Septuagint: Song of Songs

The Song of Songs appears to be love poetry, exchanged between Solomon and one of his wives, however, is not clear who exactly the wife was. The wife describes herself as black, suggesting a Kushite woman. She also refers to herself as a Shulammitess, and makes clear she was not from Jerusalem. The town of Shunaam was located near the Jezreel Valley north of Mount Gilboa, in the tribal lands of Issachar at the time. It was also listed as one of the towns conquered by the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III circa 1450 BC, and then again by Pharaoh Shoshenk I circa 925 BC, meaning there was a significant town was there for over 500 years. It was the hometown of King David’s last concubine, the 12-year-old Abishag, who Adonijah attempted to marry after David’s death, which suggests the author was Abishag the Shulamite.

If this song was the work of Abishag, it means that it would date to the time of Solomon, and imply she was one of Solomon’s wives or concubines. The geography of the Song of Songs is curious, as it seems focused on northern Israel and southern Lebanon, not Judea. Jerusalem is mentioned repeatedly but as part of the phrase ‘daughters of Jerusalem,’ which is a group the author clearly does not see herself as being a part of. This suggests that she was living in the north, possibly in the palace Solomon built in the mountains of Lebanon, and saw the daughters of Jerusalem as her rivals for his affection.