Should Pentecostals Interpret the Song of Songs Allegorically? by Brandon Biggs

A guest article by Brandon Biggs

The book of Song of Solomon has often been misunderstood and misinterpreted throughout history.  This article seeks to remedy this situation by providing a thoughtful and scholarly reflection upon the theme of romantic love within the book, and by expanding upon the two sub-themes associated with it—pleasure and danger.

This article begins by exploring the various interpretations of the Song of Solomon throughout history with their strengths and weaknesses.  As this article will show, the natural/literal interpretation suits the Song best.

The article progresses to explore the major theme of romantic/erotic love that is the crux of the entire book, and then to explore the sub-themes of the pleasure of romantic love and the danger of romantic love as they relate to the interpretation of the book.

As previously stated, the Song of Solomon has been often misunderstood and misinterpreted, and it is the goal of this article to leave the reader with a higher level of understanding as it relates to divine revelation and human interaction.

I. Introduction

The Song of Songs/Solomon has intrigued readers and scholars for centuries. The interpretation of the book has proved to be one of the most controversial topics in all of Old Testament criticism. The reader must assume an interpretative framework for this book or the message will be obscured by subjectivity. However, this is no easy task. Many learned scholars have proposed elaborate defenses for various interpretations of the book. The various methods of interpretation are as follows:

a) Allegorical

b) Typological

c) Drama

d) Natural/Literal

The allegorical approach of interpretation seems quite plausible, until one looks at the larger message of the book. Nowhere in the book of Song of Solomon are the words “YaHWeH,” “Adoni,” “El,” or “Elohim” to be found. Furthermore, “Allegorical writing usually gives hints that it is allegory….None of these elements is present in the Song of Songs.”¹ Also, it seems that those who wish to allegorize the book as a picture of God’s love for Israel only do so to conveniently avoid the intensely physical and erotic nature of the book.

Second, while many make no distinction between allegory and typology, there is a clear difference. The former seeks to impose a hidden spiritual meaning, while the latter seeks to identify a New Testament figure fulfillment of the Old Testament foreshadowing. Though the Old Testament routinely and frequently gives a typology of Christ, this does not seem to be the case with the Song of Songs. If the book were a foreshadowing of Christ it would seem that the New Testament writers would have identified it as such.

Third, the dramatic interpretation supposes that the book is a liturgical song or drama that was performed at a wedding ceremony. This interpretation has serious flaws. For example, “The long speeches, the lack of character development and of a plot developing to dramatic climax and resolution, all militate against the Song being considered ‘drama’.”²

Therefore, it seems that the literal, or, natural, approach to interpretation (i.e. erotic love between the lover and the beloved) is to be favored. This will be the presupposition of this author as the theme of this book is explored.

The one theme of romantic love will be explored with special attention being given to the poetic language that describes such love within the book of Song of Songs.

II. Romantic Love

As previously stated, the proper interpretation for the Song of Songs is a literal approach where the lovers are actual persons who are expressing their feelings for one another in a natural manner. The song portrays “both celebration and warning concerning that most intense and fragile of all human emotions, romantic love, and its physical expression, sexuality.”³ Thus, it is this author’s opinion that romantic love is the unifying theme of the Song, with the whole of the book describing both the pleasure and danger of romantic love.

A.      The Pleasure of Romantic Love

Many have presupposed that the Song concerns a married couple, but there is no internal evidence to support such a claim. Others have supposed that the Song details the excitement of physical exploration. However, the nature of the Song is more than a simple “teen journal entry” of a thrilling date with one of the opposite sex. No. The purpose of the Song is to depict physical love and beauty as a gift from the Creator. “The emphasis of the Song lies in the expression of desire between two lovers. It is not sexual consummation that is most important, but the desire itself that drives the lovers together….Here sex plays a secondary role to desire….”⁴ Concerning the various descriptors of this romantic desire, the author of the Song uses a literary poetical device from the Ancient Near East called a wasf (i.e. a common type of poetry where the physical attributes of an individual are described).⁵ Understanding the double entendres, metaphors, similes, and motifs are critical for grasping the theme of romantic love within the Song.

1. Wasf Descriptors

Much of the explicit descriptors within the wasf sections have proved to be a stumbling block to both the early and the modern Church. However, it is just such language that captures the intimacy between the lovers. There are three wasf sections concerning the woman (4:1-7; 6:4-7; 7:1-7) and only one for the man (5:10-16). These sections use some language that is difficult for the modern reader, as well as some language that is quite sexually explicit. However, as it serves the theme of romantic love, these sections contain some of the most culturally remarkable praises that one could ever receive.

a) Imagery of the Woman

The “garden” motif is a common double entendre as it describes the woman’s physical attributes as well as the literal place where their physical encounters occurred. Firstly, the garden describes the physical qualities of the woman. For example, in 4:12-16, “the image of the garden behind its walls and with the gate locked suggests the unapproachableness of the area to all but those who rightfully belong.”⁶ Metaphorically speaking, the garden is representative of the virginity of the woman. As a side note, though there is a consummate act of intercourse described in the Song, there is no internal evidence to suggest that the lovers are married. Though the term “bride” is used to describe the woman, the term “kallah” is often used to describe one who is betrothed, not necessarily an actual spouse in the legal sense.⁷ Furthermore, the morality of the Song is questionable at best, for it is probable that the “Daughters of Jerusalem” are none other than Solomon’s harem. However, we have no reason to believe that the Song is a “marriage manual.” Rather, the purpose of the Song is to describe romantic love with all of its excitement, danger, and sensuality as a gift from the Creator.

The “vineyard” motif is another common descriptor of the female speaker. Also, it seems as though the vineyard motif is perhaps the best descriptor for the woman, for she describes herself as such in 1:6. Metaphorically, the fruit of the vine would be symbolic of the maturation and readiness of the woman to receive her beloved. In the third wasf section for the woman, her sexual maturation is likened to the grapes on the vine which are fully developed (7:8). As it relates to the overarching theme of romantic love, the wasf sections about the woman are a delightful picture of mature beauty, love, and infatuation.

b) Imagery of the Man

In the male wasf section, the Shulammite ascribes to her partner all the highest praise of physical beauty. The wasf poetry from the Ancient Near East (ANE) was almost entirely devoid of any male descriptions.⁸ Hence, this section is a remarkable picture of mutual adoration and love.

Everything that is glorious in the kingdom of nature, and, so far as her look extends, everything in the sphere of art, she appropriates, so as to present a picture of his external appearance. Whatever is precious, lovely, and grand, is all combined in the living beauty of his person. (Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on Song of Songs, 5:11)

The lover is compared to a noble gazelle or stag, and his limbs are compared to precious metals. Again, such descriptors of the male were quite rare in the ANE, thus signifying the importance of mutual romantic love within the Song.

2. The Seeking/Finding Motif

Two sections of intimate desire from the woman’s perspective are noted as they relate to the theme of both seeking and finding romantic love (3:1-5 and 5:2-8). In both of these sections, the woman seems to be laying in wait for her lover—a secret rendezvous. In romantic love, anticipation is both exciting and excruciating. Both of these elements are seen in these parallel passages. For example:

All night long on my bed

I looked for the one my heart loves;

I looked for him but did not find him. (3:1 NIV)

I slept but my heart was awake.

Listen! My lover is knocking. (5:2 NIV)

The Shulammite’s desire was so strong that she took the lover into her mother’s bedchamber (for secret lovemaking?) (3:4). Also, the intense need to find the lover resulted in the beating of the Shulammite by the town watchmen. No reason for such violent reaction is given, but one can surmise that it was “occasioned by her refusal to stop her frantic activity when challenged.”⁹ Such emotion can only be evoked by intense longing and romantic love. Carr suggests the following outline for the book which serves to unify the message of romantic love:

I. Anticipation (1:2-2:7)

II. Found, and Lost- and Found (2:8-3:5)

III. Consummation (3:6-5:1)

IV. Lost- and Found (5:2-8:4)

V. Affirmation (8:5-14)¹⁰

Thus, one can see the overall tension and exhilaration within the book as a whole, and the importance that the seek/find sections hold as it relates to the poetical crux of the Song—consummation (3:6-5:1).

B. The Danger of Romantic Love

“In spite of the predominant note of celebration, the Song also issues a warning about the danger of love, and not just illicit sex.”¹¹ Love, according to the Song, is a powerful emotion that is capable of awesome, even dangerous, things. The Song presents a balanced sketch of the danger of romantic love throughout the text, thereby instructing the reader of the seriousness of romance. This is best illustrated by the theme of jealousy in 8:6-7.

1. Jealousy

Song 8:6-7 NASB

6 “Put me like a seal over your heart,

Like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

The very flame of the LORD.

7 “Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor will rivers overflow it;

If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,

It would be utterly despised.”

These are perhaps the two most well known verses in the Song. However, they are often used in the positive sense (i.e. at a wedding) whenever the context denotes the harshness of romantic love. The speaker, presumably the Shulammite, implores her lover to identify himself with her in a visible form (v.6). Why? “For love is as strong as death, [and] jealousy is as severe as Sheol.” The power of love is compared to death in verse six. However, this is not a morbid synonym. Contrarily, the Song speaks of love being so powerful that those who are caught by its entrapment are resigned to be its slave—just as death is a final, sure end to all persons, so love is the bonds which tie persons together, often with destructive force. “This connection of passion with death is not accidental. There is a connection of love with death in which both open the door to the unknown and uncontrolled.”¹² For example, the jealousy that is described in verse six is not to be taken in the negative sense. It is to be understood as the rightful emotion of one who has lost their treasured possession. This jealousy is said to be as severe as Sheol (i.e. the place of the dead). As the Shulammite implores her lover to be wholly set apart for her (v. 6) she also issues a rationale behind her request—she has become entrapped by the snare of love, and is desperately protective of her lover.

The power of this “love-force” is also described as being unquenchable, and unstoppable. “The tenacious staying power of love is set against these tides and perennial rivers which are unable to either wash love away or put out its sparks.”¹³ This is a remarkable statement when one considers the awesome power of the flood–stage Nile, or of the high–tide Mediterranean. Love, according to the Song, is a force that is greater than even the awesome and destructive powers of nature, and it will stop at nothing to attain its desire.

2. The Warning of Premature Love

Song 2:7 NIV

Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and by the does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires.

The danger of love is taken so seriously by the author of the Song, that three times (2:7; 3:5; 8:4) the “Daughters of Jerusalem” (Solomon’s harem?) are told “not to arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (NIV) However, the precise meaning of these warnings is somewhat uncertain.

Delitzsch sees these passages as a dream state where the beloved is unready to give up her sensual dream of her lover.¹⁴ However, such an approach seems unlikely given the context, which presents real figures, places, and emotions that are incongruent with a lucid dream.

More likely, the author is using the imagery of the “gazelles” and “does” to connote the danger of romantic love. Though this interpretation may be somewhat syncrestic, it does nonetheless hold true with the dominant theme of romantic love within the Song. The interpretation of these passages is this:

In Ugarit and Egypt, the gazelle is often associated with the god Rešep, who like many others, is a god of both fertility and death (war). (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, Song of Songs, 2:7)

Only in 8:4 are the “gazelles” and “does” omitted. However, this is not troublesome, for the repetition of this charge is proof enough that the author considered romantic love to be a dangerous force. If one holds to the syncrestic interpretation of these charges, it would not be implausible. For, if the author of the Song did indeed make reference to the imagery of the “gazelles” and “does” to highlight the dual nature of romantic love ((pleasure/danger; or fertility/death (as with the god Rešep)) then it would only serve to strengthen the sub–themes of pleasure and danger within the Song.

“This potent force [love] can lead not only to ecstatic joy but also to heartbreak and a longing that makes one faint or even sick. It is this that leads the woman to warn the ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ not to arouse love before its time.”¹⁵

III. Conclusion

As has been seen, the major theme in the Song of Songs/Solomon is “romantic love,” with the sub–themes of “the pleasure of romantic love,” and “the danger of romantic love.” The song is not to be read as an allegory, for there is insufficient evidence that supports this claim. The song is also not to be read as a typology, which foreshadows the Messiah. Again, the New Testament writers would most certainly have been inspired to comment upon the Song in such a manner if that were true. Also, the Song is not a drama or a cultic piece of literature that was performed at a wedding. The most natural approach to interpreting the Song is a literal one where the lovers are actual persons who are expressing their hopes, fears, longings, and desires for one another.

The author of the Song presents the reader with all of the delights of sexual intimacy and human relations. This is a natural, God–given desire. However, the Song is not intended as a “pre–marital counseling” handbook. No. For the morality of the Song is indeed questionable. Rather, the purpose of the Song is to present the reader with a picture of human sexuality and love as a special gift from the Creator. However, as was seen, the author of the Song also presents the reader with a caution concerning romantic love—it is a dangerous and powerful force. Yes, it is even as “…strong as death” (8:6).

Therefore, it is concluded that the purpose of this wonderful book is to present romantic love in all of its passion, exuberance, glory, and danger, thereby filling a necessary vacuum in the Holy Scriptures.

PR

This guest article was originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website. Later included in the Fall 2013 issue.

Notes

¹  G. Lloyd Carr, The Song of Solomon, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. D.J. Wiseman (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 23.

²  Ibid., 34.

³  Tremper Longman, Song of Songs, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, eds. R.K. Harrison and Robert L. Hubbard (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2001), 59.

⁴  Richard S. Hess, Song of Songs, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, ed. Tremper Longman III (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 32.

⁵  Ibid., 31.

⁶  Carr, The Song of Solomon, 123.

⁷  OT 3618, Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Electronic Database [PC Study Bible v4] Biblesoft, Inc., 2002)

⁸  Carr, 139.

⁹  Ibid., 136.

¹⁰ Ibid., 68-69.

¹¹ Longman, Song of Songs, 58.

¹² Richard S. Hess, Song of Songs, 33.

¹³ Carr, 171.

¹⁴ Ibid., 93.

¹⁵ Longman, 59.

Works Cited

Carr, G. Lloyd. The Song of Solomon. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. D.J. Wiseman. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984.

Hess, Richard S. Song of Songs. Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, ed. Tremper Longman III. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.

Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition. Electronic Database [CD–ROM], PC Study Bible Vol.4.

Longman, Tremper. Song of Songs. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, eds. R.K. Harrison and Robert L. Hubbard. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2001.

OT 3618, Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Electronic Database [PC Study Bible Vol. 4] Biblesoft, Inc., 2002.