Song of Solomon-Misinterpretation??

[Belle Du Jour]

I love the SOS. And I always thought it was a love story between Solomon and the Shunamite woman.

I was doing an internet search on her the other day, and came across an article that said the Shunamite woman was actually in love with someone else, even though Solomon was in love with her. When I went back, and read through it, it did seem like the "lover" that she was referring to was another man, outside the palace.

How do you interpret this book?

I mean, it's still about how deep love can be between a man and woman (analogous to God's love for us/the church), but now it's not as "fairy tale" as I'd imagined.

 

[Sweet C]

If you get a chance, could you post the link to the article?

Oh, to answer your question, the Songs of Solomon is both a love story between a man and a woman, as well as an allegory to the bride (church) and groom (Christ). I'm not understanding where this "other lover" is coming from, b/c I don't remember reading about the Shulamite loving someone else other than Solomon.

 

[Belle Du Jour]

If you get a chance, could you post the link to the article?

Oh, to answer your question, the Songs of Solomon is both a love story between a man and a woman, as well as an allegory to the bride (church) and groom (Christ). I'm not understanding where this "other lover" is coming from, b/c I don't remember reading about the Shulamite loving someone else other than Solomon.

I'm going to find the link. If you read it again, she's talking about her lover who is outside of the palace. Solomon is talking about her. Eventually, she runs away, and Solomon at the end marries another wife (a dancer). There were a lot of things in the book that never made sense, that seem to fit with this guy's article.

 

[Sweet C]

I'm going to find the link. If you read it again, she's talking about her lover who is outside of the palace. Solomon is talking about her. Eventually, she runs away, and Solomon at the end marries another wife (a dancer). There were a lot of things in the book that never made sense, that seem to fit with this guy's article.

Gues what, I think I found the article. Tell me if this is right:

http://www.biblenews1.com/docs/shulamit.htm\

Ok, Ima need a minute to check this out

 

[Belle Du Jour]

The article

 

[Sweet C]

classi, thanks for the link

I will have to admit that this one had me stumped for a bit, but after further examination, I see where the author was coming from, though I disagree on his interpretation of the story.

Here are some excerpts I examined:

"David is described as beautiful, or handsome (1 Samuel 17:42), which is very rare for a man; and Bathshebah, who at age 17 or 18 lured David into adultery, was good-looking (2 Samuel 11:2)"

Ok, all in all, this is just something that irritated me. How did Bathesheba lure David? 2 Samuel said that he saw her on the roof bathing and he inquired after her, so how did she lure him (more like he lured her)? This is just a pet peeve of mind when people, especially men, always try to make a woman a seductress when a man of God falls, when that is not always the case.

"The Shulamite Woman married King Solomon. She was a young virgin, probably about 16 years old, whom Solomon found when he was out in the country touring his vineyards. Anyway, after the marriage, she could never get over the love for her Right Man, her Shepherd Lover. So she escaped from Solomon's harem in a daring rescue by her brothers (SOS 6:10-13). Solomon turned around and married another princess, a young belly dancer (SOS 7:1-8), and lived unhappily ever after. The Shulamite Woman was united with her Shepherd Lover, her Right Man, and lived happily ever after."

Ok, the author depicts that the Shulamite woman was waiting for her Sheperd lover that is never mentioned, and that she escaped to be united with him, her right man. I'm sorry, but I can't agree with this interpretation, b/c God is a God of order. By marrying Solomon and leaving him without a bill of divorcement (Deut 24), that would make her an adulteress, and thus out of God's will. Also that scripture in SOS 7 never indicated that he married anyone, much less a belly dancer, nor does the scripture pertaining to her brothers indicate that she made a daring escape from the harem. If one were to assume the author's indication of these verses, then when you get to chapter 8 of the song of solomon, a problem would arise b/c the shulamite is addressing solomon. She likens herself to a vineyard and says that to taste the fruit of her garden, a thousand shekels of silver was needed and it was for Solomon. So where is the supposed Sheperd Lover here?


Song of Solomon can be quite difficult to understand, and there are many interpretations as to what was actually going on. The major issue I have with the author's story is that he adds a lot of stuff that just isn't present in the book, or would contradict previous or future scripture. I understand where he is trying to go, but I think he went way off field in trying to get there.

 

[Belle Du Jour]

I appreciate your feedback. The story didn't sit well with me either, but I thought that maybe, I was missing something. I'm going to look at it again, more carefully.

Mami

 

[Sweet C]

Yeah, it took me a while, b/c a lot of what he was saying about the Right Man/Right Woman dynamic was on point. But how he set it up with Solomon as the wrong man, the Shulamite as the right woman, her Sheperd Lover as the right man, and the Daughters of Jerusaleum as wordly influence wasn't completely sitting with me scripturely. I must applaud his creative concept and the overall message he was conveying, which is to wait for the right man, and to be the right woman by resisting temptations and yielding to God.