The Heroine of Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs) has, by far, produced a plethora of interpretations over the centuries. If you need some interesting, rabbit-hole reading, then look up the interpretations of Song of Songs; you will not be disappointed. However, with so many interpretations, the problem of finding the correct one becomes a fundamental issue that must be solved if we are to understand the book’s meaning. For the last millennium (and probably longer), the allegorical approach to the book has found favor in both Jewish and Christian circles. For the Jewish person, the book is a demonstration of God’s love for His people, Israel; for the Christian, the book is a demonstration of God’s love for His bride, the Church. The good news is that in more recent centuries, interpreting the book in a literal fashion, rather than symbolically/allegorically, has gained wider acceptance. It seems that the main reason for this resurgence is that interpreters are actually listening to the text (insert sarcasm here). The book is a love poem between a man and a woman, and therefore replete with many metaphors. To reinterpret those metaphors as a covenant love between God and Israel, or as a mystical love between Christ and His Church, is to miss the plain reading of the text. When it comes to the interpretation of Scripture, the text is always king, and Song of Songs is no exception.

Could it be that the interpreters of the past, mortified to think that God could have included such a love poem in Scripture, decided to reinterpret the plain meaning of the text to be suitable for all ages? If we are reinterpreting plain meanings to be more suitable for all ages, then why not those body-specific laws in Leviticus? Or what about the conquest in the Book of Joshua and those entire cities that were devoted to destruction? Or the gruesome incident in Judges 17-21? God created man and woman with a desire to love each other. If you read the Genesis account closely, you will realize that it was God who said that it was not good for man to be alone. Let that sink in for a moment. God knew that mankind needed someone other than Himself to love, that is a profound statement on so many levels. Why wouldn’t God want to celebrate that profound love in the Scriptures?

I think a proper interpretive scheme for Song of Songs should be a literal-didactic one. Let me explain. Literal means the language of the text is literal, and didactic means there is a universal lesson taught from the book. Solomon and the Shulamite are the two main characters in the book. Solomon had known many women, but the Shulamite had not known any man, as she was carefully guarded by her brothers. Solomon had the ability to offer the Shulamite anything her heart desired, but the Shulamite was able to offer Solomon something all his riches could not buy: a love that was exclusive. She, not Solomon, teaches us that a love that is mutually exclusive between a man and a woman is the design that God had from the very beginning. The next time someone asks you about Song of Songs explain to them that the Shulamite is the real hero of the story, she was wiser than Solomon.