If you see the Song as a manual for sexual ethics and practice, the main issue you need to address is that of whether the couple were actually married. The passages which speak about her brothers suggest to me that they weren't. eg...
Chapter 8
1 If only you were to me like a brother,
who was nursed at my mother's breasts!
Then, if I found you outside,
I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you
and bring you to my mother's house—
she who has taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the nectar of my pomegranates.
3 His left arm is under my head
and his right arm embraces me.
.......
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What shall we do for our sister
for the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build towers of silver on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with panels of cedar.
Beloved
10 I am a walland my breasts are like towers.
Thus I have become in his eyes
like one bringing contentment.
MD says they were married and gets around the fact that the ceremony doesn't happen til mid way through by saying that it's not chronological. My concern is that they really don't sound married while they do sound like they are enjoying eachother! I don't think it's a dream sequence either.
But if you're looking for a picture of happy monogamy, why would you expect it from Solomon?
If you do think they weren't married, and there is some immoral element in it, why do you reckonit's in the bible?
ReplyDeletethis is not a facetious question, I am genuinely wondering. I have not made my mind up, but will listen to the talks.
Similar to what Ben said, I don't think the burden of proof is on those who think the couple are married.
ReplyDeleteIt's a biblical presentation of godly sexual expression and love, which we know occurs in the context of marriage.
I assume they're married, unless there's some evidence to the contrary.
Yeah, Simone - I think MD is taking the easy way out! I think it takes some literary gymnastics to argue that the text itself portrays them as married - and given that we're talking about Solomon, it would be polygamous marriage anyway! I think it's a song about the power of erotic love - something that I think the text itself presents as an ambivalent thing, both positive and problematic - I think other places in Scripture give us an understanding of what we do with that as Christians.
ReplyDeleteThat's a helpful comment, Joanna. It is important to keep in mind that whether before marriage or after, Solomon had a bunch of other wives at the same time.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is a book where the reader has to make their own judgements, as no real judgement is given by the author. i think maybe the heart of it is that love and sex are wonderful things, and that the reader then has to look at the surrounding circumstances in the story, the authors life and from their own life and make value judgements from there..
Yes, sex etc is great and the song points this out, but I think it also captures some of the concerning side of erotic love - there's an obsessiveness about it (wandering the streets at night) and a defiance (cf. brothers bit).
ReplyDeleteI suspect that it's not actually a real relationship that's portrayed here...
Hey Ben (not Ben Mc),
ReplyDeleteWhat would constitute evidence for you?
This is a book of the bible that Christians have rarely let speak for itself. It's always been burdened with assumptions before it's been thoroughly read - eg. it's about Xst and the church, Xst and Mary (yes - this was big a few centuries ago), faithful marital love...
Just read it and see what the most natural reading is.
I think it has plenty to say about married sexuality, but let's not force the book to say things it doesn't. I know I need to tread carefully here. I think that sex outside of marriage is sin but I think that other places in the bible express this much clearer than S of Ss.
Hopefully in the near future I'll write a bit more clearly on why I don't think they are married and the more difficult question of what to do with it.
I think it's important to see the Song as part of the whole genre of Wisdom Literature - many of the issues that it raises are in fact issues that come up in reading Proverbs and Ecclesiastes as well. These books seem to be concerned with describing, understanding and learning from life in the world. I would be bold enough to say that none of them fit neatly into out ideas of what 'godly Christian life' should look like and all of them have thus given rise to the kind of theological and literary contortions that I mentioned before. I find it interesting that they are all so connected in Israel's culture to the person of Solomon - the original Renaissance Man - scientist, architect and ladies' man!
ReplyDelete[And yes, Simone, I totally agree that this is a POEM not a fieldwork diary, and this influences how we read it].