The Song of Songs

Iain M Duguid

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781783591909
• eBook ISBN:
  9781783592982
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christianity

COMMENTARY

1. TITLE (1:1)

Context

The title verse stands alone, separated not merely by its content but by linguistic style: it is prose, while the rest of the Song is poetry. In addition, the title contains the only use of the relative pronoun ’ăšer in the Song, which elsewhere exclusively uses the shortened prefix form šĕ. This has led some scholars to argue that the title is a later addition designed to give the book a religious interpretation by associating it with King Solomon, the famous ancient man of wisdom, husband of many wives and author of other religious writings (Fox 1985: 95). However, we do not have any version of the Song without the present title, so it deserves to be treated as an integral part of the text. For a full discussion of issues of dating and authorship, see Introduction: Title, authorship and date, pp. 19–24.

It is certainly true that the function of the title is to introduce and to guide interpretation, as well as to identify the book, providing a frame of reference that orients the reader to the material that follows in the same way that Proverbs 1:1, Ecclesiastes 1:1 and Isaiah 1:1 do. As such, it immediately links this book with other wisdom texts associated with Solomon, such as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,10 and invites the reader to interpret its contents in the light of what we know about Solomon’s personal history, as well as the rest of biblical revelation about love, sex and marriage.

Comment

1. The title Song of Songs focuses our attention immediately on the unity and the genre of this book. The singular form, ‘song’ (šîr), suggests that this book comprises a single song, rather than being a diverse collection of disparate materials in the way that the book of Proverbs is a collection of proverbs (contrast the ascription in Prov. 1:1: ‘The proverbs [plural] of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel’) or that a portion of the book of Psalms is a collection of ‘The prayers [plural] of David’ (Ps. 72:20). We should therefore expect to find a unified message in what follows such a title, in spite of its diversity. For more about the structure and unity of the book, see Introduction: Structure and unity, pp. 52–54.

The title also tells us that what follows is a song rather than some other genre of writing, such as a proverb, a prophetic vision or a historical narrative. It is lyric poetry, which means that what C. S. Lewis said about the Psalms (1958: 3) applies equally to the Song of Songs:

What must be said ... is that the Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung: not doctrinal treatises, nor even sermons ... Most emphatically, the Psalms must be read as poems: as lyrics, with all the licenses and all the formalities, the hyperboles, the emotional rather than logical connections, which are proper to lyric poetry. They must be read as poems if they are to be understood; no less than French must be read as French or English as English. Otherwise, we shall miss what is in them and think we see what is not.

The compound form ‘Song of Songs’ is best understood as a superlative title, like ‘King of kings’ or ‘Holy of Holies’ (Murphy 1990: 119). This book contains the best of all songs because it concerns the greatest subject matter of all, which is love (1 Cor. 13:13). It is clear from the rest of Scripture that the greatest song about love is likely not merely to speak of human love, but also to celebrate and teach us something about the divine love that God has for his people (Isa. 5:1–7). As the apostle John reminds us, the greatest love in this world is not the love that humans have for one another, nor even our love for God, but rather his love for us (1 John 4:10).

Yet at the same time, God’s love for us is always intended to evoke in us love for him and for our neighbour (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:37–40). God’s relationship with his people is repeatedly described in the Bible as a marriage relationship (Ezek. 16:8; Hos. 1 – 3). In the New Testament, this promise finds its consummation in the church, which is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–33). Indeed, the passage in Ephesians tells us that human marriage exists to provide an apt metaphor for God’s love for his own. For a fuller explanation of these themes, see the Introduction: Themes and message, p. 39.

The remaining words of the title, which is Solomon’s, are ambiguous. They could mean that this song was written by Solomon. The preposition lamed is often understood as designating authorship in the Psalms (as well as in Hab. 3:1); as a result, many have understandably taken this to be an ascription of authorship (e.g. Murphy 1990: 119; so unequivocally, the NJPS translation). However, the preposition lamed has a wide variety of uses: lišlōmô may mean ‘belonging to Solomon’ (1 Kgs 10:28) or ‘pertaining to Solomon’ in a more general sense (1 Kgs 5:30 [Eng. 5:16]).

Grammatically, all three understandings are theoretically possible. Yet it is striking that this verse departs quite significantly from the normal method of attributing authorship elsewhere in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, in order to say ‘The Song of X, written by Y’, the standard form is apposition: the second part of the title simply follows the first. This form is attested many times in the Psalms. For example, Psalm 42:1: ‘A maskil of the Sons of Korah’ is maskîl libnê qoraḥ. Particularly striking is Psalm 127:1, which almost exactly parallels Song of Songs 1:1 in form, in that it is a plural construct phrase followed by a lamed of authorship: ‘A song of ascents, by Solomon’ (šîr hamma‘ălôt lišlōmô). Yet in the Song of Songs, we have the intervening relative pronoun which is never found in the titles of the Psalms (šîr haššîrîm ’ăšer lišlōmô). That relative pronoun is found regularly, however, with the lamed of possession.11 In fact, ’ăšer lišlōmô (‘which belongs to Solomon’) appears in 1 Kings 10:28 with reference to Solomon’s vast collection of horses. So, rather than indicating authorship, it seems that the title suggests that this book is in some more general sense about ‘that which belongs to Solomon’. In particular, the allusion to 1 Kings 10 and 11, which themselves focus on Solomon’s extensive illegitimate collection of Egyptian horses and foreign wives, may not be coincidental, as we shall see.

Direct Solomonic authorship is hard to defend, given the apparently late language and linguistic borrowings of the book (see Introduction: Title, authorship and date, pp. 19–24). If he is the author, then his work has almost certainly been significantly updated and translated into later Hebrew style. Moreover, if Solomon is both the author and hero of the narrative, at what period of his life did he write it and to whom? For the various possibilities and the difficulties of fitting the Song with Solomon’s own experiences, see the Introduction, pp. 20–21.

Furthermore, it is not clear that the man in the Song really fits the role of royalty. Certainly, he is presented under the figure of a king (e.g. 1:4), but he is also described as a shepherd, taking care of his flocks at noon (1:7). Would a king, or even a royal son of David and potential heir to the throne, literally have been out in the fields shepherding his own sheep? In addition, was Solomon describing himself in the flattering description of the man in 5:10–16? Even when recording reported speech from the mouth of his beloved, if the author is also the hero of the Song, such a paean of praise for himself seems a little boastful, to say the least.

Interestingly, similar questions have been raised with reference to the ‘Solomonic’ superscription of Psalm 72. With its profuse praise of the Davidic son and its extravagant prayers for his well-being and world domination, it too seems a little awkward if penned by Solomon concerning himself.12 Rather, regardless of who wrote the psalm, it seems to provide a depiction of an idealized image of the king, a model to which Solomon and all subsequent sons of David should aspire, and for whose coming the people of God should pray. Indeed, from the time of Solomon onwards, the failure of the various historical sons of David to live up to this ideal would inevitably have fed the people’s longing for the One to come, the promised Son of David who would embody perfectly this ideal of righteousness, justice and peace, and who, as a result, would receive all nations as his possession (see e.g. Jer. 23:1–6).

In the same way, since the glorious and idealized events described in Song of Songs are difficult to connect with the harsh realities of Solomon’s love life as described in the book of Kings, it seems best to see the man in the poem as an idealized figure, a poetic persona rather than an historical individual. The focus of the Song is, in any event, not on the specific identity of the lovers so much as it is on the nature of their love (Walsh 2000: 7).

Of course, it is not impossible that such an idealized description of love could stem originally from Solomon himself, even if he never personally experienced it, just as he could potentially have described the blessings that would attend the reign of a perfect messianic Son of David, even though the historical accounts are very clear about Solomon’s own failure to be that king. However, it seems more plausible overall, given Solomon’s negative role in what follows, that the author is anonymous, and he intends to contrast the true, wholehearted, lifelong devotion of the couple that he describes with Solomon’s notoriously different perspective on ‘love’.

Meaning

However we understand the superscription, Solomon is not being presented merely as a model lover to imitate (as some interpret the Song), or merely as a salutary warning to us of the dangers to be avoided in this area of our lives (as 1 Kgs 11 clearly depicts him). As hero or villain, Solomon points us on to Christ, the true Son of David and perfect Lover, in whom true blessing may be received by those who (like David and Solomon) have deeply blemished personal sexual histories. In Christ, we may all find a husband who is both true King and true Shepherd, the physical embodiment in flesh of the God who is himself Love.

2. PROLOGUE (1:2 – 2:7)

A. Introduction (1:2–14)

Context

After the briefest of introductions – a single title verse – the book launches immediately into its subject matter, without pausing to introduce the characters or set the stage. Before we know anything about who the girl is or where she lives, we discover that she wants something (or rather, someone) with a passionate and breathless desire. This is, of course, precisely how love often strikes us: unexpectedly, in the course of normal life, we are suddenly overpowered by our feelings. In this way, the poet begins by showing us vividly what he will later declare to us explicitly: the ferocious power of love (see 8:6–7). There are many connections between the opening and closing chapters of the Song, which create an inclusio. Yet the end is not merely a return to the beginning, as if love were part of an eternal round (so LaCocque 1998: 190); the similarities also highlight the differences and encourage us to observe the progression that has taken place in the experience of love through the Song, from entirely unsatisfied longing to desire that is partially fulfilled.

The opening and closing words of the Song are both placed in the mouth of the woman, which is fitting, as she is the primary speaker throughout. Some people have deemed this choice sufficiently striking and unusual in antiquity to suggest that the author of the poem was probably a woman (LaCocque and Ricoeur 1998: 240–246). Yet, as discussed in the Introduction, that seems to confuse authorial voice with authorial identity. A poet of the skill that is evident in this work has the ability to create believable characters who may reflect aspects of their own experience, but that does not mean that the author is to be identified with the characters that they describe.

Verses 2–4 begin by introducing the primary theme of the Song – desire – after which the poet immediately shifts the reader’s attention to the note of tension and difficulty that runs parallel to desire throughout (Horine 2001: 74–75). The woman worries that her intense desire for the man will be unrequited: she is concerned that she will be found unattractive because she doesn’t fit the conventional stereotypes of beauty, which form an idolatry in every culture. In addition, she fears not being able to find her beloved and being left to search for him unsuccessfully. She expresses her concerns and her fears in verses 5–7, and the man responds by answering each of these concerns in reverse order in verses 8–11, first giving her directions to enable her to find him and then affirming her unique beauty and attractiveness to him. In verses 12–14, we return to the woman expressing her desire for the man in terms reminiscent of the opening section (vv. 2–4), giving their initial interaction a chiastic structure:

A: Desire (1:2–4)

B: Difficulty (1:5–7)

1) Attractiveness (5–6)

2) Access (7)

B': Difficulty resolved (1:8–11)

2) Directions for access (8)

1) Attractiveness affirmed (9–11)

A': Desire renewed (1:12–14)

i. Desire (1:2–4)

Comment

2. We do not have to wait to discover what it is that the woman desires from the man: kisses – or more specifically, kisses of his mouth. This may be in contrast to more formal ‘nose kisses’ attested in surrounding cultures (Fox 1985: 97). Certainly, she has in view something more intimate than the kind of kissing in which a brother and sister may engage in public (see 8:1). Indeed, she desires not only his kisses, but his ‘caresses’ (dôdîm), translated as love in most English versions (e.g. ESV, NIV). The singular form of the word, dôd, can designate a close relative (e.g. Lev. 10:4; Esth. 2:7) or a beloved individual (e.g. Isa. 5:1 and repeatedly in the Song). However, whenever it occurs in the plural in the Old Testament, as here, it generally has sexual intimacy in view (Garrett 2004: 128). For example, in Ezekiel 16:8, it describes a young woman who has reached sexual maturity and is therefore ready for dôdîm. In Ezekiel 23:17, Judah shares a bed of dôdîm with her Babylonian lovers. Meanwhile, in Proverbs 7:18, the adulteress seduces the young man with the words: ‘Come, let us take our fill of dôdîm until morning.’ It is thus a particular kind of ‘love’ that she desires – sexual love – yet at the same time, the word also connotes a particular kind of sex – passionate sex, not simply an act of procreation. She wants the man for himself (and for herself), not just so that she can bear his children.

This desire is clearer still when the woman compares his caresses to wine, a symbol often connected with the good life and rich feasting in the Bible. Good wine is tasty and intoxicating, leaving the drinker with a desire for more. So too are the kind of intoxicating embraces that the young woman desires from the man (Barbiero 2011: 55). The image is particularly fitting as a description of the sweetness of kisses, and the link between kissing and wine recurs later in the Song (7:9; 8:1–2).

3. From taste, the poem moves to smell, as the girl conjures up the fragrance of the man’s anointing oils. Such lotions were used by both men and women in the dry countries of the Ancient Near East. Scent has a particular ability to evoke the presence of someone who is absent and to provoke memories of past encounters, for good or ill. In this case, the memories that are stirred are happy ones. While the man’s kisses are better than wine, his scent is good without any explicit object of comparison. Perhaps, in view of the pervasive echoes of creation and the Garden of Eden in the Song, his fragrance is ‘good’, in contrast to the ‘not good’ of being left alone (Gen. 2:18).

The woman’s desire for her beloved is not purely physical, even though she begins with desiring his kisses and longing for his scent. She also finds his character (šēm ; literally, name) as enticing as flowing perfume (ESV: oil poured out ; the Hebrew plays on an alliteration between šemen [oil] and šēm [name]). It is the whole person with whom she wishes to be united, body and soul. She is intoxicated by everything about him, not just his physical appearance.

It is characteristic of such profound adoration that it demands to be shared. Those newly in love often wear out their friends with the constant urge to share additional details that confirm the un-equalled desirability of their beloved. So, too, the woman believes that her view of her beloved is naturally shared by all of the ‘ălāmôt.13 These are not strictly virgins, as the word is used in contemporary English, where it serves as a non-gender-specific word that has to do purely with the lack of sexual experience. Nor are they generic ‘young women’, for whom the Hebrew word nĕ‘ārôt would have been used. Rather, the ‘ălāmôt are specifically those young women who have recently reached the age of sexual maturity and are thus ready for marriage. Because of the nature of modern Western society, where the link between sexual maturity and marriage has been completely severed, there is no English word for this status, though many other languages around the world have a comparable term for this important life transition.

This class of young women tend to be the arbiters of what constitutes male desirability in every culture. The woman in the Song can record the positive opinion of the ‘ălāmôt about the attractiveness of her man without fear or jealousy, because she is secure in the fact that her beloved has chosen her above all others. As a result, the other young women form an audience before whom she can boast of the attractiveness of her lover, rather than rivals for his affections who are to be feared. They all l...

Table of contents

• Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
• The Song of Songs
• CONTENTS
• GENERAL PREFACE
• AUTHOR’S PREFACE
• CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INTRODUCTION
• ANALYSIS
• TRANSLATION
• COMMENTARY
• 2. PROLOGUE (1:2 – 2:7)
• 3. BEFORE THE WEDDING: JOINED AND SEPARATED (2:8 – 3:5)
• 4. THE WEDDING (3:6 – 5:1)
• 5. AFTER THE WEDDING: SEPARATED AND REJOINED (5:2 – 6:3)
• 6. CONTEMPLATION AND RENEWED CONSUMMATION (6:4 – 8:4)
• 7. EPILOGUE (8:5–14)