Introduction to the Song of Songs

The 22nd Book of the Bible: A Love Song in 8 Chapters
God’s Love Song to Israel and to the Christian Church

The Song of Songs is called “Shir Ha-Shirim” in Hebrew, which literally translates to “The Song of Songs” and thus means “The most beautiful or greatest of all songs.”

In 1 Kings 5:12, we read that Solomon composed 1,005 songs, but the Song of Songs is the crown of his poetry; indeed, it is clearly inspired by God.

On the surface, it describes the marital love—both spiritual and physical—between Sulamith and her beloved.
It speaks of the beauty, purity, and holiness of sexual intimacy within marriage, the special unity between a man and his wife.
In doing so, it indirectly condemns all perversion of God’s vision regarding physical union, whether it be celibacy (forced celibacy), or any form of sexuality outside the marital bond, including polygamy and homosexuality.

Likewise, the Song of Songs depicts the emotional component: the intense longing for one another, the hope, the pain of separation, and the seeking and finding of two lovers—who are only “complete” together.

However, the interpretation of the Song of Songs goes beyond the divine concept of the union between man and woman described therein.
It is also a symbol of God’s love for His chosen people, Israel, from their origins through the promise to Abraham to the 1,000-year kingdom under the rule of the Messiah. The union of the remnant of Israel with Jesus the Christ, who, after and through the rapture of the Christian church, has recognized that Yeshua was and is the long-awaited Messiah.

But the Song of Songs is also a foreshadowing of the New Testament: All true Christians worldwide, the Bride of Christ, who eagerly await union with her Bridegroom at His return at the end of our present world system.

In terms of composition, the Song of Songs is primarily written as a dialogue between a man and a woman, though the other party is often not even present; the daughters of Jerusalem are also addressed and have their say.
The settings change frequently; we find ourselves in the vineyard, the royal palace, the city, or the garden… for better understanding, the Song of Songs is divided into sections and given headings in many Bible translations, though there is no consensus among interpreters.

In our tradition, the Song of Songs is placed as the last of the poetic books in the Bible, preceding the Prophets. In the Hebrew Tanakh, it belongs to the final section, the Writings (Ketubim), and here it is the first of the five scrolls (Megilloth), the festival scrolls, and is read aloud during Passover in the spring.

For me personally, it also seems to make perfect historical sense to place the Song of Songs before Ecclesiastes.
Both books were written by Solomon; in the Song of Songs, God reveals to him His vision of an ideal relationship, the love between a man and a woman.
But although he was the wisest of all men, he fell from this ideal into polygamy due to the human greed for ever more.
In doing so, he distances himself further and further from God and ultimately describes to us in Ecclesiastes the futility and emptiness of such a life without God—so even today we can still learn much from King Solomon through both of these writings.

Outline of the Song of Songs:

Content of the Song of Songs:

Song of Solomon chapter 1
Song of Solomon chapter 2
Song of Solomon chapter 3
Song of Solomon chapter 4
Song of Solomon chapter 5
Song of Solomon chapter 6
Song of Solomon chapter 7
Song of Solomon chapter 8