The verse-by-verse study of the Song of Solomon in Marriage: A Taste of Heaven, Vol. I: God's People Appreciate Marriage (www.gospelthemes.com) contains evidence to prove that the true story speaks of two men--King Solomon and the Shepherd--as the appropriate verses are discussed. Those facts are grouped together here for easy review.
1. Plural and singular pronouns show whether a group of people are speaking, or only one person. For example, in Song of Sol. 1:4 the first two lines use the singular pronoun “me” when the Shulammite speaks. The last two lines change to the plural pronoun “we” when the chorus of maidens answers her. Both the context and the grammar affirm that a division of speakers takes place even though the words are combined in one verse.
The changing of speakers in the middle of a verse creates another confusing element for some students. Yet the separation of the Bible into chapters and verses is not inspired. Those divisions were assigned centuries after the Bible was written to make the text easier to read and to help find quotations. For this reason, modern students should allow the context to determine when the speakers change rather than strictly adhering to a man-made guide.
2. The original Hebrew used masculine and feminine pronouns, which aids the translators in determining whether the speaker refers to a man or a woman.
3. In the story, one man, who is identified as King Solomon, speaks for himself all the way through the book. See Song of Sol. 1:9-10, 4:1-5, 6:4-9. The other man, the Shepherd, speaks only through the thoughts of the Shulammite (Song of Sol. 2:10-14, 5:2) until the actual wedding takes place (Song of Sol. 8:5b-7, 13) where he speaks for himself. While everyone admits that the story identifies both a king and a shepherd, the Shepherd is the only man whose identity is questioned.
4. Sometimes the objection is made that people who take the two-men position arbitrarily decide which speaker is Solomon and which is the Shepherd. This is not true. Only two sections of shepherd scriptures refer to the Shepherd as a shepherd, all the rest refer to him as “my beloved.” This is significant because the Shulammite identifies the Shepherd in both of the shepherd passages as “you whom my soul loves” (Song of Sol. 1:7) and “my beloved” (Song of Sol. 6:2-3). This is noteworthy because the expressions “you whom my soul loves” and “my beloved” are used 34 times in the Song of Solomon. In every shepherd passage, except four, the Shepherd is easily distinguished by the fact that the Shulammite identifies the man as “you whom my soul loves” or “my beloved.” However, each of the four exceptions contains verses obviously connected to them that describe “my beloved.” Notice:
a. Song of Sol. 1:1-4: In verse seven, the Shulammite identifies this man as “O you whom my soul loves,” and goes on to ask where he pastures his flocks. Thus, this passage connects the beloved with the Shepherd. In addition, the Shulammite says, “Draw me after you [second person] and let us [second person] run together! The king [third person] has brought me into his [third person] chambers.” This language shows that she refers to two different men--the one she wanted to run with and spoke to (second person) and the king whom she talked about (third person).
b. Song of Sol. 4:8-15: Verse 16, which is a response to this passage says, “my beloved,” and the response to it in 5:1 uses the terms “my sister, my bride.” The only other place in the song where “my sister, my bride” is used is in 4:8-15. Thus, consistency demands that we recognize this whole section as being one speaker, whom the Shulammite identifies as “my beloved” in verse 16.
c. Song of Sol. 8:5b-7: Prior to this passage the town people ask, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved.” Obviously, the only man with the Shulammite is “her beloved.”
d. Song of Sol. 8:13: Here the bridegroom waits for the bride's promise to be his wife. The Shulammite immediately responds in verse 14 with, “Hurry, my beloved,” thus, she identifies him as the Shepherd.
5. Some people claim that the shepherd language is just figurative, colorful, poetic language describing wedded love. However, the only two sections that use the shepherd language do not use it in that way. Neither section calls the Shepherd a shepherd. Instead, both simply describe what he is doing (the normal activities of a shepherd) in order to tell where the “beloved” has gone:
a. Song of Sol. 1:7: The Shulammite is frightened because Solomon has brought her to his tent. She wants to know where the one whom her soul loves is so she can go to him, so she asks, “Where do you pasture your flocks?”
b. Song of Sol. 6:1-2: After the Shulammite described her beloved in glowing terms, the maidens then ask, “Where has your beloved gone?” The Shulammite responds, “My beloved has gone down to his garden...to pasture his flocks in the gardens.”
Thus, the shepherd language is not used to poetically or colorfully describe anyone or their longing to be together--it is used only to describe where the beloved is. If the Shulammite and the maidens were trying to find Solomon, it does not make sense to say he was out looking after his flocks since he himself said he was there to inspect the orchard of nut trees (Song of Sol. 6:11).
In addition, while the Song of Solomon uses many figurative expressions, each one is used the same way in other parts of the Old Testament or is found in Bible encyclopedias as typical of Hebrew speech. For example, eyes like “doves” is a symbol of peace throughout the Bible, “shoots” referring to children is found in Ps. 128.3, “a spring sealed up” is parallel with Prov. 5:15, and “gazelles and hinds” is used in Prov. 5:19. The reader is challenged to find a single example either in the Bible or a Bible encyclopedia of a shepherd or his job being used to poetically or colorfully describe a lover. The rule of interpretation says that a passage must be taken literally unless the context does not allow it. The context certainly allows that the “beloved” was really “pasturing his flocks in the garden.”
6. Another difference between King Solomon and the “beloved” is that even though the Shulammite is obviously in the King's presence (Song of Sol. 1:4, 12) she addresses Solomon personally only two times, both as a rebuke of his sensuous proposals (Song of Sol. 7:9 and 8:12). The other times that she uses “you” is in the context of either her “beloved” or the shepherd language and is spoken as if the Shepherd were not present--strictly a man of her memory. Yet Solomon uses the word “you” frequently in talking to the Shulammite as if they were standing face to face.
7. The king uses kingly examples such as comparing her to his mare among the chariots of Pharaoh (Song of Sol. 1:9) and to the capital of the Northern kingdom and an army (Song of Sol. 6:4), etc. Yet the Shulammite refers to Solomon's kingly status only twice and then only to identify where she was (Song of Sol. 1:4, 12).
In contrast, she brags on her “beloved” because of his shepherding skills. For example, in Song of Sol. 1:7 her beloved made his flocks lie down at noon--a skill only successful shepherds could do because sheep will not lie down at noon unless they have plenty of water and food, are safe from wild animals, and are free of disease and pests. When the maidens wanted to know where her beloved had gone in Song of Sol. 6:1, she told them he was working, pasturing his flock (verse 2).
If the Shulammite's beloved and the king are the same man, the Shulammite shows no respect or awe of his high position--certainly not a quality of reverence that women are commanded to have for their husbands in Eph. 5:33 or found in the woman of great price in Prov. 31:10-12. Indeed, the Shulammite would have been aware of Solomon's great chariots and horses because Megiddo, a city just west of Shunem where the Shulammite was from, was where Solomon held 500 of his 40,000 horses. She had plenty of reasons to associate him with horses, but almost none to connect him with sheep. (II Chron. 7:5 tells about him sacrificing 22,000 flocks and Eccl. 2:7 says he possessed many flocks and herds.) Solomon wasn't even there to inspect his flocks; he was there to inspect his vineyards (Song of Sol. 6:11 and 8:11-12). The Shulammite had no reason to say that he was taking care of his flocks (Song of Sol. 1:7). It would make more sense to say he was out in the vineyard--where Solomon said he was and what the Shulammite was doing.
So instead of praising Solomon for the feats he was proud of, as wives are wise to do today, she bragged about an insignificant quality to Solomon, one that was paramount to his father David. This would be like a girl bragging to her boyfriend about how successful and prosperous he is as a truck driver and what a good golfer he is when these are qualities to be admired in his father--not him. This would not go over very well with the boyfriend, and he would soon start to wonder if she were perverted or mentally-ill. No doubt, the boyfriend's mother and father wouldn't be impressed either.
8. If Solomon and the Shepherd are the same man, then this is not a story of marital success. At the time of the event, Solomon had 140 wives (Song of Sol. 6.8), but by the time he died he had 1000 wives (I Kings 11:3). If the Shulammite was his favorite wife, as some claim, she didn't possess the necessary qualities to keep him interested in her for long. Instead of being an uplifting story, it is a depressing one because true love, purity, devotion, healthy sexual attitudes, and commitment are not enough to win and keep a husband. Yet in Song of Sol. 5:1 God speaks and says, “Eat, friends; Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers” showing his approval of the marriage of the Shulammite and her beloved.
In addition, kings were told not to multiply horses, wives, or gold and silver in Deut. 17:14-20. The Song of Solomon reflects all of these excesses in Solomon. (Horses: I Kings 4:26, 10:28, 29; wives: I Kings 11:1-3; gold and silver: I Chron. 9:13-28).
Psalms 119:160 says, “The sum of Thy word is truth.” The one-man, one-woman view violates the creation account where God created one woman to satisfy Adam's needs. The creation account plays an important role in the relationship of husbands and wives in the New Testament. For example, in Matt. 19:3-6, Jesus referred to it in explaining about divorce. Paul used it in I Cor. 6:16 to amplify the evils of fornication. In Eph. 5:31, it is used to establish the basis for a mental union of husbands and wives through subjection and leadership. It is referred to in I Cor. 11:7-9 to show that just because women were given spiritual gifts in the New Testament church, the original law of subjection that was established at the creation was not done away with. Likewise, I Tim. 2:13-14 also referred to the creation in talking about the woman's relationship to men during acts of worship.
In further discussion of spiritual gifts, it is probably referred to in I Cor. 14:34 where it says, “just as the law also says.” This seems to be the case in I Cor. 14:34 because in many ways, I Cor. 11:7-9, 14:34, and I Tim. 2:13-14 are parallel passages even though they focus on different aspects of a woman's public worship. Both I Cor. 11:7-9 and I Tim. 2:13-14 refer to the creation to prove their points. I Cor. 14:34 says, “just as the law also says,” which seems to be a parallel thought.
However, the main point of this discussion is that the creation plays an important role in the relationship of men and women. And if only one man and one woman are involved in the Song of Solomon, then the account violates the most fundamental principle of the marriage relationship--the way a man and a woman are suppose to unite to become one flesh both physically and mentally.
9. The Shulammite does not treat Solomon as if he were her “beloved” and we have a lot of explaining to do if we choose to. Indeed, people who hold either the one-man position or the collection-of-unrelated-songs-with-no-storyline position have difficulty explaining all the verses according to their theory. They often admit to difficult sections that do not readily fit their position. Plus their versions of the story line are inconsistent with each other. Some think the wedding happened at the beginning of the book and this is the story of their sexual adjustment, with a fight or two thrown in, while others think the wedding took place at the end.
The two-man position does not have difficulty explaining the basic thrust of any verse. The biblical story is very well written with an excellent plot for captivating the intellect as well as the emotions of teenagers--the very ones to whom it was written. The fact that the story can be held up as a first-rate piece of literature only adds further proof of its inspiration by a loving God.
Many of the books written with the one-man position or the collection-of-unrelated-songs-with-no-storyline position seem to use their position in a forced effort to teach certain things about the sexual relationship. While healthy attitudes toward the sexual relationship are both desirable and commanded of God, the Song of Solomon does not have to be manipulated to achieve that goal. The Bible is full of sexual truths that liberate even the most inhibited of souls.
10. If the Shulammite were a good catch for Solomon, she no doubt would have had a boyfriend just as attractive, bright, pleasant girls her age today do. This is simply the true story of such a girl who was caught up by Solomon's prestige, wealth, and flattery, then had to make a choice. This scenario happens all the time. We should simply let the Shulammite tell who her beloved is: “He who pastures his flock among the lilies” (Song of Sol. 1:7, 6:2-3) and enjoy the drama and her maturity while we pray that our own daughters and sons will have the same good common sense.
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The Victims of Victorian Morals: Chapter 3 in Vol. II: God's People Make the Best Lovers shows how Victorian morals continue to victimize sexual love and to cheat countless couples out of the truly happy relationship God desires.
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Song of Solomon Resources
Marriage: A Taste of Heaven
Vol. I:
God's People
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Patsy Rae Dawson
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Understanding how the Bible turns marriages into literal tastes of heaven will thrill you as you learn the Biblical formula for solving every marriage problem. You'll examine current medical evidence for the physical and mental differences between men and women. At the same time, you'll find your self-esteem growing along with increased respect for the opposite sex. Four chapters contain a verse-by-verse study of the Song of Solomon. It will delight you as they capture the emotion God put into this wonderful true love story. Perhaps best of all, you'll discover that God put a blessing instead of a curse in subjection as you examine both the husband's and the wife's parts and learn where God tells women to draw the line in subjection. "I'm falling in love all over again!" is the most common statement readers make.
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Marriage: A Taste of Heaven
Vol. II:
God's People
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Patsy Rae Dawson
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This exciting volume deals with sexual love from a fresh perspective--the Bible. You'll learn the key for a glorious orgasm for both the husband and the wife that science discovered only recently, but it has always been present in the Bible. The Bible provides proper sex education for each stage of development from puberty through the temptation for middle-aged affairs. Refers often to the Song of Solomon to discuss God's wonderful teaching about sexual love. You'll find the discussion of Victorian morals so fascinating you won't want to put the book down. Deals frankly with sexual addictions and gives the procedure for overcoming sexual problems. Surveys and medical facts will convince you, "It's true! God's people really do make the best lovers!"
Help for avoiding and solving sexual problems!
- God deals with the #1 sexual problem--inhibited sexual desire and pleasure.
- Discover how thrilling rapture in the mate's arms is better than illicit lust.
- Find real sexual liberation from the One in whose mind sexual love originated.
- Delight in God's solution for lack of compatibility.
- See how God designed the older woman to be an exciting lover.
- God's lovemaking techniques give greater pleasure than all the sex toys.
- Replace masturbation with lovemaking with a "real" person.
- Learn how lovemaking gets better with age.
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Song of Solomon: God's Sex Education
For Teenagers, Courting Couples, and the Already Married
~ages 11 to 99~
Patsy Rae Dawson
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Safe Sex:
What They Don't Tell You"
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Adultery & Sexual Addiction:
A Plan for Healing the Soul & the Marriage"
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God inspired the Song of Solomon to capture the emotions of the readers to help them deal intelligently with a very emotional time of their lives--dating and selecting a lifelong sexual partner. This series of classes captures that emotion and brings to life the dilemma of the Shulammite about who to marry--rich, powerful King Solomon or the poor Shepherd.
King Solomon provides the perfect study for sensuous love vs. true love. With all his wealth and prestige, he enjoyed access to the most beautiful and sexually-experienced women of his time. He had only 140 wives at the time of the Song of Solomon, but eventually went through 1000 women. He enjoyed live bands and luxuries beyond description. Solomon didn't need flat paper women or frolicking computer graphics to turn him on-he delighted in real bodies.
If ever a man could have found the perfect feminine body to give him fulfillment, Solomon was that man.
These classes deal with vital subjects in a frank manner that is absolutely necessary in today's world. Both boys and girls, along with their parents and grandparents and older courting couples have expressed appreciation for this material.
**For ages 11 through 99. Past experience of many teachers of this material shows that junior high students are very receptive to learning about relationships. High school students say they wish they'd had this material in junior high before they'd made some of the decisions they had.**
God inspired the captivating Song of Solomon to bless the lives of every man and woman regardless of their age or upbringing by teaching them how to find true love, enjoy a lifelong sexual partner, and build a successful marriage. Lovemaking originated within the mind of God along with beautiful sunsets and undersea wonders, and this beautiful true story demonstrates his love for his people.
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