- Authorship
- Tradition has maintained Solomon as the author (e.g., 1:1; 3:7-9,11;
8:11-12)
- Against Solomon as author
- Superscription (1:1) is probably a late addition and the other
references to Solomon do not necessarily imply he was the author
- Language of the book shows influence of Aramaic, Persian, and Greek
languages and thus indicates a date of composition long after Solomon
- Date
- Those who claim Solomon as the author believe the book was written
during Solomon's youth as he sought and married his 1,000 wives and concubines
- Those who doubt Solomon was the author believe the book was written
in the 3rd century B.C.E. due to the
influence of the Aramaic, Persian, and Greek languages
- Nature of the Book
- Collection of love poems - the graceful and sensuous poems have
presented a problem to interpreters through the centuries
- No clear literary structure
- Methods of Interpretation
- The problem - Song of Songs has no clear religious content as do the
other books of the Hebrew Bible
- Suggested methods
- As an allegory
- Jewish scholars see it as speaking of the love of God for Israel
portrayed as the kind of love that exists between husband and wife
- Christian scholars have taken a similar approach but suggested that
the book refers to Christ's love for his bride the church
- As a drama
- Three main characters - a beautiful maiden, her shepherd lover or
husband, and a wealthy, powerful king (perhaps Solomon)
- King tries to win the girl by offering her luxury and prestige but
the love she shares with her shepherd lover/husband overcomes the material temptations
offered by the king
- Collection of secular love songs - songs that celebrate human love -
God made humans to be sexual creatures - rather than be ashamed of that fact, we should
celebrate it, even in the context of our faith
- Wisdom's reflection on love
- Gen. 2:24 states that love between a man and woman can cause both to
leave their homes and start off on their own as one unit
- The power of love was as fascinating to ancient Israel as it is to us
today
- Wisdom celebrates love's power as a gift of God and invites the
reader to ponder that if God's love is greater than the love we experience in life, how
incredible God's love must be
- Some Theological Points
- Few people ever read the Song of Songs probably because it is too
difficult to interpret or too embarrassing - some people tend to ignore what they cannot
understand or do not wish to understand but that creates a very selective theology rather
than a true biblical theology
- Song of Songs has been and continues to be used in the celebration of
Passover - the exodus from Egypt was the supreme example of God's love for Israel - it is
little wonder that the powerful metaphor of human sexual love would be used to describe
the powerful love of God for His people