Introduction

The Song is a poem. Do not at first try to understand: let the text take hold and it will open up a universe to us.

The Song awakens our own experience, going straight to our heart since it is about the Lover and the Beloved. It is a poem about a love encounter. The author let this encounter happen as in a dream in order to unveil its mystery; the call of love comes from elsewhere. Search, meeting, flight are enchanting and are true inasmuch as they reveal a mystery: Someone else draws us. This explains the title of the book: The Song of Songs. In Hebrew, it is one of the forms of the superlative: The Song par excellence or The Sublime Song.

The Song is both the intuition and the experience of the search for the unique beyond every veil. He too is likewise fascinated searching for him or her whom he has chosen – one who is all for him and irreplaceable, this discovery of Yahweh, the fierce God as the spouse, is not entirely new in the Bible. The prophets relied on their conjugal experience to speak about the covenant of God with his people (Hos 1:2). Rather, they used the words of human love to express their special relationship with God. One day, this relationship was to be offered to all Israel.

While he lets the dream of love to unfold, the author of the Song relives the hope of the chosen people. God’s beloved is Israel with its land. Just like the most fervent minority in Israel, the author-poet waits for the coming of the Beloved as Messiah-King and Spouse of the chosen community. This background of the Song explains the use of comparisons which would seem strange in the case of ordinary engaged couples, but which are in fact allusions to the past in Israel, to its Temple and its land.

We must admit that, in seeing the connections between the Song and the love songs of the Middle East, today many biblicists think that the Song was at first one of them and that an image of God’s love for his people was only seen there at a later time. This hypothesis may sound reasonable, but it just seems that way. Unfortunately, it leaves nothing but platitudes or incoherence, precisely where we suspect that the clues of the poem are to be found.

Therefore, we have to go back to what tradition has always discerned: in the Song, just as in the great prophets, although with different words, the experience of God-Love is what inspired the entire dream and what invited human images. The Song is not a song about human love which was put in the bible after having received a religious interpretation: Jewish tradition considered it to be the song of divine love from the beginning. The fact that God is not mentioned is intentional: he is present from beginning to end, but this One Alone at the same time Love and Lover is far different from the “God” of human religions.

The Author of the Song

The Song is presented as being the work of Solomon: it is only a borrowed name as is the case with other books in the Bible. The author was a “spiritual” and a sage of the third century before Christ, one of those who wrote the “Wisdom Books” of the Bible.

In Israel as in many countries, the marriage ritual included “the bridegroom’s song” and “the bride’s song” (Jer 7:34; 16:9; Rev 18:22). We know, for example, the Egyptian love poetry; but in Israel nothing remains of the popular songs of love. In fact, our author has done what the great musicians do in using popular melodies for the composition of their great works of art. The Song used expressions and even settings from traditional love songs in order to say what these did not say. Yet in speaking about Love the words used shed light on human love.

The Song in Christian Countries

In Christian countries, the monks took possession of the Song. They who had given up human love passed over the mystery of the love encounter in ordinary life. They saw the song as an allegory, a picture of spiritual experience. The expressions of carnal love in no way embarrassed them: it helped them to understand how strong the love relationship with the One Alone can be, how heady and devouring.

In fact they were to give back to Christianity a treasure they had found. In the twelfth century in Europe there appeared the first signs of a recognition of human love which had been ignored during the barbaric centuries. It was then that the spiritual experience of a few great monks and hermits was decisive. The Song reread and commented by them gave rise to an awareness of the mystery of love. The love songs and stories, fairly crude in the beginning, were gradually replaced by the literature of “courtly love.” From then on, century after century, the primacy of married love would be affirmed.

At times, it is said rather cynically that love ends in marriage and that is what movies and televison never cease to repeat whenever a decadent culture only acknowledges love when it promises what it will not fulfill. The song put at the center of longings the aspiration to true love: this always irradiates from God and, like himself, is faithful until death and beyond.

1 The Sublime Song: it has come from Solomon


She

2 Shower me with kisses of your mouth:
your love is more delicious than wine.

3 Your oil smells sweeter than any perfume,
your name spreads out like balm;
no wonder the maidens long for you.

4 Lure me to you, let us fly!
Bring me, O king, into your room,
and be our joy, our excitement.
We will praise your caresses more than wine,
how rightly are you loved.

[Bol] 5 I am sunburned yet lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
dark as the tents of Kedar,
as the tent curtains of Solomon.

6 Stare not at my dark complexion;
it is the sun that has darkened me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me work in the vineyards;
for I had failed to tend my own.

7 Tell me, my soul’s beloved,
where do you graze your flock,
where do you rest your sheep at noon?
Why must I be wandering
beside the flocks of your companions?


Chorus

8 If you do not know yourself,
most beautiful woman,
follow the tracks of the flock
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds’ tents.


He

9 To a mare in Pharaoh’s chariot
would I liken you, my love.

10 Your cheeks look lovely between pendants,
your neck beautiful with strings of beads.

11 We will make you earrings of gold
and necklaces of silver.


She and he

12 While the king rests on his couch,
my perfume gives forth its fragrance.

13 My lover is for me a sachet of myrrh
lying between my breasts.

14 My lover is for me a cluster of henna
from the vineyards of Engedi.

15 How beautiful you are, my love,
how beautiful! Your eyes are doves!

16 How handsome you are, my love,
how handsome! Our bed is ever green!

17 The beams of our house are cedar,
our rafters are fir.

1 I am the rose of Sharon,
the lily of the valley.

2 As a lily among thorns,
so is my love among women.


She

3 As an apple tree in a forest,
so is my lover among men.
I sought his shade, there I sat;
his fruit is sweet to my taste.

4 He has taken me to the winestore;
his banner over me reads: “Love.”

5 Oh, strengthen me with raisin cakes,
refresh me with apples,
for love makes me sick!

6 His left hand is under my head;
his right arm embraces me.

He

7 I beg you, daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and hinds of the field,
not to arouse or stir up love
before her time has come.

She

[Bol] 8 The voice of my lover! Behold he comes,
springing across the mountains,
jumping over the hills,

9 like a gazelle or a young stag.
Now he stands behind our wall,
looking through the windows,
peering through the lattice.

10 My lover speaks to me,

He

“Arise, my love, my beautiful one!

11 Come, the winter is gone,
the rains are over.

12 Flowers have appeared on earth;
the season of singing has come;
the cooing of doves is heard.

13 The fig tree forms its early fruit,
the vines in blossom are fragrant.
Arise, my beautiful one,
come with me, my love, come.

14 O my dove in the rocky cleft,
in the secret places of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice.
Your face – how lovely!
Your voice – how sweet!”

15 Capture the foxes, the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
our vineyards in flower.

16 My lover is mine and I am his;
he shepherds his flock among the lilies.

17 Before the dusk blows and shadows flee,
return, my lover, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the rugged hills.

She

1 On my bed at night
I looked for the one I love,
I sought him without finding him;
I called him and he did not answer.

2 I will rise and go about the city,
through the streets and the squares;
I will seek the love of my heart…

3 I sought him without finding him;
the watchmen came upon me,
those who patrol the city.
“Have you seen the love of my heart?”

4 As soon as I left them,
I found the love of my heart.
I held him and would not let him go
till I had brought him to my mother’s house
to the room of her who conceived me.

He

5 I beg you, daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and hinds of the field,
not to arouse or stir up love
before her time has come.

Chorus

[Bol] 6 Who is this coming from the wilderness?
There seems to be a pillar of smoke,
with fumes of myrrh and frankincense.

7 Look, it is Solomon’s carriage!
sixty warriors escort him,
the strongest of Israel,

8 all girded with swords,
all seasoned in battle;
each is ready with sword at his side,
each prepared for the terrors of the night.

9 King Solomon has made for himself
a carriage of wood from Lebanon,

10 its columns of silver,
its back of gold,
its seat of purple cloth,
its framework inlaid with ivory.

11 Come, daughters of Zion,
see King Solomon wearing the diadem
with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day his heart rejoiced.

He

1 1 You are beautiful, my love,
oh, how beautiful you are!
Your eyes behind your veil are doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
streaming down the heights of Gilead.

2 Your teeth are like sheep newly shorn,
coming in droves from the washing,
each one opposing its twin,
not one has been left alone.

3 Your lips are like a thread scarlet;
your voice is enchanting;
your cheeks behind your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.

4 Your neck is the tower of David,
a display of trophies
a thousand bucklers hang on it,
all of them worn by heroes of war.

5 Your breasts are like twin fawns
of a gazelle feeding among the lilies.

6 Before the dawn breaks and shadows flee,
I will hasten to the mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of frankincense.

7 You are wholly beautiful, my love,
perfect and unblemished.

8 Come from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Come down from the summit of Amana,
from the crest of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountain haunts of leopards.

9 You have ravished my heart,
my sister, my bride;
you have ravished my heart
with one of your glances,
with one bead of your necklace.

10 How sweet is your love,
my sister, my bride!
How delicious is your love more than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume,
than any spice!

11 Your lips distill nectar, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.
Your garments have the scent of Lebanon.

[Bol] 12 You are a garden enclosed,
my sister, my bride;
a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

13 Your plants are an orchard
of pomegranates, all with choice fruits,
with henna and nard,

14 nard and saffron,
calamus, and cinnamon
with every kind of incense trees,
myrrh and aloes
and all the finest spices.

15 You are a garden fountain,
a well of living water
streaming down from Lebanon.

She

16 Arise, north wind! Awake, south wind!
Blow upon my garden
and spread its fragrance abroad.
Let my lover come to his garden
and eat its choicest fruits.

He

1 I have come to my garden,
my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with spices,
I have eaten my honey and my honeycomb,
I have drunk my milk and my wine.
Friends, eat and drink!
Drink your fill, my dearest ones!

She

2 I slept, but my heart kept vigil.
I heard the knock of my beloved.
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
my perfect one, my dove!
My head is wet with dew,
my hair with the drops of the night.”

3 I have taken off my robe;
must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
must I soil them again?

4 My lover thrust his hand
through the lock opening
and my heart thrilled for him.

5 I rose to open the door.
Myrrh from my hands dripped
on the handle of the lock.

6 I opened to my lover
but he had turned and gone –
my soul went after him!
I sought him but did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer.

7 The watchmen came upon me
those who patrol the city;
they beat me and wounded me;
they took away my mantle –
oh, those guardians of the walls!

8 I beg you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if you ever find my lover –
Oh, what will you tell him?
Tell him that love makes me sick.

Chorus

9 How is your lover better than others,
most beautiful woman?
How is your lover better than others,
that you do so beg us?

She

[Bol] 10 Radiant and ruddy, my lover
stands out among thousands.

11 Pure gold is his head,
palm fronds are his hair,
glossy black like the raven.

12 His eyes are doves
beside running waters,
bathed in milk
and set like jewels.

13 His fragrant cheeks
are like beds of spice;
his lips like lilies
dripping with myrrh.

14 His hands are rods of gold
adorned with jewels;
his body is polished ivory
covered with sapphires,

15 set upon bases of gold;
his legs are pillars of alabaster.
He has the stature of Lebanon,
excelling like the cedars.

16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is most worthy of desire.
O daughters of Jerusalem,
such is my friend and lover.

Chorus

[Bol] 1 Where has your lover gone,
most beautiful woman?
Where has your lover turned,
that we may help you look for him?

She

2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to pasture his flock in the garden
and to gather lilies.

3 My lover is mine, and I am his;
he shepherds his flock among the lilies.

He

4 My love, you are lovely
as Tirzah, beautiful as Jerusalem,
majestic as bannered troops.

5 Turn your eyes away from me
for they bewitch me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down the heights of Gilead.

6 Your teeth are like sheep
coming in droves from the washing,
each one opposing its twin,
not one has been left alone.

7 Your cheeks behind your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.

[Bol] 8 Sixty queens, eighty concubines,
virgins beyond number –

9 but my dove, my perfect one,
is unique, the only daughter
and favorite of her mother.
She was called blessed by the virgins
and praised by queens and concubines:

10 “Who is this coming like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as bannered troops?”

11 I went to the nut orchard
to look over the valley in bloom,
to see if the vines had flowered,
or if the pomegranates had blossomed.

12 Before I became aware of it,
my desire had set me on the chariot
with the daughter of the prince.

Chorus

1 Return, return, O Shulammite,
return, that we may look at you!

He

Why would you look at the Shulammite,
as dancing between two rows?

[Bol] 2 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
daughter of the prince!
Your shapely thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master artist.

3 Your navel is a bowl well-rounded,
never lacking exquisitely blended wine.
Your belly is a mound of wheat
with lilies around it.

4 Your breasts are two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.

5 Your neck is an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-rabbim;
your nose, the tower of Lebanon
looking towards Damascus.

6 Your crowned head is Mount Carmel;
your flowing hair is royal purple,
which holds a king captive in its tresses.

7 How beautiful you are, how lovely,
my beloved, in your delights!

8 Like a palm tree, you are stately
and like its clusters are your breasts.

9 I said, “I will climb the palm tree
and take hold of its fruits.”
May your breasts be clusters of the vine,
your breath sweet-scented as apples,
and your mouth like the best wine.

She

[Bol] 10 May the wine flow straight to my lover,
flowing over from my lips.

11 I am my lover’s
but it is he who depends on me.

12 Come, my love,
let us go to the countryside,
and pass the night in the villages.

13 Let us go early to the vineyards
to see if the vines have flowered,
if the buds have opened,
and the pomegranates have blossomed.
There I will give you my love.

14 The mandrakes yield their fragrance;
at our doors are the rarest fruits;
both new and old I have stored
for you, my love.

She

1 If only you were my brother,
nursed at my mother’s breasts,
I could kiss you outside if we met,
without anyone despising me for it.

2 I would lead and bring you
into the house of my mother,
and you would teach me there.
I would give you wine with spice
and the juice of my pomegranates.

3 His left hand is under my head;
his right arm embraces me.

He

4 I beg you, daughters of Jerusalem,
by the powers of nature,
not to arouse or stir up love
before her time has come.

Chorus

5 Who is this coming from the wilderness
leaning upon her lover?

He

I woke you under the apple tree,
where you were conceived by your mother,
where she who bore you was in travail.

6 Set me as a seal on your heart,
set me as a seal on your arm.
For love is strong as death;
its jealousy lasting as the power of death,
it burns like a blazing fire,
it blazes like a mighty flame.

7 No flood can extinguish love
nor river submerge it.
If a man were to buy love
with all the wealth of his house,
contempt is all he would purchase.

[Bol] 8 We have a little sister
with her breasts yet unformed.
What shall we do for her
when her courtship is begun?

9 If she were a rampart,
we would build towers of silver on it.
If she were a gate,
we would enclose it with panels of cedar.

She

10 I am a rampart
and my breasts are towers;
thus I have become, in his eyes,
like one who brings peace.

11 At Baal-hamon Solomon had a vineyard,
which he gave over to caretakers;
for its fruit, each had to pay:
a thousand pieces of silver.

12 But my vineyard is mine and I myself keep it.
You, Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the fruit keepers two hundred pieces.

13 You who dwell in the gardens,
with your friends in attendance,
let me hear your utterance.

14 Make haste, my love;
be like a gazelle or a young stag
on the spice-laden hills!