THE SONG OF SOLOMON CONTROVERSY – IS EROTICA IN THE BIBLE?
The Song of Solomon Controversy, Is Erotica in the Bible? by Dr. Andrew Corbett, 2nd June 2012
Almost without exception, preachers promote the idea that the Song of Solomon is full of sexually erotic symbolism and allegory that extols the joys of monogamous marriage. If this be true then it is completely out of step with the overall revelation of God’s story of redemption!
The story goes, according to some preachers, that Solomon sees a girl, falls in love, takes her, has his way with her and she is entirely complicit with this erotic liaison. The language, these preachers argue, is allegorical so as to show some decorum about what is usually not often talked about: the act of sex between a husband and his bride. I would like to debunk this myth and propose a different story that not only fits perfectly with the text but also the overall message of Scripture.
Consider the big problem of proposing that the Song of Solomon is about the joys of monogamous marriage and the joy of sexual union between a husband and his bride. If you were going to have this as your goal, would you choose King Solomon to model it?
Secondly, consider the overall message of Scripture- God’s unfolding plan of redemption. Every book in the Bible reflects this. Based on the idea that the Song of Solomon is about his erotic liaison with his bride, the only way this book could be seen to fit within this unfolding revelation would be to allegorise it to be a picture of Christ and His Church – but even then it’s extremely difficult to be consistent with our allegorising to make it fit this interpretation.
Added to this is the hermeneutical (the way we interpret Scripture) problem. How did the original audience understand this book? Would they have thought that it was about sacred eroticism? Would they have thought that it was about Christ and His Church?
Some reading this have got to this point and have already determined that what I am saying is that erotic love between a husband and a wife is not endorsed in Scripture. I am not going to say this. But I am going to strenuously argue that this is not the point of the Song of Solomon! Does the Bible contain practical instructions for how a husband and a wife can engage in erotic love? No, it does not. And for those preachers who appeal to the Song of Solomon and twist its content to suggest that it does, I wish they would stop and re-evaluate this text.
Consider the historical background to this story. Israel was sliding into apostasy. Solomon was taxing his people heavily and being led astray by “many wives”. The Law of Moses had forbidden Kings from both of these wrongs-
And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
Deuteronomy 17:17
For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
First Kings 11:4
Solomon presided over a progressive spiritual decline in Israel. Just like its King, the nation was becoming increasingly unfaithful towards God. And in the midst of this growing apostasy, God used an episode in the life of Solomon himself to make a point to the whole nation: despite the most alluring temptations it is possible to remain faithful and honour the covenant.
SOLOMON IS NOT THE LOVER
Here’s a different story: A young, beautiful, Shulammite farm-girl is betrothed to her sweet-heart who is a shepherd. One day the King travels by with his retinue and eyes this young beauty. He orders her to be taken into his harem. She is taken against her will to the harem of Solomon’s wives and concubines. She is desperate not to be violated and to escape so that she can return to her betrothed. She manages to escape and asks the night watchmen if they have seen her betrothed looking for her. Before she can successfully return, she is recaptured but this time kept under lock and key. Solomon makes his inevitable advances but she diplomatically resists him despite his offers of wealth, power and fame. After a possible period of years, she is allowed to return to home where her brothers come out to meet her and question whether she has remained faithful to her betrothed. She tells them that despite the time she has been away (her young sister has now become a young woman) she has indeed remained faithful to the covenant with her betrothed. And thus ends a beautiful illustration of faithfulness which indicts Israel for its unfaithfulness towards God.
THE SHULAMMITE WAS GOD’S MESSAGE TO BACKSLIDDEN ISRAEL
The Hebrew word for lover is very similar to the word for shepherd. God had longed for Israel to regard Him as their lover. He was their Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). But the nation had been lured away by false gods and become distracted with objects of prestige and the admiration of people. The Shulammite was a prophetic statement to the nation. Her faithfulness to her childhood betrothed stands alongside two other such Biblical examples of covenant keeping: Hosea, and the Rechabites (Jeremiah 35) which were meant to be both a prophetic statement to, and an indictment of, Israel.
The beauty of erotic love between a husband and his bride is something that the Bible commends. But this is not the message of the Song of Solomon! The picture painted by the Divine Artist is perhaps more beautiful than many have realised. A beautiful young girl commits her love to her childhood sweetheart and despite the allurements of the most powerful man in her nation, she remains faithful, pure, and in love with her shepherd-lover. It is a wonderful story with the central character, the Shulammite, exhibiting the universally admired chutzpah to remain faithful against all odds. The real message of this Song is perhaps timely in our own generation when the most common strategy for dealing with temptation is simply to give into it.
Amen.
Dr. Andrew Corbett, 2nd June 2012, updated 20th July 2025
@DrAndrewC
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