Cânticos 1

Cânticos 1

SONG OF SOLOMON COMMENTARY NOTES This is a work in progress - please use "as is" or as they say in business "Caveat Emptor"! SONG OF SOLOMON Union and Communion The Courtship (Falling in Love) Song 1:2-3:5 The Wedding (United in Love) Song 3:6-5:1 The Maturing Marriage (Struggling and Growing in Love) Song 5:2-8:14 Fostering of Love Fulfillment of Love Frustration of Love Faithfulness of Love Falling in Love United in Love Divided in Love Devoted in Love Cultivating Love Acclaiming Love Courtship Before the Marriage Procession for and Consummation of the Marriage The Honeymoon is Over! Song 5:2-6:13 The Marriage Deepens Love Matures Song 7:1-8:14 Chief Speaker: The Bride ("Darling") Chief Speaker: The Groom ("Beloved") Chief Speaker: Both Chief Speaker: "Duet" Theme - The joy and intimacy of love within a committed marriage covenant. Song of Solomon foreshadows Christ, the Bridegroom's relationship with His Bride, the Church. (Eph 5:32+, Rev 19:7-8+) Date - Circa 950-965BC Time Period estimated at about 1 year Before Solomon plunged into gross immorality and idolatry (Compare only 140 women in Song 6:8+ with 1Ki 11:1-4, 5-7, 8, 9-10) Adapted from Charles Swindoll's book chart Introduction: Song of Solomon Song of Songs - Introduction Song of Songs - Interpretative Approach Song of Songs - The Speakers Song of Songs - The Timing Song of Songs - An Outline Song of Songs - Subtitles Song of Songs - The Language Song of Songs - Key Images and Key Words Song of Songs - The Setting Song of Songs - The Hebrew Language Song of Songs 1 Commentary Song of Songs 2 Commentary Song of Songs 3 Commentary Song of Songs 4 Commentary Song of Songs 5 Commentary Song of Songs 6 Commentary Song of Songs 7 Commentary Song of Songs 8 Commentary These commentary notes are not intended to be in depth or as exhaustive as most of the verse by verse notes on this website (see available verse by verse commentaries). The intent instead is to give an overview because there are probably more unusual interpretations of the Song of Solomon than for any other book in the Bible, and it would be easy for a sincere student of the Word to totally avoid this book out of frustration, as so often occurs when studying the book of the Revelation (the veritable plethora of prophetic commentaries overwhelming many to exclaim "No one can understand the Revelation!" I beg to strongly disagree, but see Revelation commentaries for more discussion). As discussed below, the reader should be aware that the interpretative approach adopted in these notes is to take the text in its literal, natural, normal meaning and not to seek hidden, "spiritual" or mystical meanings. Such a literal approach does not mean that there are not many practical applications, but only that such applications be based upon an accurate interpretation, lest one suffers the consequences inherent in misapplication of the Word of Truth. In addition to the brief explanatory comments, the notes include the devotional and applicational comments from Today in the Word's month long series on the Song of Solomon (June, 2004). "Nowhere in Scripture does the unspiritual mind tread upon ground so mysterious and incomprehensible as in this book, while the saintliest men and women of the ages have found it a source of pure and exquisite delight." - J. Sidlow Baxter. Explore the Book Baxter goes on to add "There is no book of Scripture on which more commentaries have been written and more diversities of opinion expressed than this short poem of eight chapters" (Ed: I think the Revelation of Jesus Christ is close!) - so says a learned expositor. We shall be wise, therefore, to avoid adding unprofitably to an already liberally discussed subject. Fortunately, in the process of the long-continued discussion certain broad facts have gradually emerged with increasing clearness, all converging toward the same result; so that we are now in a position to sum up and draw fairly mature conclusions." (Explore the Book) Irving Jensen offers an interesting introduction noting that... A healthy balance in Bible study is maintained when the Song of Solomon is studied along with Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes focuses on the intellect of man -- his mental outlook on life. The Song of Solomon is a book about the emotions of man -- in particular the emotion of love. It is a recognized fact that man's total experience is directed by these three responses: intellect, emotions and will. Actually, all three responses are involved in a full experience of genuine love, just as this is true of genuine faith. To say that the Song of Solomon is a book about the emotion of life is not to rule out intellect and will. (E.g., a person in love exercises his will in choosing whom to love.) It is just that the emotion aspect is prominent in te story. But the Song of Solomon is more that a human love story. It is a picture of the love between the Lord God and His people. If your study of the Song of Solomon will arouse in you a more genuine love for your Lord, as well as a deeper gratitude for His love to you, then it will not surprise you that God chose to include such a love story in His Holy Scriptures. (Jensen's Survey of Bible online) G. Lloyd Carr's series of excellent introductory audio comments on this controversial book... Song of Songs 1 Introduction Song of Songs 2 Introduction Song of Songs 3 Introduction Song of Songs 4 Introduction Borrow his Solomon Commentary QUESTION - Why is there an entire book of the Bible dedicated to romantic love? GOTQUESTIONS.ORG ANSWER - Some people believe that the subject matter of the Song of Solomon—romantic love—is not a very noble theme. Some try to allegorize the book in order to provide it with a “higher” or more “spiritual” purpose. But what is “low” or “unspiritual” about the love between a husband and wife? The Song of Solomon is dedicated to the theme of romantic love. The Lord knows we need to see how love should look between a husband and wife. Of course, Solomon had more than one wife. In fact, “he had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines” (1 Kings 11:3). While it is uncertain how old Solomon was when he composed his Song of Songs, his emphasis on one true love leads many scholars to suspect that Solomon was writing of his relationship with his first wife, before the sinful multiplication of wives occurred. An overview of the contents of the Song of Solomon reveals many important aspects of romantic love. For example, there is a proper time and place for romantic love to begin to grow (Song 2:7). Romantic love involves a longing between a man and woman (Song 1:2–4), mutual admiration (Song 1:12—2:7), and a desire to be together (Song 3:1–5). Also, romantic love includes sexual expression, and the appropriate context for sexual intimacy is within marriage (Song 3:6—5:1). After the wedding, couples face many different situations, and it is important for them to keep the romantic love alive. Couples will face occasional indifference to each other or time apart from each other (Song 5:2–8), followed by renewed displays of love—a rekindling of the romance (Song 5:9–16). Also important is communication within marriage. Song 7 focuses on improvement in this area, followed by an increase in intimacy (Song 8). Romantic love and intimacy in a God-honoring marriage is an important goal for all couples. God presents love as something to be desired: “Many waters cannot quench love; / rivers cannot sweep it away. / If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, / it would be utterly scorned” (Song of Solomon 8:7). True love endures. It overcomes adversity. Nothing is worth giving up on godly love. Love is priceless. In today’s society marriage is often ridiculed or broken or redefined, but the principles found in the Song of Solomon offer a godly perspective on the importance of marriage, romantic love, communication between husband and wife, and the value of a marriage that endures. QUESTION - Who wrote the book of Song of Solomon? GOTQUESTIONS.ORG ANSWER - The title of Song of Songs is a translation of the Hebrew phrase shiyr hashiyrim. In English Bibles, it is alternatively titled Song of Solomon, drawn from the opening line: “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s” (Song of Solomon 1:1). The beautiful, lyrical poetry paints an enduring picture of godly marriage. In graceful lines and vivid imagery, Song of Solomon celebrates a union between a man and a woman marked by passion, love, commitment, and physical desire. No one knows for sure who wrote the book Song of Songs. Solomon is traditionally attributed as the author, as suggested by the opening line and references to his name throughout the book (Song of Solomon 1:5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11–12). In 1 Kings 4:32, King Solomon’s body of writing is mentioned: “He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.” If the Song of Songs is among the 1,005 Solomon wrote, it would likely be his finest work. The author references Lebanon several times, possibly reflecting the peaceful relationship between Israel and other nations during King Solomon’s reign (see 1 Chronicles 22:9). If the wives and concubines of Song of Solomon 6:8 belong to Solomon, then the book was written fairly early in his reign (compare 1 Kings 11:3). Some contemporary scholars question the traditional authorship of Song of Songs, arguing for a date of writing later than Solomon’s time. In this view, the opening sentence doesn’t necessarily mean that the book was written by Solomon but it could have been written for Solomon. Dissent also exists on whether the book is a single poem or an anthology. Proponents of the anthology theory point to abrupt shifts in scenes, subjects, speakers and moods, suggesting a composite work. Those who reject this notion argue for a seamless composition without clear divisions. While conclusive evidence that Solomon wrote the Song of Songs is lacking, the internal data leads us to conclude that he’s the likeliest author. There is no problem in subscribing to the traditional authorship based on the available information. Interpretative Approach Song of Solomon Song of Solomon is one of the most controversial and difficult books in the Bible to interpret, with a wide range of approaches summarized in the following synopsis (very brief - see introduction in the commentary by Keil and Delitzsch for elaboration although they interpret the Song as a play or drama, not as a literal discourse. As an aside Delitzsch wrote that “The Song is the most obscure book in the Old Testament"). G. Lloyd Carr observed that "Among the books of the Bible, the Song of Solomon is one of the smallest, most difficult, yet one of the most popular with both Jews and Christians. Over the centuries hundreds of books and commentaries have been written and unnumbered sermons preached on these 117 verses"(Borrow Solomon Commentary) The commentator Pope writes that no other composition of comparable size in world literature "has provoked or inspired such a volume and variety of comment and interpretation." Recommended Resource concerning introductory comments on the Song of Solomon - Although an Mp3, Messianic Jewish pastor Steve Kreloff gives an excellent, well reasoned introduction to this somewhat controversial and too often misinterpreted book - Invest 46' to listen to Kreloff's Introduction to the Song of Solomon. He For example Pastor Kreloff has this to say about the Song of Solomon - "it's contents have the potential to profoundly affect your life, especially if you are married, because this is the only book in the entire Bible that is totally devoted to the subject of physical intimacy between a husband and a wife." (Recommended) G. Campbell Morgan offers a balanced view - ''The song should be treated first as a simple and yet sublime song of human affection. When it is thus understood, reverently the thoughts may be lifted into higher values of setting forth the joys of communion between the spirit of man and the Spirit of God, and ultimately between the church and Christ. Therefore, I can sing the Song of Solomon as setting forth the relationship between Christ and His bride.'' Charles Ryrie - Interpretations (1) Some regard the book purely as an allegory, i.e., fictional characters are employed to teach the truth of God's love for His people. Such a non-historical view, however, is contrary to all principles of normal interpretation and must be rejected. (2) Others rightly understand the book to be an historical record of the romance of Solomon with a Shulammite woman. The "snapshots" in the book portray the joys of love in courtship and marriage and counteract both the extremes of asceticism and of lust. The rightful place of physical love, within marriage only, is clearly established and honored. Within the historical framework, some also see illustrations of the love of God (and Christ) for His people. Obviously Solomon does not furnish the best example of marital devotion, for he had many wives and concubines (140 at this time, Song 6:8; many more later, 1Kings 11:3). The experiences recorded in this book may reflect the only (or virtually the only) pure romance he had. (Borrow Ryrie Study Bible) J Paul Tanner in his highly recommended 23 page paper on interpretation of Solomon writes that "Probably no other book in all the Bible has given rise to such a plethora of interpretations as the Song of Songs. Saadia, a medieval Jewish commentator said the Song of Songs is like a book for which the key has been lost. Over one hundred years ago, the noted Old Testament scholar Franz Delitzsch remarked, "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. And yet the interpretation of a book presupposes from the beginning that the interpreter has mastered the idea of the whole. It has thus become an ungrateful task; for however successful the interpreter may be in the separate parts, yet he will be thanked for his work only when the conception as a whole which he has decided upon is approved of." Delitzsch correctly pointed out that the challenge lies in conceptualizing the idea of the whole, and yet it is precisely the unique features of this book that make this such a formidable task. More recently Harrison addressed this very issue. "Few books of the Old Testament have experienced as wide a variety of interpretations as the Song of Songs. The absence of specifically religious themes has combined with the erotic lyrics and the vagueness of any plot for the work to furnish for scholars an almost limitless ground for speculation." Understandably these problems led to the allegorical treatment of the book by Jewish as well as Christian scholars. This particular method, which held sway up through the nineteenth century, is now losing its following. Yet despite the multitude of alternative suggestions, no other interpretive scheme has gained a consensus among Old Testament exegetes.....The goal of this article is to survey the primary interpretive schemes that have been set forth throughout the book's history and to evaluate the hermeneutical foundations on which they rest.[4] (The History of Interpretation of the Song of Songs by J. Paul Tanner - 23 page article that gives an excellent summary - Recommended) Here are the major interpretative approaches to the Song of Solomon... (1) Allegorical: Sadly, the majority of interpreters (who seem to not want to believe that God could actually speak on the subject of intimacy between a husband and wife) favor the Song as an allegory which conveys hidden, mystical and/or "spiritual" meanings. Jewish interpreters favored this approach picturing Yahweh as the lover and the woman as Israel. The NT church (early church fathers, later commentators including the reformers, and many modern scholars) see the lover as the Bridegroom Christ and the woman as His bride, the Church, some to the point of absurdity. A major problem with the allegorical approach is that it normally ignores the intended meaning of the text and degenerates into eisegesis (reading into the text whatever the reader wishes). For example, the Early Church Father Origen wrote 12 volumes allegorically explaining the Song! Bernhard of Clairvaux was not much better, actually dying (1153AD) after he had delivered 86 sermons and only reaching the end of Chapter 2! Clairvaux's disciple Gilbert Porretanus carried forward the allegorical absurdity for 48 sermons only to reach Chapter 5:10 before he died! The most serious flaw of the allegorical approach in interpretation of the Song of Solomon (or other Biblical books, this caution applying especially to commentaries on the Revelation! See related discussion of the interpretative approaches to the Revelation; see also the rise of allegorical interpretation) is that this approach is predominantly subjective with no way to verify or discount the commentator's interpretation. See also a historical summary of Bible interpretation by Dr Robert Lewis in his course on hermeneutics (Hermeneutics - Study of Interpretation of Scriptures - especially the overview of the history of Bible interpretation - beginning on page 23). (See also Dr Anthony Garland's discussion on Interpreting Symbols which includes an interesting section entitled The Rise of Allegorical Interpretation) As Roy Zuck explains in his discussion of "Jewish Allegorization" that "Allegorizing is searching for a hidden or secret meaning underlying but remote from and unrelated in reality to the more obvious meaning of a text. In other words the literal reading is a sort of code (Ed note: Does this sound familiar? cp The Bible Code, which preceptaustin.org thoroughly rejects as unfounded, without merit and very misleading!), which needs to be deciphered to determine the more significant and hidden meaning. In this approach the literal is superficial, the allegorical is the true meaning." (BORROW Basic Bible Interpretation) (Bolding added) Believer's Study Bible - rightly comments that the allegorical "approach often finds as many interpretations as interpreters, which shows its dubious value. Genuine allegory will usually yield basically the same interpretation to its varied interpreters (Ed comment: As a corollary thought, keep in mind that even figurative language always has a literal meaning, but as with all Scripture may have multiple valid applications)." Bernard Ramm - Allegorical interpretation is the interpretation of a document whereby something foreign, peculiar, or hidden is introduced into the meaning of the text giving it a proposed (Ed: "supposed") deeper or real meaning. Geffcken notes that in allegorical interpretation “an entirely foreign subjective (Ed: Contrast "objective") meaning is read into the passage to be explained,” and Hoskyns and Davey note that the “allegory expresses the relationship between certain persons and things by substituting a whole range of persons or things from an entirely different sphere of experience." (Borrow Protestant Biblical Interpretation) In English Subjective is the opposite of objective, the latter referring to things that are more clear-cut. Objective means not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts (ponder that as you think about the variety of personalities that have sought to interpret the Bible allegorically). That Earth has one moon is objective — it's a fact. Whether the moon is pretty or not is subjective — not everyone will agree. Facts are objective, but opinions are subjective. It follows that allegorical interpretation borders on "opinion" as opposed to fact. Subjective describes something existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought (Apply this to the Scriptures which are to the object of our thoughts!). So even these simple definitions of subjective, which is a foundation premise of allegorical interpretation, emphasis the inherent "danger" of such a style of interpretation! Webster adds that allegorical means "having hidden spiritual meaning that transcends the literal sense of a sacred text." Even this definition is contra the essential nature of the Scriptures, which are not to cloak God in hidden meanings but to reveal God in clear prose and poetry (cf 2Ti 3:16+) Caveat emptor should be the watchword for all who seek to walk the treacherous path of allegorical interpretation! Warren