as the king seeks to entice the maiden away from her lover).
(4) Most modern critics see no
structural development but believe it is a collection of secular love
songs, perhaps modeled on praise hymns.
(5) A few believe the book uses
love imagery for purposes of cultic ritual and was used in the festivals
of Israel.
Of these the third and fourth have the
greatest likelihood; my personal preference is to see it as a lyric poem
describing the love relationship between the beautiful maiden and her
lover, described both as a rustic shepherd and as a king... The poem has
only a slight plot structure, and the love relationship is as strong at
the beginning as at the end. Therefore whichever of the three major views
we take, it is preeminently a love song and would be excellent in a
marriage seminar.
Tremper Longman writes
that...
The Song of Songs, then, describes a
lover and his beloved rejoicing in each other's sexuality in a
garden. They feel no shame. The Song is as the story of sexuality
redeemed.
Nonetheless, this reading does not exhaust the theological meaning of the
Song. When read in the context of the canon as a whole, the book forcefully
communicates the intensely intimate relationship that Israel enjoys with
God. In many Old Testament Scriptures, marriage is an underlying metaphor
for Israel's relationship with God. Unfortunately, due to Israel's lack of
trust, the metaphor often appears in a negative context, and Israel is
pictured as a whore in its relationship with God (Jer 2:2; 3:14; Jer 31:32
Is 54:5, Hos 2:19). One of the most memorable scenes in the Old Testament is
when God commands his prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute to symbolize his
love for a faithless Israel. In spite of the predominantly negative use of
the image, we must not lose sight of the fact that Israel was the bride
of God, and so as the Song celebrates the intimacy between human lovers, we
learn about our relationship with God.
So we come full circle, reaching similar conclusions to the early
allegorical approaches to the Song. The difference, though, is obvious. We
do not deny the primary and natural reading of the book, which highlights
human love, and we do not arbitrarily posit the analogy between the
Song's lovers and God and Israel. Rather, we read it in the light of the
pervasive marriage metaphor of the Old Testament.
From a New Testament Perspective. The New Testament also uses human
relationships as metaphors of the divine-human relationship, and none
clearer than marriage. According to Ephesians 5:22-23, the church is the
bride of Christ (see also Re 19:7; Re 21:2, 9; Re 22:17). So Christians
should read the Song in the light of Ephesians and rejoice in the intimate
relationship that they enjoy with Jesus Christ. (Song
of Solomon, Theology of - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical
Theology)
The
Speakers
Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon is a dialogue
which includes 5 different sets of speakers...
(1) The Shulammite woman (Song
1:2-4a, 1:4c-7, 1:12-14, 1:16-2:1, 2:3-13, 2:15-3:11, 4:16, 5:2-8, 5:10-16,
6:2-3, 6:11-12, 7:9b-8:4, 8:5b-7, 8:10-12, 8:14),
(2) Friends of the Shulammite
(Daughters of Jerusalem) (Song 1:4b, 1:8, 1:11, 5:9, 6:1, 6:10, 6:13a, 8:5a)
(3) King Solomon (Song
1:9-10, 1:15, 2:2, 2:14, 4:1-15, 5:1, 6:4-9, 6:13b-7:9a, 8:13),
(4) God (Song 5:1e "Eat
friends, drink and imbibe deeply O lovers")
(5) Shulammite's brothers
(Song 8:8-9)
Solomon's abrupt change of speakers
and settings can make the dialogue and plot difficult to follow. For this
reason the Biblical text is supplemented with
bold green
annotations in an attempt to identify the specific speaker(s).
The
Timing
Song of Solomon
John MacArthur has an
interesting note regarding the time span of this story explaining that...
The first spring appears in Song 2:11-13
and the second in Song 7:12. Assuming a chronology without gaps, the Song of
Solomon took place over a period of time at least one year in length, but
probably no longer than two years. (MacArthur,
J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word
or
Logos)
Thomas Constable has a helpful
note regarding when in Solomon's life this book was likely written, as he
answers the relevant question...
How could Solomon, who had 700 wives and
300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3, read the tragic story in 1Kings 11:1-8), be
the same faithful lover this book presents? He could be if he became
polygamous after the events in this book took place. That seems a more
likely explanation than that he was polygamous when these events occurred
but just omitted reference to his other loves. Probably he wrote the book
before he became polygamous. We do not know how old Solomon was when he
married the second time. The history recorded in Kings and Chronicles is not
in strict chronological order. The Shulammite was probably not Pharaoh’s
daughter (1 Kings 3:1; cf. Song of Sol. 4:8). (Expository Notes)
An
Outline:
Song of Solomon
Song 1:1 - Title and authorship
Song 1:2-3:5 - Courtship: Sexual desire expressed but restrained
(Anticipation)
Song 3:6-11 - Procession for the Marriage
Song 4:1-5:1 - Marriage
consummated: Sexual desires not restrained (Consummation)
Song 5:2-8:4 - Maturation in
marriage (Celebration) or ("The Honeymoon is Over!")
Song 8:5-7 - Conclusion
Song 8:8-14 - Epilogue
Subtitles
for
the Song of Solomon:
A Simple Love Song
Exalting Marital Romance
or
"When A Husband Loves His
Wife"
or
"The Blessedness of Conjugal Love"
William MacDonald notes that...
the Song of Songs has been widely, and we
believe rightly, used by believing couples on their wedding night and to
enhance their marriage. (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or
Logos)
Myer Pearlman...
Other titles given: "Song of Songs"
(Hebrew) meaning the best of Solomon's 1005 songs (I
Kings 4:32), "Canticles" meaning song of songs (Latin).
Regarding the practical application of
the literal truth in the Song of Solomon Constable writes that...
When Solomon originally wrote this book
it was a poem about the love of two people, a man and a woman, for each
other. Consequently what it reveals about love is applicable to human love.
However since God revealed and inspired it as part of Scripture He also
intended us to apply it to our spiritual lives, our relationship with God.
That is the purpose of every other book of the Bible, and this was God’s
purpose in giving us this book as well. In Ephesians, Paul wrote that we
should learn about Christ’s love for the church from marriage (see note
Ephesians 5:32).
The
Language
of the Song of Solomon
Solomon makes repeated use of
comparisons (see discussion of
terms of comparison - simile and metaphor)
to vividly highlight his portrayal of the idyllic love that should exist
between a husband and his wife, his beloved. Note the the repetition of
like or as (see
simile
from Latin = something similar) in some
43 verses (out of a total of 117 verses, although some uses are added by the
translators of the NASB and are therefore more properly metaphors)!
Similes
using like are found in -
Song 1:3, 1:5, 1:7, 1:9, 1:15, 2:2, 2:3, 2:9, 2:17, 3:6, 4:1, 4:2, 4:3, 4:4,
4:5, 4:11, 5:11, 5:12, 5:13, 5:15, 6:5, 6:6, 6:7, 6:10, 7:1, 7:2, 7:3, 7:4,
7:5, 7:7, 7:8, 7:9, 8:1, 8:6, 8:10, 8:14.
Similes
using as are found in -
Song 5:11, 5:15, 6:4, 6:10, 6:13, 8:6, 8:10. There are also numerous
metaphors
(figures of speech in which
a word or phrase is applied to something that it does not literally denote
in order to imply a resemblance) such as Song 5:15 "His legs are pillars of
alabaster....", Song 5:16 "His mouth is full of sweetness....", etc. Read
though in one sitting specifically looking to discover the
metaphors.
As you read this love poem ponderously
and
meditatively
(see also
Primer on Biblical Meditation),
allow the Spirit to teach you so that each time you encounter a simile
or metaphor, you ask "What picture is Solomon painting with this
simile or metaphor? How can I apply this truth in my marriage?" I
can assure you that you will have quite an "adventure" and it cannot help
but significantly impact your relationship with your spouse (but have them
read it also or even better, set aside some time to read it over and over as
a couple.) Your marriage will never be quite the same! God stands behind His
promise that the Word which goes forth from His mouth will not return empty
without accomplishing that which He desires (see Ge 2:24-25, see a Spirit
filled relationship - Ephesians 5:18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27;
28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33 [see notes
Eph 5:18;
19;
20;
21;
22;
23;
24;
25;
26;
27;
28;
29;
30;
31;
32;
33)
and without succeeding in the matter for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11)!
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also
will bring it to pass. (see note
1Thessalonians 5:24)
(See related topic
Covenant: As It Relates to Marriage)
Jensen adds that
the phraseology of the poetry is strictly
Oriental, and must be read in that light (e.g., Chapter 4). (Ibid)
Myer Pearlman...
Like Hebrew poetry, this Song passes
suddenly from speaker to speaker and from scene to scene. The identification
is usually by the pronouns used.
Song of Solomon
like other Hebrew poetry, is characterized by by a literary feature known as
parallelism, which is simply the stating and restating of an idea in
close context. This may involve repetition of identical phrases or the
building of one idea upon another. An example of this technique is seen in
Song 1:15...
How beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are! Your
eyes are like doves.
KEY IMAGES
KEY WORDS
Song of Solomon
Key images in the book
include wine, the garden, the kiss, various spices and fruits, and
countryside or pastoral metaphors.
Key words (based on the NASB
1977 unless otherwise noted) in the Song of Solomon include:
beloved (31 uses in 26 verses - Song 1:13; 1:14; 1:16; 2:3; 2:8; 2:9;
2:10; 2:16; 2:17; 4:16; 5:2; 5:4; 5:5; 5:6; 5:8; 5:9; 5:10; 5:16; 6:1; 6:2;
6:3; 7:9; 7:11; 7:13; 8:5; 8:14)
beautiful (15 uses in 13 verses - Song 1:8; 1:15; 2:10; 2:13; 4:1;
4:7; 4:10; 5:9; 6:1; 6:4; 6:10; 7:1; 7:6)
come (14 times in 9 verses - Song 2:10; 2:13; 4:2; 4:8; 4:16;
5:1; 6:6; 6:13; 7:11)
darling (9 uses in 9 verses - Song 1:9; 1:15; 2:2; 2:10; 2:13; 4:1;
4:7; 5:2; 6:4)
fair (in KJV) (11 times in 9 verses - Song 1:15; 1:16; 2:10; 2:13;
4:1; 4:7; 4:10; 6:10; 7:6)
find (4 uses - Song 3:1; 3:2; 5:6; 5:8)
fruit (4 uses in 4 verses - Song 2:3; 7:8; 8:11; 8:12),
king (5 times in 5 verses - Song 1:4; 1:12; 3:9; 3:11; 7:5)
love (28 times in 25 verses {in every chapter!} - Song 1:2; 1:3; 1:4;
1:5; 1:7; 1:10; 2:4; 2:5; 2:7; 2:14; 3:1; 3:2; 3:3; 3:4; 3:5; 4:3; 4:10;
5:1; 5:8; 6:4; 7:6; 7:12; 8:4; 8:6; 8:7)
Solomon (5 times in 5 verses - Song 1:5; 3:9; 3:11; 8:11; 8:12)
vineyard (9 times in 6 verses - Song 1:6; 1:14; 2:15; 7:12; 8:11;
8:12)
wine (7 times in 7 verses - Song 1:2; 1:4; 4:10; 5:1; 7:2; 7:9; 8:2)
The
Setting
Song of Solomon
Harry Ironside in his
Addresses on the Song of Solomon gives the following
background based on the book...
King Solomon had a vineyard in the hill country of Ephraim, about 50 miles N
of Jerusalem, Song 8:11. He let it out to keepers, Song 8:11, consisting of
a mother, two sons, Song 1:6, and two daughters—the Shulamite, Song 6:13,
and a little sister, Song 8:8. The Shulamite was "the Cinderella" of the
family, Song 1:5, naturally beautiful but unnoticed. Her brothers were
likely half brothers, Song 1:6. They made her work very hard tending the
vineyards, so that she had little opportunity to care for her personal
appearance, Song 1:6. She pruned the vines and set traps for the little
foxes, Song 2:15. She also kept the flocks, Song 1:8. Being out in the open
so much, she became sunburned, Song 1:5.
One day a handsome stranger came to the vineyard. It was Solomon disguised.
He showed an interest in her, and she became embarrassed concerning her
personal appearance, Song 1:6. She took him for a shepherd and asked about
his flocks, Song 1:7. He answered evasively, Song 1:8, but also spoke loving
words to her, 1:8-10, and promised rich gifts for the future, Song 1:11. He
won her heart and left with the promise that some day he would return. She
dreamed of him at night and sometimes thought he was near, Song 3:1. Finally
he did return in all his kingly splendor to make her his bride, Song 3:6-7.3
(H. A. Ironside, Addresses on the Song of Solomon, pp. 17-21, summarized by
Merrill Unger, Unger's Bible Handbook, pp. 299-300)
Sidlow Baxter describes the Song
of Solomon as...
A
lyric poem in dialogue form, the book describes Solomon’s love for a
Shulammite girl. The king comes in disguise to her family’s vineyard, wins
her heart, and ultimately makes her his bride. (J. Sidlow Baxter. Explore
the Book)
The Hebrew Language
Song of Solomon
Dennis Kinlaw has a helpful discussion of language issues which
contribute to the difficulty modern commentators have in discerning the
meaning of this love poem...
Several problems confront the modern reader in the study of the text of the
Song of Songs that make certainty in understanding and interpretation
difficult to achieve. One of these is the matter of language.
Ancient Hebrew is a primitive tongue. The syntax is quite different from
ours. Verb tenses are different so that time sequences are more difficult to
establish. Word order can raise problems. There is an economy of language
that can be tantalizing. And then it is poetry. There is a succinctness of
style that makes it almost telegraphic. The result is that the text is often
more suggestive than delineative, more impressionistic than really
pictorial. Much is left to the imagination of the reader rather than spelled
out for the curious modern, who wants to know the specific meaning of every
detail.
Added to the preceding problems is that of vocabulary. In 117 verses there
is an amazing number of rare words, words that occur only in the Song of
Songs, many only once there, or else that occur only a handful of times in
all the rest of the corpus of the OT. There are about 470 different words in
the whole Song. Some 50 of these are hapax legomena. Since use is a
major way of determining the meaning of words in another language, the
result is that we are often uncertain as to the exact meaning of key terms
and phrases.
Another problem is that the imagery used was a normal part of a culture that
is very different from our modern world. The scene is pastoral and Middle
Eastern. So the references to nature, birds, animals, spices, perfumes,
jewelry, and places are not the normal vocabulary of the modern love story.
The associations that an ancient culture gives to its vocabulary are
difficult, if not impossible, for us to recapture. The list of plants and
animals is illustrative: figs, apples, lilies, pomegranates, raisins, wheat,
brambles, nuts, cedar, palms, vines, doves, ravens, ewes, sheep, fawns,
gazelles, goats, lions, and leopards. So is that of spices and perfumes:
oils, saffron, myrrh, nard, cinnamon, henna, frankincense, and aloes. The
place names carried connotations some of which are undoubtedly lost to us:
Jerusalem, Damascus, Tirzah, En Gedi, Carmel, Sharon, Gilead, Senir, and
Heshbon. We understand the overtones of "bedroom," but when the lover refers
to "the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside" (Song
2:14), to gardens, parks, fields, orchards, vineyards, or valleys, we are
aware that the places of rendezvous were different for lovers in that world
than in ours.
The terms of endearment cause us problems. The metaphors used are often
alien. When the lover likens his beloved to a mare in the chariot of Pharaoh
(Song 1:9), we are surprised. "Darling among the maidens" (Song 2:2) or even
"dove" (Song 2:14; 5:2; 6:9) is understandable, or "a rose of Sharon" (Song
2:1). "A garden locked up" (Song 4:12), "a sealed fountain" (Song 4:12), "a
wall" (Song 8:9, 10), "a door" (Song 8:9), "beautiful … as Tirzah" (Song
6:4), and "lovely as Jerusalem" (Song 6:4) are not our normal metaphors of
love. Nor are our heroine's references to her lover as "an apple tree" (Song
2:3), "a gazelle" (Song 2:9, 17), "a young stag" (Song 2:9, 17), or "a
cluster of henna" (Song 1:14).
To further complicate matters, it is not always certain who is speaking. One
of the most difficult tasks is to determine who the speaker is in each
verse. It is not even completely clear as to how many speakers there are.
Our best clues are grammatical. Fortunately, pronominal references in Hebrew
commonly reflect gender and number. In some cases, however, the masculine
and the feminine forms are the same. (Gaebelein,
F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary OT 7 Volume Set: Books: Zondervan
Publishing)
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TODAY IN THE WORD: King Edward
VIII of England shocked the world when he abdicated from the throne in order
to marry the divorced American socialite Wallis Warfield Simpson. Some years
later he gave marital advice to a group of his close friends about how to
stay on good terms with one’s spouse. “Of course, I do have a slight
advantage over the rest of you,” he admitted. “It does help in a pinch to be
able to remind your bride that you gave up a throne for her.”
Believers also have a vivid reminder
of what it cost Jesus Christ to make the church His bride. He did not give
up His throne forever, but He did lay aside the prerogatives of divinity and
took upon Himself a human nature (Phil 2:5; 2:6; 2:7; 2:8-notes
Ph 2:5;
6;
7;
8). Being fully human
and fully God, He submitted to a brutal death on the cross in order to
purify the church and present it to Himself as a spotless bride (Titus 2:14-note).
In many ways, this is also the drama played out in the biblical book Song of
Songs, also called the Song of Solomon. One of the most mysterious and
controversial books of the Bible, its message has something to say about
both human marriage and the divine love God has for His church. (Ed note:
This comment highlights the caution needed in reading commentaries on the
Song. The diligent Berean must remember that God spoke literal words through
the human author Solomon and these words have one specific meaning,
but they can have a number of valid applications, which is how I would
categorize the comments regarding God/Christ and the Church or Christ's
Bride. Application of the truth in the Song is important but must still
represent a valid reflection of God's literal words!)
Its frank description of the delights of human love has caused some people
to wonder why it was included in the Bible. However, the Jewish writings
known as the Mishnah quote the second-century Jewish rabbi Aquiba as saying,
“All the ages are not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to
Israel; for all the Writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of
Holies.”
Application: Do you know a
couple who reflect the biblical picture of a loving relationship? Ask them
to tell you their story. How did they meet? What was it like to fall in
love? What kinds of challenges have they had to overcome in order to keep
their love for one another strong?
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O happy love! - Where
love like this is found!
O heart-felt raptures! bliss beyond compare!
I've paced much this weary, mortal round,
And sage experience bids me this declare
"If Heaven a draught of heavenly pleasure spare,
One cordial in this melancholy vale,
'Tis when a youthful, loving, modest pair,
In either's arms breathe out the tender tale,
Beneath the milk-white thorn that scents the evening gale."
Robert Burns in "The Cotter's Saturday Night."
