Today as we start a new book, Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon), I will be sending daily comments, to which you are encouraged to add with your own thoughts. I hope you will. (Not sure how I got roped into this!)
The introductory notes in my NIV study bible make a case that the book’s author could be King Solomon, but it is not necessarily so. Either way it borrows heavily from traditions of wedding songs of the ancient Middle East—celebrating “the delights of married love and the beauty of the human body” (NIV introduction).
This “greatest of songs” conveys the beauty and joy of human love, a gift to us from God, intended for pleasure. The poetry of its metaphors is powerful and inspiring, and the book has a place in scripture because it celebrates and elevates this gift of God above the distortions mankind has made of it. We don’t have to look far to see that today’s society is wandering off the map in this regard …
Finally, the organization of the book is a series of six meetings between the lovers, which culminate in the consummation of marriage. Several versions (NIV, CSV) label various speakers — the Beloved/She, the Lover/He, the Others/Friends, Narrator, etc. — but not always consistently with each other. However, it is very helpful for the reader. The ESV has descriptive headings. Other versions don’t break up the chapters as much, some (like the KJV) not at all.
Have fun and rejoice in God’s gift to us as you read. (Try not to blush!)