SONG OF SOLOMON

Chapter 1

 

V1: First of all, you would not believe how difficult it is to find a non-allegorical view of the Song of Solomon online. I can’t count how many Google searches I had to run before I found a sermon series that took that viewpoint. Studying that series, it absolutely blew me away that God cares about us so much that He would put an entire book in His Word devoted to love, relationships and, indeed, sex, and does the sex ever get explicit in this piece of the Biblical cannon.

 

I would not dispute that this poem has parallels with our relationship to God, but in its original context, the Song of Songs was mainly a secular love song that God had included in His word to teach us about romantic relationships and to show us His love.

 

Maybe the reason a non-allegorical view of the Song of Solomon is so difficult to find is because this book flies in the face of the religious, controlling spirit seen so much in the church in our time and, as evidenced by the interpretation of this poem, throughout much of history.

 

This is by no means an official, authoritative commentary, except by the authority of the Holy Spirit who leads me, whom I would say is a pretty good authority actually. Really, though, this post is more or less a journaling of the thoughts I had while studying the sermon series I found on this book as well as the thoughts that jumped out at me from reading the Scripture along with the teacher.

 

V4: The bride and her friends are conversing. The friends will imitate Solomon and this woman; they will remember and celebrate their relationship. As Christians, we need to think about and love the good, reputable and pure things, as Paul instructs us in Philippians 4.

 

V5: The woman has dark skin from being out in the sun all day in a society where milky white skin was prized.

 

V7: Solomon and this girl have met while Solomon was inspecting one of the vineyards he owned. The woman wants to see Solomon again, so she asks where he is feeding his flocks and herds the next day. She wants to make sure she doesn’t get barred from the presence of the king as riffraff.

 

As you read further in this book, you discover the woman takes an incredible amount of initiative in this relationship. Here, she is asking Solomon out, as it were, instead of waiting for him to ask her.

 

V11: Solomon’s servants are telling how they are going to make jewelry for the woman so she’ll look good. While, of course as Peter reminds us, looks are not to be our top priority it is important to keep up our appearance for our significant others throughout our lives.

 

V13: “…he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts” The woman is saying, “You’ll be in my heart.”

 

V16: “…our bed is green.” The couple are picnicking on the grass, out in the woods, as shown by the next verse.

 

Chapter 2

 

V3: The couple are making out.

 

V4: Solomon has taken the woman on a date to his dining hall.

 

V5: The woman is lovesick.

 

V6: The couple are making out again.

 

V8: Solomon is hurrying to see this woman.

 

V9: But when he gets there, Solomon is nervous and hesitant about what he’s about to do.

 

V10: Solomon proposes to the woman.

 

V11-13: This scene is not necessarily occurring in the spring of the year, but it is spring in Solomon’s heart. See The Temptations “My Girl.”

 

V15: The couple are going to discuss the minor conflicts and such-like in their relationship before the wedding. It is a good practice for couples who are, or are thinking about getting engaged to do the same things. If not taken care of before the marriage, these small issues can grow into big problems that could wreck the marriage.

 

V16: The couple are making out again.

 

Chapter 3

 

V1-4: The woman is dreaming about Solomon.

 

V6: It is the wedding day.

 

V7: The word bed in the King James describes a mode of transportation. In effect, Solomon has sent a limo to pick up his bride-to-be and take her to where the ceremony is to take place.

 

V8: The 60 men surrounding the limo are bodyguards. Since Solomon was a king, there were many people who might want to kidnap his betrothed.

 

Chapter 4

 

V1: When Solomon says his new wife’s hair is like a flock of goats coming down Mount Gilead, he means her hair is wavy.

 

V2: The woman’s teeth are nice, white and even. In a day before toothpaste, vitamins and dentistry, she has all of them.

 

V5: Since lips have previously been associated with lilies, we can assume here that Solomon is kissing the woman’s breasts.

 

V6-16: The couple are going to consummate their marriage.

 

Chapter 5

 

V1: In the latter part of this verse, God speaks and endorses the marriage.

 

V2-6: The scene shifts and some time has elapsed. The woman has behaved in a selfish way toward Solomon and he has taken off. The woman regrets her actions.

 

V7: The woman dreams the events described in this verse.

 

V8: The woman has discussed this problem with her girlfriends.

 

V9: “What do you want a guy like Solomon back for?” they respond.

 

V16: The couple are not only lovers, they are friends. Your spouse should be your best friend.

 

Chapter 6

 

V3: The couple have made up.

 

V4: Solomon is saying, “Girl, you get my attention like an army on parade.”

 

V8: More time could have elapsed with the beginning of this verse. At this point, Solomon has 60 (I assume additional) wives and 80 concubines, as well as a whole bunch of other chicks on the side. The Shulamite woman, his first wife, therefore wants to know if Solomon still loves her.

 

V11: From hereon in, the text really gets explicit. The scene has shifted, time has passed again. I take the position that the word nuts here means the same thing as in the modern slang parlance. Basically, a modern paraphrase of this verse is “While we were lying in bed together, I stroked him to see if he was still into me.”

 

V12: “Before I knew it, we were both rarin to go.”

 

V13: This verse could refer to cross-dressing.

 

Chapter 7

 

V2: Navel here means vagina and belly in this instance means groin. The wheat is of course metaphorical of pubic hair.

 

V11-13: Solomon and his wife are going on a little vacation to help put the spark back into their marriage.

 

Chapter 8

 

V1: This verse refers to adult nursing and could also refer to age-play in general due to the mention of the woman’s brother as a baby.

 

V2: In those days, mothers would instruct daughters in the art of lovemaking. “I’m gonna show you a few things my mama taught me.” The woman is not referring to her face in this case when she talks about a pomegranate.

 

V6: This verse here is saying that love is like death in that, just as no one can raise themselves from the dead, nobody can get themselves out of love when there heart is fluttering. Feeling jealous is like being buried.

 

V8: The friends are speaking in this verse.

 

V9: If the little sister, when she comes of age, doesn’t let the boys inside, we will affirm the good moral choices she has made. However, if she is less caughtious and is more likely to open up for the boys, we will have to put more restrictions on her. Just as is seen with the way Solomon handled David’s enemies in the first couple chapters of 1 Kings, our children are likewise created as unique individuals by the Lord Almighty. Therefore, each child will have to be dealt with by their parents differently because each child, like every other individual on the planet, is different.

 

V10: The Shulamite woman fit in the former category before she married Solomon. She didn’t let the boys inside.

 

V14: “Run to me, big boy.”