Simple Scene

Simple Scene

On first reading, many wonder why a frankly erotic little poem like the Song of Solomon is part of the Bible. For centuries, embarrassed theologians recast its sensuality into an allegory of the love of God for Israel or of Christ for the church. In the past hundred years, scholars have come to accept and celebrate the Song as an endorsement of the glories of human love. My own reading of the Song, however, suggests that only its first half focuses on the erotic aspects of love. The second half of the poem depicts that sensuality blossoming, ripening into ...