1

(This document is still on process. It’s a draft)

SONG 2:3- IS IT AN ALLUSION TO ORAL SEX?

Carlos Mora
Associate Professor of Old Testament Studies
AIIAS, Philippines
cmora@aiias.edu

When I was teaching at the Adventist University in Chile, one theology student

asked in the class of Poetic Books: “Professor, is Song 2:3 alluding to the oral sex?” I

was surprised and never expected a question like that. I tried to articulate the best answer

in that moment, but the inquiry remained in my mind.

It is clear for readers and for scholars that the book of Song of Solomon is about

the love between a man and a woman, with clear allusions to the physical love. The book

is full of imagery of the body and the foreplay and love making of a couple.

With this idea in mind, is Song 2:3 talking about oral sex? Does the second part of

the verse: “I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my

taste” (KJV) allude to this practice? Did the author have this idea on mind? Do the

literary context and the historical background of the book allow this interpretation? Or

are these metaphors referring it? If that is the case, are we trying to find something in the

biblical text that doesn’t exist there and it is only our preconception that adapts the text to

its own point of view and cultural background? If it is, what lesson can we find for our

task to interpret the Bible?

This research looks for a right comprehension of this passage and its possible

connection with the oral sex. It also deals with the presuppositions that the interpreters

could bring before interpreting the Bible text. The focus of this document is not the oral

sex itself and it will not give an ethical examination of this practice.
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Different ideas about the interpretation of Song 2:3

Many commentaries and scholars do not mention any connection of this text with

any sexual connection and none of them alludes the oral sex. A group of authors’

comments about Song 2:3 that it represents the protective power1 of the man, the delights

of love,2 and some applies of the experience of the believer who finds rest in Jesus3, or

even the experience of Mary when she accepted to be the mother of Jesus.4 “The apple

tree symbolizes the lover, the male sexual function in the poem; erect and delectable, it is

a powerful erotic metaphor. It provides the nourishment and shelter, traditional male

roles- the protective lover, man the provider”.5

There is another group who suggests any kind of sexual activity- an irresistible

sexual pleasure-6 but they leave the door opens for the reader to think what could be that

activity. Weems smartly suggests: “Exactly what was sweet to the protagonist’s taste? An

apple from the apple tree, or was some part of her beloved’s body? It is obviously

1
Abraham Mariaselvam, The Song of Songs and Ancient Tamil Love Poems
(Roma: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico,1988), 190.
2
Murphy, 136, Duane 391.
3
SDA Bible Commentary, “Under his shadow” (Song 2:3), 3:1115; George T.
Dickinson, Splendor of the Song of Solomon (Washington DC: Review and Herald,
1971), 43.
4
Paul J. Griffiths, Song of Songs. Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible,
R. R. Reno and others, eds. (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2011), 51, 52.
5
Francis Landy, “Song of Songs and the Garden of Eden”. Journal of Biblical
Literature 98 (1992): 526.
6
Duane and House, 150, Marcia Falk, Love Lyrics from the Bible. A Translation
and Literary Study of the Song of Songs (Sheffield: Almond Press, 1982), 115.
 3

something for the two of them to know- and the rest of us to find out”.7 Davidson

comments: “The ‘apple tree’ and ‘banqueting house’ are metaphors for Solomon himself;

his ‘fruit’ that was sweet to her taste describes sweet fellowship and probably also

unspecified sexual pleasuring”.8 Dillow admits here a foreplay and “she asks him to

satisfy here sexually without delay” (2:5) he suggest that “the description of the

consummation of their love in sexual intercourse is reserved for a later section (4:16-

5:1)”.9 “In the second half of verse 3 she is happy to be under his protective care… From

there she moves to another fantasy encounter of the deepest intimacy. ‘Their physical

union,’ Tremper Longman notes, ‘is represented by the fact that she tastes his fruit’”.10

Finally some of them are more straight forward in their proposal. The advocacy of

oral sex between married partners in the Song of Songs and especially in 2:3 is popular

today more than in the past and this is relayed by a number of websites11. But such

interpretation is more a postmodern12 phenomenon; various authors in the past have

7
Renita J. Weems, “The Song of Songs. Introduction, Commentary and
Reflections”, in The New Interpreter’s Bible, L. E. Keck and others, eds. Vol V
(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997), 389.
8
Davidson, 610.
9
Dillow, 32.
10
Knight, 184.
11
Cf. Matt Slick, “Is Oral Sex Between Married Couples Okay?”
http://carm.org/oral-sex accessed on April 18, 2013; Mark Driscoll, “Sex, A Study of the
Good Bits From Song of Solomon,”
http://www.destinyedinburgh.com/Sermons/Sex,_a_study_of_the_good_bits_from_Song
_of_Solomon.aspx accessed on April 18, 2013.
12
Sexual Revolution is a relatively old phenomenon. In the sixties, freedom from
taboos, free sex and rights for homosexuals were already promoted. The leitmotiv was
already to be free to find pleasure in sex wherever and whatever the method. What seems
to be the mark of postmodernity is the exploration of new horizons of sexual practices
and the promotion of those freedoms by clergymen. On sexual revolution in the last
decades of the twentieth century, see David R. Mace, The Christian Response to Sexual
 4

equated the fruit of 2:3b “with the male genitals or with semen”13 based on extra-biblical

literature and have consequently concluded that the Shulamite sitting down is in front of

the male sexual organ for oral sex action.

The oral sex in the Ancient Near East

The reality that sex played a very important role in many cultures and religions in

the Ancient Near East is well documented. The ANE texts “have repeated references to

the penis and vulva and fertility cult poetry and iconography” (Davidson, 616 cf.

footnotes p 616, 617).

A peculiar feature in the Akkadian and Ugaritic texts is the allusions to ritual

prostitution. To the temples of the goddesses of fertility (Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte) were

attached bordellos served by consecrated women who represented the goddess, the

female principle of fertility. By sacred prostitution the individual worshipers received

communion with the divine principle of life and a renewal of their vital forces (cf. Fisher,

225-36).

Ugaritic mythology tells of the god Baal copulating with a heifer. According to

the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic, the hero Enkidu had sexual relations with animals until

he was enticed away from his animal companions by intercourse with a sacred female

prostitute. In the eastern delta of the Nile there was a cult that involved the cohabitation

of women and goats. The Hittite laws prohibited some forms of bestiality, while allowing

others.

Revolution (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1970) and Gregory Braum and John Coleman,
eds., The Sexual Revolution Concilium 173 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1984)
13
Joseph C. Dillow, Solomon on Sex (New York, NY: Thomas Nelson, 1977), 31.
 5

“William Naphy notes how male and female prostitutes had intercourse with male

worshippers in sanctuaries and temples in ancient Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Cyprus,

Corinth, Carthage, Sicily, Libya, and West Africa. Norman Sussman explains that “male

and female prostitutes, serving temporarily or permanently and performing heterosexual,

homosexual, oral-genital, bestial, and other forms of sexual activities, dispensed their

[sexual] favors on behalf of the temple. The prostitute and the client acted as surrogates

for the deities,” representing both fertility and sexuality in an erotic sense.”14

On the other hand, the contemporaneous people of Israel had poetic literature,

similar in many ways to Song of Solomon. “In sum, a number of strikingly similar topoi

are attested in the Sumerian love poems and the Song… These topoi and the common use

of dialogue seem quite intelligible as belletristic features; there is, in any case, no

compelling reason to posit a fertility cultures or specifically liturgical transmission as the

primary link between them”.15 There are many similarities but also some differences

between the Song of Songs and other ANE texts. The big one is that Song of Songs

describes the love between a couple in the context of marriage. Both literatures never

described the coitus or the sexual organs- male or female.16

The literary context

The structure of this book plays an important role for its interpretation and for

understanding the intention of the author. Dorsey states: “Examination of the Song’s

14
http://epistle.us/hbarticles/neareast.html. Accessed on October 28 2013.
15
Roland Murphy, The Song of Songs. A Commentary on the Book Canticles or
The Song of Songs (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1972), 55. See Cheryl Axum, 47-63, for
an analysis of the ANE love literature.
16
Fox 311, 313.
 6

structure, however, reveals a well-conceived layout designed both to achieve esthetic

beauty and to reinforce some of the author’s main themes”.17

The book is composed with six main poems, even though many scholars do not

agree about the exact length of each poem and the number.

1. Poem I, 1:2-2:7 Yearnings expressed and building passion

2. Poem II, 2:8-3:5 The Dynamics of Love

3. Poem III, 3:6-5:1 The coming of the Groom and Marital pleasures

4. Poem IV, 5:2-6:3 Frustration and Delight

5. Poem V, 6:4-8:4 Loving affirmation and Inflamed desire

6. Poem VI, 8:5-14 Affirmation and Commitment

Davidson proposes a “twelve macro units indicated by refrains (repetends)… The

twelve sections form an artistic symmetrical macrostructure” as it shows below:18

A 1:2-2:7 Mutual love

B 2:8-17 Coming and going
C 3:1-5 Dream 1: lost and found
D 3:6-11 Praise of groom 1
E 4:1-7 Praise of bride 1
F 4:8-15 Praise of bride 2
G 4:16 Invitation by bride
G’ 5;1 Acceptance of invitation by groom
and divine approbation
C’ 5:2-8 Dream 2: found and lost
D’ 5:9-6:3 Praise of groom 2
E’ 6:4-12 Praise of bride 3
F’ 7:1-10 Praise of bride 4
B’ 7:11-8:2 Going and coming
A’ 8:3-14 Mutual love
Dorsey provides this structure for the book:19

17
David Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 1999), 199.
18
Davidson, 560.
 7

A Opening words of mutual love and desire (1:2-2:7)

B Young man’s invitation to the young woman to join him in the countryside
(2:8-17)
C Young woman’s nighttime search for the young man (3:1-5)
D CENTER their wedding day (3:6-5:1)
C’ Young woman’s nighttime search for the young man, and their
speeches of admiration and longing (5:2-7:11)
B’ Young woman’s invitation to the young man to join her in the countryside
(7:12-8:4)
A’ Closing words of mutual love and desire (8:5-14)

There is a more detailed structure of the book that reveals the beautiful

arrangement of the book.

A 1:1- 4a Take me away

B 1:4b Friends speak
C 1:5- 7 My own vineyard
D 1:8- 14 Breasts, silver, we will make
E 1:15- 2:2 House
F 2:3- 7 His left arm daughters of Jerusalem... so desires,
apple, love
G 2:8- 13 Fragrance, come my darling, blossoming
H 2:14- 15 Vineyards, show me
I 2:16- 17 My lover is mine
Ja 2:1-5 The watchmen found me
Jb 3:6- 11 Description of carriage, gold,
Lebanon, daughters of Jerusalem
Jc 4:1- 7 Description of girl, Your eyes... hair...
teeth
K 4:8- 15 Myrrh, spice, honey,
honeycomb, wine, milk
L 4:16 Into his garden
L’ 5:1a Into my garden
K’ 5:1bc Myrrh, spice, honey
honeycomb, wine, milk
J’a 5:2- 9 The watchmen found me
J’b 5:10- 6:1 Gold, Lebanon, daughters of
Jerusalem
J’c 6:4- 11 Description of girl, Your eyes...
hair... teeth
I’ 6:2 -3 My lover is mine
H’ 6:13- 7:9a [10a] Vines, wine, that we me gaze on
you
G’ 7:9b- 13 [10b-14] Fragrance, come my darling,
blossom
F’ 8:1- 5 His left arm, daughters of Jerusalem... so desires,
apple, love
E’ 8: 6- 7 House
D’ 8:8- 9 Breasts, silver, we will build

19
Dorsey, 200.
 8

C’ 8:10- 12 My own vineyard

B’ 8:13 Friends
A’ 8:14 Come away

According to these structures, our text is located in the first encounter of the

couple.

The climax would be 4:16-5:1, it means the copulation.20 This point is relevant for

our discussion and topics related with the physical love in the whole book. Some authors

propose that before 4:16-5:1 there is no sexual intercourse and even that the Shulamite is

virgin.

But the proposal of Dorsey suggests that the book can be divided in the seven

sections, but the lovers are separated and at the end of each periscope, they are together.

It is interesting that every section of the book, according to Dorsey’s structures finishes

with a physical contact. “The Song comprises seven larger units, arranged symmetrically,

each with its own well-planned internal organization. Each new unit begins with shifts in

scene, perspective, and mood; and each closes with a refrain alluding to the lover’s union.

Each unit, except the last, opens with the lovers apart and with a sense of excited tension;

and each closes on a note of tranquility, with the lovers united”.21 Notice that at the end

of each paragraph or section the topics are related with the intimacy of the couple (2:16-

17 “invites him to intimacy”; 3:5 “the lovers are united, presumably back in her bed”;

20
“More importantly, the center of the chiasmus in 4:16-5:1a, which poetically
describes the moment of sexual union between the man and woman, implies that the
entire Song, as it were, revolves around this event”. Duane Garret, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The New American Commentary, E. R. Clendenen and
others, eds., Vol. 14 (Nasville: Broadman Press, 1993), 375.
21
Dorsey, 199, 200.

4:12-5:1 “union of the lovers”; 7:8-10, “their union”; 8:14, “lovers are united”).22 These
are the expressions at the beginning and at the end of each section:
AT THE BEGINNING- FAR AWAY
1:2-2:7 May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine, 1:2
2:8-17 Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming,
Climbing on the mountains, Leaping on the
hills!, 2:8
3:1-5 On my bed night after night I sought him
Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not
find him, Sol 3:1
3:6-5:1 What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like columns of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh
and frankincense, With all scented powders of
the merchant?, Sol 3:6
5:2-7:10 I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had
turned away and had gone! My heart went out
to him as he spoke. I searched for him, but I
did not find him; I called him, but he did not
answer me, 5:6
7:11-8:4 Come, my beloved, let us go out into the
country, Let us spend the night in the villages,
7:11
8:5-14 x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The First Poem: 1:2-2:7
There is an interaction between the man, the woman and their friends:
Beloved, 1:2-4
22
Dorsey 204, 204, 206, 208, 210.
9
AT THE END- LOVERS
UNITED
Let his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me,
Sol 2:6
Until the cool of the day when the
shadows flee away, Turn, my
beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a
young stag on the mountains of
Bether, 2:17
When I found him whom my soul
loves; I held on to him and would not
let him go, Until I had brought him
to my mother's house, And into the
room of her who conceived me,
Sol 3:4
Awake, O north wind, And come,
wind of the south; Make my garden
breathe out fragrance, Let its spices
be wafted abroad. May my beloved
come into his garden And eat its
choice fruits!
I have come into my garden, my
sister, my bride; I have gathered my
myrrh along with my balsam. I have
eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk,
Sol 4:16-5:1
And your mouth like the best wine!"
"It goes down smoothly for my
beloved, Flowing gently through the
lips of those who fall asleep, 7:9
Let his left hand be under my head,
And his right hand embrace me, 8:3
Hurry, my beloved, And be like a
gazelle or a young stag On the
mountains of spices, 8:14
 10

The friends, 1:5

Beloved, 1:6-7
The friends, 1:8
Lover, 1:9-11
Beloved, 1:12-14
Lover, 1:15
Beloved, 1:16
Lover, 1:17
Beloved, 2:1
Lover, 2:2
Beloved, 2:3-6
Lover, 2:7

“In her speech response [of the bride] to his by a tail- head connection; and as in

her previous response, her speech moves from the linking echo to focus on the place of

their intimacy, with allusions to the intimacy itself (2:3b-7).”23

This section (1:2-27) presents 7 speeches, according to Dorsey:24

A Young woman’s opening speech (1:2-7)

B Young man’s response to her (1:8-11)

C Young woman’s response to him (1:12-14)

D Young man’s exclamation (1:15)

E Young woman’s response to him (1:16-17)

F Young man’s response to her (2:1-2)

G Young woman’s response to him, and refrain (2:3-7)

“This tight linking communicates the ardent interaction between the two lovers-

of the Song’s main themes”.25

With these 7 speeches, Dorsey suggests a chiastic structure of the passage:26

23
Dorsey, 200.
24
Dorsey, 200.
25
Dorsey, 200.
 11

A Young woman’s long speech, expressing her desire to be with the young man in his
home (1:2-7)
B Young man’s words of admiration for his beloved (1:8-11)
C Young woman’s short speech of admiration and desire (1:12-14)
D CENTER: young man’s exclamation (1:15)
C’ Young woman’s short speech of admiration and desire (1:16-17)
B’ Young man’s words of admiration for his beloved (2:1-2)
A’ Young woman’s long speech describing union with the young man in his home (2:3-
7)27
Song 2:3-6

The study of this section reveals the parallelism of this section that helps to

evaluate the meaning of the expression.

A (3) Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

A So is my beloved among the young men.
A’ In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
A’’ And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

B (4) He has brought me to his banquet hall,

B’ And his banner over me is love.
B’’ (5) Sustain me with raisin cakes, Refresh me with apples, Because I
am lovesick.
(6) Let his left hand be under my head And his right hand embrace me."

(7) "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love, Until she pleases."

We can not read the verse 3 alone. It has a parallel. “The banner of a king was a

long pole with a cloth attached like a flag. It spoke of the king’s protective care. As

Shulamith sits in Solomon’s shade (protective care), she immediately associates his

‘banner’ with his love, since his love provides security, care and protection”.28 This

26
Dorsey, 201.
27
“Unlike the other speeches, these two [A and A’] are relatively long, and both
are spoken by the young woman. In the first she expresses her desire to be with him in his
home; in the last she describes their union in his home… The desires she expresses in the
first speech find their fulfillment in the last.” Dorsey, 201.
28
Dillow, 31,32.
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parallelism points out toward the idea that the man protects and take care of his beloved

one.

Key words of the passage

tsel (shadow)

This is a very important word in our study because this expression would suggest,

for those who think that here there is oral sex, that she is seated in front of him and close

to his penis. The literal meaning is: shadow of roof, Gn 19:8, of tree Ju 9:15, Jon 4:6; Job

40:22; of cloud Is 25:4; of people, Ju 9:36; of night, Job 7:2; of sun, Isa 38:8. It is used as

a simile: the days of life, Job 8:9. It could also be a metaphor: of God’s protection (Is

49:2; Lam 4:20; protection of men, Nu 14:9; Eze 31:17). It is very suggestive because

this metaphor support the idea of many commentators that here the author is referring to

the protection of the man over his bride.

hek (palate)

The literal meaning is clear: palate (Ps 137:6), seat of taste (Ps 119:103), seat of

speech (Ju 6:30).

tappuah (apple tree)

It is possible that that the text portray love as it is true that fruits usually stand as

symbols of love in various ancient cultures, but such symbolism appears to be varied

from culture to culture and is hardly specific to the male sex though some commentators

give that impression. Apples for instance could mean sexual love29 but it also symbolizes

29
R.B. Laurin, “The Song of Songs and its Modern Usage.” Christianity Today,
11/22 (August 3, 1962): 10; G. Lloyd Carr, The Song of Songs, Tyndale Old Testament
Commentary, Gen. Ed. J.D. Wiseman (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983), 90.
 13

earthly desires or indulgence in such desires.30 Hence the meaning of the metaphorical

use is not always clear.31 Similarly, fruits symbolize origin and earthly desires, while they

also referred to the male sexual organ to the Romans.32 Even in that Roman conception,

the meaning of fruits was broad; for instance, Fortuna, the goddess was depicted with a

basket full of fruits symbolizing fruitfulness or destiny.33

The Hebrew word has been considered as apple (2:5; 7:9; Pr 25:11; “apple tree”

Joel 1:12). But “the precise nature of the tappuah usually identified as ‘apple’, is

disputed”34. Falk suggests is the apricot.35 Others even have suggested the orange and the

lemon. This discussion is because many defend that the apple was unknown in ancient

Israel. Three stages: (1) accurate identification of the referent of the Biblical Hebrew

plant name; (2) interpretation of the meaning and resonance of the image in its poetic

context ; (3) choice of the English word or phrase that will both evoke the original

landscape.36

30
J.E Cirlot, Dictionary of Symbols, Second Edition, Trans by Jack Sage (London,
UK: Routledge & Keagan Paul, 1971), 14.
31
For instance the meaning of the golden apples given to Hera by Gaia and that
were kept by the Hesperides in not obvious; see Luke Roman and Monica Roman,
Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology (New York, NY: Facts On File, 2010),
233. For more connections with the Greco-Roman literature, see Duane Garret and Paul
R. House, Song of Songs/ Lamentations, Word Biblical Commentary, Bruce Metzger and
others editors, Vol 23B (Nashville: Word Biblical Commentary, 2004), 149, 150.
32
Stewart Perowne, Roman Mythology (London, UK: Hamlyn, 1965), 78.
33
Kathleen N. Daly, Greek and Roman Mythology A to Z, Third ed., rev by
Marian Rengel (New York, NY: Chelsea House, 2009), 58.
34
Murphy, 187.
35
Michael Fox. Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs (Madison:
The University of Wisconsin Press, 1985), 107. See also Tom Gledhill, The Message of
the Song of Songs (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 122.
36
Falk, 98.
 14

“One may compare him to a valuable apple tree and not one of the common trees

of the forest. The apple tree, of course, is superior because of both its fruit and its sweet

smell. The rest of the trees of the forest are ordinary, but her lover is special” (Knight,

184)

In this context, there is an interesting connection in Song 8:5 that may associate

An apple tree with the sexual organ of the female. It “means that his mother was with his

father. Similarly, the place where his mother conceived and gave birth to him refers to the

female parts. The usage is analogous to the ‘house of my mother’ in v. 2. The woman

means that she and he are now participating in the same act by which the man himself

was given life. It is ‘there’ that she aroused him.”37

But even if it’s not apple, among all the discussion, it is recognized that fruits are

always connected with physical and sexual pleasure (cf. 7:7-9, 12, 13; 8:2-3).

How to interpret a metaphor

One of the problems in the interpretation of Song 2:3 and the rest of the book is

how to understand a metaphor. For instance, some consider 1:13 as the sheltering the man

gets from his beloved,38 but it can be understood as well as that the man really “Which

lies all night between my breasts.”

37
Duane, 426.
38
“In 1:13 he is a sache of myrrh nestled between her breasts, and image that
picture her as the dominant and sheltering party, whereas in 2:3b he is the tree in whose
shade she sits, so that he is now the dominant and sheltering member of the pair”.
Gledhill, 108.
 15

“A metaphor, in very simplified terms, is a covert comparison; a word or phrase

from one semantic field is substituted with a word or phrase from another.”39 The

metaphor have 3 elements. Notice this example:

“I am the rose of Sharon” (Song 2:1)

Primmun Comparandum: The Shulamite

Secuntum Comparatum: The rose of Sharon

Tertium Comparationis: She is beautiful, tender, perfect

“The figures of speech suggest more than they apparently suggests” (Zogbo and

Wendland, 56)

Zogbo and Wendland (57):

1. What the image could represent.

2. The literary context.

3. What the people of those days thought when they listened to those words.

The interpretation of Song 2:3

According to what we have studied we can consider that in this section we have

an expression of physical love. “She enjoys his intimate and sweet kissing”.40 Longman

adds “their physical union is represented by the fact that she tastes his fruit”.41 Exum

39
http://www2.anglistik.uni-freiburg.de/intranet/englishbasics/Style02.htm
(Accessed on October 30, 2013).
40
Gledhill, 123.
41
Tremper Longman III, Song of Solomon, New International Commentary of the
Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 112.
 16

summarize his work describing the passage as a “deep physical love”.42 In this context, it

is difficult to deny the possibility that the text can be referring to oral sex.

Physical contacts and expressions in Song

There are many expression of physical love in the book (MORE WORK ON

THIS)

1:13 The lover rest between her breasts

2:6; 8:3 The way the lover embrace his beloved.

3:4 She embraces and holds his lover

4:16-5:1 The climax

7:7-9 He enjoys her breasts (cf Pr 5:19)

8:2, 3 She kisses and hold him by his hand

Conclusion

There are two main elements that this study has found, besides the issue of oral

sex. First, the structure of the book and the idea of the moment of the physical climax of

the couple determine some concepts of the book. If the coitus is in 4:6-5:1 and this is the

climax of the book and before it, there is no other sexual or physical expression. The

other point of view is that there are many physical expressions of love along the book,

many of them are very intimate, in the first section of the book, as well as in the second

one.

The second issue that we should consider in the reading of the book is how we

should consider the metaphors in the book. The problem today is not about if the

interpretation should be allegorical or literal. The pendulous has moved toward the literal

42
Cheryl Exum, Song of Solomon, The Old Testament Library, J.L. Mays, gen. ed.
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), 114.
 17

interpretation. But in this interpretation, are the metaphors allusions to physical love or

only mentions of the characteristic of the love between Solomon and the Shulamite?

We should be aware of the wise advice of Davidson who points out: “The fact

that the Song is erotic does not mean that is obsessed with sex. Those who have seen

moist vulvas and erect penises in profusion throughout the Song have read too much into

the book. It is not accidental that in the Song one finds no explicit mention of the male of

female genitalia or any explicit description of sexual intercourse”.43

Davidson also comments: “Nor is sexuality in the Song vulgar or cheap. Those

who have viewed the Song as ‘soft pornography’ or a ‘poetic porn text’ have failed to

recognize its overarching context of chastity and marital faithfulness. In stark contrast…

the Song’s language of lovemaking displays extraordinary restraint and delicate taste in

its use of erotic metaphors, euphemisms, and double entendres”.44 With this idea, we

should admit that the book is about the true love of this couple- Solomon and the

Shulamite- expressed through tender words, actions and physical love. Without being

vulgar, the author describes the love clearly. There are many ways to show the physical

love between a couple and the Song of Solomon is abundant of physical ways to do it. It

is like a manual.

The arguments we have studied let’s the door open to consider the oral sex as an

option for the interpretation of this text. The study of this text is still on process.

43
Davidson, 615.
44
Richard M. Davidson, Flame of Yahweh. Sexuality in the Old Testament
(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 2007), 616, 617.