The primary purpose of the book seems to be to present an example of the proper pre-marital, marital, and post-marital relationship of a man and a woman. This example includes illustrations of the solutions to common problems that couples face in these phases of their relationship.
The book reveals several facts about sex. Sex is a proper part of marital love, but we should reserve it for marriage (2:7; 3:5), and we should practice it only with our marriage partner (6:3; 7:10; 8:12; cf. Gen. 2:24).
In a day when the "sexual revolution"has led multitudes of people away from God's revelation concerning what is best in this area of our lives, we need to expound this book. It can be very helpful if we explain it tastefully in public and use it as a private guide for marriage preparation and enrichment.88
"In a world awash with the debris of broken homes, crushed spirits, and fractured dreams, God's people need the message of the Song of Solomon as never before. The Song is a righteous antidote to a licentious society that has prostituted the sacred nature of human love. Hope exudes from its pages. If ever a book was written with a message more salient for a later generation, Solomon's ode is that book."89
"In no other book of the Hebrew Bible does the imagery figure so prominently as it does in the Song of Songs."90
Hebrew poetry generally contains many figures of speech, and the Song of Solomon in particular contains an unusually large number of them. It is therefore often difficult to know whether we should interpret a particular statement literally or whether it is a poetic description of something else. These judgments require skill in interpretation. As we continue to read the text and the comments of others who have studied it, we need to ask God to open our minds so that we will understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). Biblical interpretation is an art that any Christian can perfect, though it requires much practice as well as divine enablement.
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Bromiley, Geoffrey W. God and Marriage. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980.
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Carr, G. Lloyd. "Is the Song of Songs a Sacred Marriage' Drama?"Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society22:2 (June 1979):103-14.
_____. "The Love Poetry Genre in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East: Another Look at Inspiration."Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society25:4 (December 1982):489-98.
_____. "The Old Testament Love Songs and Their Use in the New Testament."Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society24:2 (June 1981):97-105.
_____. The Song of Solomon. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Leicester, Eng., and Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1984.
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Constable, Thomas L. "Analysis of Bible Books--Old Testament."Paper submitted for course 685 Analysis of Bible Books--Old Testament. Dallas Theological Seminary, January 1967.
Crenshaw, James. Old Testament Wisdom. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981.
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Exum, J. Cheryl. "A Literary and Structural Analysis of the Song of Songs."Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft85 (1973):47-79.
Farstad, Arthur L. "Literary Genre of the Song of Songs."Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1967.
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Ginsburg, Christian D. Song of Songs and Coheleth. Reprint ed., New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1970.
Glickman, S. Craig. A Song for Lovers. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1976.
Godet, F. "The Interpretation of the Song of Songs."In Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation, pp. 151-75. Edited by Walter C. Kaiser Jr. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972.
Gordis, Robert. The Song of Songs and Lamentations. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1974.
_____. "A Wedding Song for Solomon."Journal of Biblical Literature63 (1944):263-70.
Gray, George Buchanan. The Forms of Hebrew Poetry. Library of Biblical Studies series. 1915; reprint ed. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1972.
Holmyard, Harold R., III. "Solomon's Perfect One."Bibliotheca Sacra155:618 (April-June 1998):164-71.
Hubbard, David A. Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Communicator's Commentary series. Dallas: Word Books, 1991.
Keown, Gerald L., Pamela J. Scalise, and Thomas G. Smothers. Jeremiah 26-52. Word Biblical Commentary series. Dallas: Word Books, 1995.
Knight, George A. F. Esther, Song of Songs, Lamentations. London: SCM Press, 1955.
_____. The Song of Songs. International Theological Commentary series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988.
LaCocque, Andre. Romance, She Wrote: A Hermeneutical Essay on Song of Songs. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity, 1998.
Lange, John Peter, ed. Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. 12 vols. Reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1960. Vol. 4: Psalms-Song of Solomon, by Carl Bernard Moll and Otto Zockler. Translated and edited by Charles A. Briggs, John Forsyth, James B. Hammond, J. Fred McCurdy, Charles A. Aiken, Tayler Lewis, William Wills, and W. Henry Green.
LaSor, William S.; David Allan Hubbard; and F. W. Bush. Old Testament Survey. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982.
Laurin, Robert B. "The Life of True Love: The Son of Songs and Its Modern Message."Christianity Today, August 3, 1962, pp. 10-11.
Lehrman, S. M. "The Song of Songs."In The Five Megilloth. London: Soncino Press, 1946.
Meyers, Carol. "Gender Imagery in the Song of Songs."Hebrew Annual Review10 (1986):209-23.
Miller, Andrew. Meditations on the Song of Solomon. London: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.
Morgan, G. Campbell. Living Messages of the Books of the Bible. 2 vols. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912.
Murphy, Roland E. The Song of Songs. Hermeneia series. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.
Nelson, H. Thomas. "Love Song: >From Attraction to Faithfulness."6 cassette tapes. Denton, Tex.: Denton Bible Church, 1991.
Parsons, Greg W. "Guidelines for Understanding and Utilizing the Song of Songs."Bibliotheca Sacra156:624 (October-December 1999):399-422.
Patterson, Paige. Song of Solomon. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986.
Phipps, William E. "The Plight of the Song of Songs."Journal of the American Academy of Religion42 (1974):82-100.
Pope, Marvin H. Song of Songs. Anchor Bible series. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1977.
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Rylaardsdam, J. Coert. The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon. Layman's Bible Commentary series. Richmond: John Knox Press, 1964.
_____. "The Song of Songs and Biblical Faith."Biblical Research10 (1965):7-18.
Sasson, Victor. "King Solomon and the Dark Lady in the Song of Songs."Vetus Testamentum39:4 (October 1989):407-14.
Schonfield, Hugh S. The Song of Songs. New York: New American Library, 1959.
Shea, Williams H. "The Chiastic Structure of the Song of Songs. Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft92 (1980):378-96.
Tanner, J. Paul. "The History of Interpretation of the Song of Songs."Bibliotheca Sacra154:613 (January-March 1997):23-46.
_____. "The Message of the Song of Songs."Bibliotheca Sacra154:614 (April-June 1997):142-61.
Taylor, J. Hudson. Union and Communion. Reprint ed., London: China Inland Mission, 1954.
von Rad, Gerhard. Wisdom in Israel. New York: Abingdon, 1972.
Woudstra, Sierd. "The Song of Solomon."In The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, pp. 595-604. Edited by Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison. Chicago: Moody Press, 1962.
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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable
