About This Book
Song of Solomon, also called Song of Songs or Canticles, celebrates romantic and marital love through beautiful poetry between a bride and groom, traditionally identified as Solomon and his beloved. The book consists of lyrical exchanges expressing passionate love, physical attraction, and sexual desire within the covenant of marriage. Using rich imagery from nature—gardens, vineyards, gazelles, doves, cedars, and lilies—the lovers describe each other's beauty and express longing for intimacy. The bride, a dark-skinned vineyard worker, initially feels unworthy but her beloved affirms her beauty.
Their courtship progresses through stages of attraction, anticipation, consummation, and ongoing devotion. The poetry includes descriptions that seem strange to modern readers but were compliments in ancient culture. The beloved is compared to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots, her neck to a tower, teeth to shorn sheep. The groom is described as strong and handsome, like a young stag.
The refrain 'do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases' suggests timing and patience in romantic relationships. Jerusalem's daughters serve as a chorus, responding to the lovers. The book includes moments of seeking and finding, separation and reunion, celebration and consummation. The climactic statement 'love is strong as death, its jealousy fierce as the grave' emphasizes love's power and exclusivity.
Throughout church history, interpreters have debated whether the Song should be read literally as celebration of human love or allegorically as representing Christ's love for His church or God's love for Israel. The book clearly affirms that physical attraction and sexual love within marriage are God's good gifts, created to be enjoyed and celebrated, countering false asceticism that views the physical realm as inherently evil or inferior.