Sexual Love

1.1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s

1.2  How I wish he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth

because your lovemaking is better than wine

1.3 For fragrance your perfumes are wonderful,

and perfume poured fragrantly is your name.

Therefore young maidens love you

1.4 Draw me after you. Let us run together.

How I wish the king would bring me to his chambers

Here are some quotes from So Called Experts on the section.

Solomon wrote 1005 songs (I Kings 4:32)

In the Hebrew construction there is a repetition of the noun in the genitive, thus making it a superlative.  It is THE Song of Songs, the one song surpassing all other songs.

(24) Arnold G Fruchtenbaum, Biblical Lovemaking, (San Antonio): Ariel, 1983 page 1

Your love is more delightful than wine.

The Hebrew word translated “love” is dodem, which often refers to sexual love (1)

(1) Franz Delitzsch, The Song of Songs and Ecclesiates (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d), p 20.

In verse 2, the word translated “love” is dod which means sexual love. The root word means to carouse, swing, rock fondle, love and to move by thrusts and pushes, all of which have sexual connotation. This root refers to sexual activities in love, and all manifestations of sexual love.

(24) Arnold G Fruchtenbaum, Biblical Lovemaking, (San Antonio): Ariel, 1983 page 10

She is definitely talking about physical, sexual love

the separation of love into so-called physical love and the other kind is open to criticism, perhaps inadmissible; no love is either purely physical or purely of the other kind; both always contain a portion of the other, even if only a tiny one. We are neither pure spirits nor pure bodies, and it may be that the angels envy us our ever-changing mixture of both.

(29) Othmar Keel, translated by Frederick J. Gaiser, The Song of Songs, (Minneapolis), Fortress Press, 1994 page vii

your name is like perfume poured out. Or 1:3 your oils have a pleasing fragrance.

In Solomon’s time, it was the custom to rub the body with oil after a bath in preparation for a festive occasion. Also, the Egyptians place small cones of perfumed ointment on the foreheads of guests at their feasts; body heat would gradually melt the ointment, which then trickled down the face onto the clothing, producing a pleasant aroma. This practice was adopted by the Hebrews (psalm 133:2) (2)

(2) the New Bible Dictionary, ed. J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962), p. 906.

This is where the experts are very useful. They bring knowledge in from other areas and apply is to the life and customs in the time of Solomon

Here Shulamith is reflecting on the erotic sensation of Solomon’s perfumed oils. (3)

(3) Joseph C. Dillow, Solomon on Sex, Thomas Nelson,(New York) 1977, p. 13.

1:3 your name is like purified oil.

Purified oil was highly prized. She is saying she prizes Solomon as highly, so that the very sound or thought of his name creates in her heart a longing for him.  Also, his name flows smoothly over the tongue, just like flowing oil. (3) p. 13.

her delight is also reflected in playful language. In her native tongue, name and fragrant perfume sound alike, fragrance and perfume poured fragrantly sound similar and poetic together too…….the lovers cleverly create this mood throughout the Song.

(22) S Craig Glickman, A Song for Lovers, (Illinois); InterVarsity, 1976 page 42

and better than the scent of your anointing oils.

(29) Othmar Keel, translated by Frederick J. Gaiser, The Song of Songs, (Minneapolis), Fortress Press, 1994 page 40

Let the king bring me into his chambers.

Draw me—after you let us run. The king has brought me into his chamber. In verse 4a Shulamit expresses a second desire “Draw me”. The Hebrew word implies a gentle drawing of love towards itself. While the first desire was for sexual love, this second is for the emotional expression of love which gives sexual love its meaning.

(24) Arnold G Fruchtenbaum, Biblical Lovemaking, (San Antonio): Ariel, 1983 page 9, 11

Here is a key question. Is she talking about something that has happened,

or is she talking about what she wishes would happen.

I think the key is to determine to whom she is talking — him, friends,

or when she is directing it to the audience as a way to show she is sharing out loud what she is thinking.

Many translators render this, “The king has brought me to his chambers.” The form of the verb is most frequently translated in the simple past tense like that, rather than as a wish, as I have rendered it. But the use of the form to indicate a wish may be more likely here because of the grammatical parallelism of this to the wish of the opening line. The third-person “How I wish he would kiss me” parallels the third-person “How I wish he would bring me” with direct addresses (second-person verbs) in between.

(22a) Dr Craig Glickman, Solomon’s Song of Love, Howard Publishing (Louisiana), 2004 page 191