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Bible: 5 Poetic Books

Lesson 7: The Book of Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)

Beautiful Expressions...for an Oriental society 3000 years ago!

I'm not going to relate the entire love story here. Let's just take a look at some of the poetry, some of the lines. To begin with, I'll admit--some of the images are dated. There are some lines that are just not going to work with your wife / husband today. I'll briefly show a few of these here, and then we'll take more time with the next section--beautiful words and images that still work today.

Top 10 lines I DON'T recommend using with your spouse:

1. "I'm black as a tent!" :

Song of Solomon 1 5 Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon.

2. "You're like a king's horse!" :

Lover 9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.

3. "Your hair is like a herd of goats!" :

Song of Solomon 4

Lover

1 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! . . . Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.

4. "Your teeth are like a flock of sheep!"

Song of Solomon 4 2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.

5. "You have nice melons!"

Song of Solomon 4 13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard,

6. "You look like a country--even better--a country's trees!"

Song of Solomon 5 15 ... His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.

7. "You're as beautiful as an army!"

Song of Solomon 6

Lover 4 You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners.

8. "I may have sixty wives and eighty lovers, but you're special!"

Song of Solomon 6 8 Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; 9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.

9. "You have a round bloated belly that wiggles in the wind!"

Song of Solomon 7 2 Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies.

10. "Your nose is like a huge tower!"

Song of Solomon 7 4 ... Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.

So there you have it--the top ten things from Song of Solomon that no longer have quite the effect they used to. If you would like to have some fun, try writing a REALLY BAD and SICKLY SWEET poem based on these images, and then read it to your significant other. For a look at some of the sweeter lines that still produce a swoon or two today, hurry to the next section!