SONG OF SOLOMON:
The Song of Solomon, is called in the Vulgate and Septuagint, "The Song of Songs." ORIGEN and JEROME tell us that the Jews forbade it to be read by any until he was thirty years old. This is nonsense, of course, because some of the greatest examples of Jesus' and the Father's love for us are contained in these books. The interpretation is twofold: Primarily, the book is the expression of pure marital love as ordained of God in creation, and the vindication of that love as against both asceticism and lust--the two profanations of the holiness of marriage. The secondary and larger interpretation is of Christ, the Son and His heavenly bride, the Church (2Cor 11.1-4).
Matthew Henry writes: “This song might easily be taken in a spiritual sense by the Jewish church, for whose use it was first composed, and was so taken, as appears by the Chaldee-Paraphrase and the most ancient Jewish expositors. God betrothed the people of Israel to himself; he entered into covenant with them, and it was a marriage-covenant. He had given abundant proofs of his love to them, and required of them that they should love him with all their heart and soul. Idolatry was often spoken of as spiritual adultery, and doting upon idols, to prevent which this song was penned, representing the complacency which God took in Israel and which Israel ought to take in God, and encouraging them to continue faithful to him, though he might seem sometimes to withdraw and hide himself from them, and to wait for the further manifestation of himself in the promised Messiah. 2. It may more easily be taken in a spiritual sense by the Christian church, because the condescensions and communications of divine love appear more rich and free under the gospel than they did under the law, and the communion between heaven and earth more familiar. God sometimes spoke of himself as the husband of the Jewish church (Isa. 64:5, Hos. 2:16, 19), and rejoiced in it as his bride, Isa. 62:4, 5. But more frequently is Christ represented as the bridegroom of his church (Mt. 25:1; Rom. 7:4; 2 Co. 11:2; Eph. 5:32), and the church as the bride, the Lamb's wife, Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9. Pursuant to this metaphor Christ and the church in general, Christ and particular believers, are here discoursing with abundance of mutual esteem and endearment. The best key to this book is the 45th Psalm, which we find applied to Christ in the New Testament, and therefore this ought to be so too. It requires some pains to find out what may, probably, be the meaning of the Holy Spirit in the several parts of this book; as David's songs are many of them level to the capacity of the meanest, and there are shallows in them learned, and there are depths in it in which an elephant may swim. But, when the meaning is found out, it will be of admirable use to excite pious and devout affections in us; and the same truths which are plainly laid down in other scriptures when they are extracted out of this come to the soul with a more pleasing power. When we apply ourselves to the study of this book we must not only, with Moses and Joshua, put off our shoe from off our foot, and even forget that we have bodies, because the place where we stand is holy ground, but we must, with John, come up hither, must spread our wings, take a noble flight, and soar upwards, till by faith and holy love we enter into the holiest, for this is no other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.”
Songs 1
THE BRIDE(CHURCH) SEARCHING FOR AND FINDING THE KING(JESUS)
1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
2 A Young Woman: "Kiss me again and again, for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How fragrant your is your cologne, and how pleasing your name! No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you. Let's run away. The king has brought me into his private rooms. We will celebrate and rejoice with you. We will praise your expressions of love more than wine. How right it is that the young women do love you!
5 "I am dark and beautiful, O women of Jerusalem, tanned as the dark tents of Kedar. Yes, even as the tents of Solomon!
6 "Don't look down on me, you fair city girls, just because my complexion is so dark. The sun has burned my skin. My brothers were angry with me and sent me out to tend the vineyards in the hot sun. Now see what it has done to me!
7 "Tell me, O my love, where are you leading your flock today? Where will you rest your sheep at noon? For why should I wander like a prostitute among the flocks of your companions?"
THE KING:
8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the flocks, and graze your young goats near the shepherds' tents.
9 My true love, What a lovely filly you are!
10 How lovely are your cheeks, with your earrings setting them afire! How stately is your neck, accented with a long string of jewels.
11 I will make earrings of gold for you and beads of silver."
Young Woman:
12 My king and lover was lying on his couch, and my perfume filled the air with fragrance.
13 My lover is like a sachet of perfume (myrrh) lying between my breasts.
14 My beloved is like a bouquet of flowers in the gardens of En-gedi."
Young Man:
15 How beautiful you are, my love; how your eyes shine with love!
16How handsome you are, my dearest; how you delight me! The green grass will be our bed;
17 the cedars will be the beams of our house, and the cypress trees the ceiling.
Songs: 2
1 Young Woman:
“I am a rose of Sharon, a lily [growing] in the valleys.”
2 Young Man:
"Yes, compared to other women, my beloved is like a lily among thorns."
Jesus Christ to the Bride ( Matthew 10:16 , John 15:19 , 1 John 5:19 ). Thorns, equivalent to the wicked ( 2 Samuel 23:6 , Psalms 57:4 ).
3 Young Woman:
“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my dearest compared to other men. I love to sit in its shadow, and its fruit is sweet to my taste.”
4 “He leads me into a banquet room and looks at me with love.
5 Restore my strength with raisins and refresh me with apples! I am weak from passion.
6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand caresses me.
7 Promise me, women of Jerusalem; swear by the swift deer and the gazelles that you will not interrupt our love.
8 I hear my lover's voice. He comes running over the mountains, racing across the hills to me.
9 My lover is like a gazelle, like a young stag. There he stands beside the wall. He looks in through the window and glances through the lattice.
10 My lover speaks to me. Come then, my love; my darling, come with me.
11 The winter is over; the rains have stopped;
12 in the countryside the flowers are in bloom. This is the time for singing; the song of doves is heard in the fields.”
13 Young Man:
“The figs are beginning to ripen; the air is fragrant with blossoming vines. Come then, my love; my darling, come with me.
14 You are like a dove that hides in the crevice of a rock. Let me see your lovely face and hear your enchanting voice.
15 Catch the foxes, the little foxes, before they ruin our vineyard in bloom.”
16 Young Woman: “My lover is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies
17 Before the dawn comes and the shadows flee away, come back to me, my love. Run like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains. "
Songs: 3
1 Young Woman: "One night as I lay in bed, I yearned deeply for my lover, but he did not come.
Compare to the 10 virgins waiting for their wedding - Matthew 25
2 So I said to myself, 'I will get up now and roam the city, searching for him in all its streets and squares.' But my search was in vain.
The city-Jerusalem, literally ( Matthew 3:5 , John 1:19 ), and spiritually the Church here ( Hebrews 12:22 ), in glory ( Revelation 21:2 ).
watchmen—ministers and prophets ( Isaiah 62:6 , Jeremiah 6:17 , Ezekiel 3:17 , Hebrews 13:17 ), fit persons to consult ( Isaiah 21:11 , Malachi 2:7 ).
4 As soon as I left them, I found him. I held him and wouldn't let him go until I took him to my mother's house, to the room where I was born.
Jesus Christ is generally "found" near the watchmen and means of grace; but they are not Himself; the star that points to Beth-lehem is not the Sun that has risen there; she hastens past the guideposts to the goal [MOODY STUART]. Not even angels could satisfy Mary, instead of Jesus Christ ( John 20:11-16 ).
(Jamieson)
5 Promise me, women of Jerusalem; swear by the swift deer and the gazelles that you will not interrupt our love.”
6 Women of Jerusalem: “What is this coming from the desert like a column of smoke, fragrant with incense and myrrh, the incense sold by the traders?”
8 They are all skilled swordsmen and experienced warriors. Each one wears a sword on his thigh, ready to defend the king against an attack during the night.
10 Its posts are covered with silver; over it is cloth embroidered with gold. Its cushions are covered with purple cloth, lovingly woven by the women of Jerusalem.”
purple--the veil of the holiest, partly purple, and the purple robe put on Jesus Christ, accord with English Version, "covering." "Purple" (including scarlet and crimson) is the emblem of royalty, and of His blood; typified by the passover lamb's blood, and the wine when the twelve sat or reclined at the Lord's table.
(Jamieson)
11 Young Woman: “Women of Zion, come and see King Solomon. He is wearing the crown that his mother placed on his head on his wedding day, on the day of his gladness and joy.”
Wedding Day-- chiefly final marriage, when the number of the elect is complete ( Revelation 6:11 ).
Songs: 4
1 Young Man: "Look at you! You are beautiful, my true love. Look at you! You are so beautiful. Your eyes behind your veil shine with love. Your hair is like a flock of goats moving down Mount Gilead.
Doves represent love, so that's the way I translated it.
2 Your teeth are as white as sheep that have just been shorn and washed. Not one of them is missing; they are all perfectly matched.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; how lovely they are when you speak. Your cheeks glow behind your veil.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David, round and smooth [meaning unclear],with a necklace like a thousand shields hung around it.
6 When the day brings a cool breeze and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of incense.
8 Come with me from the Lebanon Mountains, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Come down from the top of Mount Amana, from Mount Senir and Mount Hermon, where the lions and leopards live.
9 You have ravished my heart, my treasure, my bride. I am overcome by one glance of your eyes, by a single bead of your necklace.
10 Your love delights me, my sweetheart and bride. Your love is better than wine; your perfume more fragrant than any spice.
11 The taste of honey is on your lips, my darling; your tongue is milk and honey for me. Your clothing has all the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 You are like a private garden, my treasure, my bride! You are like a spring that no one else can drink from, a fountain of my own.
14 Of saffron, calamus, and cinnamon, or incense of every kind. Myrrh and aloes grow there with all the most fragrant perfumes.
15 Fountains water the garden, streams of flowing water, brooks gushing down from the Lebanon Mountains.
16 Young Woman: Wake up, North Wind. South Wind, blow on my garden; fill the air with fragrance. Let my lover come to his garden and eat the best of its fruits.
Songs: 5
1 Young Man: "I am here in my garden, my treasure, my bride! I gather my myrrh with my spices and eat my honeycomb with my honey. I drink my wine with my milk." Young Women of Jerusalem: "Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply of this love!"
2 Young Woman: “While I slept, my heart was awake. I dreamed my lover knocked at the door. Let me come in, my darling, my sweetheart, my dove. My head is wet with dew, and my hair is damp from the mist.”
3 I have already undressed; why should I get dressed again? I have washed my feet; why should I get them dirty again?
4 My lover began to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled within me.
5 I was ready to let him come in. My hands were covered with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, as I grasped the handle of the door.
6 I opened the door for my lover, but he had already gone. How I wanted to hear his voice! I looked for him, but couldn't find him; I called to him, but heard no answer.
7 The watchmen found me as they were making their rounds; they struck and wounded me. The watchman on the wall tore off my veil.
8 "Make this promise to me, O women of Jerusalem! If you find my beloved one, tell him that I am sick with love."
9 Young Women of Jerusalem: “Most beautiful of women, is your lover different from everyone else? What is there so wonderful about him that we should give you our promise?”
10 Young Woman: “My lover is handsome and strong; he is one in ten thousand.
11 His face is bronzed and smooth; his hair is wavy, black as a raven.
12 His eyes are as beautiful as doves by a flowing brook, doves washed in milk and standing by the stream [unclear translation]
13 His cheeks are as lovely as a garden that is full of herbs and spices. His lips are like lilies, wet with liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are well-formed, and he wears rings set with gems. His body is like smooth ivory[unclear translation] with sapphires set in it.
15His legs are like pillars of marble set in sockets of the finest gold, strong as the cedars of Lebanon. None can rival him.
16 His mouth is altogether sweet; he is lovely in every way. Such, O women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend."
Songs: 6
1 Young Women of Jerusalem: "O rarest of beautiful women, where has your lover gone? We will help you find him."
Historically, at Jesus Christ's crucifixion and burial, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, and others, joined with His professed disciples. By speaking of Jesus Christ, the bride does good not only to her own soul, but to others Compare the hypocritical use of similar words ( Matthew 2:8 ).(Jamieson)
2 Young Women: “My lover has gone to his garden, where the balsam trees grow. He is feeding his flock in the garden and gathering lilies.”
3 I am my lover's, and my lover is mine. He grazes among the lilies!"
He grazes among the lilies- a clear reference to oral sex. All sex between married people is Godly!
4 Young Man: “My love, you are as beautiful as Jerusalem, as lovely as the city of Tirzah, as breathtaking as these great cities.[Hebrew unclear.]”
5 “Turn your eyes away from me; they are holding me captive. Your hair dances like a flock of goats bounding down the hills of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are as white as a flock of sheep that have just been washed. Not one of them is missing; they are all perfectly matched.
7 Your cheeks glow behind your veil.
8 There may be sixty wives, all queens, and eighty concubines and unnumbered virgins available to me.
Not queens, &c., of Solomon, but witnesses of the espousals, rulers of the earth contrasted with the saints, who, though many, are but "one" bride ( Isaiah 52:15 , Luke 22:25 Luke 22:26 , John 17:21 , 1 Corinthians 10:17 ). The one Bride is contrasted with the many wives whom Eastern kings had in violation of the marriage law ( 1 Kings 11:1-3 ).(Jamieson)
9 But I love only one, and she is as lovely in her love. She is her mother's only daughter, her mother's favorite child. All women look at her and praise her; queens and concubines sing her praises.
10 'Who is this,' they ask, 'arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with banners?' [Hebrew unclear.]
11 I have come down among the almond trees to see the young plants in the valley, to see the new leaves on the vines and the blossoms on the pomegranate trees.
12 Before I realized it, I found myself in my princely bed with my beloved one.[Hebrew unclear.]”
13 Young Women of Jerusalem: “Dance, dance,girl of Shulam. Let us watch you as you dance. Why do you want to watch me as I dance between the rows of onlookers?”
Songs: 7
1 Young Man:
"How beautiful are your feet in sandals. The curve of your thighs is like the work of an artist.
2 Your navel is as delicious as a goblet filled with wine. Your belly is lovely, like a heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3 Your breasts are like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is as stately as an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.
5 Your head is held high like Mount Carmel. Your braided hair shines like the finest satin; its beauty could hold a king captive.
6 How pretty you are, how beautiful; how complete the delights of your love.
7 You are as graceful as a palm tree, and your breasts are clusters of dates.
8 I will climb the palm tree and pick its fruit. To me your breasts are like bunches of grapes, your breath like the fragrance of apples,
References to sex between husband and wife is very clear in these passages. God is NOT A PRUDE! All sex within marriage is honorable and commanded by God.
9 and your mouth like the finest wine. Then let the wine flow straight to my lover, flowing over his lips and teeth.
10 Young Woman: “I belong to my lover, and he desires me.”
11 “Come, darling, let's go out to the countryside and spend the night in the villages.
12 We will get up early and look at the vines to see whether they've started to grow, whether the blossoms are opening and the pomegranate trees are in bloom. There I will give you my love{have sex}.
13 You can smell the scent of mandrakes, and all the pleasant fruits are near our door. Darling, I have kept for you the old delights and the new.”
mandrakes--Hebrew, audaim, from a root meaning "to love"; love apples, supposed to exhilarate the spirits and excite love. Only here and Genesis 30:14-16 . Atropa mandragora of LINNÆUS; its leaves like lettuce, but dark green, flowers purple, root forked, fruit of the size of an apple, ruddy and sweet-smelling, gathered in wheat harvest, that is, in May (Mariti, ii. 195). Mandrakes were the Viagra of their day!
Songs: 8
1 Young Woman: "Oh, if only you were my brother, who nursed at my mother's breast. Then I could kiss you no matter who was watching, and no one would criticize me.
Kinky! But jamieson tries and maybe is correct about this has a prophetic notion: “He had been a brother already. Why, then, this prayer here? It refers to the time after His resurrection, when the previous outward intimacy with Him was no longer allowed, but it was implied it should be renewed at the second coming ( John 20:17 ). For this the Church here prays; meanwhile she enjoys inward spiritual communion with Him. The last who ever "kissed" Jesus Christ on earth was the traitor Judas. The bride's return with the King to her mother's house answers to Acts 8:25 , after the mission to Samaria. The rest spoken of ( Solomon 8:4 ) answers to Acts 9:31 .”
2 I would take you to my mother's house, where you could teach me love. I would give you spiced wine, my pomegranate wine to drink.
3 Your left hand is under my head, and your right hand caresses me.
4 Promise me, women of Jerusalem, that you will not interrupt our love-making {having sex}.
5 Young Women of Jerusalem: “Who is this coming from the desert, arm in arm with her lover?” The Young Woman: “Under the apple tree I woke you, in the place where you were born.”
6 “Place me like a seal over your heart, or like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, and its jealousy is as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.
7 Water cannot put it out; no flood can drown it. But if any tried to buy love with their wealth, contempt is all they would get.”
8 The Young Woman's Brothers: We have a young sister, and her breasts are still small. What will we do for her when a young man comes courting?
9 If she is chaste, we will strengthen and encourage her. But if she is promiscuous, we will shut her off from men.”
10 The Young Woman: “I am chaste, and now with huge breasts. My lover is content with me. ”
11 “Solomon has a vineyard in a place called Baal Hamon. There are farmers who rent it from him; each one pays a thousand silver coins.
12 Solomon is welcome to his thousand coins, and the farmers to two hundred as their share; I have a vineyard of my own!
13 Let me hear your voice from the garden, my love; my companions are waiting to hear you speak.
14 Come to me, my lover, like a gazelle, like a young stag on the mountains where spices grow.”
