The Song of Songs is a poem or a series of poems that celebrate love and intimacy between a man and a woman. Jews traditionally have interpreted the book as a picture of God's love for his people Israel. In the same way, many Christians interpret it as a picture of love between Christ and his bride, the church of all believers.
The first verse of the book ("The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's") gives the idea that King Solomon of Israel wrote it. However, people have interpreted this verse in different ways, so not everyone is persuaded that Solomon wrote it.
This book is traditionally titled "Song of Songs," which means the very best song, or "Song of Solomon." It may also be called "Songs of Love," "Great Poems of Love," or "The Love Songs of Solomon." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
The two main characters in this book are the man and the woman, who love each other. There is also the group of women to whom the young woman speaks. The women also make comments. However, it is possible that the group of women is not real and the woman is only imagining them.
Some interpreters believe there may be more characters than these, but this is not certain. The ULB and UDB versions recognize only the man, the woman, and the group of women.
The Song of Songs is a poem that shows the thoughts and words of a man, a woman, and the woman’s friends. Throughout the poem, the author does not identify the speakers and their audience. So to help readers understand the poem, some translations attempt to identify the speaker and the audience. It is not always certain who the speaker is, so sometimes translations disagree about who is speaking.
Before each speech, the ULB identifies the speaker and the audience like this: "The woman speaking to the other women," "The woman speaking to the man," "The man speaking to the woman," or "The woman speaking to herself." Translators are encouraged to include these ways of identifying the speaker and the audience, and to format them differently from the scripture text. The translators should also include a note explaining that these explanations are not actually part of the scripture.
Readers might consider many images or forms appearing in the Song of Songs as improper when translated. The translator should try to avoid offensive language if possible, by using expressions that will not cause offense. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism]])
There are many metaphors and similes in this book. These figures of speech are often unclear. If they have sexual meanings, figures of speech describing feelings or emotions are often used to avoid offense by hiding their meaning. However, since their meanings are often unclear, ambiguity in translation is encouraged. You can translate the words as they are written in order to avoid committing to a specific meaning. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
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