BIBLE SUMMARY: SONG OF SOLOMON

Song of Solomon Synopsis: Statistics And Summary of Main Topics.

Song of Solomon Chapter by Chapter Summary.

SONG OF SOLOMON TOTAL CHAPTERS: 8

SONG OF SOLOMON TOTAL VERSES: 117

TOTAL WORDS: 2661

DATE WRITTEN: 965 BC

AUTHOR: Solomon

SONG OF SOLOMON THEME: 

Beauty Of Married Love. Love: It is more than, but certainly not less than, physical. It is based on honor and intimacy.

MAJOR CHARACTERS:

The Lover, the Shunnamite Woman; the Beloved, Daughters of Jerusalem ;their friends.

SONG OF SOLOMON KEY VERSES:

1:2: May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.

2:1: I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys.

2:3: Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, So is my beloved among the young men In his shade I took great delight and sat down, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

2:7: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

5:1: Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.

8:6-7: Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

SONG OF SOLOMON SUMMARY

This book is the only one in the Bible that has love for its sole theme. So this is actually a love poem between a bride and groom. It is also interpreted where God is the Groom, and Israel is the bride. These are romantic songs of love in Hebrew poetry. As with Ecclesiastes, the composition is about Solomon and is probably by him. The purpose of the book is to put sexuality in the context of pure love and not the extremes of sensuous desire or excitment. That is to put sexuality in the context of the covenant of marriage. It narrates the virtues of healthy sexual relationships. In this book we receive a picture of the context in which sexual love is to be enjoyed to the glory of God, its creator. It starts in the form of dialogue between a husband King Solomon and his wife, the Shulamite. The book can be broken into three sections before the wedding where bride longs to be with her lover but also asking him to let love develop naturally verse 1:1 – 3:5. Second section the wedding, where the husband Solomon praises her bride and the bride invites him to take all she has to offer verse 3:6 – 5:1 and the third section the maturing marriage, where they go through a difficult time, but things end happily as the lovers reunite verse 5:2 – 8:14. Inbetween Shulamite has two dreams where she loses Solomon and searches throughout the city for him portraying her insecurity.

CHAPTER WISE SUMMARY:

Chapter# 1: Conversation Between Shulamite Woman and the Daughters of Jerusalem. Maiden’s self-description. Dialogue between shepherdess and shepherd. Man’s poetic praise of his beloved. Maiden’s poetic praise of her beloved. Mutual admiration. The man speaks to the woman. The woman answers the man
Chapter# 2: The Shulamite’s Thoughts of Her Shepherd Lover. Dialogue between maiden and her beloved. Banquet hall of love. Double refrain: embrace and adjuration. Rendezvous in the countryside. Poetic refrain. The woman answers. The woman speaks to the friends
Chapter# 3: The Woman’s Search for Her Lover, Her Desire to Marry Him, Glimpse of Rival Lover Solomon in all His Glory. Maiden’s dream. Seeking and finding. Adjuration refrain. Royal wedding procession
Chapter# 4: The Wooing of King Solomon, She Says No. Groom’s praise of his bride. The mountains and fragrance of lebanon. The locked garden of delights is unlocked
Chapter# 5: The Woman’s Thoughts Concerning Her Shepherd Lover. Maiden’s dream: seeking and not finding. Adjuration refrain. Maiden’s praise of her beloved. The young woman dreams of marriage with her husband. The woman answers the friends
Chapter# 6: Solomon Woos, She Refuses. Mutual possession refrain. Solomon’s praise of his beloved. The maiden’s beauty is without peer. The journey to the valley. The young woman’s home in Shulam. The fourth song. The friends call to the woman
Chapter# 7: The Shulamite Woman Escapes. Solomon’s praise of his dancing maiden. Mutual possession refrain. Rendezvous in the countryside. Solomon longs for the young woman’s affection
Chapter# 8: Shulamite Lover and Shepherd Lover Together Again in their Home Town. Maiden’s fanciful wish. Double refrain: embrace and adjuration. The nature of genuine romantic love. Maiden’s virtuous chastity and voluptuous beauty. Solomon’s vineyard and the maiden’s gift. Closing words of mutual love