IBS: Song 1

Song of Solomon

Interpretive Question.

“What did the writer of Song of Solomon intend for his readers to learn about love [viewing that

word in its variety of senses]?”

Word Study

The Song of Solomon mentions the words “love” (26x; KJV) or “beloved” (33x; KJV) as

well as other derivatives of the Hebrew dowd (Blue Letter, dowd). According to Blue Letter this

word comes from an unused root meaning “to boil.” The word is also translated in other contexts

as “uncle” (i.e. Lev. 10:4; 20:20; 25:49, etc) and seems to imply the love someone has for a close

relative - such as the brother of one’s father. The Song; however, uses the dowd in a very specific

context to show the feeling of affection and sexual desire between a man and woman. For

instance 1:2 states, “Beloved [dowd] Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth-- for your love

[dowd] is more delightful than wine”[emphasis mine]. Here the writer describes the desire of one

lover to be kissed by the other through the use of sensual language and suggesting that kiss bring

about an intoxicating pleasure. Hence, the etymological suggestion of this word being derived

from a boiling might be apropos as it is used in the Song. The love of the lovers is boiling, hot

and passionate as it should be between what we assume to be husband and wife.

There are also others places in the Song where the word “love” is not translated from the

dowd but other Hebrew words. The writer employs the terms ahab and ahaba to describe love,

lovers, friends, beloved, like and loving (ahab - 1:3, 4, 7; 3:1, 2, 3, 4. ahaba – 2:4, 5, 7; 3:5, 10;

5:8; 7:6; 8:4, 6, 7) (Blue Letter, ahab & ahaba). However, if we study the context of the Song

and its use of these words we will discover it is used in connection with the phrase “him whom

my soul” (1:7; 3:1, 2, 3, 4). In other places the word is called upon as a term of endearment (7:6)
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but most generally to describe the personal emotions felt by one lover toward the other (i.e.

“faint with love” 2:5; 5:8) and as a caution to not stir up these emotions before the right time (i.e.

“do not arouse or awaken” 2:7; 3:5; 8:4).

The Song also utilizes the Hebrew ra’yah (Blue Letter, ra’yah) to describe love (1:9, 15;

2:2, 10, 13; 4:1, 7; 5:2; 6:4). This word is used in a comparative manner wherein the male lover

compares the female to something in order to pay compliments. For example, “Lover I liken you,

my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh” (1:9).

The conclusion of this word study is that “love” as it pertains to the Song is a

multifaceted emotion. It can be the erotic desire between lovers as well as a special non-sexual

relationship between friends or relatives. Love can be an intense emotion that requires proper

channeling. The love one feels for a relative or friend is not the same as the emotion or passion

felt between a husband and wife although the husband and wife should also be friends. The

context of the words used determines how it is interpreted but this may also suggest the context

in which one feels love determines how one should interpret it in their own lives.

What Did The Writer Intend For The Original Reader?

Longman (2008) suggests the Song is a proud declaration of the celebration of sex (p.

455). I would have to agree with Longman’s assessment but I think it is also more. Not only does

the writer celebrate the fantastic privilege of marital intimacy but also the beauty of loving

friendships. These friendships, according to the word study above, exist in several social realms.

Love reaches into the sphere of family as well as the love shared between men or between

women. Solomon seems to be placing the proper boundaries on these spheres of love. In other

words, lover’s passion is vastly different than love shared between men as friends who enjoy one
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the others fellowship or camaraderie. Certainly the heated kiss of lovers differs from that of a

mother kissing her child.

However, the Song does spend a predominate amount of ink celebrating the beauty of

courtship and consummation of love. Within the conversations between the lover and the

beloved there seems to be an underlying implication about love. That is, both the lover and the

beloved see each other as the benchmark by which all love and beauty is measured. For example,

the lover, says, “How beautiful you are, my darling!” (1:15a). The beloved responds in kind,

“How handsome you are, my lover” (1:16a). This may seem sentimental but it speaks of

something deeper.

Reading the Song one sees how the two characters often compare one another to the

beauty of natural things. They are compared with silver and gold (3:10; 5:10, 14; 8:9) and also

cedars and firs (1:17; 2:3; 5:15; 6:11; 7:8). Obviously to the original reader these comparisons

were powerful expressions comparing natural beauty they could behold and the gorgeousness of

the lovers. In all of the comparisons we can find in the Song there is one curious omission. There

is no account where either lover being compared the other with another human being! You find

no mention of the lover telling the beloved her hair was like that of the Egyptians or the any

other near-Eastern race. This omission might suggest Solomon was attempting to teach a lesson

he himself had either not learned or had forgotten.

Solomon had “loved” many foreign women and they had turned his heart away from God

(1 Kings 11:1-2). If we count Solomon as the author of the latter portions of Proverbs we can

also see his bemoaning the problems of “strange women.” He calls them a “deep pit” (Proverbs

22:14) and will cause the young man to do “utter perverse things” (Proverbs 23:33). This being

said, it might suggest Solomon is attempting to teach the reader that the love of one woman
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exceeds the pleasures of hundreds of wives and concubines (see 1 Kings 11:3). Many of

Solomon’s wives were taken as a way to secure political agreements between Israel and its

enemies (1 Kings 11:3 tells us 700 of Solomon’s foreign wives were of “royal birth”).

It is possible the Song is a long apology for the power of monogamy: a lesson Solomon

had failed to learn or understand as he attempted to lead Israel. To the original reader the Song

may have been a sort of double entendre whereby Solomon is celebrating the joy of sex but also

espousing the value of relationships that are pure and without comparison to others. Given

Solomon’s self-made circumstance the love poems expressing the delight of a one lover and his

beloved might be a cry for a life that is true to the Covenant wherein Israel (the loved) maintains

its monogamous worship and love for Yahweh (the beloved). Be that as it may, the principle of

monogamy seems to come through quite clear. One lover and one beloved who express their

passionate and hot love by keeping their eyes fixed upon the object of their adoration; lovers who

find their standard of beauty in each other and not in those around them.

In the end “love” is an emotion that is felt on many levels. The Song, however, seems to

concentrate on the idea of passionate love between an assumed husband and wife. This love is

expressed verbally in their comparison of one another to those things counted as symbols of

beauty within the historical setting. These comparisons, however, never denigrate to the point

where one lover compares the other to another person(s). This suggests Solomon was intending

to help the reader understand the magnificent beauty expressed in monogamous relationships; a

lesson Solomon had failed to understand. Love, within the context of the Song, seems to be

something that is deeply felt but expressed within boundaries established by God.
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References

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for dowd (Strong's 1730)". Blue Letter Bible.
1996-2010. 31 Jan 2010. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
Strongs=H1730&t=KJV >

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for 'ahab (Strong's 157)". Blue Letter Bible.
1996-2010. 31 Jan 2010. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
Strongs=H157&t=KJV >

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for 'ahabah (Strong's 160)". Blue Letter Bible.
1996-2010. 31 Jan 2010. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
strongs=H160&t=KJV&page=2 >