King Solomon is the author of the Song of Solomon. He wrote over 1000 songs. This one should be his Song of Songs and is considered his masterpiece.
It's a literary and powerful picture of romantic love between a man and a woman.
In Greek there are four main Greek words for love:
- Eros:
Passionate and romantic love between the sexes. Gives the word erotic. - Phileo/philia:
Brotherly love. A love between friends. (John 11:1, 3, Rom 12:10a).
This is how Peter loved Jesus (John 21:15b, 21:16b–17),
and also how Jesus loved John (John 20:2). - Storge:
Family love. Not used in the New Testament. - Agape/agapao:
Unconditional love (Mat 5:44), see Love and not revenge in
The Sermon on the Mount. It's the highest form of love. Most love is
self-directed, but not agape. It's a choice to love that way. That's how
God loves us. God has chosen to love us so, no matter what (Eph 2:4–5).
This is how Jesus loved John (John 13:23, 19:26, 21:7, 21:20).
This is also the way we are called to love one another (John 13:34).
This is how a husband should love his wife (Eph 5:25).
It's beyond us, not possible for us to achieve in our own strength.
We need the Holy Spirit to work it out in us.
The Song of Solomon is about erotic love. The kind of love a husband has for his wife and the wife has for her husband.
When God created erotic love, he had a plan and a purpose for it, see the commentary on the 7th commandment in the The Ten Commandments. Lovemaking is a gift that God has given to marriage. God created it for his own purpose and knows best how it should work. When applied outside God's plan and purpose, it becomes a man-made perversion.
The Song of Solomon contains the following types and symbols:
- The bridegroom: Solomon.
- The bride: The Shulamite virgin (Sng 6:13 (12 in some translations)).
Her skin is dark (Sng 1:5). - Wine: It's an image of something that brings joy.
- To bring her into his chambers (Sng 1:4): It's a picture of marriage.
This couple is married. (Sng 2:7, 3:5, 8:4).
This married couple loves each other. They communicate and express their love with words to each other. (Eph 5:25–28). A wise man would learn what his wife likes, and a wise woman would learn what her husband likes and adjust accordingly. They must be faithful to each other (Sng 8:6), see the commentary to the 7th commandment in the The Ten Commandments.
See also The Old Testament of the Bible.
