Song of Songs
SONG OF SONGS
The Theme of the Song of Songs. A central theme runs throughout the Song of Songs (also known as the “supreme song”): the love between husband and wife, the mysterious discovery of each other, and the complete giving of oneself without losing one’s individuality. This illustrates the fullness of union in creative energy and the fertile power of the eternal moment. This theme defines this brief collection of wedding songs—a dialogue of lovers who both remember and anticipate the future. These lovers discover each other, unite, face separation, overcome difficulties, and ultimately reunite.
During the week after the wedding, the couple reigned as king and queen. If he is Solomon, then she is the Shunammite. If he is the “guardian of white lilies,” she is the “princess of the gardens.” These are songs of two equal protagonists. He and she, without revealing their names, embody all couples who experience the miracle of love.
The love expressed in the biblical Song celebrates the body, ecstatically admires the beloved’s form, and sings of and desires it. It views the body as a reflection of natural beauty, including elements like mountains, trees, and animals. The rich and diverse beauty of creation is seen in the sung body: gazelles, bucks, fawns, doves, ravens, pomegranates, white lilies, palms, cedars, and the mountains of Lebanon, along with human-made beauty—jewelry, glass, columns, and towers. It is a love that affirms and proclaims that all creatures created by God are good, especially man and woman.
The love in this book carries hints of fear and pain: destructive foxes, nocturnal surprises, vain calls, searches without encounters, and the dual obscurities of the Abyss and Death. Still, it remains imperfect. But within its limits, we find love without bounds, free from shadows or memories of fear, embodying the fullness of God’s love and all that exists within Him.
Author and Literary Style. We know nothing about the songs’ author or authors or the collection’s compiler. The legend suggests that the author is Solomon and that he composed it for his wedding to an Egyptian princess, but this remains merely a legend. An ingenious and fascinating theory proposes that Solomon wrote the Song in his youth, the Proverbs in his mature years, and the Ecclesiastes in his old age.
The song’s style adjusts to the theme. It is filled with vivid images and comparisons, and it features expressions with double meanings that relate to erotic language. The song also emphasizes sound effects as the poems are sung or recited.
Does the book show unity and progress? Where does one scene begin, and where does another end? It’s hard to tell. Readers who examine the text closely will notice repetitions of words and refrains as the narrative moves from one scenario to the next, such as from the palace’s interior to the open fields. The light and colors, the sounds and scents, the metaphors and similes, nature and history, the ordinary and the exotic—this entire lively range of literary elements serves a purpose: to celebrate love.
What Does the Song of Songs Say About Love? How did this bold and honest book about human love come to be seen as part of the Bible and as inspired by God? It’s because it explores the simple and pure love among people. This caused the Song to face challenges in being accepted as a sacred text within the Jewish tradition, which required defense, as shown in the famous “Assembly of Yamnia” (around the year 90-100). Rabbi Aquiba said at that time: “The whole world is not worthy of the day in which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, since the hagiographers are holy, but the Song of Songs is the holiest” (Yad III,5).
Since the Song is open to profane interpretations, it needed to be “interpreted” to gain acceptance in the Bible. Thus, the allegorical interpretation originated from Jewish tradition and was passed down to Christianity. The Song discusses love but emphasizes God’s love (the groom) for Israel (the bride). In Christianity, the interlocutors are Christ and the Church, Christ and the individual soul, and the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. It has been suggested that the book offers an authentic mystical journey culminating in the spiritual marriage of the soul with God in an eros-platonic manner.
While it’s undeniable that we no longer need to rely on allegory to justify the divine inspiration of these love songs, we must first consider the book’s literal meaning before engaging in an allegorical interpretation. This meaning holds theological significance, guiding us toward a deeper allegorical understanding. Is human love not worthy of being the Word of God? Love that comes from God leads us to Him, who is the Source of Love. If the love expressed in the Song can include and embrace all without losing its intensity, then this love would represent the highest manifestation of God’s love.