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Song of Songs_Dark Horse
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?” Songs of Songs 3:6
So much of the rich with vibrant imagery in the Song of Songs is about the joys of young love. It’s the season of Spring. Love is in the air. Birds are fluttering. Bees are buzzing. Flowers are blooming. Apple trees, fig trees, grapevines, all producing fruit. Gazelles and young stags are leaping over mountains. The sights and sounds and smell of these two young lovers is lush with Garden Temple Language.
Yet in the passage we’re studying today, we find images and metaphors that seem to be a stark contrast to the Garden Temple language we find in the rest of the poem. The tone and tenor of the woman strikes a note of satirical comedy, especially when she describes this emerging character, King Solomon, “coming up from the wilderness.” It’s like we’re being introduced to a dark competing figure, who is vying as the young lover’s rival.
