The Quintessential Love Song

​The Song of Solomon
 
King Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), and the Song of Songs exemplified the pinnacle of his efforts. The biblical canon of this Song is well established, but its celebration of love and sexuality has raised eyebrows as to its purpose within the Scriptural corpus. For centuries, Rabbinic and early New Testament scholars have allegorically interpreted this piece of wisdom literature as God’s intimate relationship to Israel or the Church respectively, but its genre parallel many of the Near and Middle Eastern love poems and songs. Nevertheless, this unusual literary narrative needs to be read within its intended context. As God’s Word, it emphatically reminds us that we are created to love, and despite all our failings, to whom we focus our love and on what basis seem critical.
 
There has been some contention whether there are two ‘participants’ or perhaps three in these poems: the Shulammite bride (Song 1:2) and King Solomon (Song 2:2; where the king and the shepherd are fused as the same person), or the unidentified shepherd as the third person (Song 1:7). Although the King and the shepherd appear to speak, the whole script is in fact like a monologue, where the young beauty narrates throughout. She also ‘addresses’ three groups, which act as her sounding board: the watchmen (Song 3:3), the daughters of Jerusalem (Song 3:5), and the King’s retinue (Song 6:12). 
 
Assuming there are 3 parties, we have a semblance of a love triangle, where a young beautiful innocent country girl, is caught between her initial excitement and affection for her king (Song 1: 2-6) and her first love, a shepherd (Song 1:8). She has been prepared well by the king’s courtiers (much like Queen Esther in the Book of Esther) and will soon be presented officially as the king’s bride (Song 3:6-11). The longer she stays at the palace, her isolation and alienation yearns increasingly for the one whom she had been separated from (Song 3:1-4; 5:2-6:3), and her forlorn affections reach out to her shepherd even in the presence of her king (Song 1:12-16; 2:3-16). The descriptions of their relationship are affectionate and warm, interspersed with the changing of the seasons. The words she used to describe how the shepherd wooed her are very similar to those the king used to describe her in his desire to possess her (Song 4:1-5:1). The depth of her beauty that had captivated both men is much more than skin-deep, however, the comparison in all aspects is stark; between a secluded and privileged life hidden within the harem, with the occasional companionship of her king (Song 2:1-2; 6:8-9), or a carefree life in her own village with her beloved, who is ‘dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand’ (Song 1:8; 5:10). The tussle continues as she dreams of spending the coming spring with him (Song 2:10-17), while she is closeted within the palace.
 
Towards the conclusion of the Song, the intensity of her love for the shepherd increases, as she finally makes up her mind and gives her heart to him as a symbolic seal of ownership and identification (Song 8:6). As the final stanza reaches its climax, she explains her reason for her choice – a moralistic statement that true and faithful love cannot be bought with money (Song 8:7), thereby turning away from King Solomon’s enticements and wealth (Song 8:11-12). Of course, if this were not poetic license, she would have lost her head literally or been incarcerated. Her reflective wise judgment becomes the song of her independence and freedom to choose whom she would love and eventually marry (Song 8:14). Generally, the choices of the heart, which usually is much broader than the love life depicted by the Shulammite in this Song, will stretch anyone’s sense of judgment and integrity, as the fallen human heart grapples with its appetites and conflicting desires. Ultimately, the Song of Songs focuses on the choices love and desire produce in everyday life, and the need for wisdom to safely navigate its moral and ethical minefields for righteousness’ sake.