Don't Know Much About the Bible - Kenneth C. Davis [123]
The Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs, or Canticle of Canticles) is among the most controversial of the Hebrew scriptures. Its place in the canon was still being argued in the first century CE because, like Esther, it never mentions God and doesn’t deal with laws, prophecy, or religion. The question is, how did such a sexual poem, richly luscious in its erotic imagery and not overly concerned with marriage, make it into the Bible in the first place?
Placed in the Hebrew “Writings” because of its popularity and the attribution to King Solomon, the Song of Solomon is unique in the Bible. A dialogue between a woman and her male lover—only sometimes called the bride and the groom—expressed in remarkably exotic and erotic language, the poem celebrates the physical love between a man and a woman. The work resembles Egyptian love poetry and Arabic wedding songs that praise the charm and beauty of the bride. There are also parallels with sacred marriage texts concerning the ritual union of the goddess Ishtar and her consort Tammuz, a shepherd-god who was worshiped in the Jerusalem Temple and was specifically mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel.
Some scholars have seen the book as a liturgy for a divine or royal marriage, or at least as derived from such a ritual. While it is impossible to date the Song with certainty, the source of poetry may go back to ancient times before David and Solomon ruled. The final version was probably composed after the Return from Babylon. Solomon’s name is mentioned in several verses and so he was credited with writing the poems. While that is unlikely, the Song probably originated in Solomon’s court, filled as it was with hundreds of beautiful, exotic, foreign women.
So what’s it doing in the Bible? The traditional interpretation, both in Judaism and Christianity, is that these juicy love poems represent Yahweh’s love for Israel. There is some precedent for this notion in the prophetic book of Ezekiel, in which the prophet also offers a sensual expression of God as a lover to a fair maiden (Israel). For Christians, the Song supposedly expresses the love of Christ for his church. Given the sheer eroticism of the poetry, both explanations constitute something of a reach. In presenting the traditional view of the Song as an allegorical model to show the love between God and the Jewish people, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin notes, “The use of such a model suggests the very high regard in which the Bible holds male-female love and sexuality.” (Biblical Literacy, p. 358)
BIBLICAL VOICES
Oh give me of the kisses of your mouth,
For your love is more delightful than wine. (1:2 JPS)
Your breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Browsing among the lilies.
When the day blows gently
And the shadows flee,
I will betake me to the mount of myrrh,
To the hill of frankincense.
Every part of you is fair, my darling,
There is no blemish in you. (4:5-7 JPS)
Awake, O north wind,
Come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
That its perfume may spread,
Let my beloved come to his garden
And enjoy its luscious fruits! (4:16 JPS)
His belly a tablet of ivory,
Adorned with sapphires
His legs are like marble pillars
Set in sockets of fine gold.
He is majestic as Lebanon,
Stately as the cedars
His mouth is delicious
And all of him is delightful,
Such is my beloved. (5:14-16 JPS)
My beloved has gone down to his garden,
To the beds of spices,
To browse in the gardens
And to pick lilies.
I am my beloved’s
And my beloved is mine;
He browses among the lilies. (6:1-3 JPS)
How lovely are your feet in sandals,
O daughter of nobles!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
The work of a master’s hand.
Your navel is like a round goblet—
Let mixed wine not be lacking!—
Your belly like a heap of wheat
Hedged about with lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
Your neck is like a tower of ivory. (7:2-5 JPS)
Your stately