The Bare Facts --
Overviews and Outlines --
Bible Studies: Whole Book -- Part of Book --
Sermons -- Bibliographies
Rabbi Akibba described it as the "Holy of Holies" among the books of the Hebrew scriptures. According to Franz Delitzsch, it is the "most obscure book of the Old Testament." The Christian commentators from the later patristic period through the end of the Middle Ages generated more interpretations of the Song of Songs than of any other book of the Old Testament.
One of the five megillot, the Song is traditionally read at the festival of Passover.
Left: One of Marc Chagall's paintings on Song of Songs.
The Bare Facts
Who: The .
Where: I.
When: S.
What: P.
Also Known As: Song of Songs, Canticle of
Canticles, The Canticle, The Canticle of Solomon, Shir Ha-Shirim.
Memorable Passages
Overviews and Outlines
- Introduction
to the Song of Songs
- An outline-based overview by David Malick.
- An Argument
of the Song of Songs
- A rhetorical outline by David Malick.
-
Song of Songs
- An overview by Arend Remmers
- Bible Basics
- A very brief list of facts, but it includes a wav file pronouncing the
book's title.
- Easton Bible Dictionary:
Solomon, Song of
- The article from M.G. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
- Catholic
Encyclopedia: Canticle of Canticles
- The appropriate entry from the public domain edition of this venerable
reference work.
- Columbia
Encyclopedia: Song of Songs
- A brief article from the 2001 edition of this reference work.
- Bible Explained
- This is a commentary by an energetic fellow named Ted Wade. He
provides brief notes on each chapter and most verses for the entire Bible.
Wade believes that the Song not only describes the life of an individual
Christian but the prophetic span of time, which he parallels with the seven
churches from Revelation.
-
Luther Productions
- A very brief overview including key verses.
- The Blue
Letter Bible
- An excellent source for text, cross-references, concordance, language
helps, commentaries, and more.
- JPS Bible
- The JPS 1917 Bible text and another Jewish version. There are links
that supposedly go to two Hebrew and one Aramaic text but they don't seem to
work.
-
Jewish Encyclopedia
- An article from the 1901-06 reference work. Generally liberal in its
critical presuppositions.
- Sights and Sounds of the
Song of Songs
- A site that details some of the art that has grown from the book.
Includes a beautiful 12th-century illumination from the opening of the Song.
Bible Studies: Whole Book
- The
Song of Songs
- Lesson 26 from Bob Deffinbaugh's From Creation to the Cross study
course.
- Exploring the
Word of God
- A 2-part study from the Worldwide Church of God, a denomination with a
checkered past but an exciting present.
- James Durham:
Commentary on the Song
- James Durham (1622-58) was a Scottish Puritan. His verse-by-verse
commentary is available here.
-
Meditations on the Song of Solomon
- A devotional commentary by Andrew Miller
- Madame Guyon: Explanation and
Reflections
- This source, written by a late seventeenth-century nun, looks at the Song
with special emphasis on the inner life.
- Love the Lord Bible
Studies: Song of Solomon
- An eight-lesson study with questions from an Arkansas-based ministry.
They seem orthodox enough, although the statement of faith makes me wonder if
they're not into prosperity gospel teachings.
-
Hippolytus
- A brief commentary by this early father of the Church.
- Geneva Notes
- In 1599, English Puritans, working in Geneva, published the first study
Bible. These are the notes from that edition.
- Coffman's
Commentary
- A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. James Burton Coffman, a leading Church
of Christ scholar.
- Matthew Henry's
Commentary
- The chapter-by-chapter 1712 commentary by
the great English Puritan writer..
-
John Wesley Notes
- Over his career, the
founder of Methodism maintained notes on the entire
Bible.
-
JFB Commentary
- The comments of Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown from
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871).
- Clarke's
Commentary
- The first chapter for this book from
Adam Clarke's nineteenth-century
commentary.
- John Gill's Exposition of the
Entire Bible
- The commentary of the
17th century Baptist theologian and preacher.
- Scofield
Reference Notes
- The notes from the 1917 edition of the great study Bible. From a
dispensationalist viewpoint.
-
Old Testament Life and Literature
- Gerald Larue's 1968 overview of the Old Testament is, oddly enough, hosted
at an atheist website. Larue is liberal in all his assumptions, accepting
without question the conclusions of the most skeptical scholars.
- Treasury
of Scripture Knowledge
- A combination brief commentary and thorough cross-reference.
Developed by
R.A. Torrey.
- The Jerome Bible
Commentary
- A commentary by a Catholic doctor, Jerome Dominguez, M.D. Is English
isn't perfect, but you have to admire his energy. Although Catholic in
orientation, this source has some good material for study.
- The Aramaic
Targum to Song of Songs
- This is the Aramaic translation of the Song now translated by Jay Treat
into English.The
Targum sees in the Song the entire history of Israel rendered figuratively and
prophetically through Solomon. The five sections it presents are 1.
Wilderness. 2. Temple. 3. Exile. 4. Second Temple. 5. Final Exile,
Redemption and Temple.
- Keys to the Song of Solomon
- A very long document by Lambert Dolphin, a retired physicist.
- Ron Wallace
Commentary
- A commentary by the master of Bible Fragrances.
- Early Jewish
Writings--Song
- Commentary and links to resources.
- Union and
Communion.
- A commentary by J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission.
-
Michael S. Cole: Commentary
- A brief study from a Church of Christ medical doctor.
-
Barry Bandstra: Song of Songs
- A chapter from Bandstra's book Reading the Old Testament.
Bible Studies: Part of Book
- Loving the Son (1:1-3:5)
- A sermon/study by Max Forsythe. Reformed. Forsythe covers the
entire book in four sermons listed here.
-
Morning and Evening (1:2)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (1:2)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions. Another on this verse.
-
Morning and Evening (1:4)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (1:4)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (1:4)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (1:7)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (1:7)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (1:13)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (1:16)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
- Eros
and Ethics (ch. 2)
- A sermon by Susan Andrews. Read the first couple of paragraphs to
get the gist. From a liberal Presbyterian group.
-
Morning and Evening (2:1)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (2:3)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (2:8)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (2:10)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (2:12)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (2:15)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
- Mystic Union
between Christ and the Saints (2:16)
- A sermon by Thomas Watson.
-
Morning and Evening (2:16-17)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
A
Brief Exposition of the Song of Solomon (ch. 3-8)
- A lengthy commentary by Hamilton Smith. The coverage of chapters 1
and 2 is omitted without explanation.
-
Morning and Evening (3:1)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (3:4)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
- The Great Wedding (3:6-5:1)
- A sermon/study by Max Forsythe. Reformed.
-
Freedom for Heaven (3:2-5)
- A sermon from Easter evening 2005 by Colin Slee. Anglican.
-
Morning and Evening (4:7)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (4:7)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (4:12)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (4:12)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (4:16)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (5:1)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (5:2)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
- First or Second Love?
(5:2-6:3)
- A sermon/study by Max Forsythe. Reformed.
-
Augustine on the Song (5:2,3)
- A commentary by the
C.H. Spurgeon
-
Morning and Evening (5:4)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (5:6)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (5:8)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (5:11)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (5:13)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (5:16)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
- Moon & Stars (6:4-8:14)
- A sermon/study by Max Forsythe. Reformed.
-
Morning and Evening (7:11-12)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (7:13)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (8:6)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (8:13)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Sermons
- Song of
Solomon: A Love Song and a Hymn
- The appropriate sermon from
Ray C. Stedman's Adventuring through the Bible series.
-
David Simpson's Sermons
- Text and audio links to this Calvary Chapel pastor's sermons.
- C.H. Spurgeon
- A listing of sermons, some of which are available online, by the
great British Baptist.
-
Bernard of Clairvaux
- Extracts from some of Bernard's 86 sermons on the Song
-
Andrew Jones--The Joy of Sex
- A sermon on the Song. From a site dedicated to
Biblical Theology.
-
Sermon
Outlines
- Links to sermon outlines from
SermonLinks.
Articles, Books, and Bibliographies
- Where God is
Not: The Book of Esther and Song of Songs
- An article by David R. Blumenthal.
- The
Passionate Woman Who Wrote "Song of Songs"
- An interview with Renita Weems who describes the Song as secular and
written by a woman.
-
Reading the Song of Songs as a Classic
- A conference paper by David J.A. Clines.
-
Charles Williams' Concept of Imaging Applied to the "Song of Songs"
- An article from Wesleyan Theological Journal (1981) by Dennis
Kinlaw.
- "My
Beloved is Mine and I Am His" (2:16)
- An article from Semeia, subtitled "The Song of Songs and Honor and
Shame" by Dianne Bergant.
- The Ultimate Manual on
Sex?
- An article by Chuck Missler
- The
Greatest Songs
- An article from The Covenant Quarterly (1996) by Peter Paulsen.
- Bible Links Bibliography
- A Bible Links exclusive. This bibliography emphasizes less known
translations, artistic renderings, and commentaries.
- What Should I
Read on the Song of Solomon?
- A bibliographical essay by James T. Dennison.
- Bibliography
- David Malick's evangelically-oriented bibliography.
-
Two-Age Bibliography
- A list of recommended sources, mostly scholarly in nature, provided by a
website devoted to the "Redemptive Historical" school of theology.
Memorable Passages