The Song of
SOLOMON
Author: Attributed to Solomon
Date: Solomon Reigned 970–930 B.C.
Theme: The Quest for Authentic Love
Key Words: Love, Garden, Mother’s House
Author. Solomon’s authorship is disputed, but the glory of Solomonic symbolism is essential to the Song. Jesus referred twice to Solomon’s glory and wisdom (Matt. 6:29; 12:42). As David’s royal son, Solomon had a unique place in covenant history (2 Sam. 7:12, 13). His two birth names, which symbolize peace (Solomon) and love (Jedidiah), readily apply to the Song (2 Sam. 12:24, 25; 1 Chr. 22:9). Solomon’s glorious kingdom was like a restoration of the Garden of Eden (1 Kin. 4:20–34), and the temple and palace he built embody the truths of the tabernacle and the conquest of the Promised Land (1 Kin. 6; 7). Solomon is perfectly cast as the personified blessings of covenant love since he appears in the Song with all of his regal perfection (; 5:10–16).
Occasion and Date. Though the Song does not supply precise background information, Solomon reigned over Israel from 970 to 930 B.C. Similar language and ideals are also found in David’s temple prayer for Solomon and for the people at Solomon’s enthronement (1 Chr. 29).
Purpose. “Love” is the key word in the Song. This love, presenting the passionate desire between a man and a woman, King Solomon and the Shulamite, celebrates the joyous potential of marriage in light of sworn covenant principles. The basis for all human love should be covenant love, the master metaphor of the Bible. This covenant love is also the basis of the relationship between God and man; therefore, the Song applies properly to both marriage and to covenant history. The Shulamite therefore personifies the wife in an ideal marriage and the covenant people and their history in the Promised Land under the blessings of royal Solomonic love.
Characteristics. The Song is the best of all songs, a literary work of art and a theological masterpiece. In the second century one of the greatest Jewish rabbis, Akiba ben Joseph, said, “In the entire world there is nothing to equal the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel.” The Song itself is like its favorite fruit, pomegranates, alive with color and full of seeds. Quite unlike any other biblical book, it merits special consideration as a biblical archetype which presents anew the basic realities of man’s relationships. The Song employs symbolic language to express timeless truths, much like the Book of Revelation.
Content. The Song contains portraits of the Shulamite woman along with a full array of her garden products. These should be taken both as poetic parallels of marital love and as covenant blessings of the people in their land.
Clear directions are given in the discovery of covenant blessings, “Follow in the footsteps of the flock” (1:8). Footsteps here is literally “heelprints,” and may be an allusion to Jacob, the national father whose name connotes “a heel.” Jacob’s shepherd role and his lifelong struggle for the blessing of God and man are cited as the biblical norm for God’s people (Hos. 12:3–6, 12, 13). He was born grasping his brother’s heel, a congenital manipulator. He was “disjointed” with deception at the core of his being as illustrated by his limp at Mahanaim (Gen. 32). He was forced to live outside the land under the threat of an angry brother. He returned to the land after twenty years with a faulty family foundation. Deception, lack of love, jealousy, anger, and love for hire (for mandrakes) went into the shaky substructure. The very names of the Twelve Tribes show the need for a new family history.
The Shulamite relives and rewrites that history. She does the memorial dance to Mahanaim (6:13; see Gen. 32:2). When she finds the one she loves she holds him and will not let him go (3:4; see Gen. 32:26). Fragrant mandrakes grow in her fields (7:11–13; see Gen. 30:14). When the daughters see her, they call her blessed or happy (6:9; see Gen. 30:13). In the Shulamite the corrupt family tree of Israel bears “pleasant fruits,” the very best (7:13; see Deut. 33:13–17). The covenant blessings that had gone awry are redeemed.
These same incidents can be seen as portraits of marital love as well. In this respect it is her husband whom she holds and will not let go (3:4). It is her husband who praises her beauty (6:4–10), and it is a royal wedding procession and the bride and groom’s rejoicing in one another that are portrayed in 3:6–5:1.
Personal Application. The Song is a constant goad to drifting marriages with its challenge to seek for openness, growth, and joyous relationship. It also makes an excellent premarital manual. As a biblical archetype it can bring healing to the core of our being with its hope of covenant love as it reshapes our marriages. Its portrayal of the covenant love relationship also has application to the covenant love relationship enjoyed by God’s church. In this regard, the Song can be rich in symbolism but should not be read as an arbitrary allegory with mysterious meanings supplied by the whim of the reader; rather, any such personal application of one’s love relationship with Christ should be interpreted with solid application, using obvious biblical parallels.
Christ Revealed. In the Song of Solomon, as in other parts of the Bible, the Garden of Eden, the Promised Land, the tabernacle with its ark of the covenant, the temple of Solomon, the new heavens and the new earth are all related to Jesus Christ, so it is not a matter of merely choosing a few verses that prophesy of Christ. The very essence of covenant history and covenant love is reproduced in Him (Luke 24:27; 2 Cor. 1:20).
The Holy Spirit at Work. According to Romans 5:5, “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” On the basis of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is the bond and the binding power of love. The joyous oneness revealed in the Song is inconceivable apart from the Holy Spirit. The very form of the book as song and symbol is especially adapted to the Spirit, for He Himself uses dreams, picture-language, and singing (Acts 2:17; Eph. 5:18, 19). A subtle wordplay based on the divine “breathing” of the breath of life (the Holy Spirit, Ps. 104:29, 30) in Genesis 2:7 seems to surface in the Song. It shows up in the “break” or breathing of the day (2:17; 4:6), in the “blowing” of the wind on the Shulamite’s garden (4:16), and surprisingly in the fragrant scent and fruit of the apple tree (7:8).
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible
SOLOMON
Author: Attributed to Solomon
Date: Solomon Reigned 970–930 B.C.
Theme: The Quest for Authentic Love
Key Words: Love, Garden, Mother’s House
Author. Solomon’s authorship is disputed, but the glory of Solomonic symbolism is essential to the Song. Jesus referred twice to Solomon’s glory and wisdom (Matt. 6:29; 12:42). As David’s royal son, Solomon had a unique place in covenant history (2 Sam. 7:12, 13). His two birth names, which symbolize peace (Solomon) and love (Jedidiah), readily apply to the Song (2 Sam. 12:24, 25; 1 Chr. 22:9). Solomon’s glorious kingdom was like a restoration of the Garden of Eden (1 Kin. 4:20–34), and the temple and palace he built embody the truths of the tabernacle and the conquest of the Promised Land (1 Kin. 6; 7). Solomon is perfectly cast as the personified blessings of covenant love since he appears in the Song with all of his regal perfection (; 5:10–16).
Occasion and Date. Though the Song does not supply precise background information, Solomon reigned over Israel from 970 to 930 B.C. Similar language and ideals are also found in David’s temple prayer for Solomon and for the people at Solomon’s enthronement (1 Chr. 29).
Purpose. “Love” is the key word in the Song. This love, presenting the passionate desire between a man and a woman, King Solomon and the Shulamite, celebrates the joyous potential of marriage in light of sworn covenant principles. The basis for all human love should be covenant love, the master metaphor of the Bible. This covenant love is also the basis of the relationship between God and man; therefore, the Song applies properly to both marriage and to covenant history. The Shulamite therefore personifies the wife in an ideal marriage and the covenant people and their history in the Promised Land under the blessings of royal Solomonic love.
Characteristics. The Song is the best of all songs, a literary work of art and a theological masterpiece. In the second century one of the greatest Jewish rabbis, Akiba ben Joseph, said, “In the entire world there is nothing to equal the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel.” The Song itself is like its favorite fruit, pomegranates, alive with color and full of seeds. Quite unlike any other biblical book, it merits special consideration as a biblical archetype which presents anew the basic realities of man’s relationships. The Song employs symbolic language to express timeless truths, much like the Book of Revelation.
Content. The Song contains portraits of the Shulamite woman along with a full array of her garden products. These should be taken both as poetic parallels of marital love and as covenant blessings of the people in their land.
Clear directions are given in the discovery of covenant blessings, “Follow in the footsteps of the flock” (1:8). Footsteps here is literally “heelprints,” and may be an allusion to Jacob, the national father whose name connotes “a heel.” Jacob’s shepherd role and his lifelong struggle for the blessing of God and man are cited as the biblical norm for God’s people (Hos. 12:3–6, 12, 13). He was born grasping his brother’s heel, a congenital manipulator. He was “disjointed” with deception at the core of his being as illustrated by his limp at Mahanaim (Gen. 32). He was forced to live outside the land under the threat of an angry brother. He returned to the land after twenty years with a faulty family foundation. Deception, lack of love, jealousy, anger, and love for hire (for mandrakes) went into the shaky substructure. The very names of the Twelve Tribes show the need for a new family history.
The Shulamite relives and rewrites that history. She does the memorial dance to Mahanaim (6:13; see Gen. 32:2). When she finds the one she loves she holds him and will not let him go (3:4; see Gen. 32:26). Fragrant mandrakes grow in her fields (7:11–13; see Gen. 30:14). When the daughters see her, they call her blessed or happy (6:9; see Gen. 30:13). In the Shulamite the corrupt family tree of Israel bears “pleasant fruits,” the very best (7:13; see Deut. 33:13–17). The covenant blessings that had gone awry are redeemed.
These same incidents can be seen as portraits of marital love as well. In this respect it is her husband whom she holds and will not let go (3:4). It is her husband who praises her beauty (6:4–10), and it is a royal wedding procession and the bride and groom’s rejoicing in one another that are portrayed in 3:6–5:1.
Personal Application. The Song is a constant goad to drifting marriages with its challenge to seek for openness, growth, and joyous relationship. It also makes an excellent premarital manual. As a biblical archetype it can bring healing to the core of our being with its hope of covenant love as it reshapes our marriages. Its portrayal of the covenant love relationship also has application to the covenant love relationship enjoyed by God’s church. In this regard, the Song can be rich in symbolism but should not be read as an arbitrary allegory with mysterious meanings supplied by the whim of the reader; rather, any such personal application of one’s love relationship with Christ should be interpreted with solid application, using obvious biblical parallels.
Christ Revealed. In the Song of Solomon, as in other parts of the Bible, the Garden of Eden, the Promised Land, the tabernacle with its ark of the covenant, the temple of Solomon, the new heavens and the new earth are all related to Jesus Christ, so it is not a matter of merely choosing a few verses that prophesy of Christ. The very essence of covenant history and covenant love is reproduced in Him (Luke 24:27; 2 Cor. 1:20).
The Holy Spirit at Work. According to Romans 5:5, “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” On the basis of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is the bond and the binding power of love. The joyous oneness revealed in the Song is inconceivable apart from the Holy Spirit. The very form of the book as song and symbol is especially adapted to the Spirit, for He Himself uses dreams, picture-language, and singing (Acts 2:17; Eph. 5:18, 19). A subtle wordplay based on the divine “breathing” of the breath of life (the Holy Spirit, Ps. 104:29, 30) in Genesis 2:7 seems to surface in the Song. It shows up in the “break” or breathing of the day (2:17; 4:6), in the “blowing” of the wind on the Shulamite’s garden (4:16), and surprisingly in the fragrant scent and fruit of the apple tree (7:8).
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible
