Song Of Songs (song)



The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs (Hebrew: Šîr HaŠîrîm, LXX Greek: ᾎσμα ᾎσμάτων Āisma Āismatōn, Vulgate Latin: Cantĭcum Canticōrum ), or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Old Testament—one of the megillot (scrolls)—found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim (or "Writings"). It is also known in English as Canticle of Canticles or simply Canticles.

The protagonists of Song of Songs are a woman (identified in one verse as "the Shulamite") and a man, and the poem suggests movement from courtship to consummation. For instance, the man proclaims: "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." The woman answers: "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." Additionally, the Song includes a chorus, the "daughters of Jerusalem."

In spite of only having one reference to God in it, Song of Songs has often been interpreted as a parable of the relationship of God and Israel, or for Christians, Christ and the Church or Christ and the human soul, as husband and wife.

It is one of the shortest books in the Bible, consisting of only 117 verses. According to Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, it is read in its entirety on Shabbat that falls during the intermediate days of Passover, or on the seventh or eighth day if it happens to be Shabbat. In the Sephardi community these verses are recited every Friday night.

Etymology
The name of the book ("The Song of Songs of Solomon") comes from a superscription: "The song of songs, which is Solomon's" (which also constitutes the opening verse of the book).

"Song of songs" is a Hebrew grammatical construction denoting the superlative; that is, the title attests to the greatness of the song, similar to "the lord of lords", "The King of Kings" or "Holy of Holies" (used of the inner sanctuary of the Jerusalem temple). Rabbi Akiba declared, "Heaven forbid that any man in Israel ever disputed that Song of Songs is holy. For the whole world is not worth the day on which Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Writings are holy and Song of Songs is Holy of Holies." (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5). Similarly, Martin Luther called it Das Hohelied (the high song). This is still its name in German, Danish, Swedish and in Dutch.

Authorship
Some people translate the first clause of the title as "which is of Solomon", which could be construed as meaning that the book is authored by Solomon. Rabbi Hiyya the Great said Solomon first wrote Book of Proverbs, then Song of Songs, and afterward Ecclesiastes. Rabbi Jonathan said Solomon first wrote Song of Songs, then Proverbs, then Ecclesiastes. The Talmud, however, states the order of the canon, listing Proverbs first, then Ecclesiastes, and then Song of Songs.

The first clause can also be translated as "which is for Solomon", meaning that the book is dedicated to Solomon. This theory is confirmed in the text itself when the author seems to contrast himself with Solomon "Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon... My vinyard, my very own, is for myself" (8.11-12) It was common practice in ancient times for an anonymous writer seeking recognition for his work to write eponymously in the name of someone more famous. Some read the book as contrasting the nobility of monogamous love with the debased nature of promiscuous love, and suggest that the book is actually a veiled criticism of Solomon, who, according to, had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.

The Jewish Sages themselves considered this a prophetic work that was written during the time of the Prophet Jeremiah by his colleagues, but these latter prophets then attributed their result to king Solomon, just as other writings of Jewish Scripture have been written by one prophet while being attributed to another, such as the Book of Hosea, Isaiah, and others.

Another approach to the authorship is that offered by Rashi, consistent with allegorical interpretations, rendering the narrator "him to whom peace belongs", i.e.: God. The Hebrew name of Solomon, Shlomo, can also be inflected to mean the constructed form of the noun shalom, peace, which through noun declension can be possessive. This means that the author is in fact Solomon, but he narrates the book from the perspective of God, who is conversing with the Jewish people, his allegorical and future bride.

Twenty first century linguistic work, including re-examining the dating of early Hebrew poetry, according to evidence of dialectic variation, has been applied to the Song by a number of scholars from different traditions. Noegel and Rendsburg, for example, conclude as follows. "The Song of Songs was written circa 900 BC, in the northern dialect of ancient Hebrew, by an author of unsurpassed literary ability, adept at the techniques of alliteration and polyprosopon, able to create the most sensual and erotic poetry of his day, and all the while incorporating into his work a subtext critical of the Judahite monarchy in general and Solomon in particular."

Other scholars have argued that some of the words used in the text are Persian, which sets the written date to the postexilic period. Solomon lived in the tenth century BCE which is much earlier than the postexilic period. Solomon may not have been the author based from some of the words being used.

Language
Song of Songs for the first time gives literary representation to the everyday post-exilic vernacular. It contains loan words from languages with which Hebrew had contact in post-exilic times, such as Persian, Greek, and Aramaic, and contains numerous items of vocabulary that are otherwise unknown in Biblical Hebrew but are known from Rabbinic Hebrew, and these expressions give the impression of being part of a living language and not the result of an archaic or artificial style. There are longer phrases that are typical of Rabbinic Hebrew in word order and are different from Biblical Hebrew.

Interpretation and use
Although it is commonly held that an allegorical interpretation justified its inclusion in the Biblical canon, scholarly discussion has not reached any consensus on Song of Songs and leaves other possibilities open.

According to Jewish tradition in the Midrash and the Targum, the book is an allegory of God's love for the Children of Israel. In keeping with this understanding, certain verses of it are read by Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews on Shabbat eve, to symbolize the love between the Jewish People and God that is represented by Shabbat. Italian Jews read these verses on the eve of the first Yom Tov and Yom Tov Sheni of Passover, just before Arvit. Most traditional Jews read these verses of the Song on Shabbat Chol HaMoed of Passover, or on the seventh day of the holiday, when the Song of the sea is read.

Kabbalah
Song of Songs is one of the overtly mystical Biblical texts for the Kabbalah, which gave esoteric interpretation on all the Hebrew Bible. Following the dissemination of the Zohar in the 13th century, Jewish mysticism took on a metaphorically anthropomorphic erotic element, and Song of Songs is an example of this. In Zoharic Kabbalah, God is represented by a system of ten sephirot emanations, each symbolizing a different attribute of God, comprising both male and female. The Shechina (indwelling Divine presence) was identified with the feminine sephira Malchut, the vessel of Kingship. This symbolizes the Jewish people, and in the body, the female form, identified with the woman in Song of Songs. Her beloved was identified with the male sephira Tiferet, the "Holy One Blessed be He", central principle in the beneficent Heavenly flow of Divine emotion. In the body, this represents the male torso, uniting through the sephira Yesod of the male sign of the covenant organ of procreation. Through beneficent deeds and Jewish observance, the Jewish people restore cosmic harmony in the Divine realm, healing the exile of the Shechina with God's transcendence, revealing the essential Unity of God. This elevation of the World is aroused from Above on the Sabbath, a foretaste of the redeemed purpose of Creation. The text thus became a description, depending on the aspect, of the creation of the world, the passage of Shabbat, the covenant with Israel, and the coming of the Messianic age. "Lecha Dodi", a 16th-century liturgical song with strong Kabbalistic symbolism, contains many passages, including its opening two words, taken directly from Song of Songs.

Christian tradition
One possible allusion to the Song of Songs in the New Testament might be Revelation 3:20, which speaks of knocking at doors, as does Song 5:2. John 7:38 speaks of "living water," using the language for spiritual life found in places like Jeremiah 17:13, Jeremiah 2:13, and Zechariah 14:8, and the phrase is used poetically in Song 4:15. Useful for reference purposes is that the expensive nard perfume spoken of in John 12:3 and Mark 14:3 is mentioned in Song 1:12, 4:13, 4:14. The earliest Christian interpretation is found in a commentary by Hippolytus. This commentary covered only the first three chapters to 3:7. Hippolytus interprets the Song as referring to a complicated relationship between Israel, Christ and the Gentile Church. The commentary returns often to the topic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit and was originally written as a mystagogy, an instruction for new Christians. The commentary survives in two Georgian manuscripts, a Greek epitome, a Paleo-Slavonic florilegium, and fragments in Armenian and Syriac. Origen interpreted the Song largely as an allegory of the soul and Christ. He differed with Hippolytus and felt that the Song should be reserved for the spiritually mature and that studying it might be harmful for the novice. In this he followed third-century Jewish interpretive traditions. His commentary—apart from a few fragments of the original Greek—survives in a Latin translation due to Tyrannius Rufinus. A celebrated medieval series of commentaries was that composed by the Cistercians Bernard of Clairvaux, Gilbert of Hoilandia, and John of Ford over several decades, each continuing the work of the previous. Other prominent and accessible traditional commentaries are those of Apponius and Nilus of Ancyra (Sources Chrétiennes) and Gregory of Nyssa and Rupert of Deutz (Fontes Christiani).

In 1561 Luis de León, a Spanish lyric poet and an Augustinian friar, translated the Song of Songs into Spanish for his cousin, Isabel Osorio, a nun who could not read the Latin text, and wrote an accompanying commentary. This work became highly popular among his peers. However, at this time in Spain, translation of biblical texts into Spanish was not viewed favorably. The translation of the Song of Songs was one of the main charges of supposed heresy brought against him when in 1572 he was imprisoned in Valladolid — though released after four years with an admonition.

Pope John Paul II in his five-year catechesis on the Theology of the Body dedicates a major portion of the section on marriage to a study of Song of Songs. The Pope speaks of the way in which the lovers in the Song provide a true and liberating vision of the love that results when men and women allow the divine fire of agape to penetrate and permeate eros.

Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) of 2006 refers to Song of Songs in its literal and allegorical meaning, stating that erotic love (eros) and self-donating love (agape) is shown there as two halves of true love, which is giving and receiving.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not recognize the book as "inspired scripture," although it is included in the church's canon and printed in church-published copies of the Bible.

Messianic interpretation
It has been suggested that the book is a messianic text, in that the lover can be interpreted as the Messiah. It could refer to the Messiah because it often speaks of the Davidic king Solomon. Nathan's prophecy in showed that the promised Messiah would issue from the progeny of David. Each Davidic king was viewed as a potential Messiah, so the Song's speaking of the Temple-builder Solomon would bring to readers’ minds their Messianic hopes. When the Song references "mighty men", it brings to mind David and his mighty men. Describing the lover as "ruddy" again brings to mind David (c.f. ). The Aramaic Jewish targums also interpreted the lover as the awaited Messiah. All these references to kingship, to shepherding, to David, and to Solomon bring to mind the expected Messiah.

In the New Testament, Jesus later claimed his identity as Messiah when he presented himself as greater than Solomon because, as the builder of the Temple, Solomon was an "obvious messianic model." The king's garden (for example ) can be viewed in the light of the Garden of Eden, bringing to mind the Messiah who was expected to restore Israel to an Edenic state. The lovers are portrayed as having overcome the alienation produced by the Fall. The state of woman whose "desire shall be for your husband" has even been reversed: "his desire is for me".

Similar works
Scholars have noted that Song of Songs shows similarities of various kinds with other Ancient Near Eastern love poetry in general, but particularly some Sumerian erotic passages, and the Ramesside Egyptian love poetry. Discussion of similarities with Tamil love poetry was also of interest in scholastic discussion in the late 20th century.

Feminist reading
The feminist companion to the Bible series, edited by Athalya Brenner, has two volumes (1993, 2001) devoted to the Song, the first of which was actually the first volume of the whole series. Phyllis Trible, however, published "Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation" in 1973, offering a reading of the Song with a positive representation of sexuality and egalitarian gender relations, which was widely discussed, notably (and favourably) in Marvin Pope's major commentary for the Anchor Bible.

Cultural references

 * J.S. Bach's Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, while mainly based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins, also uses words and imagery from Song of Songs.
 * John Zorn's "Shir Ha-Shirim" premiered in February 2008. The piece is inspired by Song of Songs and is performed by an amplified quintet of female singers with female and male narrators performing the "Song of Solomon". A performance at the Guggenheim Museum in November 2008 featured choreography for paired dancers from the Khmer Arts Ensemble by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro.
 * In Carl Th. Dreyer's Day of Wrath, a film about sexual repression in a puritanical Protestant family, the first few verses of Song of Songs chapter 2 are read aloud by the daughter Anne, but soon after her father forbids her to continue. The chapter's verse paraphrases Anne's own amorous adventures and desires.


 * The voice of the turtle that is heard in Song of Solomon 2:12 inspired many artists.