Song of Solomon
The Bible's love song - a celebration of covenant love that many waters cannot quench
Song of Solomon at a glance
The Bible's love song - a celebration of covenant love that many waters cannot quench
The Song of Solomon - 'the song of songs, which is Solomon's' - is the Bible's great love poem, traditionally attributed to King Solomon. It stands among the Old Testament's poetry books and is unique in Scripture: a lyrical dialogue between a bridegroom and his bride (the Shulamite), with the daughters of Jerusalem as a chorus. Jewish and Christian readers have long also heard in it a picture of God's love for his people and, for the church, of Christ's love for his bride.
The poem moves through courtship, wedding, and married love in a garden of vivid imagery: the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys, the winter past and the flowers appearing on the earth, the little foxes that spoil the vines, Solomon's wedding procession in royal splendor, and the bride's search through the city streets for the one her soul loves. The lovers praise one another in extravagant metaphors of vineyards, spices, doves, and towers, and the refrain warns not to stir up love before its time.
The Song matters because it declares that faithful, exclusive love is God's good gift - as strong as death, its flame most vehement, beyond purchase at any price. In an age that cheapens love, it dignifies it; and it has fed centuries of devotion as an image of the love between the Lord and his people.
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 2:1 King James Version
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How Song of Solomon unfolds
6 sections- 1Courtship and Longing (ch. 1-2)The bride and bridegroom exchange praises - the rose of Sharon, the lily among thorns - as winter passes and the time of the singing of birds is come; a warning to catch the little foxes.
- 2Seeking and the Wedding Procession (ch. 3)By night the bride seeks and finds him whom her soul loveth; Solomon's litter comes up from the wilderness with sixty valiant men, crowned on the day of his espousals.
- 3The Bridegroom Praises His Bride (ch. 4-5:1)A tender wedding song - 'thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee' - the bride a garden inclosed, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed, into which the beloved is welcomed.
- 4Lost and Found (ch. 5:2-6:13)The bride delays at the door and her beloved withdraws; she searches the city, is smitten by the watchmen, and describes him to the daughters of Jerusalem - 'my beloved is mine' resolves the search.
- 5Love's Delight (ch. 7-8:4)The bridegroom's praise of the Shulamite from feet to crown, and her glad reply: 'I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me,' inviting him to the vineyards and villages.
- 6Love Strong as Death (ch. 8:5-14)The great seal of the book: set me as a seal upon thine heart, for love is strong as death, and many waters cannot quench it; the vineyards are reckoned and the beloved is called to hasten.
People to know
5 figures- SolomonThe king to whom the song belongs; his wedding procession and royal splendor frame the poem.
- The Shulamite brideThe beloved woman whose voice dominates the song - dark but comely, a lily among thorns, seeking the one her soul loves.
- The bridegroomThe beloved shepherd-king who praises his bride as all fair and calls her his garden and his dove.
- The daughters of JerusalemThe chorus of the song, repeatedly charged not to stir up nor awake love till it please.
- The watchmenThe keepers of the city walls who find the searching bride - and in chapter 5 wound her as she seeks her beloved.
Words worth carrying with you
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 2:1 · KJV
I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
Song of Solomon 6:3 · KJV
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
Song of Solomon 8:7 · KJV
Think you know Song of Solomon?
90 questions from the King James Version, all ages welcome. Keep score, then challenge a friend or your whole group.
Leading a group? Download the free printable Song of Solomon quiz pack (PDF) - questions, answer key with verses, and a score sheet.
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The full narrated quiz - timed, illustrated, and made for playing together.
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