Song of Solomon: A Book with Passion

On Wednesdays, in 2024, on this blog I will be posting a series of surveys of O.T. books and answers to questions about the O.T.  

The Title and Purpose of the Book of Song of Solomon

The title “Songs of Songs” means “the finest of all songs.” Solomon composes over 1,000 songs (I Kings 4:32), which makes this one the “finest.” The book is full of symbols and images.

Many people “shy away” from reading it or studying this Book because the language is so provocative and sensual, and this form of poetry is not easy to understand or analyze. People are simply uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the vocabulary. In fact, some reject its canonicity because of the sexual language it uses.

No book in the Bible is more erotic in its language than this one. In fact, the ancient Israelites would not allow their young men to read this book until the age of 30! The Bible does not shy away from physical intimacy.

This is a book celebrating the love between a man and a woman – whether that man is Solomon or not, it doesn’t matter much. This is a series of love poems. The purpose of the Song of Solomon is to rejoice in the love between a man and woman, and later a marital love between a husband and wife.

The Author and Date of the Song of Solomon

The very 1^st verse of this Book identifies the author this way – “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s” (Song 1:1). Throughout the first 8 chapters, Solomonic authorship is established.

Most agree Song of Solomon was written when he was young. Since Solomon is the primary author of this book, it is likely that it was written during his reign – about 971-930 B.C.

Surveying the Song of Solomon

The setting is both rural and urban. Some of it takes place in the hill country where the woman lived (Songs 6:13). Some takes place in Jerusalem (Songs 3:6-7:13).

The king courts his bride (Songs 1:1-3:5)

The Song of Solomon opens with a confession of desire for the woman of the story – the Shulamite – based on his lips, love, lotion (or cologne) he is wearing, and general lifestyle and character. It is the same list of features that Solomon would see in her later in Song of Solomon 4:9-11.

It is clear there is mutual attraction between the two as they exchange about the inner and outer beauty. They know physical love will be delightful. They want to be married to one another. It is a sensual invitation from both to draw ever closer than they already are. It ends with a plea from the Shulamite woman for chastity before and after marriage.

This section is a reflection on her wedding day. She describes his approach to her as a happy, young horse out for a run in the fields (vs. 9). She wants to have him for her own and not share him with any other, which is an expression the design of marriage for leaving cleaving (Gen 2:24). The expression is for monogamy built on mutual love.

She wants her husband so much that she has a dream about him, which seems like a very normal expression of desire for anyone who longs for another. And this dream grows her intensity for her husband.  

The king claims his bride (Songs 3:6-5:1)

This section deals with Solomon’s coming for his bride, their return to Jerusalem and the consummation of their marriage. Just as you might expect from a King, he arrives in style. It has fanfare, incenses, fragrant smells, beautiful flowers, a gathering of military dressed in their uniforms, and a beautiful carriage with shiny metals.

When the King sees his bride, he is awestruck. And the descriptions he gives of her are so poetic that it would be crazy to interpret them literally. What we know for sure is that the King was star stuck by what he saw! How she looked was almost too beautiful for the choicest of words. He is “drunk with love” (Song 5:1). He knows that physical love will be satisfying. This book is a book celebrating the pleasures of physical love in a marriage!

The king communes with his wife (Songs 5:2-8:14).

This seems to be a record of their first fight as couple, with what started as a possible scene of sexual intimacy and what ended with the King sleeping somewhere else for the night.  

But the apparent fight did not deter or hinder her love for this man. It is part of the “better or worst” that we are vowed to keep. In this section, she reminds herself of this attractive man and why she has come to love this man.

She is committed to the King. She won’t allow anything to keep her from loving him. And then, we hear from the King, whose has mutual love for her. He returns to describing her in familiar and new ways and reaffirms her purity. It would seem like this is them “making up” after their first fight, and while there is no record of confessing sin or forgiving one another, you detect that a love for one another that is unhindered would include the gracious forgiveness of each other’s sins.

In this final section, we see nothing but reciprocal love. And the book ends with an invitation for sexual intimacy.

Final Thoughts on the Song of Solomon

The Song of Solomon has fallen under fire in more recent years with some seeing it as the Christian’s sex manual. While most of the depictions of love here are of physical expression, we cannot pretend that other depictions of love are not present. The Song of Solomon is certainly a narrative celebrating romantic and even sexual love between a husband and wife, but we need to be careful in how we might preach the Song of Solomon.

Our audiences are mixed with levels of maturities and ages. Not everyone is able to handle the sensual language with the reverence it deserves. This doesn’t mean that Song of Solomon should be avoided, but just carefully taught.