Background of the Song of Solomon

In the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh (תנ״ך‎‎), the Song of Solomon is the first of the Five Megillot. Its Hebrew name is “Shir HaShirim” (שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים), meaning “Song of Songs,” taken from the book’s opening phrase: “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s” (1:1 original text). “Song of Songs” means “the most beautiful song,” and it is translated as “Song of Solomon” in the Chinese Union Version.

The book is beautifully written and highly skillful. Tradition holds that Solomon was the author or editor. It mentions place names from both southern and northern Israel, and from both sides of the Jordan River (Jerusalem, Sharon, Lebanon, Tirzah, Gilead, Heshbon, etc.), naturally treating them as belonging to a single nation, consistent with the period of strength before the kingdom divided. The book also mentions Pharaoh’s chariots (1:11), and many expressions are similar to ancient Egyptian love songs from around the 10th century BC, fitting Solomon’s historical context. The author demonstrates extensive knowledge of animals and plants, mentioning 15 types of animals and 21 types of plants, which aligns well with Solomon’s wisdom.

The Song of Solomon is very unique in the Hebrew Bible; it mentions neither redemption, law, nor covenant, and does not use any common spiritual terminology. Instead, it is a poem celebrating love. Although it contains only 117 verses, one-tenth of its Hebrew words appear only in this book.

The Song of Solomon tells the love story between a beloved and his bride, describing the struggles and sweetness experienced by partners in their journey toward spiritual and physical union. Jewish tradition allegorically interprets the Song of Solomon as the love between God and Israel, as the Old Testament often likens Israel to God’s wife. Since the Middle Ages, church tradition has allegorically (Allegory) or typologically (Type) interpreted the Song of Solomon as the love between Christ and the Church, or between Christ and individual believers, including figures like Martin Luther and John Calvin, as the New Testament likens the Church to the bride of Christ. In recent years, due to an emphasis on interpreting texts according to their original meaning, the overall understanding of the Song of Solomon has shown a trend of returning to the interpretation of “the beautiful marital love shared by a husband and wife in God.”