Song of Songs
Old Testament · translated from the Hebrew
A love poem between a man and a woman: desire, searching, waiting and the wedding day (3:11). It says that love is strong as death (8:6).
How it is laid out
Key verses
- Song of Songs 8:6 — Strong as death is love
- Song of Songs 8:7 — Many waters cannot quench love
- Song of Songs 2:7 — Do not awaken nor arouse love until it pleases
Who wrote it
The title links it with Solomon (1:1); the Hebrew phrase can be read “of Solomon” or “for Solomon.” Jewish and Christian tradition attributes it to Solomon. The authorship is debated.
When it was written
Debated: around 950 BC if it is Solomon’s, or several centuries later.
For whom, and in what situation
It names no audience. The woman speaks to a chorus, the “daughters of Jerusalem” (2:7). Jewish tradition reads it at Passover, and Jewish and Christian tradition have also read it as a picture of the love between God and his people.
All the books
GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation