1:1
“Solomon’s Song of Songs”. Song of Songs is a superlative, meaning this song is the greatest of songs. 1 Kings 4:32 says that Solomon wrote 1005 songs, this is the greatest of those. AS mentioned in the introduction there are arguments against his being the author. It is also possible to take this as meaning the song is about Solomon, the problem here is that Solomon had so many wives and concubines, he was hardly a paragon of virtue.
1:2-4
The “She” delights on her man, longing to be kissed by him. It is important to remember that this is a poem, and so a strictly analytical approach, which might be appropriate for a book like Romans does not really apply here, a more emotional approach is perhaps in order. The man she desires is admired by the young women, and she wants hom to take her away with him.
The friends of the woman rejoice and delight with her. A relationship is not purely private, it has wider consequences that affect others.
1:5-7
Being fair was considered better than being tanned, unlike today. In the day of this book the poorer woman would tend to work in the fields, and hence would be affected by the sun, and so would have a darker complexion. Later, after the industrial revolution, poorer women would work in factories, and so would be of a fairer complexion. So the woman has some insecurities about her looks. She had been forced to work in the vineyards. The beloved is a shepherd who would resort at midday. A “veiled woman” would be a prostitute, the woman did not want to be considered like that.
1:8
The friends give advice to the woman, to follow the tracks of the sheep, she also seems to be a shepherdess.
1:9-17
The woman is worried about her suitableness, but the beloved seems to have no such qualms, considering her to be most beautiful. In 1:16 she replies that she finds him equally handsome. V17 is a comment on the strength of their relationship.
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