judge

I had it suggested to me that the Song of Solomon was a pastiche of older erotic poems.

Anyone know about this?

Leah

"...her breasts are like towers ...."

Salomon was obviously someone who knew about the pleasures in life. We used to have lots of fun with his kinky little poems as kids.
And quite evocative for that time.

Peter Kirby

Lawrence Boadt writes: "The close parallels between the language of The Song of Songs and Arab wedding songs from Syria were discovered in the late nineteenth century. The wedding customs included a dance with a sword by the bride on the day before her wedding in which she described her own beauty (Song 1:5; 2:1). For the week after the wedding, the couple is treated as a king and queen with much feasting and still more songs extolling the bride's beauty (Song 4:1-15; 5:10-16). Such village customs last over many centuries and can help us discover the original setting and use of the Song of Songs. The religious use of such love songs may even go back to hymns and ceremonies surrounding the sacred marriage rituals of the Canaanite followers of Baal. Certainly, Israel was not the only ancient nation to sing the beauties of the female body (and sometimes of the male). We have examples from both Babylon and Egypt (see ANET 467-69), and Psalm 45 is also a wedding psalm." (Reading the Old Testament, p. 485--part of the recommended reading for the board)

best,
Peter Kirby