Song of Solomon

According to 1 Kings 4:32, Solomon wrote 1,005 songs. The very best of these was called the Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs (1:1).

The Song's many dialogs and speeches contain very graphic descriptions of the love relationship between Solomon and a Shulamite shepherdess. In certain places, the two lovers praise each other in very physical terms. This has embarrassed some readers. In fact, Jerome, a Christian scholar who lived about 1,500 years ago, be­lieved that no young man should read this poem until he was 30 years old.

This book is a love song in the style of idyll poetry. It illustrates the wonders of human love. And many see it as an illustration of the greater love that exists be­tween God and Israel or between Christ and the church.