The Bible Unfiltered by Heiser Michael S.;

Author:Heiser, Michael S.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bible--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Publisher: Bellingham, WA
Published: 2017-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

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Solomon’s Bride or Jesus’ Bride?

The Song of Solomon is one of the most controversial books in the Bible. Most people reading it for the first time wonder how it ever got in the Bible—and why. At least a half dozen explanations for Song of Solomon’s inclusion in the canon have been proposed since ancient times.1 In today’s Christian context, Bible students usually opt for one of two options (or both).

Many modern believers consider Song of Solomon to be a celebration of marital intimacy. But this interpretation is easier said than demonstrated. Anyone who has closely read Song of Solomon knows it’s nearly impossible to discern a clear storyline. In addition, a good case can be made that, if you try to read the book chronologically, the lovers engage in sexual intimacy (Song 1:4, 13, 17; 2:4–6; 3:4) prior to the wedding night (Song 4:1–5:1). Most scholars today see the book as an anthology of love poetry, noting its similarity to ancient poetry of this type—especially Egyptian love poetry.2 So if you’re not married to (pardon the pun) seeing the book as a linear story, you can still embrace it as a celebration of the act of marriage.

In ancient times, the view that the book was about erotic relations (even within marriage) wasn’t the default perspective. In the Judaism of the first few centuries of the Christian era (AD), the view that the book was an allegory about God’s love for Israel/Jerusalem rose to prominence. That approach ultimately influenced early Christian interpreters to regard the book as an allegory for Christ’s love for his bride, the Church.3 However, in my judgment, this second approach is the least likely to be correct. My skepticism is driven by a simple litmus test: Does a New Testament writer ever quote Song of Solomon to make this point? No. In fact, the Song of Solomon is never quoted in the New Testament.

If Song of Solomon is an allegory for Christ’s love for the Church, the New Testament writers had many opportunities to draw from it. The language of bride and bridegroom appears nearly two dozen times in the New Testament, several of which appear to reference the Church (e.g., Rev 19:7; 21:9). Jesus is referred to as the “bridegroom” (John 3:29; Mark 2:19); the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:6–10) is a clear allusion to the time when believers are finally in Jesus’ presence. In Ephesians 5:22–25 Paul specifically uses the relationship of Christ and the Church to talk about marriage:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Yet nowhere in this passage—or anywhere else in the NT—do we find imagery from Song of Solomon. The

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