The book of the Song of Songs is a somewhat difficult book to understand. There are at least two general theories concerning the book. One theory is that it is a literal translation, only. The other is that the translation is to be understood as an analogy. There are several different analogies.
In this article, an analogy is made that the “firstfruits,” who will ultimately be in the first resurrection, are to be understood as the Bride. The Messiah is to be understood as the Groom, of which Solomon is said to be a type so far as this book is concerned.
The Jews understand this book to be an analogy of the relationship between God and His people – and they are understood to be His people. The New Testament shows that the firstfruits are to be the bride of The Messiah and are to marry Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Therefore, this book will be presented as various relationships between the firstfruits as the bride and The Messiah as the Groom, as an analogy. The book only covers the period up to marriage. As the marriage has not yet taken place, the book is still much alive for us today.
As I feel an analogy is to be understood, I will pursue that course. I believe that this writing has been given so each individual can consider his relationship between himself and God, especially his personal relationship with The Messiah. Therefore, more than one example could probably be drawn for each analogy. Each person could probably write out an analogy for the book as long as the thoughts expressed two things: #1) His relationship with The Messiah, and #2) Correctness which squares with the rest of the bible. Of course, he should be able to explain how he arrived at the given analogy with some sense of logic.
In most cases, analogies have already been drawn in other parts of the bible and one would be wise to use these as often as possible. I have tried to follow this course in this writing.
The title of the book is Song of Songs. This is a way of saying the Most Beautiful of Songs. For, Song of Songs would be like the title of The Messiah that He is the King of kings. In other words, He is the greatest King and over all other kings. So, this Song is the most beautiful and excellent of all songs. I think the overall analogy of the book is, “Our desire to love God based on His law; and His love and standard for us.”
The translators of each translation of the book determined how they would break down the dialog. The Good News Bible divides the various parts by designating one part to the woman, another part to the man; the Living Bible, the Girl (virgin) and King Solomon. The New English Bible uses the terms, the Bride and the Bridegroom. The Ferrar/Fenton Translation breaks this book down like a Drama or play, acted out by a bride and groom on their wedding day. Most versions break down the parts differently, showing the difficulty of determining who is saying what, at different places in the book. This increases the value of the book as it causes one to think about his relationship with God in different ways. The analogy a person makes of the verses should probably be based on his understanding of the Scriptures, more than any other thing. The numbered translation is the KJV. The Italicized rendition is used to bring the translation alive and hopefully understandable, though it is still unscrambled so far as the analogy is concerned.
“The Most Beautiful of Songs, by Solomon”
The book begins with the title, and the information that Solomon is the author. The next verse begins the writing without any further introduction.
1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
O, give me of the kisses of your mouth, For your love is more delightful than wine.
Solomon is not the first speaker. In fact, it is difficult to determine who is speaking at any given point because there is no definite indicator of who the speaker is - such as in a play – each having his part. Let's see if we can unravel the mystery.
It seems obvious that the bride speaks first. According to the Tanakh she says, O, give me of the kisses of your mouth, For your love is more delightful than wine.
The analogy: We are to long for the ways of God (His law) so much that even the intoxication of wine is inferior to God's way or standard for us! The kisses of the mouth would be put for the words, which come from the lips of God. God spoke the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. And the law is the standard of God’s love. They are sometimes referred to as the ten words.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. {thy...: Heb. thy loves}
Because of the fragrance of your pleasant ointments, your name is like perfume poured out. Therefore the virgins love you.
The Analogy: Because God's way of life is so good with such a pleasant end result, His name is like a perfume poured out. For just to mention His name is to open up to the mind all goodness and perfection.
Therefore, those who are the virgins of righteousness love Him. [In the bible, a virgin is someone who is pure and without the stain of sin. If we have been justified and live a righteous life, we are virgins whether men or women - figuratively.]
Re 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
Draw me after you, let us run! Bring me into your chamber, O king. Let us delight and rejoice in your love, savoring it more than wine -- How all the virgins love you!
The Analogy: Much like the Psalm of David in which he says, As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you, O God - even here the virgin who is to be the bride of The Messiah so longs after Him and His way. We should be in the mood to run toward the righteousness of God. As the virgin looks forward to being brought into the chamber of her lover and to embrace him and drink deeply even to the point of being lost in love, so we should want to lose ourselves in God's ways. We should so rejoice in the law of God that its intoxication is more exciting to us than the intoxication of wine. David said, “Oh how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day!” The analogy of the last part of the verse is that all virgins, those who are righteous, love God and His way. The chamber would denote the most holy place, or the inner chamber where God dwells and where we can be the closest to God.
4. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright, love thee. {the upright...: or, they love thee uprightly}
Oh you daughters of Jerusalem, I am black as the tents of Kedar, but beautiful as the curtains of Solomon.
The Analogy: To other virgins of the holy city (the Jerusalem which is above) - the daughters of Jerusalem, the virgin bride confesses that she has been stained with the blackness of sin, even as black as the tents of Kedar. [Kedar was a son of Ishmael. The Bedouins made their tents of black goat’s skins, a good analogy to the blackness of sin.] But she was as beautiful as the curtains of Solomon. This could be an analogy of how God saw her as pure and beautiful because her sins were washed away and she now longed to live according to His standard.
Ga 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
5 I am black but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Do not stare at me because I am black. For the sun has looked upon me; my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard, have I not kept.
The Analogy: Do not torment me because of my sins, which I willingly admit. For trials of evil have come my way and the children of Eve have been angry with me. They have forced me to be the keeper of the vineyards or ways of Satan, and I have not gone the way that I should have gone.
6. Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard, have I not kept.
Tell me, you whom I love so well; where do you pasture your sheep today? Where will you rest them at noon? For, why should I be as one who strays (as one who is veiled) beside the flocks of other shepherds?
The Analogy: Here the Groom is a Shepherd who pastures His sheep. The Messiah said, “I am the good shepherd.” The Bride is a Shepherdess who longs to feed her goats in His pasture. Then the rhetorical question is asked, For why should I be as one who feeds my goats beside the flocks of the false shepherds who will lead me astray and cause me to prostitute myself with their false religion. It seems that the Bride had a flock or followers of her own whom she influenced and she wanted to lead them into the pasture of God rather than the pasture of false shepherds. This would be comparable to anyone of the firstfruits who teaches God's ways to others.
The part, “Where will you rest them at noon?” makes one think of Mt 11:28, “Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The Messiah is the Good Shepherd who will give us rest from the heavy labor of sin. The Shepherdess had admitted of having dark sins and now is seeking for rest from them in the shadow of The True Shepherd's pasture.
7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? {as one...: or, as one that is veiled}
The Groom speaks:
If you do not know O you fairest among women, follow the trail of the sheep and pasture your young goats beside the shepherd's tabernacle.
The Analogy: The Bride is pictured as somewhat naïve at this point, and on this occasion not knowing what way to go in order to find her Master. The Shepherd calls her the fairest among women, or a godly woman among those who are not godly and advises her to follow in the steps of His sheep who have already cut a trail of righteousness before her. If she will follow in their footsteps, she and her young converts will be led to His pasture and there she can pasture close beside His Tabernacle. This brings to mind the cloud of witnesses who have gone before us in the eleventh and twelfth chapter of Hebrews.
8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
O my love, you remind me of a mare in Pharaoh's Chariot.
The Analogy: Adoration for living by His standard is recognized and then a comparison is made. She, the Bride, reminds Him of a mare in Pharaoh's Chariot. It is said that Solomon had received a gift of a chariot from Pharaoh, his father-in-law and it was the finest of chariots. Only the best of mares would be used to pull this chariot. Therefore, the comparison is to something of the finest quality possible. The mare would have strength, majesty and beauty. The analogy would be strength, nobility, and beauty of character because of God's love and because she, the Bride is responding to that standard which makes these attributes possible.
9. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.
Your cheeks are beautiful with rows of jewels, your neck with chains of gold.
The Analogy: The Groom looked upon His Bride as very beautiful because she lived by His commandments. The commandments are to be an ornament of grace on our heads and a chain of beauty about our neck. They are the instructions of our Father and the Groom’s Father about how to live.
Pr 1:9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. {an...: Heb. an adding}
10. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
We will make for you borders of gold with supports of silver.
But, to this beauty of righteousness, something was to be added to make more valuable the keeping of the commandments in the bride. A border is a boundary. One's character is one's boundary. The bride was promised that her character would become one of pure gold, perfect character! “Studs,” or the support of this righteous character, will be of silver. Silver although not as precious as gold is nevertheless more substantial as a support because of its strength in comparison to gold. The highest quality of character would be developed in her as well as the best of support for her character.
The Groom said, “<We> will do these things.” My Father and I will do these things. The Messiah was always referring to the Father and said that everything He did was through and for the Father.
11. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
The Bride speaks:
While the king is round about, my spikenard sends forth its aroma. [Here the bride refers to the Groom as her spikenard, an aromatic herb or ointment of that herb.]
The Analogy: The king, or The Messianic Groom when close about us sends forth a good aroma. When He is around to influence our lives, good things happen.
12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
A pouch of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall lie all night between my breasts.
The Analogy: Again, the Groom is likened to a pouch of myrrh also known as balm of Gilead. Gilead at the time of the carrying away of Joseph into Egypt obviously was a place very abundant in its balms, spices, and especially myrrh which was <the> balm of Gilead. So wonderful was the Groom that He was likened to myrrh and the Bride wanted to have Him close by all through the night even between her breasts, or close to her heart. So, The Messiah said of those who love Him and keep His commandments, We (My Father and I) will come and make our abode with him.
The reference to night could be during times of trouble, or the entire lifetime of the Bride which is filled with tribulations until the day dawns into eternal life.
Jer 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? {recovered: Heb. gone up?}
Ge 37:25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
13 A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
My beloved is to me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
The Analogy: My beloved, the Groom is to me a cluster of camphire or the ransom-price of my life. It is doubtful exactly what herb is being discussed here. It does not seem to be the camphire that we know today. It could have been a native plant that grew in Engedi, or one brought there by King Solomon because of its clusters of wonderful smelling fruit. The most important thing here is that the meaning of the word used is the ransom price of life. So, the Bride considered that the Groom was her Ransom and that fits exactly what The Messiah has done for us. He has ransomed us from the darkness of this world and we are to become His Bride!
14. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi. {camphire: or, cypress}
The Groom:
Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; you have doves’ eyes.
