Talk:Song of Solomon

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There needs to be a Song of Solomon (disambiguation) page, and more discussion of the fact that for most of the last 2,000 years a rather strictly allegorized interpretation prevailed in both mainstream "official" Judaism and Christianity, until in the 20th century a number of people tried to reclaim it to give religious validation to erotic love... AnonMoos 16:37, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Created disambiguation page. AnonMoos 08:01, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

Kabbalists and Christian Mystics have seen it slightly differently, I believe. The esoteric interpretation of the poem is that it is an expression of teh Hieros Gamos, the Divine Marriage, which works on a host of different levels, the spiritual and the erotic. So its possibly a little more complex than you suggest. It is true, however, that mainstream 'official' Judaism and Christianity have found the eroticism of the language very hard to handle and have thus allegorised the sexuality out of it, although it is hard to see how discussion of breasts, kissing on the lips, lying in bed in the arms of one's lover has much to do with the marriage of the Christian Church with Christ. But there we go. ThePeg 17:21, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

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The Song of Solomon is basically an ancient Egyptian love song between a brother and sister. Yes, this was the most common form of marriage for the Egyptians (and no, not just for the Royals) until 295 AD. The Hebrew version was added to their Bible somewhere around the first or second century BC. It would be nice if some brave soul would update the current entry which is from an 1897 source. CyranoDeWikipedia 04:54, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes, scholars who have worked on the origins of the book are likely to date it to the Hellenistic period -- which is not really a period when there was strong Egyptian cultural influence on the Israel/Canaan area. The "sister" and "brother" stuff is more likely to be just figurative language than it is to have anything to do with Pharaonic royal incest. AnonMoos 06:27, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Of course, no-one supposes that the 'brother and sister might be Isis and Osiris. do they? The passage in which the female speaker searches in the streets for her love is so reminiscent of the story of Isis searching for her love. The Song of Solomon is one of the most beautiful books of the Bible in which all aspects of love - erotic, divine etc - come together in an evocation of the Divine Marriage. Its much more than 'basically an ancient Egyptian love song between a brother and a sister'. Its one of the most visionary of the Books of the Bible. Many Western Mystery traditions borrow images from it - the Rose, the Hieros Gamos etc. Its amazing. This must be what Akiba meant by calling it the Holy Of Holies - a term he would not have ised lightly, the Holy of Holies being the most sacred place in the Temple. He must have known that this book contains a truth which is at the heart of the universe. ThePeg 17:28, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

This article cites a Jewish tradition that Solomon wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon at different stages in his life. Does anyone have references to back that up?Efredric219