Solomon calls to her as he knocks on her house’s door. Suddenly Shulamith’s dream of the night is disturbed by her lover’s sound. Her inner dream disturbs her outer quiet slumber. However, her heart is awake, hence she is restless. Shulamith here paints a varied self-portrait. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.’” – Song of Songs 5:2 (NIV) Listen! My lover is knocking: ‘Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. Shulamith, the beloved wife of Solomon, opens her dream soliloquy by saying, “I slept but my heart was awake. As reflected in her dream, love inevitably includes restlessness, erotic desire, misinterpretation, confusion, emotional self-punishment, and constant infatuated craving. Shulamith’s dream sequence found in Chapter 5:2-8, for example, while it can be read simply, cloaks a hidden meaning which when properly listened to transforms this vision into the Song’s most stimulating material. Rather, as disclosed by its contents, it is but songs of love and sex between partnered heterosexual humans. However, despite such claims, the Song was probably not originally conceived of as an elaborate religious allegory of any kind. The knowledge of sin forgiven and of Christ’s redeeming work has drawn us to Him” (p. Moreover, Solomon as a lover was a type of Christ… Personal love to Christ is the greatest need of the Church today. This is seen in many passages in the Bible. The love of Solomon and the maid illustrates the love between Jehovah and His people. The characters in the song are Solomon, the Shulamite maid and the daughters of Jerusalem. “The Song of Solomon has been called the Christian’s love song… This is a song of love in marriage in Middle Eastern language and imagery. Mears (1998) summarized this perspective well: Christians note the close relationship that Christ seeks with His bride the church, and with each individual member thereof. Jews have seen in the Song the close love between God and his chosen people the Israelites. The Song has been used for centuries by Jews and Christians alike as religious allegories. The Song is no doubt an anthology of love songs, the whole having been combined by a careful editor (or editors) into a united dialogue between a lover “Solomon”, his beloved – who in this essay will be identified as “Shulamith”, and a chorus of the “Daughters of Jerusalem”. However, that ascription is questionable. or earlier, and authorship is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon. The book dates from the ninth century B.C.E. When listened to carefully, the book, which at first glance appears to be a beautiful and mysterious love poem filled with fanciful romantic language, turns out to be an erotic psalter with material able to please even the most mundane of listeners. Of all the books in the Bible, Song of Songs is surely one of the most unique and the most titillating.
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