What is the…
Song Of Songs

also known as: Song of Solomon and Canticle of Canticles

Hebrew: שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים

This book is love poetry (8 chapters long) with some wisdom motifs and possible allegory, describing love and sexual longing between a betrothed man and woman. Although unnamed, the author is almost certainly King Solomon, son of King David and Bathsheba.

Read it: Song of Songs

In modern Judaism, the Song is read on the Sabbath during the Passover, which marks the beginning of the grain-harvest as well as commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. Jewish tradition reads it as an allegory of the relationship between God and Israel.

“Although there have been a number of interpretations of this book, the most obvious interpretation is no interpretation at all. That is, it is simply what it purports to be—a romantic love poem describing the love of a young Solomon and a Shulamite

maiden who became his first bride.

There is nothing unseemly, of course, about a book of the Bible depicting the beauties of pure courtship and marital love. The union of male and female in holy matrimony is intrinsic to the creation itself (Genesis 2:24-25).

In this sense, the narrative of the Song can be considered as an idyllic picture of courtship and marriage that might apply, with varying details, to all true love and marriage as ordained by God.

In a secondary sense, the account may also be considered as a type of the love of Christ and His church, the ‘Bride of Christ’ (compare Ephesians 5:22-33; Revelation 21:2, 22:17). This analogy should not be pressed too far, of course, as the book should primarily be studied in accord with its own clear intent, that of describing and honoring the God-ordained union of man and woman in true love and marriage.” —Dr. Henry M. Morris, The Defenders Study Bible (Iowa Falls, Iowa: World Publishing), p. 771.

The book’s format

• Introduction (1:1–6)
• Dialog between the lovers (1:7–2:7)
• The woman recalls a visit from her lover (2:8–17)
• The woman addresses the daughters of Zion (3:1–5)
• Seeing a royal wedding procession (3:6–11)
• The man describes his lover’s beauty (4:1–5:1)
• The woman addresses the daughters of Jerusalem (5:2–6:4)
• The man describes his lover, who visits him (6:5–12)
• Observers describe the woman’s beauty (6:13–8:4)
• Conclusion (8:5–14)

The Dead Sea Scrolls includes portions of the Song of Songs. What is the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

More information

• Who is King Solomon?
• Poetry in the Bible
• Who is David?
• What is true love and how do you know when you have found it?
• For a follower of Christ, what is LOVE—a feeling, an emotion, or an action?
• About marriage in the Bible
• About the Bible
• Canon