Song of Songs: Richer than the King
Introduction
The Song of Songs is generally considered the most difficult book in the Old Testament. Whether that is true is difficult to say, but a love song that so openly describes the physical beauty of a man and a woman, without even mentioning God's name, raises questions. What is its meaning, and why did it ever end up in the Bible?
There are many other questions as well. It seems more like a play than a song. Several characters take turns speaking. But it is often unclear who is saying what. In many translations, this information has been added by translators to improve readability, but it is not always clear whether it is accurate. The book seemingly has no beginning or end. There is no development of a plot.
This does not alter the fact that the Song of Songs does contain a clear message. Or rather, a dual message. This article addresses this. In studying the Song of Songs, I have learned a great deal from Jewish scholars. This article reflects on some of this.
Writer
We don't know the author of the Song of Songs. The first verse reads: "Song of songs," "which is," "of/about/concerning/to," "Solomon." Solomon's name is mentioned, preceded by a preposition. But the Hebrew doesn't reveal which preposition. It could be "of," but also another preposition, such as "for" or "to." And why is the grammatically redundant word "which is" used? Is that a warning that the preposition that follows has a less common meaning here? In short, based on the inscription, it's possible that Solomon is indeed the author, but it's certainly not impossible that the inscription means something else.
This means that the main characters of the Song of Songs are an unknown shepherd boy and a Shulamite woman. In the background, Solomon, the woman's brothers, and the virgins of Jerusalem play a role.
There are additional arguments for not considering Solomon the author. Solomon is mentioned several times in the Song of Songs, but always in the background, as a comparison, and even then a negative one. In chapter 3, we see Solomon leaving the desert on a litter. This litter is richly decorated with gold, silver, and purple. And it is the day of his wedding. {As we will see later, the man and woman, the main characters in the Song of Songs, are not yet married.} This contrasts with the image we read in chapter 1. For the woman, the green grass is her bed, and the cedars and cypresses of the forest are the beams and joists of her house (Song of Songs 1:16-17).
The woman is tanned by the sun because she had to work in her brothers' vineyards (Song of Solomon 1:6). Her beloved is a shepherd (Song of Solomon 1:8). But to her, her beloved is a king (Song of Solomon 1:4, 12; 7:5). Just as at a wedding, the bridegroom was often called a king. At the end of the Song of Solomon, the vineyard appears again. Here, it speaks of Solomon having his vineyard guarded by guardians (Song of Solomon 8:11). But then the woman says:
Song of Solomon 8:11-12 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon, and he appointed keepers over it; they gave a thousand shekels of silver for its harvest. “My vineyard is mine; the thousand shekels of silver are yours, Solomon, and two hundred for the keepers.”
The woman has found something more valuable than all of Solomon's wealth. Her vineyard is her friend, with the word "vineyard" being used metaphorically.
The bridegroom's description also contains a remarkable dig:
Song of Solomon 5:14 His arms are like stones of gold, set with beryl [NKJV: Tarshish stones; the Hebrew word is Tarshish]. His belly is like a disk of ivory, adorned with sapphires.
Solomon was known for his use of ivory and his trade with Tarshish. And again, all of Solomon's wealth is nothing compared to the love this woman feels for her future husband. This contrast is developed even further. In the description of Solomon's wedding procession emerging from the desert, we read that he is surrounded by precious spices, myrrh, cedarwood, and gold (Song of Solomon 3:6-11). We read nothing about Solomon himself. But when the woman describes the man (Song of Solomon 5:10-18), the man himself is described with concepts such as a flowing stream, bathing in water, aromatic gardens, the purest gold, and a figure as proud as a cedar. Again, the contrast is stark. For this woman, her husband himself is a greater wealth than all the luxury with which Solomon surrounds himself.
And the following comment also shows that Solomon functions as a background figure:
Song of Solomon 6:8-9 Though there be sixty queens, and eighty concubines, virgins without number, yet there is but one like my dove; my most beautiful is one. She is one to her mother, and a shining light to her who bore her. All the virgins who see her call her blessed; every queen and every concubine rejoices in her praise.
Perhaps there is another notable reference to Solomon. The bride is called the Shulamite (Song of Solomon 6:13). However, no city or region is known to refer to this, and it is suspected that this is a pun on the name Solomon.
Finally, according to Deuteronomy 17:14-17, a king is not allowed to keep horses (because horses were only traded in Egypt and God did not want anyone to return to Egypt), not to have many wives, and not to accumulate silver and gold. As is well known, Solomon broke all these rules. (See the article on this website about Solomon's sins.) The Song of Solomon contains a subtle hint at this. Early on, there is a reference to the mares for Pharaoh's chariots (Song of Solomon 1:9), Solomon's litter is made of silver and gold (Song of Solomon 3:10), and mention is made of many wives (Song of Solomon 6:8-9).
De name of God
In some translations, Song of Solomon 8:6 mentions God's name. This is most likely a mistranslation. However, there is likely an allusion to God's name in the incantation of the daughters of Jerusalem. The woman incants the daughters "by the gazelles and the hinds of the field." The gazelles ("sbaot") are a play on words with the Almighty ("Sebaot"), and the hinds of the field ("ailot hassadeh") with the Most High ("Shaddai").
The first meaning
a. An engaged couple
Song of Songs is a poetic description of the love between a man and a woman. A couple who are not yet married, but undoubtedly on their way to it. The fact that they are unmarried is particularly evident from the following elements.
The refrain is repeated three times:
Song of Solomon 2:7 (see also Song of Solomon 3:5; 8:4): Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, Do not awaken your love, neither let her awake until she pleases.
It's clear that this calls for patience with love and to wait until the right time comes.
At the end of the Song of Songs, we find the following comment regarding the woman's brothers:
Song of Solomon 8:8-9 We have a little sister, but she has no breasts. What will we do with our little sister when people talk about her? If she were a wall, we would build her battlements of silver; if she were a door, we would close it with a cedar beam.
The symbolism is clear. The brothers see it as their duty to ensure their sister remains untouched. And there's another symbolism, that of a closed garden:
Song of Solomon 4:12 My sister, my bride, you are a garden enclosed, a garden shut up, a fountain sealed
Finally, another remarkable observation. The man describes the woman vividly. He sees her face through a veil:
Song of Solomon 4:1 You are so beautiful, my love, you are so beautiful! Your eyes are doves through your veil. Your hair flows like a flock of goats descending from the mountains of Gilead.
Song of Solomon 4:3 (See also Song of Solomon 6:7) Your lips are like a cord of crimson, your mouth is beautiful. Your smile shines like the red of a pomegranate through your veil.
Anyone who has ever seen a split pomegranate can relate to this last image. But the fact that the woman is wearing a veil when they meet could indicate that they are not yet married.
Nowhere in the Song of Songs is there any allusion to the genitals. Extensive lyrical descriptions are given of the bride's body and—slightly less extensive—of the groom's, but it is striking that there are also parts that are not described.
b. Paradise returns
After the Fall, we see God take several steps. Adam and Eve are banished from Paradise and are never allowed to return (Gen. 3:23-24). Furthermore, nature will change: the earth will produce thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:18). And the relationship between men and women will change; women will lust after men, and they will rule over them (Gen. 3:16).
When the people are about to take possession of the land of Israel, God promises that all who serve Him will bear abundant fruit from the land:
Deut. 11:11-15 But the land on the other side is a land of hills and valleys, a land that quenches its thirst with the waters of heaven. It is a land the LORD your God cares for and watches over all the year, from the first day to the last. If you obey these commands I am giving you today and love the LORD your God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, this is what the LORD says: “I will give your land rain in its season, in autumn and spring. You will reap your harvest—your grain, your wine, and your oil. I will provide green pastures for your livestock, and you will live there in abundance.”
This means that if the people remain faithful to God, the land of Israel will essentially become a piece of paradise on earth. But the Torah does not speak of restoring the relationship between husband and wife.
This theme is further developed in the Song of Songs. The woman is called an enclosed garden (Song of Solomon 4:12), a clear reference to the Garden of Eden. But just as the land of Israel can become a piece of paradise on earth if God is obeyed, so too will the relationship between husband and wife reveal something of its original purpose. We see this in the reciprocity of the relationship between husband and wife:
Song of Solomon 2:16 (see also Song of Solomon 6:3) My beloved is mine, and I am his.
And a little later we read:
Song of Solomon 7:11 I am my beloved's, and he longs for me.
This last one is the reverse situation: the man longing for the woman. And in that reciprocity and the undoing of male domination, we once again see a little piece of paradise on earth.
The second meaning
a. The Jewish explanation
Within Judaism, the Song of Songs is read as a description of the relationship between God and Israel. Until recently, my reaction was the same as that of many Christians: an interpretation that is contrived and not evident in the text itself. An interpretation that arose partly from embarrassment about the text's actual meaning.
Regarding the latter: this is incorrect. Many Jews also recognize the first meaning of the text. And those who have ever been familiar with the rabbinic discussions regarding the interpretation of the purity laws for men and women will have noticed that they do not exactly reflect prudishness. It turns out that Jews have very good reasons for reading the Song of Songs as a description of God's love for Israel. In this article, we will explore this further.
One preliminary remark. The point isn't to seek an allegorical interpretation for every detail of the Song of Songs. As can be seen in some commentaries, the Song of Songs is interpreted as an allegory of the relationship between Jesus Christ and the church. What is meant is that the Song of Songs is generally an image of God's love for Israel. Therefore, the Song of Songs is a metaphor, an analogy, but not an allegory.
The relationship between a man and a woman is often used in the Bible to describe the relationship between God and His people, especially by the prophets in the Old Testament. This is done in a positive sense, but even more often in a negative sense, when idolatry is described in terms of marital infidelity. This infidelity is sometimes described in terms that, unlike the language of the Song of Songs, are quite explicit.
b. The bride as a picture of Israel
The land of Israel is commended by God as follows at the time when the people are about to take possession of the land:
Deut. 8:7-9 The LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams, springs, and streams flowing out of the valleys and on the mountains, a land of wheat and barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; a land where you will eat not meager bread, but where you will lack nothing; a land where you will find iron in the rocks, and where you can mine copper out of the mountains.
Furthermore, the land of Israel is described as a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 3:8; 13:5; 33:3; Lev. 20:24; Num. 13:24; 14:8; 16:14; Deut. 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 27:3; 31:20; Josh. 5:6).
It is noteworthy that the description of the bride aligns closely with this:
Song of Solomon 2:13 The fig tree is already bearing fruit, the vine is budding and gives off its fragrance.
Song of Solomon 4:11 My bride, your lips drip with honey; I taste milk and honey under your tongue; your garment is the fragrance of Lebanon.
Song of Solomon 4:12 My sister, my bride, you are a garden enclosed, a fenced garden, a sealed fountain.
Song of Solomon 4:13-14 From you will grow a garden of pomegranates, with abundant fruit, henna blossoms, spikenard, spikenard, saffron, calamus, cinnamon, frankincense of all kinds, myrrh, aloes, and balsams of all kinds.
Song of Solomon 4:15 You are a fountain surrounded by gardens, a well of clear water, a stream of Lebanon.
Song of Solomon 7:3 Your navel is a round bowl filled with spices. Your belly is a heap of wheat, fringed with lilies.
Song of Solomon 7:8 Your stature is like a palm tree, your breasts like clusters of grapes.
Even in ancient times, the pomegranate was considered the national fruit of Israel. Both the tabernacle (Ex. 28:33; 39:24) and the temple (1 Kings 7:18; 2 Kings 25:17; 2 Chronicles 3:16; 2 Chronicles 4:13) were richly adorned with it. In the Song of Solomon, we read twice that the bride's temples look like pomegranates through the veil (Song of Solomon 4:3; 6:7). Incidentally, the crown on the fruit is the only example in nature of the six-pointed Star of David, the national symbol of Israel.
c. The bride smells like the temple
The bride's description uses many scents. The fourth chapter is particularly striking:
Song of Solomon 4:13-14 And unto you shall grow an orchard of pomegranates, in abundance of their fruit, and of henna, and of spikenard, and of nard, and of saffron, and of calamus, and of cinnamon, and of all kinds of frankincense, and of myrrh, and of aloes, and of all manner of balsams.
The text is reminiscent of the description of the sacred incense for the temple:
Ex. 30:23-25 “Take of the finest spices: five hundred shekels of thick myrrh, half as much of fragrant cinnamon (that is, two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of fragrant calamus, five hundred shekels of cassia, all according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. Make a holy anointing oil, a fragrant mixture, like that of an incense maker. (…)
The reference is clear. Jewish interpreters assume that the reference to the "mountains of balsam" (Song of Songs 8:14) also refers to the temple. According to the Talmud (Yoma 39b), the temple in Jerusalem smelled so strongly of incense that no bride in Jerusalem needed to wear perfume. Even in Jericho, the smell was so strong that the women there didn't wear perfume. Knowing this, we see a clear reference to the temple in the designation of the bride as "mountain of myrrh" and "hill of frankincense" (Song of Songs 4:6).
d. The cities of Israel
Many cities are mentioned in the Song of Songs. The text is striking:
Song of Solomon 6:4 You are beautiful, my love, lovely as Tirzah, lovely as Jeruzalem, awesome as a bannerwoman
This verse mentions Tirzah and Jerusalem, the capital of the northern kingdom and the capital of the southern kingdom. After Solomon's reign (c. 970–930 BCE), the kingdom split in two. The northern 10-tribe kingdom initially had Shechem as its capital, then Tirzah (c. 910–880 BCE), and finally Samaria. The capital of the southern 2-tribe kingdom has always remained Jerusalem. This verse from the Song of Songs may indicate that the Song of Songs originated during the period when Tirzah was the capital of the northern kingdom, a few decades after Solomon's reign.
It is striking how many cities are mentioned across Israel in describing the woman: Jerusalem, Sharon, Gilead, Lebanon, Amanah, Senir, Hermon, Heshbon, Bat-Rabbim, Tirzah, Damascus, and Carmel. This confirms the idea that the woman is indeed also a symbol of Israel.
e. Song of Songs and the Exile
If we read the Song of Songs carefully, the relationship between the man and woman is not always rosy. We see rapprochement and alienation. Right at the beginning, we read:
Song of Solomon 2:14 My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, let me see your face and listen to your voice; for your voice is lovely and your face is fair
De vrouw is kennelijk redelijk onbereikbaar voor de man. En de vrouw ziet ook dat er gevaren zijn die hun relatie bedreigen:
Song of Solomon 2:15 Catch the foxes for us, catch the little foxes! They are running the vineyard, even our flourishing vineyard
In Song of Solomon 3:1-5, we read how the woman longs for her husband while lying in bed. Then she gets up and goes into the city, where she meets the city watchmen. Eventually, she finds her future husband.
We read about a somewhat similar situation in Song of Solomon 5:2-6:3. Again, the woman is lying in bed. Then her betrothed knocks. However, she initially refuses to open the door because she has already washed her feet and undressed. However, when she smells his scent, she goes to the door anyway, but her beloved is already gone. She goes looking and encounters the watchmen again. When these watchmen ask her where her boyfriend has gone, she tells them that he has gone to his garden.
These two scenes feel almost surreal. It's unclear whether they merely depict a dream, or whether the woman actually enters the city.
In any case, they offer an image of rapprochement and alienation. In this image, the Jews have always seen an analogy with the history of Israel: with the exile as alienation and the return and restoration of the land as rapprochement. Despite this, God's love for His people remains unwavering, just as in the Song of Songs the man's love for the woman is never in question. This is the core of the second meaning of the Song of Songs. God loves His people, despite everything. The bride in the Song of Songs is swarthy. But to the bridegroom, she is the most beautiful in the world. And despite the fact that she is sometimes hidden, and refuses to open the door to him, the bridegroom continues to long for the bride. And anyone who reads to the end can draw only one conclusion: this man and woman are going to get married.
f. Song of Songs as a festive role
Song of Songs is one of the five Jewish festive scrolls. It is read during Passover. The Exodus from Egypt, which is commemorated on this occasion, is considered by Jews to be the beginning of the relationship between God and His people. And Song of Songs is read as an expression of God's love for Israel. Moreover, the beginning of Song of Songs takes place in the spring (Song of Songs 2:11: winter is over). Passover is the first festival of spring.
Final remarks
Song of Songs primarily depicts the relationship between a man and a woman as God intended. A relationship in which something of paradise becomes visible again. A relationship of exclusive love, an example for us to follow.
Moreover, numerous allusions reveal that this image also represents the relationship between God and Israel. The cities mentioned in the description of the bride, the fruits of the land, and the fragrance of the temple all point to the bride as a symbol for the land of Israel. God loves His people, despite periods of rejection by the bride. And we can look forward to the wedding, in which God and His people will be definitively reunited.
As New Testament Christians, we can know that we have been grafted into the tribe of Israel. In that sense, the meaning of Song of Songs also applies to us. Indeed, because we know how Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, sacrificed Himself for us, God's love for us takes on an even deeper meaning. A love that endures despite the fact that we sometimes keep the door closed when He knocks. And more than ever, we may look forward to the marriage of the Lamb, in which Christ will be reunited with His church. A church of believers from the Gentiles and from Israel.
Bas Krins