Song of Solomon Historical References

[Theognome]

I'm working on a Sunday School (for adults) curriculum teaching from SoS. I've found plenty of commentaries referring to the picture of Christ and the Church, but I also want to present the book in a historical/cultural light. I've found Satlow's 'Jewish Marriage in Antiquity' helpful, but can anyone recommend a reformed treatment of the song with an historical hermeneutic?

Theognome

 

[Theognome]

Sorry it's kinda long, but here's what I came up with for the first lesson guide. Any comments or suggestions (including giving it a coat of fire) would be appreciated.

Text: SoS 1:1

History:
Song of Solomon (also called ‘Song of Songs’ and ‘Canticles’) was most likely written by Solomon during the tenth century BC. In verse one, the Hebrew ‘LiSolomoh’ (D«N«L¥[¦L), which is translated as ‘is Solomon’s’, can mean it was either written by him or for him. It has been generally accepted within Church history that King Solomon was the author.

The book is set in Jerusalem during the period of the Monarchy, and is steeped in the marriage traditions of the time. These traditions were based primarily on the instructions found in the Pentateuch. The Hebrews were not to resort to the local traditions or to the practices of Egypt, as explained in Leviticus 18:

“You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes. My ordinances you shall observe and my statutes you shall keep, following them: I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am the Lord.”

The father of the bride or groom prearranged most marriages. In rare cases, the local elders would intercede to perform this task. The bride was to be a member of the local tribe, or at least of the greater nation of Israel if a suitable bride could not be found within the tribe. Although these marriages were arranged, they were also consensual- the bride or bridegroom could refuse the arrangement. There are several examples of fathers arranging marriages in Scripture. For example, in Genesis 24 Abraham sent his servant to acquire a wife for Isaac from his own family. Samson, in Judges 14, asks his father to fetch him a wife from the Philistines. King Saul in 1 Samuel 18 arranged David’s marriage to Michal. Once a match was made, there would be a period of betrothal followed by the actual marriage. The marriage took place in three distinct phases- Procession, Consummation and Celebration.

Betrothal

A betrothal was usually announced with a feast at the home of the bride, along with gift giving. This had the purpose of publicly declaring the bride-to-be as ‘off the market’. The period of a betrothal varied from a mere few days to over a year. Although a betrothal did not grant married status under the civil law, the community did assume the couple to be married within the Hebrew culture, despite the fact that they typically did not yet live together.

One of the more difficult aspects of ancient Hebrew marriages to grasp is that of love. In a modern marriage, be it Christian or otherwise, there is usually a period of dating, where the man and woman learn the nature and habits of each other and either ‘fall in love’ or separate. In Solomon’s Jerusalem, this was not the case. Love was not understood as being an emotion- nor is it described as such in the Bible, but rather, love is an action; a purposeful, conscientious effort that is as much of a work as any trade or profession. This was part of the purpose of the betrothal- for the couple to learn the work of loving each other. There were two basic foundations from which the couple learned love. First were the gifts of the groom that initiated the betrothal. Second and more importantly was the physical beauty of the bride and groom. They needed to be physically attracted to one another. The Bible is not silent concerning beauty or handsomeness. David was described as ruddy and handsome in 1 Samuel 17:42. Rachel was Beautiful and well favored in Genesis 29:17. Sarah was likewise described as a beautiful woman in Genesis 12:10-15. Absalom in 2 Samuel 14:25 was likewise described as being beautiful. This beauty and mutual attraction is a critical point in understanding the exchanges in the Song of Solomon.

As mentioned earlier, it was also expected that the husband or father of the husband to be would, during the betrothal, send gifts to his future bride. These were usually in the form of cash payments or jewelry, but could also be in livestock or foodstuffs. Abraham presented Rebekah rings of gold. David provided Philistine foreskins as his gift. These gifts were not part of the dowry, which is explained later.

Procession

The procession was a public affair, with the veiled bride leaving the house of her father and going to the house of her husband. The procession fulfilled three functions: it enacted the separation of the bride from her birth family, it gave public proof that a legitimate marriage had taken place, and it cemented the cultural public importance of the institution of marriage. A procession was, in ideal cases, only given to a virgin- and thus granted her a higher dowry (a woman who was re-marrying may receive a procession, but it was not performed with the same ceremony and pomp as a virgin procession).

Consummation

The period of consummation lasted for seven days, with a feast continuing throughout this period. The consummation usually happened on the second or third day of the feast, while the guests and family continued to party. The consummation itself was very ritualistic. Typically, the mother of the bride would prepare the marriage bed. Once prepared, the father of the bride would ceremonially give his daughter to the bridegroom, who would then lead her to the marriage bed. He would then untie her girdle, and begin to offer prayers to God- praying for fertility, prosperity, etc. Once they had prayed, ‘pillow talk’ would begin. The new couple would exchange descriptions of the ecstasy to come, using enticing language to describe their partner, heightening the desire to consummate. This kind of conversing is seen throughout the Song of Solomon.

Feast

The seven-day celebration of a wedding is well attested in the Bible. Jacob celebrated for seven days after his marriage to Leah (Gen. 29:27), Samson’s first marriage also had a seven-day feast (Judges 14:12-17). During this feast, blessings were offered to the new couple by the local rabbi’s and both families. Games, contests and even gambling were quite common at these feasts.

A payment of money, property or goods was normal after the consummation. In the Bible, a dowry is not mentioned- rather the groom paid for his wife through gifts of gold or service. (Gen 24:53, Gen 29:18-27). For example, Eliezar brings gifts both to Rebekah and her family. Jacob worked in Laban’s house to build a nest egg from his father-in-law. This is called ‘Mohar’ in the Bible. Also, Deuteronomy 22:28-29 describes a payment for a virgin who is seized improperly- a payment of 50 Shekels to her father is required.

Although dowries as we understand them today are not mentioned in the bible, they were common in Ancient Israel. Often, they were done to ensure that real property owned by the bride’s father stayed in the family, and thus were given to his daughter as a ‘dowry’. Dowries of this kind were conditional- if the husband divorced her, the dowry property would remain in her family and not his.

Marriage was the norm amongst the Israelites. There are no examples in scripture of a woman being commanded to remain single, though there are instances of men being instructed to do so (Jer 16:2, 1Cor 7:7). Marriage was expected of every woman in ancient Israel, although a widow was not required to remarry (1Cor 7:8-9).

Song of Songs is the Hebrew ‘Sheer Ah Sheeram’ (MI¦XI¦y¢D XI¦[). Sheer is the word for song, and in its first occurrence is given in the masculine form. Sheeram is the feminine form of the word. So it would not be unreasonable to see this as ‘a man’s song about a woman’s song’. In 1 Peter 3:7, husbands are instructed to dwell with their wives with understanding, thus the very opening of the song implies that the Beloved has an intimate knowledge of the Shulamite. Note that this intimacy is not sexual, but personal- through the betrothal, the couple-to-be have invested much time in learning each other’s likes, dislikes and various quirks.

That this intimate song is Solomon’s is also critically important to understanding the context. Solomon is, of course, the reigning son of David, and is also a direct ancestor of the line of Christ (Matthew 1:6). Thus seeing this book as allegorical to the relationship between Christ and His church is clear. Indeed, the marriage relationship is used similarly in Ephesians 5, with the emphasis on love, to show how married Christian couples emulate this sacred bond. Thus as we continue in this study we will see this bond, in earthly form, grow and prosper- just as the Church prospers in Christ.

And lastly, the Song of Solomon teaches us how we, as modern Christians, are to understand our love for our spouse within the context of Christ’s love. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12), and his treatment of marital love is the prime example for courtship, intimacy and fulfillment within the covenant of marriage.


Theognome