The first time I taught the Song of Solomon at Puritan Seminary, I was blessed to have a Syrian student in the class. With his cultural background, he really opened our eyes to the way that someone living in the same place and time as Solomon would have read (sung) the Song.
What struck me most was the way that the Western mind is so taken up with logical analysis of minute details, whereas the original readers (and to some extent the people of the Middle East today) were much more concerned with the subjective impressions created by the Song. They were not so much asking, “What does this mean, and that mean, and how does this relate to that?” Rather, they asked, “What impression does this song make on me? How does it make me feel. What emotion does it evoke?” I happen to favor the typological interpretation of the Song. This sees a real historical marriage as the basis of the Song (and therefore having practical lessons for our marriages), but also sees that real historical marriage as a prophetic picture of something even higher and better - the relationship between the Lord and His Church. (The literal, allegorical and typological views are set out in the lecture below. Download here.) This typological view has often fallen into disrepute because the Western analytical approach has “analyzed the Song to death,” getting sidetracked and bogged down in the details and minutiae of the text, and trying to find increasingly “stretched” analogies with the Christian’s relationship to the Lord in every word. We must remember it was a song, not a dictionary, a philosophical treatise, or a systematic theology! The remedy though is not to throw out the Christ-centered typological interpretation, which is supported by numerous Old and New Testament references, but by replacing analytical typology with “impressionistic typology.” In other words, when you read the Song, you should be asking, “What impression is this meant to make on me?” “What is the one word, or one phrase, that you would use to describe what’s happening here?” Of course some analysis of words and their meaning is still necessary. However, that is not the end, but a means to the end of getting to the emotions of the Song. Here are a few words/phrases that spring to my mind when I read about the relationship in the Song. And I hope it also describes my relationship not just with my wife, but with my Lord. The relationship is:- Passionate (1:2)
- Loving (1:15-16)
- Desired (1:2, 4; 2:10)
- Fluctuating (3:1; 5:6)
- Gracious (1:5-6)
- Threatened (2:15)
- Joy-filled (1:4)
- Intimate (2:6)
- Unembarrassed (4:5; 7:3)
- Generous (1:11)
- Mutual (all the two-way dialogues)
- Stimulating [taste (1:2,4), smell (1:3,12), touch (1:13), sight (9-10)]
- Appreciative (5:16; 7:1)
- Strong (1:9)
- Innocent (dove in 2:14; 5:2; 6:9)
- Fresh/Radiant (4:2)
- Vigorous/Youthful (4:3)
- Dignified (4:4)
- Captivating/exciting (4:9)
- Overwhelming (6:5)
- Productive (7:2)
- Dependent (8:5)
- Jealous (8:6)
- Durable (8:7)
- Unbuyable (8:7)
- Expressive (1:9, 13)
- Public (2:4)
