A Song of Love

The Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon) has often been assumed to be about a love relationship between king Solomon and a Shulamite woman. I had always assumed this myself until quite recently when I read a little booklet, titled The Story of the Bride. This booklet, written by Arthur and Rosalind Eedle, draws on an idea suggested by the earlier commentators of Dr. Bullinger and C. D. Ginsberg. The idea is that instead of understanding Song of Songs to be a poem about a mutual love between King Solomon and the Shulamite woman, Solomon is actually attempting to woo the Shulamite away from her shepherd boy lover. This is the story of how, despite enormous pressure, she remains faithful and true to him until the end when their love is restored to them.

In the introduction to his work, Eedle tells how he came to make this discovery about the book. While spending time in prison (as a result of his stance as a conscientious objector), some of Arthur's friends sent him, not just an ordinary Bible, but The Companion Bible, a thick tome full of most useful marginal notes and appendixes, the work of Dr. Bullinger around the turn of the century. "One day", he writes,

I happened to turn to the Song of Solomon, which I had never before read. My first reading caused some confusion. I couldn't make out who was speaking, or what the theme was about. But on examining the marginal notes, I found that in the Hebrew the pronouns had a gender form, and this enabled me to get to grips with the tale. Gradually, the theme of the story emerged and I found it to be a beautiful love story, and I remember saying to myself that on leaving the prison, one of the first things I would do is write a new version of the story so that everyone could understand it.

"Eventually the day arrived for my release.... Within a short time I worked on the story, examining every word, and looking up names and places in dictionaries to get the full flavour of the tale. Eventually it was privately published as one of a series of papers entitled "The Wellspring."

Arthur Eedle, who is a good friend of mine, has given me permission to republish his work here. Before doing so, however, I would like to say a few words of my own.

To begin with I would like to draw our attention to the fact that Song of Songs differs from every other book of the Bible in so far as the narrative occurs exclusively in the tense of the second person. This presents us with a unique hermeneutical problem, requiring that the book be approached differently than any other book of the Bible. Because the book consists entirely in dialogue, we are left simply to infer what is the context and background of the events in the narration, as we would if we were reading a play with no notes on the script. Even in the book of Job, which is nearly all dialogue, we have an opening written in the third person that presents the context for understanding the following dialogue.

Song of Songs can be understood on many levels. On one level it is simply a celebration of the glory and beauty of pure human love. The book can also be understood for its allegorical significance in symbolizing the love relationship between Christ and His bride. Though the allegorical interpretation has often been espoused by those who find a straightforward interpretation embarrassing, even shocking, we should not think that the two approaches are mutually exclusive.

With regard to the allegorical approach, a few problems emerge with the traditional model for reading the text. How could one of the, so called, 'loves' of Solomon be a symbol for something as holy as the relationship between Christ and His bride? Wise as Solomon may have been, he apparently hadn't learned lesson one about the meaning of true love, or if he did he certainly didn't put his knowledge into practice. Lest my words seem harsh, consider for a moment that he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines! (1 Kings 11:3) Assuming Solomon had a different woman each night, it would have taken him nearly three years to go through the lot of them! He must have been the father of thousands of children, while the women must have felt that in his eyes they were more like sex machines than human beings.

At the time when Song of Songs occurs we are told that Solomon only had a hundred and forty wives and concubines (Songs. 6: 8) – still a lot. From this it follows that if this poem is depicting a mutual love between Solomon and the Shulamite, then it must not have been a very strong love seeing as eight hundred and sixty women succeeded her!

Difficulties such as these are resolved by turning to Eedle's exposition and translation. What emerges from Eedle’s study is a much cleaner and consistent story - a story of the triumph of pure romantic love between a young man and young woman, enduring at all costs and, despite enormous odds, victorious in the end.

The Song of Songs (concerning Solomon)

A Paraphrased Translation Arranged As a Play

By Arthur Eedle

Introduction and Analysis

The Hebrew title of this Scriptural book is SONG OF SONGS, a title that employs a common figure of speech in the Hebrew language, known as Polyptoton, the reduplication of a word to emphasize its meaning, to intensify its significance and to raise its status above other songs. The Song is mighty hard to understand in the A.V., and amongst modern translations there is still much room for improvement in style. The author of the story described events in the format of a play, and even without the naming of characters the reader would understand who was speaking, because Hebrew, like other languages of the time, retained gender classification in its pronouns. Contrariwise, English words such as we you my your have no such signification, and require clear contexts to ensure their intended connections.

The Song is about faithfulness and true love, the love of a maiden for her shepherd friend. But the title of the book has in itself produced some confusion over the years. THE SONG OF SONGS, CONCERNING SOLOMON. As a result many have imagined Solomon to be her suitor. But a careful reading of the text shows this not to be so, and upon reflection, it would in any case be open to question, knowing the history of Solomon's reign. Starting well, and seeking God's wisdom, he built the Temple and a fine house for himself. He became the most magnificent of all human kings. But the love of women led him into idolatry in later years, bringing the judgment of God upon him. When he grew old his wives turned his heart to follow other gods, and he did not remain wholly loyal to the Lord his God like his father David. And the Lord said, Because you have done this, I will tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. (1 Kings 11:3-13)

The powers of darkness have manifestly sought to hide the true nature of this book behind the shroud of language difficulties. The reason is not too hard to find. Here we have the Bride of Christ, loved by her True Shepherd, and remaining faithful to Him against the almost insuperable odds of Solomon's charm, dignity, position, and wealth. How many young girls would ditch their country lad or the sparkle and grandeur of the royal court? How many indeed would be able to stand against the ultimate flattery of the great King Solomon himself? But this is exactly what happens! And it is so demonstrative a love that even Solomon himself is unable to do other than release her, and let her return to her native land of vineyards and pasture.

I have tried to rewrite this book as a play. It has not been easy. To help, I have intertwined the text with many notes in an attempt to supply all the necessary background material. What emerges is a story that stands in its own right, a veritable jewel of ancient inspired poetry. The sentiments of lovers h as remained constant over the centuries; we shall only find a difference in the similes and figures of speech; the message is timeless.

Synopsis of the Book as a Whole

A young shepherd girl of perhaps eighteen years lives with her widowed mother and her brothers, in one of the towns of Shunem, a small settlement in Israel some 20 miles S.W. of the Sea of Galilee. To the south of Shunem is the fertile Vale of Jezreel, an area noted for its vineyards. The family maintains itself by husbandry and the rearing of sheep. It is springtime when the story opens, and the brothers are actively engaged tending the vines. Their sister watches over the sheep on nearby hillsides.

One day she meets a shepherd boy from an unrelated family. They sit and talk together, sheltering from the noontide heat beneath the trees of the field. Friendship soon turns to love, and their love is so deep that they pledge themselves to each other for life. In days to come they hope to marry, but for now they are content to enjoy each other's company in the freedom of the hills and valleys of Israel, watered by the rain of heaven, and watched over by none other than the God of peace.

It is impossible for things to remain quite so idyllic. In the process of time the brothers espy her with her friend, and as is the wont of older brothers, they make arrangements to ensure the chastity of their young sister. They take her from the sheep and set her to work in the vineyards where a watchful eye may be kept on her. Grief struck the hearts of the young couple when this occurred. Apart from stolen moments early in the morning there was no other opportunity for them to meet.

One day she wanders from the vineyard into an enclosed garden of nut trees, (an integral part of the family estate) and to her great surprise comes upon a great concourse of people, elegant and finely dressed. Before the sight has had time to sink in, she is face to face with the King of Israel, the great Solomon himself. He has been touring the realm, and has decided to stop for a while to rest. The King espies her, and asks who she is. He is captivated by her simple beauty, and invites her to join him on the royal palanquin. Nonplused and highly embarrassed, she shows a reticence which the King construes as a natural grace. He knows nothing of her attachment. And unknown to her, the Shepherd Boy has seen it all, hiding between the trees of the garden. There is absolutely nothing he can do about it. To resist the overtures of a King would be to invite instant disgrace, even to endanger life. Solomon has eyes for female beauty, and the women of Israel know it. Why, already (we are told) he has sixty queens and eighty concubines! Often he would see the eyes of allurement amongst his female subjects, but seldom has he witnessed the natural shyness of a country lass.

The experience overcomes him, and he seeks to release her from her family obligations. Her mother is approached, and permission granted. What mother in Israel would refuse such honour? But in doing so, she is wholly unaware of her daughter's heart, and the secret pledge the young lovers have made. The King is a wise and considerate man. He sends assurances to the mother for the well-being of her daughter, and in return she receives gifts from the royal bounty, and knows that she will continue to do so for as long as her daughter remains in the King's household.

And so, within the hour so to speak, this simple girl finds herself swept off her feet into a foreign world, where simplicity is exchanged for all the gaudy trappings of the royal court, where the silence of the hills is exchanged for the continual chatter of the multitudes who surround the King. What dread fate had caused these things to transpire? First of all she had been parted from the Shepherd Boy by her well-meaning brothers, and now she had been whisked away from her home, her work, and her brief opportunities for meeting her lover, to be taken into the world of another man, and although everyone admired their King, it was quite another thing altogether to love him!

She sits in one of the royal caravans, attended by court ladies, professional court ladies, ladies who are well-versed in the art of beauty and elegance, but who are also well-versed in the dubious art of intrigue and jealousy. Her eyes are seldom dry, and her emotions are cloyed up. She feels imprisoned and could wish herself dead. But the court ladies have seen it all before, and they are full of advice though less full of sympathy - after all they had not been chosen by the King!

A large company of people now leave the area, bound for the Capital. There are many caravans, surrounded by the King's own household cavalry, a specially chosen bodyguard of sixty soldiers. Central to all is the royal palanquin, vivid in its colours, lavish in its splendour, decked out with priceless objects of art and graced with exquisitely embroidered curtains. Solomon's kingdom is the greatest in all the world. Solomon himself is internationally respected for his great wisdom, riches, and government. Peace pervades his empire, as peace is the meaning of his name. God Himself has granted him all these things, and Solomon has richly enjoyed them for many years. He has built the great Temple in Jerusalem, which his father David began; he has built himself a magnificent residence, together with the building known as the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Potentates from afar had been to the Capital of Israel to witness the splendour of Solomon's reign, with its architectural masterpieces. The Queen of Sheba gasped, and confessed she had not been told the half.

These are the contrasts now set before these two, the King and the Shepherd Girl. Each finds a sudden stress, but for wholly different reasons. The King is infatuated by the sun-tanned maiden and she is at the centre of his thoughts. The girl is full of fear, not knowing what the days ahead may bring. And so for several weeks to come, the lives of these two become entangled.

The caravan is now out of sight of her family home, as it wends its way along the rough dirt tracks through beautiful countryside. Along the way they stop at Tirzah, later to become the royal residence for the kings of Israel, a place renowned for its natural beauty. Suddenly she is aware of a young man following the royal procession at a distance. It is her shepherd lover! Why, he has seen it happen after all! His presence gives her a ray of hope, though she knows not how or why. Discretely he had kept an eye on all that transpired. Yes, she is sure of this now! He is keeping his distance, to arouse no curiosity. Now their eyes have met, and they have waved, though no one else realized what that simple exchange involved.

And so, at long last Jerusalem is now in sight. Long lines of people are standing along the royal route. They wave and cheer their King, and Solomon responds. He enjoys the adulation of his people; one could say that he thrives on it. They now enter the city via the Golden Gate after the long climb from the Kidron Valley. The Shunemite girl gasps at the magnificence of the buildings, but they take second place in her thinking as she is shown to her rooms in the palace. She is no prisoner; she is free to go where she wills; but she is under emotional duress, and knows that to walk out of the palace and go back home would be fatal. The strength she has received from the sight of her lover now galvanizes her as she adjusts her mind to the new situation. Instead of wishing for death, she begins to believe that God will find a way for her to return home unharmed and chaste. And so we now allow the story to speak for itself as we see the way in which the love of these young people is vindicated in the sight of God.

Scene One

Somewhere between Shunem and Tirzah, as Solomon's caravan slowly returns to Jerusalem. The time is midday, and the entourage has set down beneath the shade of the trees. The court-ladies have been instructed to 'prepare' the shepherd girl, to anoint her, and array her with costume and jewellery, to be ready 'for the King's pleasure.' Reluctantly she agrees. The process itself is not irksome, but she would prefer to be 'prepared' for another man. Of course, he is following, but she must not reveal too much, even to the court-ladies, lest it bring harm to the one she loves. She is none too sure of herself, neither is she too sure of the reactions of those around her, and all the time she is aware of the royal prerogative that demands implicit obedience from all the King's subjects. The Shunamite girl soliloquises as the Court Ladies attend to her. She appears to be in a world of her own.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

O that you would kiss me tenderly!
For your endearments are better than wine!
Your anointing oil is fragrant,
Your name is like perfume,
Set free from its casket;
No wonder the maidens love you!
Take me with you!
Let us hurry away from here!

She pauses, realizing that she is day-dreaming. Sadly she recollects

The King has brought me
into his inner-apartments.

COURT LADIES: thinking the girl has spoken of Solomon, they take up her strain, and extol their King -

We rejoice and delight in you,
We shall extol your endearments
more than the choicest wine!
How greatly indeed has the
Upright One loved you!

The girl becomes aware of the way they are eyeing her.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

I am well bronzed but comely
0 daughters of Jerusalem!
I am dark like the tents of Kedar

(Kedar was the second son of Fishmeal. Since early times Arab tents had been traditionally dark in colour.)

But as comely as Solomon's curtains!
Despise me not for my skin,
Darkened by the light of the sun!

Again she changes the subject, and relates the tale of her restriction in the vineyard, and the reason why.

My mother's sons were angry with me;
They sent me to tend their vines;
I have my own vineyard but now it has become neglected.


She turns and looks out between the curtains and across the fields. Her eyes are skinned for a sight of her beloved, but he is nowhere to be seen. Has he returned to his flock? She is anxious. Meanwhile the ladies in attendance listen and watch carefully to all she says and does. After all, it is their only source of interest in life, what may be called the 'court tittle-tattle.'

Tell me 0 lover of mine
Where are you pasturing your flock?
Where will you be resting today
At this season of noontide heat?
Do not let me wander aimlessly
From the flocks of your companions.

COURT LADIES: somewhat sarcastically, as though to humour this strange rural creature,

If you have no idea,
'0 fairest of women'

(For they had heard their King refer to her thus)

Then go!
Follow the tracks of the sheep.
Feed your lambs by the shepherds' tents!

At that moment the King himself appears. Already he sees a transformation, and is completely captivated by her beauty.

SOLOMON:

I shall compare you, my love, my fair one,
To the mare I presented to Pharaoh
Which now graces his personal chariot!
How lovely are your cheeks
Between those plaited tresses!
How comely is your neck
With those golden pendants
Studded with gemstones!

COURT LADIES: fussing around as court ladies should

We shall make you rows of golden beads
Entwined with silver!

The King reclined on a magnificent couch at one end of the royal caravan, and continued his conversation. But the girl became nervous and fearful, and this distressed the King. He is a kindly disposed man, and given to tenderness with women. His wise and sympathetic ways endear him to many. He complies with her request to leave the caravan for a short while to walk in the fields. And so, whilst everyone else reclines in the shade, she walks away to the far end of the grove of trees.

Scene Two

After some minutes alone, and out of earshot of the royal entourage, she becomes aware of a form hiding behind one of the trees. He is here! He has not left her! Without attracting anyone's attention she goes over to where he stands and they renew their love to each other. The shepherd boy sees his beloved 'prepared' for him rather than Solomon, and is captivated by her beauty. They sit and talk together for a while, stolen moments, sweet but ephemeral, and they make the most of them. We now break into their conversation -

SHEPHERD GIRL:

- - and while the King reclined on his couch,
My spikenard gave forth its fragrance;
Indeed, your presence 0 beloved mine
Was as close as the little bag of myrrh
That now shall lodge throughout the night
Betwixt by breasts,
Like a cluster of cypress flowers
From the vineyards of En-gedi.

(A place on the western shore of the Dead Sea.)

SHEPHERD BOY:

How beautiful you are my love!
How beautiful indeed!
Your eyes are the eyes of doves.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

How truly lovely you are, my dearest, How lovely indeed!
Our resting place has a ceiling of leafy branches
Our 'bower' is made of cedar arches
And pinewood beams!
But as for me,
I am no more than a little rose from Sharon,
A wild meadow-saffron,
The merest lily of the valley.

SHEPHERD BOY:

As a lily amongst the brambles
Is my fair one amongst women.

They embrace and part company. He promises to follow her wherever she goes. Whenever she is allowed some free time, he will always be around, never far away. She returns to the caravan strengthened, feeling that circumstances will turn out well for them both. She hopes this will be sooner rather than later.

Scene Three


She has returned to the royal caravans, and in particular to the one occupied by the court ladies. They are alone again. They see her enter with a spring in her tread, more confident than when she left, and straightway she begins to extol the virtues of her beloved shepherd friend.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood
Is my beloved among men!
To sit in his shade is my delight,
And his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He leads me to the shade of the vine arbour
And overshadows me with love;
He refreshes me with raisins;
He revives me with apples,
For I am love-sick indeed!

While the court ladies listen to the poetry and bat their wits at its meaning, the shepherd girl tells them of a meeting that took place earlier in the spring.

Hark! My beloved!
He is coming!
Bounding over the mountains!
Leaping over the hills!
My beloved is like a gazelle,
Like a young hart;
Behold, there he stands!
See, behind the vineyard wall!
Gazing through the windows,
Peeping in at the lattice;
He calls to me -"Rise up my darling, my fairest,
Come away with me,
For lo, the winter is past,
The rains are over and gone,
The flowers are showing in the fields,
And the time for the singing of the birds has come;
The cooing of the turtle-dove
Will again be heard in our land;
It is the season of the first ripe figs
As they fall from the outer branches;
And lo, the vines are in blossom,
Giving forth their fragrance!
Arise, my darling, my fair one
And come away."

She stops to reflect. It had been on this very occasion when her brothers overheard some of their conversation, and so their attachment became known. She continues her soliloquy almost in a whisper, remembering the words of her beloved -

"My dove,
Let us hide in the clefts of the rocks,
In the crannies on the high ledges,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear you speak
For your voice is lovely
And your face is wondrous fair.

The brothers put in their appearance, and the shepherd boy is politely asked to leave. Again the shepherd girl's face changes as she remembers her brothers' words -

"Go and catch the little foxes
That are spoiling our vines.
They always return when the blossoms appear again."

The court ladies had listened to all this as though it were a play, and so it was! But it was also the truth. They are now quite affected by the display of emotion and the pain felt at the time of separation. But now the sound of men is heard, and there is movement all around. The heat of the noonday sun has passed, and the caravan is once again on the move. As soon as they are under way, the shepherd girl addresses the court ladies directly -

My beloved is mine and I am his,
His delight was to walk among the lilies,
Early in the morning, when the day was young,
Before the shadows had fled away.
I would cry out in my heart,
'Return my beloved, show yourself once again,
Be my gazelle, my young hart,
On the mountains of separation.'

Scene Four

Quite a lot of time has passed since last we heard the girl speak. They have been in Jerusalem for some days, and during this time she has only been able to find her lover on one occasion. As we join them in the palace rooms, she is relating her experiences to the court ladies, and as always, they are extremely good listeners when it comes to the affairs of the heart!

SHEPHERD GIRL:

Night after night have I lain on my bed
Seeking my true love;
I have sought him but not found him;
I have called him, but he has not answered.
I have walked the city by night,
And the watchmen on their rounds
Came upon me.
I spoke to them and said,
'Have you seen my true love?'
They shook their heads
And passed on.
And then I saw him!
I ran to meet him!
I seized him and would not let him go;
O how I longed to bring him into my mother's house,
To the place where my mother conceived me.

She goes on to explain how her lover would not allow her to run away with him at that time. He persuaded her to go back to the palace and be obedient to the King. After a few moments of tearful embrace she reluctantly agreed and they parted company. Once again she turns on the ladies and in a direct and forceful manner addresses them.

I adjure you, 0 daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles and hinds of the fields,
Not to arouse my love,
Nor inflame my emotions
Until I am ready.

Scene Five

More time has passed. Solomon has wooed his newfound damsel but with little or no success. She always holds him at arm's length. To use the language of that day, she behaved as a 'wall', a 'garden barred and bolted.' The King realizes that he will be unable to make progress with his amours, and looks upon force and rape as revolting. However he remains always attracted to the Shunamite maiden because of her constancy of love towards another. He, the great King of Israel, has been unable to break that bond! As a result, he has decreed that the girl should be released the following day to return to her native land in Northern Israel.

She is free! Free to go home! Free to travel with her friend and lover back to her family's patrimony. She goes out into the city and finds her friend, and as they talk together, there is a greater ease and relaxation. As we join them she is relating some of the earliest memories she has of the entry in Jerusalem with the King's caravans.

(I listened to the townsfolk, saying - )

1st INHABITANT:

What is this?
Coming up from the country
Like a column of smoke
Rising from the burning of frankincense and myrrh
From the powdered spices of Eastern merchants?

2nd INHABITANT:

Look! It is Solomon in his royal sedan,
With his escort of sixty,
The choice warriors of Israel,
Skilled swordsman they are, and trained to wield arms,
Swords ready at their sides
To combat the terror that comes by night.

3rd INHABITANT:

King Solomon made his royal palanquin
Of choicest wood of Lebanon,
With beams of silver
And couch of gold,
Upholstered in royal purple;
See the exquisite flooring
In tessellations cunningly wrought
By the daughters of Jerusalem!

4th INHABITANT:

Go forth, you daughters of Zion,
And greet Solomon your King!
See, he is wearing the crown
Placed upon his brow
By Bathsheba his mother
On his coronation day!
That great and joyful wedding day;
That day of joy and gladness!

The Shepherd boy listens to vivid memories with great interest and admiration. He is acutely aware of the insistent loyalty of his beloved, and this affects him deeply. How many girls would have been able to resist the offer of half the kingdom, promised by the world's greatest and wisest ruler? But his 'maiden of delights' chose rather to stay in the simple life of the hills, the life of vineyards and sheep, and above all the life they would be sharing together before long now. He cannot restrain himself from the poetry of love.

How beautiful you are my dearest,
How truly lovely!
I see your eyes behind your veil
And they are the soft eyes of doves;
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Springing down the rocks of Mount Gilead;
Your teeth are white as a flock of ewes
Just shorn,
And returning from the dip,
Each ewe has twins,
Not one has cast a lamb;
Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
Your mouth of lovely form;
Your cheeks beneath your veil
Are pomegranate halves,
And your neck like the tower of David
Built with its winding courses
And a thousand bucklers there displayed
And all the warriors' shields.
Your breasts are like the twin fawns of a gazelle
As they feed among the lilies.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

When day breaks
And the shadows flee away
I shall be leaving here
For the mountains of myrrh
And the hills of frankincense.

SHEPHERD BOY:

You are beautiful my darling,
Without spot or blemish!
Come away with me from 'Lebanon' my bride,
Hurry down from the top of 'Amarna,'
Hasten from the summit of snowy 'Hermon,'
Come away from the 'Great Lion's Den'
And the 'Mountain of Leopards.'

(In this poetic imagery the city of Jerusalem is likened to some of the great peaks in the Hermon Range, some 40 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. The Mountain of Leopards is the royal palace, and the Lion represents the King himself.)

You have put heart into me, my sister,
You have made me a new man, my bride,
With your twinkling eye
That smiles around your veil,
And the gemstone
That swells upon your breasts

(The 'single eye' mentioned here is in accordance with the customs of those days, whereby unmarried women were required to wear veils, but it was permitted to uncover one side of the face as a sign of favour to a man. We must remember that the Shepherd Girl is wearing the clothes consistent with the heights of fashion for those days, and whilst at court she had been trained to comply with official custom and taste. Her preparation at court had heightened her natural beauty, and refined her features, so who could say that the ordeal was entirely without its usefulness?)

How beautiful are your endearments,
My sister, my bride!
Your love is more fragrant than wines
And your perfume sweeter than your spices!
0Your lips drop sweetness like the honeycomb,
Milk and honey are under your tongue,
Your garments have the fresh smell of Lebanon,
You are a garden enclosed and barred,
My sister, my bride,
A garden locked and a fountain sealed.
Your garden is a paradise of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Cypress and spikenard are there,
Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon
And every type of frankincense,
With myrrh and lign-aloes
And all the choice varieties of spice.
And your garden is a fountain,
A well of living water
Flowing down from Hermon.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

Awake 0 north wind!
Come, south wind, blow!
Blow upon my garden,
Set free its fragrances,
That they may drift upon the wings of the wind.
Come into my garden, 0 love of mine,
Taste of its choicest fruits!

SHEPHERD BOY:

I will come indeed, my sister, my bride,
I will come into my garden
And pluck my myrrh and spices,
And eat my honey from the comb,
I will drink both milk and wine,
For all are mine!
Come, friends of the bridegroom,
Eat and drink at my table with my beloved!

And so, with hearts high, and the thrill of expectation throbbing in their breasts, the lovers part company. He promises to be at the north gate of the city at sunrise to meet her, and then together they will wend their homeward way.

However, circumstances are about to arise that are totally unexpected for the Shepherd Girl. She goes back to the palace and instead of spending time with the court ladies goes straight to her bedroom to get a good night's sleep in readiness for the coming day. Excitement and racing thoughts prevent her from sleeping for a while, but eventually she drops off and sleeps very deeply for a few hours. And then she is awakened by a dream, a dream that triggers off a sequence of events calculated to cause her great distress.

We next meet her in one of the court rooms in the small hours explaining to the court ladies all that has taken place. They have been aroused from their sleep by the Shepherd Girl who is now in need of them. As they attend to her needs, they listen to her strange tale of the night

Scene Six

SHEPHERD GIRL:

I was sleeping, but my heart was awake!
Of a sudden I heard a knock at my door,
And then the voice of my beloved,
Whispering to me,
"Open to me my sister, my dearest,
My dove, my perfect one,
For my head is drenched with the night dew,
My locks with the moisture of the night!"

And I remember saying,
As one awakened from a dream,

"I have taken off my dress,
So shall I put it on again?
I have washed my feet,
So must they once again be soiled?"
I arose and dressed,
And there at the latch of the door
I saw my beloved's hand!
My heart was stirred within me
I arose to open for my beloved,
Though my hands were wet with myrrh.

In this sleep-walking state she had taken too much myrrh, and now found it difficult to negotiate the door handle.

When finally the door swung back
And I looked for my beloved
He was gone!
He was nowhere to be seen!
I called, but there was no answer
And my heart sank within me.

The shock of this realization brings her out of the world of sleep. She is dazed for a moment, trying to adjust her senses, and as is so often the case, she cannot make up her mind what had really happened from what was pure dream fantasy. She finds herself fully dressed, and her hands are too liberally covered with myrrh. And then she finds the door latch covered in myrrh, and the door open. Who did it? She is perplexed, but cannot take a risk. Did he come for her in the night? Has something gone wrong? Why did he leave in such a hurry? Was he trying to convey to her that danger existed? She must now try to find out. Even though he said he would be waiting for her in the morning, she must investigate for herself. Dreams have a habit of being too real sometimes!

She makes her way out of the palace, past the night guards. it does not occur to her that her beloved would not have been able to make an entry past those same guards! All her actions are now based upon the twisted emotions of the waking mind, and not the common sense. She makes her way out to the palace courtyard and grounds, and then beyond. The court ladies are aghast, and listen with much interest as they attend to her needs.

I sought him everywhere!
I could not find him!
I called out in the night,
Once and again,
But his voice did not answer me!
I ran straight into the night-watchmen
As they made their rounds of the city.
I sought to get past them
But they grasped hold of me tightly
(Not knowing who I was)
They struck me,
They wounded me,
They tore off my veil,
And then they let me go!

The night-watchmen had assumed her to be a woman of easy virtue, fleeing perhaps from some skirmish. It was only after they saw her face and recognized her that they let her go. For the rest of that night they must have been worried men, anticipating the wrath of the King himself should he find out what had transpired.

O daughters of Jerusalem
I beg of you,
If you find my beloved
Tell him that I am love-sick for him.

COURT LADY: (sarcastically, knowing that they had little further duty towards her - )

What is your beloved
More then any other
O 'fairest of women'?

2nd COURT LADY:

What is your beloved
More than any other
That you should charge us in this way?

They are distinctly irritated with the Shepherd Girl and her behaviour. They feel that she has been using the palace facilities unfairly, luxuriating in the bounty of the King without giving anything in return. What makes the matter so much worse is that they would give anything to be in her place! However, the girl sees nothing of this intrigue, and has eyes, ears, and heart only for her Shepherd Boy. Feeling rather hurt at their gibes she changes her tune –

SHEPHERD GIRL:

My beloved is fair and ruddy
The fairest among ten thousand!
His head is like the finest gold,
And raven black his flowing locks;
His eyes are the eyes of doves
That rest by the little water brooks,
Bathed in milk,
Set like choice gems of Lapis Lazuli;
His cheeks are raised beds of balsam
Full of fragrance;
His lips are like the lilies
Sweetly distilling their fragrance;
His arms are cylinders of gold
Adorned with choicest topaz;
His body like polished ivory
Overlaid with sapphires;
His legs are white pillars of marble
Set in sockets of finest gold;
His appearance is that of Lebanon,
Choice as the cedars;
His voice is sweetness itself,
Altogether lovely! Such is my beloved, my darling,
O you daughters of Jerusalem!

The Court Ladies are dazed and incredulous at such a description. And not having seen her beloved, they are decidedly curious, and anxious to have a sight of him.

COURT LADY:

Where can your beloved have gone
O 'fairest of women'?

2nd COURT LADY:

Which way did your beloved go
Pray let us join you
And help you find him?

SHEPHERD GIRL: (suddenly suspicious of their motives -)

My beloved has gone down to his garden,
To the beds where the balsam grows
To delight in his garden,
To pick the lilies!

I am my beloved's,
And my beloved is mine,
He who feeds his flock among the lilies!

She feels quite pleased with her attempt to deflect their minds from inquisitiveness. Her figurative language would only be understood by herself and her lover, and now she feels a sense of relief. She has learned the lesson, not to use the intimate language of love when speaking to the wrong people. She has felt their deprecatory reaction and smarted, but has now successfully sealed the breach.

The Court Ladies have now finished their task. The slight scrapes and bruises have been attended to, the hair reset, clothes changed, and jewellery replaced on her hands and neck. It seems that all may now retire to bed for the rest of the night.

However, they are totally unaware of one thing. Someone else had been unable to sleep properly that night, and during his nocturnal perambulations, he happened to chance by the rooms where the Court Ladies attend their charges. Silently he had been listening to the conversations. Suddenly he enters the room through the richly tapestried curtains. The King!

All present bow low to the ground as their liege enters. At his behest they arise and stand before him. The Shepherd Girl looks radiant, and the King, having listened to her tale of love, feels intent on trying yet again to win her favour. Summoning a chamberlain he orders the dancing girls to perform for him. The Shunamite would be the central attraction. She has been shown what to do on such occasions, but thus far has been spared the indignity. The dancing girls are skilled, and have been trained to operate alone or with the presence of one such as the Shepherd Girl, and they know the purpose of their task.

SCENE SEVEN

We now follow the party through to the great hall, lit by a thousand flickering lamps, and sumptuously decorated in all manner of velvet and gold, and cunningly woven tapestries. The King has taken his place on the royal dais, and made himself comfortable in readiness for the display. The court dancers are just appearing. The Shunamite girl has been attired suitably for the King's pleasure, which means that she is wearing the equivalent of our modern 'bikini', except that the brief two-piece has been made of far more costly material. Over this she has a long flowing veil held in place by a jewelled coronet on her head.

There was naught she could do but comply with Solomon's request. Silently she prayed that the God in whom both she and the King trusted would look favourably upon her that night. Solomon was no doubt a wise and gentle man, a man of some forty-five years of age, possessing charm, maturity, and poise. She could see why women liked him. She could not understand why the King should have looked twice at HER! The musicians are now grouped, and the dancing girls begin their sequence. They weave in and out and their lithe and graceful bodies are indeed a sight to behold. The Shepherd Girl awaits her cue and then moves into their midst. She only has to perform the most elementary movements, requiring no skill, and little practice, because it is not expected of her. The dancing girls convolute around her, providing a perfect setting for her graceful movements.

The dance lasts at the most five minutes. To the Shunemite girl it seemed like an hour. At the end of the sequence the dancing girls prostrate themselves on the floor, leaving the girl to bow low before the King. Solomon shows his pleasure and they arise. But instead of there being further dances, the King dismisses everyone from the great hall except the Shepherd Girl, whom he beckons to the dais. Slowly but gracefully she ascends and sits facing him.

SOLOMON:

How beautiful you are my love,
Beautiful as Tirzah,
Comely as Jerusalem,
Majestic as my bannered hosts! -
Turn your eyes away from me,
They dazzle me!
They have taken me by storm!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Springing down Mount Gilead;
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Fresh from the dip,
Each ewe has twins
And none has cast its lamb;
Your cheeks are like pomegranate halves
Behind your veil.

(See how closely his language agrees with that of her shepherd lover. It is the same today. There are recognized forms of speech used by lovers, similes that occur again and again, always accepted by each age and clime. We are apt to be a trifle amused by some of their ancient terminology; no doubt they would have been by ours if they had been able to compare!

Consider the effect this language has on the girl. From the lips of her lover it is sweetness itself, but from the lips of another man it produces a sense of nausea. It has always been the same since the world began. Love is as strong as death.)

Behold my sixty queens
And eighty concubines,
And Court Ladies without number!
But none so fair as you,
My dove, my perfect one,
The only daughter of her mother,
Devoted to the mother who bore her!
Young maidens everywhere call you blessed!
Queens and concubines alike praise you!

(Recall my first words to you -)

"Who is this,
Who looks out like the dawn,
Beautiful as the Moon,
Bright as the Sun,
Majestic as the starry hosts of heaven?"

Suddenly the Shunemite realizes that the King has given her an opportunity of explaining how everything happened. Rising from the couch and kneeling before him she expostulates on the circumstances of their first meeting. She says nothing new to the King, but hopes that it might end this nightmare.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

I went down to that garden of nut trees
To look at the rushes by the stream,
To see if the vine had budded
Or pomegranates were in flower.
Of a sudden,
Quite unwittingly,
I came upon your Majesty's retinue.
And in a moment of time
I was whisked away to Jerusalem
In the royal chariots of the nobility!

With this she arises from her knees, bows low before the King and excuses herself from his presence. It is not the 'done thing' but produces no harsh reaction from the King. He still finds her country ways and manners quite refreshing.

SOLOMON:

Come back, come back!
Come back 0 Shunemite maiden!
Come and let us gaze upon you!

With wide-eyed fear still registering on her face, she stops in her tracks and slowly returns to the dais. The ordeal is still not over. Once again she tries to speak.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

What is it sire
That you find to gaze upon
In a mere Shunemite maiden?
I am naught to compare
With your troupe of trained dancers,
Why therefore do you gaze upon me?

The King is still amused at her ways, and beckons to her. She sits on the couch once more.

SOLOMON:

I see, as it were, the view of Mahanaim,

(A Levitical city of Gad, east of the river Jordan. A scene of great beauty.)

How beautiful are your sandaled feet
0 noble maiden!
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of a skilled craftsman;
Your navel is a rounded goblet
That shall never want for spiced wine;
Your body is a sheaf of wheat
Encircled with lilies;
Your two breasts are like fawns
The twin fawns of a gazelle;
Your neck is like a tower of ivory;
Your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon
By the Gate of Beth-Rabbim;

(These were the two man-made fishponds just outside the city of Heshbon. To one who approached from a distance they would at certain times of the day look like large eyes. They were quite circular in shape.)

Your nose is like towering Lebanon
That looks towards Damascus;
You carry your head like Carmel;
Your flowing hair is lustrous black
With tresses braided with ribbons!
How beautiful,
How entrancing you are!
The King is captivated by you
O loved one,
Maiden of delights!

The King gently gathers her to himself -

You are stately as a palm tree,
And your breasts are the clusters of dates;
I said to myself
'I will climb into the palm tree
And grasp its boughs;
I shall find your breasts
Like clusters of grapes on the vine,
The scent of your breath like apples
Your kisses like spiced wine
Flowing smoothly to welcome my caresses,
Gliding down between lips and teeth.

And so he takes her in his arms and gently lifts her veil. He imagines himself to be something of a Cassanova where women are concerned, always believing that in the end he can win them over. But the Shepherd Girl is stiff and unrelaxed, and there are tears in her eyes. She speaks falteringly as she wriggles clear of the King, once again to kneel before him on the carpeted dais.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

I belong to my beloved,
And his desire is entirely for me.

All is lost. The King realizes that he is beaten. He still respects her faithfulness to the one she loves, and lets her go. He summons a chamberlain and gives him instructions concerning the morning, to carry the girl's belongings to the gateway of the city where the Shepherd Boy would be waiting. The time is now far spent, and little is left for sleep, and the Shunemite finds that she cannot let her mind rest after the hectic activities of the night. What really happened? Did her lover call for her? Or was it a trick of sleep, a dream planted there by those unseen powers of darkness to cause her harm? It would not be long now before she could find out for sure. She only hoped that it was a dream, because if not, then her lover must have been in some degree of danger, and where would he be in the morning? After tossing and turning, thinking and trying not to think, the sun rose over the capital and it was time to go.

The Court Ladies make her ready for her journey home, and bid her farewell. She now relaxes and thanks them for all their attentions on her behalf. The chamberlain escorts her to the city gates where sure enough her beloved is waiting just as he promised. They run to meet each other, a touching sight. One further word of farewell, and they are off together on the journey to Shunem. It will take more than a day, and they plan to stop off at one of the villages along the way, visiting friends their families have known for years.

Scene Eight

SHEPHERD GIRL:

Come my beloved,
Let us go out into the fields,
And lodge in the villages;
Let us go early to the vineyards
And see if the vine has flourished
And the tender grapes appeared,
And if the pomegranates are growing large.

(Instead of spring, it is now summer. This gives us some idea of how long the girl was detained by the King.)

It is there that I will renew my vows
And show my depth of love.

We are given just a few tantalising snippets of their conversation as they journey towards home, but sufficient to reveal all that is apposite to the story. The following conversation would seem to be appropriate to a time near the end of their journey, as they approach their home town.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

The mandrakes are diffusing their fragrance
And at our doors
All manner of rare and choice fruits
Are laid up for you, my beloved.

Oh, if only you could be like my own true brother,
Who sucked the breasts or my mother,
Then if I found you
I could kiss you
And no one would despise me.
I could take you into my mother's house,
And there she would teach me
How to love you;
And I would give you spiced wine to drink,
And the fresh juice of pomegranates,
And your left hand would be under my head,
And your right arm would embrace me.

She thinks back to the time when she restrained the Court Ladies from arousing her desires -Did I not charge you

O daughters of Jerusalem,
Not to arouse my emotions
Nor to influence my desires
Until I should be ready?

They are now within visible distance of home. Are they going to receive a sympathetic ear from her brothers and mother? Unknown to them, one of the brothers is out on the hillside on the other side of the valley, and as he tends the sheep he sees two people in the distance.

BROTHER:

Who is this
Coming across the plains
Leaning on her beloved?

He is watching from the hills around Shunem and sees them in the plains of Esdraelon towards the region known as Jezreel. They get nearer to their home, and stop for a while under a well- known tree.

SHEPHERD:

I awakened the love within your heart
Whilst we sat under this apple tree;
Indeed it was here that your mother gave birth to you!
Where she was in labour at the time of your birth.
Set me as a signet upon your heart,
As a seal upon your right hand,
Because love is as strong as death,
Deep desire as inexorable as Sheol,
It blazes up like a great conflagration,
Fiercer than any flames,
Even the vehement fires of God.
Many waters cannot quench love,
No flood can sweep it away;
If a man should offer the sum total of all his riches for love,
It would be utterly despised,
Utterly scorned.

They now reach home. The Shepherd waits at a discrete distance while his beloved makes herself known to her mother and brothers. Such is the custom of the day. Hospitality is not lacking of the type for which eastern people have always been renowned. But at this moment a short family reunion is necessary, together with some explanations from the daughter. Her mother is perplexed, though glad to see her. She thought to see her daughter again at Jerusalem at a wedding ceremony, but now has to learn otherwise. But nevertheless she understands her daughter, which is more than her sons do. They seem a little disappointed at the turn of events. Having heard the whole story, they confer together.

FIRST BROTHER:

We have a little sister
As yet without any breasts;
What shall we do for our sister
When she is asked in marriage?

SECOND BROTHER:

If she is a wall
We shall build upon it a silver parapet;
If she is a door,
We shall ensure that it remains locked,
Barred with planks of cedar!

The brothers believe that their sister is too young to enter the state of matrimony, but they have not been too careful to watch her recent development! They have much pleasure in knowing that she has retained her virginity, and agree to continue their careful chaperoning until they consider her old enough for marriage. The Shepherd Girl overhears this conversation, and jumps to her own defense.

SHEPHERD GIRL:

Indeed I am a wall!
But my breasts are like towers!
And so in his eyes
I am as one who can bring him much contentment.
But as for Solomon,
He has a vineyard at Baal-hamon

(A place in Mount Ephraim, near Samaria)

Which he has let out to husbandmen;
Should one wish to purchase its fruit
He must be prepared to bring a thousand pieces of silver!

(Such is the bounty I could have
enjoyed with the great King!)

But my vineyard is entirely my own.
Solomon may keep his thousand,
And the husbandmen their two hundred.

The brothers smile and relax. They all laugh together, and applaud the faithfulness shown by the girl for her beloved. It is not long before she can go outside and bring him into the family home, and he is well received.

SHEPHERD:

My love, who dwells in the gardens,
What is it that my friends are saying?
Come, let me also hear your voice!

SHEPHERD GIRL:

Come my beloved,
Show yourself once again!
Be my gazelle,
Be my young hart
On the mountains of spice!

Perfection! What better way could there be of telling him that all was well. The mountains of separation have gone for ever, and the mountains of spice have returned. In due course a wedding day will be announced, and throughout the whole region there will be great rejoicing.


Final Comment

The Song of Songs has great beauty, great worth, and great teaching potential. It sings the praise of true worth, set against the transitory glitter of riches, adulation, and pomp. The Shepherd Girl knew the difference between the true and the false, the lasting and the ephemeral, and remained constantly faithful throughout all her distressing trials. Such sterling love almost defies description.

Can we not see here a type of the Bride? Can we assume that in this world today there are believers in the Lord Jesus who HAVE SUCH A DEEP LOVE FOR HIM that even if they were offered the whole world, they would look upon it with disdain? This story speaks of a trial, a testing, which is so much more subtle than persecution, hate, and other forms of evil. It panders to the evil of vanity in mankind, and seeks to destroy faithfulness by the offer of material reward. The only sure defense a believer has under such strain is to know his Master, and love Him with all his soul, mind, and strength. But how can such a love develop? Only God knows the answer to this question. But an illuminating statement was made by our Lord on one occasion that merits mention. "He who has been forgiven much, loves much." (Luke 7:47)

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