Historical and Theological Themes
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 (nor Esther, Obadiah, and Nahum).
In contrast to the two distorted extremes of ascetic abstinence and lustful perversion outside of marriage, Solomon’s ancient love song exalts the purity of marital affection and romance. It parallels and enhances other portions of Scripture which portray God’s plan for marriage, including the beauty and sanctity of sexual intimacy between husband and wife. The Song rightfully stands alongside other classic Scripture passages which expand on this theme, e.g., Gen. 2:24; Ps. 45; Prov. 5:15-23; 1 Cor. 7:1-5; 13:1-8; Eph. 5:18-33; Col. 3:18, 19; and 1 Pet. 3:1-7. Hebrews 13:4 captures the heart of this song, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
Interpretive Challenges
The Song has suffered strained interpretations over the centuries by those who use the “allegorical” method of interpretation, claiming that this song has no actual historical basis, but rather that it depicts God’s love for Israel and/or Christ’s love for the church. The misleading idea from hymnology that Christ is the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys results from this method (2:1). The “typological” variation admits the historical reality, but concludes that it ultimately pictures Christ’s bridegroom love for His bride the church.
A more satisfying way to approach Solomon’s Song is to take it at face value and interpret it in the normal historical sense, understanding the frequent use of poetic imagery to depict reality. To do so understands that Solomon recounts 1) his own days of courtship, 2) the early days of his first marriage, followed by 3) the maturing of this royal couple through the good and bad days of life. The Song of Solomon expands on the ancient marriage instructions of Gen. 2:24, thus providing spiritual music for a lifetime of marital harmony. It is given by God to demonstrate His intention for the romance and loveliness of marriage, the most precious of human relations and “the grace of life” (1 Pet. 3:7).
Outline
I. The Courtship: “Leaving” (1:2-3:5)
A. The Lovers’ Remembrances (1:2-2:7)
B. The Lovers’ Expression of Reciprocal Love (2:8-3:5)
II. The Wedding: “Cleaving” (3:6-5:1)
A. The Kingly Bridegroom (3:6-11)
B. The Wedding and First Night Together (4:1-5:1a)
C. God’s Approval (5:1b)
III. The Marriage: “Weaving” (5:2-8:14)
A. The First Major Disagreement (5:2-6:3)
B. The Restoration (6:4-8:4)
C. Growing in Grace (8:5-14)
The
SONG OF SOLOMON
Song of Solomon 1
Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl
1The asong of songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Banquet
The 1SHULAMITE
2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
b For your love is better than wine.
3Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4c Draw me away!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
d We will run after 2you.
The Shulamite
The king ehas brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in 3you.
We will remember your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
Rightly do they love you.
5I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has 4tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own fvineyard I have not kept.
(To Her Beloved)
7Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who 5veils herself
By the flocks of your companions? Local Color in the Song of Solomon
The Beloved
8If you do not know, gO fairest among women,
6 Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9I have compared you, hmy love,
i To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10j Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
11We will make 7you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.
The Shulamite
12While the king is at his table,
My 8spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.
The Beloved
15k Behold, you are fair, 9my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.
The Shulamite
16Behold, you are lhandsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our 10bed is green.
17The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.
Song of Solomon 2
A Country Girl in a Palace
1I am the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.
The Beloved
2Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.
The Shulamite
3Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And ahis fruit was sweet to my taste.
The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem
4He brought me to the 1banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6b His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7c I 2charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Beloved’s Request
The Shulamite
8The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9d My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14“O my edove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your 3face,
f Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
Her Brothers
15Catch us gthe foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
The Shulamite
16h My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
(To Her Beloved)
17i Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be jlike a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of 4Bether.
A Troubled Night
The Shulamite
Song of Solomon 3
1By anight on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2“I will rise now,” I said,
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3b The watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the chouse of my mother,
And into the 1chamber of her who conceived me.
5d I 2charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Coming of Solomon
The Shulamite
6e Who is this coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
7Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel. Geography of Solomon’s Song
8They all hold swords,
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
9Of the wood of Lebanon
Solomon the King
Made himself a 3palanquin:
10He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.
The Bridegroom Praises the Bride
The Beloved
Song of Solomon 4
1Behold, ayou are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a bflock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2c Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is 1barren among them.
3Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
d Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4e Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built ffor an armory,
On which hang a thousand 2bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5g Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6h Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7i You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir jand Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
10How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
k How much better than wine is your love,
And the 3scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
11Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
l Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is mlike the fragrance of Lebanon.
12A garden 4enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
15A fountain of gardens,
A well of nliving waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
The Shulamite
16Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
o Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant pfruits.
The Bride Praises the Bridegroom
The Beloved
Song of Solomon 5
1I ahave come to my garden, my bsister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
c I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
(To His Friends)
Eat, O dfriends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!
The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening
The Shulamite
2I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
e He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, 1my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My 2locks with the drops of the night.”
3I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I 3defile them?
4My beloved put his hand
By the 4latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My 5heart leaped up when he spoke.
f I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7g The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
9What is your beloved
M
ore than another beloved,
h O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so 6charge us?
The Shulamite
10My beloved is white and ruddy,
7 Chief among ten thousand.
11His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12i His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And 8fitly set.
13His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
14His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!
I Am My Beloved’s
The Daughters of Jerusalem
Song of Solomon 6
1Where has your beloved gone,
a O fairest among women?
Where has your beloved turned aside,
That we may seek him with you?
The Shulamite
2My beloved has gone to his bgarden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
3c I am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty
The Beloved
4O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
5Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have 1overcome me.
Your hair is dlike a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.
6e Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing;
Every one bears twins,
And none is 2barren among them.
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 315