1:1 The opening verse introduces the genre (“Song,” or lyrical poetry), possible author (Solomon), and historical setting (set in the time of Solomon’s reign, as Solomon is one of the characters; 1:5; 3:6–7; 8:11–12). Was this song originally penned for a seven-day marriage festival (cf. Gen. 29:27; Judg. 14:12)? Were professional singers and musicians hired to sing and play each day as the bride and groom came out of their chambers? We do not know if the party lasted seven days or if the singers numbered seventy voices. But what we do know is that this song—self-attested as the greatest of songs (cf. the superlative title “Song of Songs”)—is the perfect celebration of the new creation of man and wife as “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5–6).

1:2–4a These verses introduce us to the hottest book in the Bible! There is an earthquake of eros, and the house (or bedroom “chambers,” as the case may be) is on fire. We hear a provocative plea. A woman speaks.8 What does she want? She wants the wedding night experience. She wants their first public kiss to transition into many private kisses that continue into the bridal chamber and onto the wedding bed and on through wedding night. She has waited her whole life for this. She is justifiably impatient. Now is her time to arouse and awaken love. Who is her man? We do not know. She calls him “the king” (Song 1:4; cf. v. 12; 7:5). This, however, is not a reference to King Solomon, who plays only a minor role in the drama and overall a negative one. Rather, this reference to royalty is metaphorical. Her husband (whom she will describe in the next scene as a shepherd; 1:7) is a king to her. He is her king. What is their story? We do not yet know. Even as the Song unfolds, we receive only bits and pieces of the details of their courtship, wedding, and marriage. The vagueness is likely intentional, for the application is universal: they represent every couple in love. What provokes such a plea? His “love” (v. 2) and his “name” (v. 3). What a wonderful blend of chemistry and character!

His love is described as being “better than wine” (Song 1:2). To her, his love is tactile—it is something she can touch, taste, and smell. Like wine, it is sweet, aromatic, its overall effect intoxicating. Put simply, his love is pleasurable, for wine in the Bible often symbolizes the greatest of earthly delights (Judg. 9:13; Ps. 104:15; cf. Jesus’ wedding miracle in John 2:1–11 of turning ordinary water into quality wine). His character (“name,” Hb. shem) is described as “oil [shemen] poured out” (Song 1:3). As the oils from his body and the oils from a perfume (used to mask body odor) blend to produce his unique smell, that very fragrance arouses her as much as it affirms his character. And his bedroom (it might be lit. outdoors in the pasture, 1:12, 16–17; 2:4; or in their respective family homes, 3:4; 8:2) is like the most amazing boudoir. It is like the presidential suite or the king’s palatial chambers.

Beyond the royal metaphors, a less subtle poetic detail further enhances the intimacy of the scene. The woman has moved from addressing her man in the third person (“him”/“his”) in 1:2a, to the second person (“you”/“your”) in verses 2b–3, and to the first-person plural (“let us run”) in part of verse 4. While she quickly returns to the third person (“his chambers”), this slight grammatical alteration is symbolic of two becoming one. The couple is not merely “him” or “her” but “us.”

1:4b The bride is not alone in her assessment of the groom’s fine reputation and noble character. The “virgins” (perhaps her bridesmaids or, more broadly speaking, other single women of marriageable age) agree. They “love” him (1:3; i.e., they affirm her choice) and her (“rightly do they love you”; v. 4). This introductory poem ends with their announcement of approval. The voices of the virgins hover above the ideal wedding night. They boast in the bride’s blessing; they exalt in her godly ecstasies.