# Why Is the Song of Solomon In the Bible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 21, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186 "2019-12-21T18:39:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/1 "2019-12-21T18:39:23Z")
I don’t know if any of you ever read the Song of Solomon in the Christian Bible. But it is downright dirty. I think it also involves an unmarried couple. I could be wrong on that one. Because I never read it thru. And although we studied the Old Testament in RC high school, we never got to that book (perhaps not surprisingly). I have nothing against healthy sexuality, mind you. If anything (and I do mean **anything** ) involves consenting adults, I have no problem with it. But the Bible is Christian. And traditional Christians are actually supposed to be against that stuff. No? Another question, I have had for some time now. Why is the Song of Solomon never quoted? Conservative Christians quote the Bible left and right. But they never quote that book. Am I wrong? I mean it is a bona fide book in the bible, is it not? :):):):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/2 "2019-12-21T18:52:11Z")
It’s also in the Jewish Bible. It’s essentially a dialogue between a man and woman (a bride and bridegroom?), celebrating sexual intimacy. Why would “traditional Christians” have anything against sexuality? Christians have sex too, and sex is actually viewed as a gift from God. This book celebrates that. Sure, many evangelicals have hang-ups about specific sex acts, but overall, most Christians don’t view sex as evil. Like anything, it’s become broken in a sinful world, but SoS can be seen as an example of how sex should be, in an unbroken world. I believe the Jews read it as an allegory between God and Israel, Christians often read it as an allegory between Christ and the church. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/3 "2019-12-21T18:59:46Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > I have nothing against healthy sexuality, mind you. If anything (and I do mean **anything** ) involves consenting adults, I have no problem with it. But the Bible is Christian. And traditional Christians are actually supposed to be against that stuff. No? No. We enjoy sex, yes we do! Song of Solomon is in the regular readings, although not frequently. Search on revised common lectionary song of solomon — [https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en-us&sxsrf=ACYBGNQTVFPYdqei1B10pTFFqxTN50N-yA%3A1576954575115&ei=z2r-XfLNBsKktQbb97CQCQ&q=revised+common+lectionary+song+of+solomon&oq=revised+common+lectionary+song+of+solomon&gs\_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.3...149660.152115..157662...0.1..0.134.891.3j5......0....1.........0i71j35i304i39j30i10.LyBSE5jb1E8](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en-us&sxsrf=ACYBGNQTVFPYdqei1B10pTFFqxTN50N-yA%3A1576954575115&ei=z2r-XfLNBsKktQbb97CQCQ&q=revised+common+lectionary+song+of+solomon&oq=revised+common+lectionary+song+of+solomon&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.3...149660.152115..157662...0.1..0.134.891.3j5......0....1.........0i71j35i304i39j30i10.LyBSE5jb1E8) ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/4 "2019-12-21T19:31:14Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > I don’t know if any of you ever read the Song of Solomon in the Christian Bible. But it is downright dirty. I think it also involves an unmarried couple. I could be wrong on that one. Because I never read it thru. And although we studied the Old Testament in RC high school, we never got to that book (perhaps not surprisingly). > > I have nothing against healthy sexuality, mind you. If anything (and I do mean **anything** ) involves consenting adults, I have no problem with it. But the Bible is Christian. And traditional Christians are actually supposed to be against that stuff. No? > > Another question, I have had for some time now. Why is the Song of Solomon never quoted? Conservative Christians quote the Bible left and right. But they never quote that book. Am I wrong? I mean it is a bona fide book in the bible, is it not? > > :):):):)🙂 They quote the parts they want to quote. The god of the bible is a mean horrible being. Infanticide, genocide punishing people for things they didn’t do etc. He is sure not the all loving being Christians say he is, so they only quote the parts that show god in a good light. I’ve always thought most Christians only know the stuff they hear in church and most have never read the bible critically(not with the presumption that is the unerring word of god). If they did, I think a lot of them would leave the religion. Of course when one talks to most of them about it, at least in my experience, they give the god works in mysterious ways cop out. I had one tell me that while killing innocent children seems horrible to us, since we don’t know god’s plan it is really an act of love. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/5 "2019-12-21T19:44:08Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > But the Bible is Christian. And traditional Christians are actually supposed to be against that stuff. No? Not that part. You guys may have tolen it, but you didn’t write it and it isn’t yours. As for the meaning, though some certainly use the interpretations people have given, but from the [Brittanica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Song-of-Solomon) we see > [@](#): > > The fourth interpretation, and the one that has perhaps gained the most credence among modern scholars, is simply that the Song of Solomon is a collection of secular love poems without any religious implications. According to this interpretation, the songs celebrate the joy and goodness of human love between the sexes and the sense of inner fulfillment and harmony with God’s creation that arise from such love. It was written long before Paul decided sex was bad, so perhaps it is just what it seems like. Davids and Solomon both had lots of wives, and they weren’t around just to do their sewing if you know what I mean and I think you do. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/6 "2019-12-21T20:02:37Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > And traditional Christians are actually supposed to be against that stuff. No? Against what…healthy sexuality? Why? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/7 "2019-12-21T20:53:31Z")
Tradition! and no Christians arent against sex. The Catholic Church downright is in favor of it- within marriage of course. It does seem like a couple weird Baptist sects are against any sort of sex, sure. But they are a tiny minority, even tho rather loud. ---
**Author:** ![atimnie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atimnie/32/11_2.png) [@atimnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atimnie)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/8 "2019-12-21T20:54:11Z")
_I had one tell me that while killing innocent children seems horrible to us, since we don’t know god’s plan it is really an act of love._ If you consider child killing an act of love, then you are not worthy of worship or praise. Also, if you value the free will of the rapist and murderer over the well being of the victim, then you are the most vile being in all of fiction. There are other words I could use, and often have on YouTube, but there’s different standards in place here. Just know that god as depicted in the bible, if he existed at all, would only be worthy of contempt and derision. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/9 "2019-12-21T21:12:26Z")
The Song of Songs is in the Hebrew Scriptures, along with a whole lot of disparate other things – poetry, mythology, history, genealogy, folktales. There’s quite a bit of sex in those scriptures, both nice and nasty, along with everything else. Christians did not write the Hebrew Scriptures (which Christians often call the Old Testament). They merely adopted them, as Jesus thought they were important. Ask a rabbi why it’s in there. Or why anything is in there. And you, OP, should really read the whole poem. It’s truly lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/10 "2019-12-21T22:00:33Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Against what…healthy sexuality? Why? Paul never graduated from the Woman Haters Club. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/11 "2019-12-21T22:01:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > and no Christians arent against sex. The Catholic Church downright is in favor of it- within marriage of course. And as long as it might lead to pregnancy. What’s the fun of that? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/12 "2019-12-21T23:14:58Z")
To the extent that the OP’s question has a GQ-type answer, it seems to be that [the poem was included in the Tanakh canon because of its attribution to King Solomon and because some rabbinical scholars during the early Common Era advocated strongly for its religious metaphorical interpretation](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-song-of-songs-review-the-spirit-in-the-flesh-11565387183). A modern translation and detailed exposition of the more literal erotic interpretation of the poem is [here](http://faculty.washington.edu/snoegel/PDFs/articles/Song%20of%20Songs%20Translation.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/13 "2019-12-21T23:22:17Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > We enjoy sex, yes we do! I read a source before - can’t recall where - that said that in a psychological survey done of women and sexual behavior, conservative Christian women reported the highest % rates of orgasms experienced in sex out of any category of women. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/14 "2019-12-21T23:23:48Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The Song of Songs is in the Hebrew Scriptures, along with a whole lot of disparate other things – poetry, mythology, history, genealogy, folktales. There’s quite a bit of sex in those scriptures, both nice and nasty, along with everything else. Exactly. The Jewish Bible was not written purely as a religious text - it’s also be a history book, a law book and a collection of the nation’s most important stories and poems. It’s the Jewish National Epic, the story of a people, and that means a lot more than just religion. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/15 "2019-12-21T23:41:16Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I read a source before - can’t recall where - that said that in a psychological survey done of women and sexual behavior, conservative Christian women reported the highest % rates of orgasms experienced in sex out of any category of women. Make of that what you will. LOL ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/16 "2019-12-22T21:26:51Z")
> [@atimnie](#): > > _I had one tell me that while killing innocent children seems horrible to us, since we don’t know god’s plan it is really an act of love._ > > . People don’t have any problem with killing innocent children. They just call it choice. ---
**Author:** ![atimnie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atimnie/32/11_2.png) [@atimnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atimnie)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/17 "2019-12-22T22:30:18Z")
No, abortion is not killing a child, it is stopping a process that could lead to a fully functioning human being. Anyway, this is not the thread for this argument. Message me when you post this in the appropriate forum, I’ll fight you on this there. ---
**Author:** ![fedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@fedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/18 "2019-12-23T02:36:46Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The Song of Songs is in the Hebrew Scriptures, along with a whole lot of disparate other things – poetry, mythology, history, genealogy, folktales. There’s quite a bit of sex in those scriptures, both nice and nasty, along with everything else. > > Christians did not write the Hebrew Scriptures (which Christians often call the Old Testament). They merely adopted them, as Jesus thought they were important. Ask a rabbi why it’s in there. Or why anything is in there. > > And you, OP, should really read the whole poem. It’s truly lovely. and few comment that the speaker is Black woman! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/19 "2019-12-23T03:25:35Z")
> [@fedman](#): > > and few comment that the speaker is Black woman! The woman in Song of Solomon has dark skin from being tanned by the sun. That’s totally different from being born black. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186/20 "2019-12-23T04:53:24Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The woman in Song of Solomon has dark skin from being tanned by the sun. That’s totally different from being born black. Yep. Altho it is possible she was Egyptian, that’s one legend. "6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of their vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!" [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-song-of-solomon-in-the-bible/845186.md?page=2)