Overview: Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs)
This book, taken by some as an allegory of the believer’s relationship with God, is better understood in its plain sense as a collection of love poems that celebrate and caution concerning human love. The joyful and sometimes erotic portrayal of the relationship between a lover and his beloved reminds us that intimacy within marriage is a gift, given by the God who created human beings male and female.
However, when read in the context of the Scripture, the Song has a clear and obvious relevance to the divine-human relationship. Throughout the Bible, our relationship to God is likened to a marriage. Therefore, this book is a resource not only for our understanding of male-female relationships, but also for a more profound understanding of the intimacy and exclusivity of our relationship with God.
Outline
- Falling in Love Song 1:1-2:7
- Growing Desire Song 2:8-3:5
- Wedding Song Song 3:6-5:1
- Separation Song 5:2-8:4
- United Again Song 8:5-14
Reading Song of Solomon during Passover
The Song of Solomon is associated in Jewish thought with spring because of chapter 2, verses 11 and 12:
“For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.”
The rabbis interpreted this book of the Bible as an allegory of God’s love for His people, and saw the Passover redemption as the springtime of that love expressed in the words: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away” (2:13). Besides that, Passover is chronologically a spring holiday. Therefore, it is customary for the Jews to read the Song of Songs at Passover in the synagogue and sometimes in Jewish homes after the seder service.
(Passover 2014 begins in the evening of Apr 14 and ends in the evening of Apr 22.)
(Adapted from: www.jewsforjesus.org/judaica/resources/scripture-readings-associated-with-passover)
Song of Solomon 1
English Standard Version (ESV)
1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Bride Confesses Her Love
She
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
3 your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
4 Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
Others
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
She
5 I am very dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
8 If you do not know,
O most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Others
11 We will make for you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi.
He
15 Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
She
16 Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
17 the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.
Reflection
- This chapter begins the love song between two lovers. What sense do you get from this passage about how the “Beloved” and the “Lover” regard one another? From the images they used to describe each other, what do they reveal about their relationship?
- What fears and insecurities does the Beloved feel (3-4, 5-7)? How does the Lover reassure her (9-11)?
- This demonstrates a wonderful way to celebrate God’s good gift of sexuality to us. The entire book of Song of Solomon is a beautiful description of young lovers taking great joy in each other. Take some time writing down or telling your spouse how you delight in and appreciate him or her.
- Reflect on your own sexuality and how you respond to this picture of passionate physical love. Talk to God about how you are feeling.
Prayer & Journaling:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in the “Spiritual Journal” book.