Needless to say, it’s very difficult to imagine him ever writing poetry like we see in this Song. And Solomon, if you recall, had in the ballpark of 700 wives (political marriages), and an additional harem of 300 women on retainer for his sexual appetite (see 1 Kings 11:1-4). The poems celebrate the love between a man and woman, and they are one another's only lovers. Additionally, Solomon is simply an odd candidate as the book’s author. When he is mentioned-which is not that much-he’s described in third-person (Song 1:5, 3:7-11, 8:11-12).

In fact, he almost certainly did not write the book, given that the speaking voice is mostly that of a young woman. But the preposition can indicate a much looser relationship as well, as in the phrase “to be told about the Lord” ( le-adonai, see Ps 22:30), or even “a friend in connection with David” ( le-David, see 1 Kings 5:1).Įven though we know that Solomon was brilliant and really good with words (see 1 Kings 4:29-32), this opening line doesn’t necessarily indicate authorship, as though Solomon wrote the poems. In Hebrew, the phrase is “ le-shlomoh.” The word shlomoh is the name “Solomon,” and that single letter “le-” is the Hebrew preposition which most often means “to/for.” In Hebrew, if you wanted to say “Tim’s car,” you would say “the car le-Tim,” literally, “the car that is for/to Tim.” This indicates possession.

But the next part, “to/for/by Solomon” is more intriguing. First of all, the opening line is: “The song of songs, which is to/for/by Solomon.” The phrase “song of songs” is its Hebrew title, which means “the best song.” That’s not too difficult to understand. With that, let’s address a couple issues that will help us understand this book better. It’s a book full of bliss, and unless we let it enchant us and draw us into the wonder of the human experience of love and delight, we are sorely missing the point. Rather, a book like this one invites us into a wonderful world of idyllic gardens and youthful love. The Song of Songs presents Bible readers with many riddles and wonderful puzzles, and the point is not just to solve them with the right answer. However, it’s not one of those questions in which the answer is readily available. This is a question that has exercised the minds of great Jewish and Christian thinkers for millennia. But, at the same time, it raises a fascinating question: Why are there eight chapters of ancient love poems in the Bible? It’s pretty awesome that something like that is in the Bible. The poems are exquisite, beautifully crafted, and full of passion. Alright, all joking aside, these are all lines from the famous love song in the Bible, called the “ Song of Songs” or “Song of Solomon.” It’s a collection of ancient Israelite love poetry in the Bible.

Song of solomon free download