Book 22 - Song of Songs

The first time I read through Song of Songs, or also commonly known as Song of Solomon, I did a double take. It’s a series of poems exchanged between two lovers and it’s explicitly romantic and physical. Bordering on erotic?

There is no storyline that advances history. No laws. No wise sayings. No philosophical argument. No prayers directed toward God.

Isn't this the Bible?

What kind of book is this?

Song of Songs is a collection of love poetry.

The poems describe attraction, desire, admiration, longing, and physical intimacy between a man and a woman. The language is metaphorical, but the subject matter is clear. Bodies, touch, desire. All described. Intimately.

Who is speaking?

The book moves between several voices:

• A woman

• A man

• A group often referred to as “the daughters of Jerusalem,” who act like a chorus observing and reacting

The shifts between speakers are not always announced, which can make the book feel disorienting if you expect a clear structure. It's definitely poetry...not narrative storytelling.

Who wrote it?

The book is traditionally associated with Solomon. His name appears in the opening line and at a few points throughout the poems.

Whether Solomon authored all of it, some of it, or whether his name functions as a literary reference is debated. The text itself does not resolve that question.

What matters for reading the book is not authorship, but content and form.

What is actually in the book?

Song of Songs does not hide its, at times overtly sexual, subject matter.

A few examples make that clear:

• “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine.” (1:2)

• “Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.” (4:5)

• “My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him.” (5:4)

• “May his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me.” (2:6)

• "Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. I said, 'I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.' May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine." (7:7-9)

These are not isolated lines. This kind of language runs throughout the book.

The poetry relies heavily on metaphor drawn from nature, gardens, fruit, animals, and fragrance, but the meaning is not hidden. The poems celebrate physical attraction and mutual desire openly.

Why the book has always been debated

Song of Songs has generated discussion for centuries precisely because it does not explain itself. Jews and Christians alike have wrestled with how to understand it. Some have read it symbolically while others have read it as straightforward human poetry. The text itself doesn't really force either approach. It just says what it says.

There is no moral commentary attached to the poem. No narrator stepping in to clarify meaning. No shift at the end to tie it all up in a neat bow and reframe it for us.

It simply presents the poetry and leaves it there.

What is clear is that the book treats love, attraction, and desire as experiences worth describing carefully and without embarrassment.

That alone makes this one a stand out within the Bible, for sure.