The Literal Interpretation V. CLOSING HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS LITERATURE The full title in Hebrew is "The So of Songs, which is Solomon's." This is the main thing. Sometimes you get Fifty Shades and sometimes you get biblical commentary, but hey, it's the same idea.. Hosea 2:14), a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31). To get this right, this is not for men and women for whom sexual intercourse is merely a one-dimensional flight of passion. Historically speaking, an allegorical approach that sees the Song of Songs as being about the love of God for his people has certainly been the most popular among preachers. The Song of Solomon is often interpreted as an allegory by both Jewish and Christian scholars. He is author of. This is risky to make statements about the Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon. But we must remember that the mutual attraction of the sexes is of God's ordaining. The song is nowhere quoted in the New Testament but the imagery of the song is found all over. Hamilton assumes the song as the work of Solomon himself, perhaps an older, repentant Solomon who is casting himself through an idealized lens rather than the historical reality of a man with a thousand women in his harem. @import url(/cwadmin_wysiwyg.css); 350-428 C.E.) It is not hard to see why. James Hamilton serves as associate professor of biblical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. But despite that I really like singing the Song of Solomon in church. What could have prompted Solomon to think of the covenant between Yahweh and Israel as being analogous to human marriage? Introduction: At the first blush we are surprised to find in the Bible a poem on human love. The rest of the Bible can point in that direction as well, sometimes with remarkable explicitness. Until modern times the allegorical interpretation of Song of Solomon has prevailed both in the synagogue and also in the church. Introduction. Is There Intended Allegory in the Song of Solomon? The Song was accepted into the Jewish canon of scripture in the 2nd century CE, after a period of controversy in the 1st century. The Song of Solomon confronts us with the challenge not just of literary allegory, but of life allegory. At first reading it seems impossible to describe a theology of the Song of Songs. I thought the allegorical interpretation is entirely reasonable and responsible. The Song of Solomon is no doubt the word of God but there is disagreement as to what this song is actually about. He blogs regularly at for his renown. In this view, some things are literal, others are allegorical, and others specific prophecies about things in Solomon’s life and the church in all ages. I had grown so accustomed to the emphasis on human love in the Song that I had begun to assume that's all modern commentators said about it. Hamilton assumes the song as the work of Solomon himself, perhaps an older, repentant Solomon who is casting himself through an idealized lens rather than the historical reality of a man with a thousand women in his harem. Well, in Exodus 34:14 Israel is already being warned not to "whore after their gods." The Allegorical Interpretation Historically speaking, an allegorical approach that sees the Song of Songs as being about the love of God for his people has certainly been the most popular among preachers. Download books for free. 1. Genesis 3:16 and Song of Solomon 7:10). Is there more specific evidence? Song of Solomon 1:1 "The song of songs, which [is] Solomon's." Here is what I mean. Typical Christian allegorical interpretations of Song of Solomon identify God with the man in the story and the church or individual believer with the woman. anticipated later secular interpretations and interprets Song of Songs as a wedding song, while Martin Luther (1483-1546) favored a decidedly political interpretation. Given the profound connections between marital intimacy and the relationship of Christ with the church in Ephesians 5, you said recently of marital intimacy, in episode 278, “We should be amazed that our Savior chose to describe his relationship with his church with a parable of such exquisite pleasure.” So given that, just how valuable is the Song of Solomon in articulating the intimate language of the church’s relationship to Christ? ii. Child’s writes, “Again, recognition of Song of Songs as wisdom runs counter to allegorical interpretation (cf. @import url(http://admin2.salemwebnetwork.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css); This approach originated as a pagan method of interpreting Greek mythology, but was picked up in Jewish and Christian circles […] The Allegorical Interpretation. ii. Theodor of Mospuestia (ca. This is the Song of songs, excellent … Moreover, God is not the only surprising absence in the book; we look in vain for a reference to Israel, the covenant, worship institutions, or anything explicitly religious. 7-8. In other words, it is not just that this song is really physical and also points to something spiritual in relationship to God and the church, but that life is physical and points to something spiritual. Others interpret it as an allegory for the relationship between Christ and the church. Duguid explicitly describes the Song as wisdom literature (pp. The "Song of Songs" is considered to be the most obscure book to interpret in the Bible, and is often interpreted as an allegory. Find books 350-428 C.E.) OT Poets: SONG of SONGS — p. 4 2. It is not as though this book, Song of Solomon, is in some world of its own in dealing with explicit sexual enjoyments between a husband and wife. It is not often used outside the Song of Songs the way Solomon uses it in the Song. The beauty of its language and thought elevate the sexual and physical relationship to a much higher level than does the world. When we begin with a straight-forward reading of this song, we see the expression of love between a king and his bride. I put the word primarily in parentheses in that last sentence for a reason. Rabbi Aqiba (d. 135) made a splash by his fiat that “In the whole world there is nothing to equal the day in which the Song of Songs was given to Israel: all the Writings are holy, but the Song of Songs … Allegorical interpretation i. For this particular series, I will dissect the literal interpretation. This strictly literal interpretation of the So was condemned at the second council of Constantinople (553 AD). @import url(http://admin2.salemwebnetwork.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css); All this is fulfilled in Christ Jesus, son of David, Yahweh incarnate, the one greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42), who initiated the new covenant between himself and his bride, the church, and who will return for the grand consummation when the Bride herself, the new Jerusalem, will descend from heaven having the glory of God (Revelation 21:9). What makes it so risky is how explicit the sensuousness is: “Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine. It appeared to gain acceptance after “Rabbi Akiba upheld its divine inspiration using allegorical interpretation as a means to justify its spiritual value.” Christians appeared to have always accepted it as it was in the LXX, Old Latin, Vulgate, and all later Bible translations. Here is another issue: Even if the Song of Solomon is treated as allegorical, Solomon would not use sin to signify the relationship between God and his bride. Share. BACK; NEXT ; Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory. Despite the prevalence of the allegorical interpretation up to the nineteenth century, there were dissenting voices. This traditional method seeks to transfer the Song into a different genre of biblical literature. The characters, places, and details of the text … Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs, to the point of expelling Castellio from Geneva for denying it. If all you have in your bedroom is a one-dimensional flight of physical passion, you are not fit to read the Song of Solomon. In this paper, I will take Jia` s interpretation of "Exodus" and "Song of Solomon" as examples to analyze its characteristics. Twitter Facebook. When we begin with a straight-forward reading of this song, we see the expression of love between a king and his bride. This interpretation says Solomon was writing a love song to describe spiritual truth about our love relationship with the coming Messiah. i. Solomon is presumed to be the author because he is mentioned six times (Song of Solomon 1:5, 3:7, 3:9, 3:11, 8:11, and 8:12) and there are three references to an unnamed king (Song of Solomon 1:4, 1:12, and 7:5). "By His Stripes We Are Healed" - Meaning and Importance of Isaiah 53:5, 3 Reasons to Love (and Read) the Book of James. Allegorical View. The Song of Solomon is also called The Song of Songs, suggesting that it is the greatest of all songs. People love to take texts that they love and think about them. And many such like expressions that fill up the matter of this Song (such as spices, gardens, etc.) Pastor John, you are a language guy, and I love that. In Jewish tradition, Song of Solomon is recited at Passover to commemorate the exodus out of Egypt, and to show God’s relationship with Israel. 142.) Interpretation: Solomon as Bridegroom. Probably the most prominent and forthright champion of the allegorical interpretation of scripture, especially the Song of Solomon, was Origen of Alexandria. This attribution to Solomon led to the books inclusion in the Hebrew Bible and later, Christian versions of the Old Testament. Theodore theorized that Solomon’s subjects had criticized his marriage with an Egyptian princess and that the king responded to the protest by boldly singing of his love in this Song. it lends itself to allegorical interpretation. Courtship is important. It is not hard to see why. This is the reason why many were … The Song is the most obscure book of the Old Testament. Whatever principle of interpretation one may adopt, there always remains a number of inexplicable passages, and just such as, if we understood them, would help to solve the mystery. He gave us sex to show us something of his love. Allegorical interpretation which gave it a mystical religious meaning. As a new year dawns, consider that God’s word offers great treasures on a first reading, and many of its greatest ones as we reread year after year. What follows in Isaiah 5 makes it clear that Isaiah is referring to Yahweh as his beloved. He accuses anyone who would read the Canticles in a purely literal manner of harboring false opinions and making ignorant assertions about sacred Scripture. The book of Exodus consists of two genres, narratives and laws, which were interpreted by Jia` s allegorical method. The King in the Song is regularly called the Bride's "beloved." Towards a Typical Interpretation of the Song of Songs Below I'd like to offer a typical interpretation of Song of Songs that tries to draw from the strengths of the allegorical and purely natural interpretations but avoids their weaknesses. The Song of Songs has been combed over again and again by scholars and not-so-scholars alike, trying to impose allegorical structures over the text. So even if you do take it as an allegory, you have a remarkable explicitness about what is in the bedroom of a godly man and wife. Historically, the Christian Church has interpreted this book in at least four different ways. Hamilton, mostly convincingly I believe, argues that Song of Solomon can be interpreted and seen through more than one lens at once. The Song of Songs was a disputed book among the Hebrews. You can follow Dr. Hamilton on Twitter @drjimhamilton. 34–37, with specific textual links to Prov 5:18–20), whereas Hamilton presents Solomon as a royal figure, which fits better his emphasis on messianic expectations, rather than as the exemplar of wisdom, as Solomon is portrayed in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and 1 Kings. They typically add a word like "primarily" or "mainly," leaving the door open to a spiritual meaning of the Song. The Song of Solomon. So I'm on board with human love in the Song. It depicts a story that is totally symbolic without any historical facts as its basis. So far from being intrinsically evil, it contains for both parties an immeasurable possibility of blessing. It calls us to look into and through the physical pleasures of sex, both in Solomon’s song and in our bedroom. @import url(http://admin2.salemwebnetwork.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css); @import url(/cwadmin_wysiwyg.css); Natural details of facts are not important. The Song of Solomon has received various interpretations, the most common being allegorical, dramatic, cultic, and literal. The Song of Solomon is perhaps one of the most difficult books in the Bible to interpret with dogmatic certainty. A Biblical–Theological, Allegorical, Christological Interpretation James M. Hamilton Jr. £ 8.99; Buy 0 and save 0% (£8.99 / book) Buy 10 and save 20% (£7.19 / book) Buy 20 and save 25% (£6.74 / book) Buy 35 and save 40% (£5.39 / book) Qty: Add to basket. [ 32] A As appealing as the allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs may be to many interpreters' imaginations, such an approach does not hold … especially Audet). Among Jews, the allegorical interpretation regards the book as an allegory of God’s love for the Israelites, with whom he has made a sacred covenant. I love my wife, and I can't get over God giving us something so surprising, so pleasing, so good as marriage. The paper wants to show that the Song of Songs is composed as a coherent poem to convey an allegorical sense. That Solomon being the penman of this Song, yet speaketh of Solomon in the second person, “thou, O Solomon” (8.12), makes it appear that some other was designed than himself. The other view is that a young woman must choose between King Solomon … The Song of Solomon has a message that all couples need to hear. I thought the allegorical interpretation is entirely reasonable and responsible. Historically, the Christian Church has interpreted this book in at least four different ways. cannot be understood properly of these very things themselves, but of some other thing veiled under them. So I think we can be confident that biblical authors prior to and after Solomon were thinking about a spiritual meaning of marriage, recognizing an analogy between human marriage and God's covenant with Israel. Here is the main thing, I think, I would want to say. For instance, the king's procession to the wedding in Song of Solomon 3:1 seems to have been crafted to recall Israel being led out to Sinai for the wedding between herself and Yahweh, who would dwell with her in the tabernacle and lead her by the pillar of fire and cloud. The Typical Interpretation 3. We’re on a mission to change that. What about evidence that later OT authors might have read the Song this way? Is there anything that points in that direction? Song of Solomon 1:8 "If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents." Please consider this request from John Piper and become a monthly partner by December 31. Usually when you suggest that the Song is about something more than human love, people roll their eyes and write you off as a prude. SONG OF SOLOMON (שִׁ֥יר הַשִּׁירִ֖ים).This book is the first of the five Megilloth or Rolls which were read at Jewish feasts. Christian Allegorical View (Primary Model): Christian commentators applied a similar allegorical method in their interpretation of the Song, viewing the bridegroom as Jesus Christ and the bride as His church. So here's the simple proposal this post is inviting you to consider: is it possible that Solomon intended to represent the spiritual relationship between God and his people through a poetic depiction of the human relationship between the King and the Bride in the Song of Songs? The Song of Songs is unique within the Hebrew Bible: it shows no interest in Law or Covenant or the God of Israel, nor does it teach or explore wisdom like Proverbs or Ecclesiastes; instead, it celebrates sexual love, giving "the voices of two lovers, praising each other, yearning for each other, proff the bride of Christ). In this post I want to pose a question: is it possible that Solomon intended the Song to have an allegorical layer of meaning? But is it possible that Solomon intended the Song to have an allegorical layer of meaning? The Song of Songs is a poetic summary and interpretation of the Bible's big story: the descendant of David—king of Israel about whom the promises of 2 Samuel 2:1 were made (promises resonant with the blessing of Abraham from Genesis 12:1, promises that will be realized through the one whose descent can be traced all the way back to Adam, who can thus be identified as the promised seed of the woman from Genesis 3:15)—renews an eden-like intimacy between himself and his Bride, reversing the affects of the fall (cf. Historically, the Song of Solomon has been interpreted through four methods: Allegory The allegorical approach ignores all the actual facts, events, and history of the text of Scripture in search of a “deeper” spiritual truth. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. Hamilton assumes the song as the work of Solomon himself, perhaps an older, repentant Solomon who is casting himself through an idealized lens rather than the historical reality of a man with a thousand women in his harem. The Allegorical Interpretation 2. This book is made up of different sections which show the progression of … It is not going to be very fruitful. He has written revelation: the spirit speaks to the churches (Crossway) god's glory in salvation through judgement: a biblical theology (Crossway) and god's indwelling presence: the ministry of the holy spirit in the old and new testaments (B&H). There is no escaping that. 2See Dennis F. Kinlaw, "Song of Songs," in Psalms-Song of Songs, vol. How Do We Know That the Old Testament Is Really All About Jesus? “Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. Song of Solomon 1:1), intended his audience to get from this piece of poetry. But that is exactly what James Hamilton Jr. does in his recent Focus on the Bible commentary Song of Songs: A Biblical-Theological, Allegorical, Christological Interpretation (Christian Focus, 2015). The allegorical interpretation requires a spiritual counterpart for every physical detail; it is objectionable to equate Solomon and his herem to Christ. This is understandable as other more obvious typology in the Bible identifies the church with a female person (e.g. Solomon composed some 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), and this was the greatest (the song of songs) among them. John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. In a sense, it is even more striking if it is allegorical that Solomon would use such graphic, sexual language to think of our relationship with God. Theodor of Mospuestia (ca. Not surprisingly, Origen became the grand champion of the allegorical interpretation of Song of Songs. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Song of Solomon confronts us with the challenge not just of literary allegory, but of life allegory. I certainly don’t buy the allegorical interpretation (although I don’t totally discount the fact that the Song of Solomon may have something to teach us about Christ and the church) and as a good Protestant I certainly don’t buy the Marian interpretations :-). The book is lyric, poetic, and rich in symbolism, but can it properly be called an allegory? Or is this a misuse of the text? By describing idolatry with the language of prostitution and sexual immorality, Moses is talking about the covenant between Yahweh and Israel as though it is a marriage. Although he does not fully develop his rationale in this commentary, he points the reader to an earlier article (“The Messianic Music of the Song of Songs: A Non-Allegorical Interpretation,” WTJ 68 [2006]: 331–45). The Psalm begins with a celebration of the king in Psalm 45:1-9, then concludes with an address to the princess marrying the king in 45:10-17. The book is called by some Canticles, and by others Solomon's Song. This has been the dominant Christian view for most of church history, although it has lost support in the last century or two. revelation: the spirit speaks to the churches, god's glory in salvation through judgement: a biblical theology, god's indwelling presence: the ministry of the holy spirit in the old and new testaments, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. As the psalmist extols the greatness of the king, he says in Psalm 45:6, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever," showing—at least—a very tight connection between Yahweh and the king who represents him. I don’t think that blunts or lessens the remarkable sexual implications for husband and wife, because it is used in reference to God. One literal interpretation states that this is a discourse between a young woman betrothed and marrying King Solomon. Song of Songs in which he rejected allegorical meaning and read it in its literal and plain sense, as an erotic song. The oldest known interpretation of the Song (induced by the demand for an ethical and religious element in its content) is allegorical: the Midrash and the Targum represent it as depicting the relations between God and Israel. All rights reserved. It was accepted as canonical because of its supposed authorship by Solomon and based on an allegorical reading where the subject-matter was taken to be not sexual desire but God's love for Israel. Is there exegetical evidence for it, though? The Song of Songs, also Song of Solomon, Canticle of Canticles, or Canticles, is one of the megillot found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim, and a book of the Old Testament. In the history of the church, it has been treated mainly as an allegory of Christ’s love for the church and God’s love for his people. This approach originated as a pagan method of interpreting Greek mythology, but was picked up in Jewish and Christian circles […] Literal Interpretation. Jews have seen it as an allegory of God’s love, while Christians have often viewed the book as an allegory of Christ’s love for the Church. The song was ascribed to King Solomon because of the few times his name is mentioned in the book and because of its references to a king. So I just want to kind of plead for people to go deep into all of life as a parable of Christ and his church, and then they might be fit to handle a literary description of sexuality the way they should. With a statement like this in Psalm 45, and with other texts in the OT communicating a very close connection between Israel's God and Israel's king (e.g., Numbers 23:21; Isaiah 9:6; Jeremiah 23:6; Hosea 3:5; Micah 2:13; Micah 5:4; Zechariah 12:8; Zechariah 13:7) it would seem natural—not forced or fanciful—to see an analogy between the King and his Bride and Yahweh and Israel in the Song of Songs. I thought the allegorical interpretation is entirely reasonable and responsible. The oldest known interpretation of the Song (induced by the demand for an ethical and religious element in its content) is allegorical: the Midrash and the Targum represent it as depicting the relations between God and Israel. In other words, this is not for children. Bible students have understood the Song of Solomon as an allegory, an extended type, a drama with either two or three main characters, or a collection of wedding songs. Yeah. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?” (Proverbs 5:18–20). If you come to the Song of Solomon without having read life as allegorical — that is, life as pointing to the glories of union with Christ — you are probably going to stomp all over this beautiful poem like you have got spikes on instead of slippers. Song of Solomon 1:2 —Why do so many people who claim to interpret the Bible literally, spiritualize the Song of Solomon?. @import url(/cwadmin_wysiwyg.css); A Biblical-Theological, Allegorical, Christological Interpretation | James M. Hamilton, Jr. | download | Z-Library. They insist that it should be taken in its normal, historical-grammatical sense, not in some hidden, mystical, or allegorical sense. Sex is that, but it is way more than that, because life is way more than that. I do think the Song is about human love, and I think human love is great. I'm not out to defend the history of interpretation by asking this question, but it is worth observing that the idea that the Song has a spiritual meaning has been, well, dominant across the ages. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. This seems to work for the way Paul uses allegory in Galatians 4:24. Allegories. My conclusions are still somewhat tentative, so feel free to offer some constructive criticism. Really great! So this way of thinking about God's relationship with his people is well established prior to the time of Solomon, and it continues after Solomon, not least with Hosea, where when Hosea marries Gomer, Hosea plays the part of Yahweh, Gomer the part of Israel. And the love which is here sung is ordered, regulated, legitimate. @import url(/cwadmin_wysiwyg.css); For a number of years now learned interpreters of Scripture have been telling us that the Song of Songs is (primarily) about human love. In some contexts it means "uncle." The Song of Solomon. Hamilton assumes the song as the work of Solomon himself, perhaps an older, repentant Solomon who is casting himself through an idealized lens rather than the historical reality of a man with a thousand women in his harem. Let me note that by allegory I don't mean something terribly complicated. Your belly is a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies” (Song 7:2). Allegorical View. Whatever principle of interpretation one may adopt, there always remains a number of inexplicable passages, and just such as, if we understood them, would help to solve the mystery. Sexual feelings are accepted and affirmed. 5 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary, pp. Problem: Evangelical Christians defend the literal interpretation of the Bible. For example, the respected commentator Matthew Henry (1662-1714) states that the Song of Solomon "is an allegory" and goes on to add "that after the title of the book (Song of Solomon 1:1) we have Christ and His church, Christ and a believer, expressing their esteem for each other." The saints in this imperfect state know but in part and are ignorant of many things, and in some measure of themselves. The Song of Solomon is often interpreted allegorically as referring to the love that Christ has for the church. Psalms 45:1 is perhaps the closest analogy to the Song of Songs in the Old Testament, being a wedding song for Israel's king. There is more that could be said. But the strongest argument for this way of thinking about the Song, it seems to me, comes from Paul telling the Ephesians what marriage is ultimately about in Ephesians 5:32, "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.". Among Christian scholars Theodore of Mopsuestia interpreted Canticles as a song in celebration of the marriage of Solomon and Pharaoh's daughter. Contents Page Sample Product Info Sheet. The Song of Songs is a poetic summary and interpretation of the Bible's big story: the descendant of David—king of Israel about whom the promises of 2 Samuel 2:1 were made (promises resonant with the blessing of Abraham from Genesis 12:1, promises that will be realized through the one whose descent can be traced all the way back to Adam, who can thus be identified as the promised … Let's stick with a simple definition from dictionary.com: "a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another." I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit” (Song 7:7–8). While not necessarily denying that the text has a literal meaning or that the historical incidents reported are true, allegorical interpreters will look for a deeper symbolic meaning. “Your two breasts are like fawns, twins of a gazelle” (Song 4:5). Christians are unavoidably out of step with this world. 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