Investigation: Who Wrote the Song?

"The song of songs, which is Solomon's" (1:1). 1 Kings 4:32 says Solomon composed 1,005 songs. Tradition joined the two: Solomon wrote the Song in his youth, Proverbs in his maturity and Ecclesiastes in old age (Song of Songs Rabbah 1:1:10).

Inside the poem, Solomon is mostly seen from outside: his curtains (1:5), his litter and wedding procession (3:7–11), his vineyard let out for silver (8:11–12), addressed in the second person ("thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand," 8:12). The "I" of the poem is, most of the time, a woman.

Proposed dates

Proposals range from Solomon's time (10th century BC) through the divided monarchy (because of Tirzah) to the Persian (5th–4th century) and early Hellenistic (3rd century) periods. Many scholars think the book is a collection whose present Hebrew was shaped late, from love songs that may be older. The Qumran copies (late 1st century BC onward) set only a lower limit.

A woman's voice

The woman opens the Song (1:2), closes it (8:14), speaks most of its lines, and expresses desire, initiative and self-possession ("my vineyard, which is mine," 8:12). Several scholars (for example A. Brenner; also discussed by J. C. Exum) have asked whether women composed or performed some of these songs. Egyptian love songs also give women strong voices, though their authors are unknown. Female authorship is possible and cannot be proven; male authorship is equally unproven. The text's presentation of a woman's perspective is a fact either way.

Solomon as a figure in the poem

Solomon in the Song is a figure of wealth, display and many women (3:7–11; 6:8; 8:11–12). Some readers see an implicit critique: the woman's single, freely given love against the king's purchased splendor (8:7, 11–12). Others see the lovers playfully imagining themselves as royalty. Either reading uses Solomon as a symbol; neither depends on Solomon having written the book.