Title: The Hebrew, “ Shir Hashirim ”, means, “ Song of Songs ”, and is derived from the first verse. The title Song of Solomon is derived from the statement in verse one, which credits Solomon as the possessor of this great song.

Authorship and Date: As is the case with many of the books we have discussed, the date and author are debated. However, the internal evidence in this case would support Solomon as the author and a date of the pre-divided kingdom (the existence of Persian and Greek words and writing styles would not be extraordinary to Solomon who dealt with these nations frequently; in addition the author's knowledge of plants and animals is a signature of Solomon, as well as his dealings with Pharaoh, being married to his daughter– see: 1:9 ; I Kings 4:33 ).

Subject: “Love!” This great book of songs is a love story between a man and a woman (as God intended it to be). It depicts the wooing and wedding of a shepherdess by King Solomon, and the joys and heartaches of wedded love. In this love story is a pattern or illustration of what a man and woman ought to look for in a mate.

The book is arranged like scenes in a drama or a song with a continuous and diverse chorus. There are three main speakers: the bride (the Shulamite woman, who is a Palestinian young woman), the king (Solomon), and the chorus (daughters of Jerusalem ).

The book is titled the, “ Song of Songs ”, which is unique considering that Solomon wrote 1005 songs ( I Kings 4:32 ). This title of, “Song of Songs”, may be given this book because it describes the vital relationship of husband and bride (allegorically, it could also have reference to the relationship between God and Israel, which agrees with use of marriage in Old Testament scripture as an illustration of God's relationship to His people; which for you and I would carry over into the relationship that Christ has with His church, His bride!).

The description of love within the pages of this book transcends simple statement; thus the poetic imagery flows on and on to encapsulate a total picture of complete devotion. The writing aims at an association of feelings and values rather than visual correspondence (true love), often figurative rather than literal.

Good Reading !