The Faithful Way

Jeremy’s notes

Commentary used for these chapters:

James E. Smith, Old Testament Survey Series: The Wisdom Literature and Psalms, (College Press), Accessed through Logos Bible Software.

For this evening, I have used a different commentary which poses the idea of an unmentioned character, a Shepherd.  From last week, please remember that there are many ways to potentially interpret this poem.  I would suggest we not get “attached” to one or the other, but that we would rather consider all “angles” in an attempt to fully understand God’s Word.  I have preferred to use the Solomon-Abishag approach since 1. it seems to work well interpretively with 1 & 2 Kings, although others disagree, and 2. it keeps an eye on a direct interpretation of the text as there is no “direct” evidence of a third person beyond the chorus.  However, remaining open to additional interpretations may yield insight.

As you might recall, in the first session, I suggested several interpretive approaches.  Let’s just review three of these:

1. Allegory
2. Solomon and Abishag
3. Then, Miriam suggested the Shepherd idea.

Categorize the following in one of the above three approaches:

• drama
• sequential narrative (not chronological)
• a symbolic
• a theological work
• a description of married life
• entertainment
• a “manual”
• a love manifesto

From a consideration of these approaches, what might you say about:

Approach                           Pros                                 Cons

So long as we are keen to understand the pros and the cons of the different approaches, we are ready to discuss the scripture!  Tonight, we will handle the format slightly differently.  First, someone will read a selected passage from chapters 5 or 6, then, I will read a portion of a commentary and we will then discuss a question which is reflective of the text.  This will be a little more “strict”, but if you have read ahead or have studied at home hold onto your comments until we get to the relevant passage.  That will help us get through the entire selection of scripture in our hour and a half.  However, comments and questions are highly encouraged, especially when they are thoughtful!

1. READ Songs 5:2-7

Before we read the commentary, who are the characters?  Remember we are viewing this through the Shepherd lens now.

Beloved –

The Lover –

Other (X2)-

Commentary:

Solomon’s amorous advances and verbal flattery are deflected through a swoon.  She falls into a trance to escape the consummation of a marriage with a man she does not love.  His second attempt to woo the maiden had ended just like the first (cf. 2:8–3:5).  She tells Solomon this: “I sleep, but my heart is awake” (5:2a).  Before Solomon she is a lifeless body, but in her mind she is focusing on earlier experiences with her beloved.  By this means she maintains her virginity, and focuses her resolve to be faithful to her beloved.  The shepherd also was skilled in verbal expressions of love. He addressed the maiden with four epithets.  (1) “My sister” indicates that he treats her as his equal. Her attraction to him is more than sexual.  (2) “My darling”: a term of endearment indicating free choice.  (3) “My dove”: points to purity, simplicity, and loveliness.  (4) “My perfect one”: indicates perfect devotion, undoubting trust (5:2).

The remainder of verses recount a scene where the Shepherd attempts to come into her chamber, but she protests because she is already in bed and does not wish to get up.  After some persistence, she relents but he is gone.  Then, she chases him through the town resulting in a scene similar to chapter 3.

Application:

Just for kicks, let’s split up the guys and the girls (guys on one side, girls on the other).  The guys must come up with one group answer and the girls also must come up with their own group answer.

Remember the comments of the Shepherd’s address of the maiden (see above):

1. Her attraction to him is more than sexual.
2. She is free.  She chooses him.
3. He notices (and appreciates) her purity.
4. He completely trusts her.

Choose one of the above four points and one person in each group share a personal story affirming one of those four attributes he notices in her.  Once the stories are finished, please go ahead and return to where you were seated previously.

2. READ 5:8-6:3

Commentary:

The trance ends.  Again the Shulamite addresses the “daughters of Jerusalem.”  She is desperate that her shepherd know how much she loves him.  She pleads with these ladies to tell him, if they should ever see him: “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am love sick.”  They must tell him, for she cannot.  Once married to Solomon, her contact with the world outside the palace would be over (5:8).

In the end of this section, the Shepherd returns to his place in the fields.  However, in between, she happily describes him to the rest of the Solomonic harem as they naturally might wonder what she sees in this Shepherd that would be so much better than the king.  She described him in ten different ways:

Shulamite’s description                                    Your Spouse

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Promise that when you get home tonight you will share this with your spouse!

3. READ 6:4-13

Commentary:

We return to a scene where the king re-enters the stage.  The smitten king begs the maiden to look away from him: “Turn away your eyes from me, for they have overcome me.”  He feels helpless to withstand the gaze of her eyes.  Her looks melt him, and make it impossible for him to speak coherently to her.  Solomon now compares his bride to the other members of the harem.  “There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and virgins without number.”  The setting of this love story is in the early reign of Solomon before he reached the three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines of 1 Kings 11:3.  The Shulamite exceeded all these women in beauty and purity: “My dove, my perfect one is unique. She is her mother’s only one; she is the pure child of the one who bore her.”  Just as the maiden stood out in her family as the favorite of her mother, so she stands out as unique among the women of the palace.  Emphasis here is on the purity of the maiden.  Her innocence, modesty and purity were qualities which attracted Solomon to her.  In the end, however, the timid country girl did not wish to be a spectacle (6:13).

Ladies, let’s let you have the last word tonight.  Reflect on what is most important to you in your married relationship.