When Was Song of Solomon Written?
Quick Summary
The Song of Solomon was likely written and compiled over time, with its final form most commonly dated to the postexilic period, between the fifth and third centuries BCE. Although traditionally associated with Solomon, the book’s language, style, and themes suggest later composition and collection. The Song reflects Israel’s wisdom and poetic traditions rather than court history. Understanding when the Song of Solomon was written helps explain its literary character and enduring place in Scripture.
Introduction
The Song of Solomon is unlike any other book in the Bible. It is a collection of love poems filled with imagery, desire, longing, and delight. There is no narrative plot, no explicit theology, and no direct reference to Israel’s history. Instead, the book celebrates love through poetry.
Because of its superscription, which attributes the Song to Solomon, readers have long associated it with the united monarchy. Yet questions of language, literary form, and historical context complicate that assumption. Asking when the Song of Solomon was written helps distinguish between traditional attribution and historical composition.
This article examines the historical context, internal evidence, and scholarly perspectives that shape modern understanding of the Song’s date of writing.
Historical Context of the Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon does not reflect the political or religious institutions of Israel in the way many biblical books do. There is no mention of the temple, covenant, law, or monarchy as governing realities.
Instead, the poems assume a relatively stable world where love, beauty, and mutual desire can be explored without reference to national crisis. Many scholars find this setting more consistent with the postexilic period, when wisdom and poetic traditions flourished alongside Torah study (Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, pp. 488–491).
The Song’s themes align closely with ancient Near Eastern love poetry, which was preserved and adapted across cultures and centuries.
Internal Evidence from the Text
Internal linguistic evidence strongly supports a later date for the Song of Solomon. The Hebrew of the book includes vocabulary and grammatical features characteristic of Late Biblical Hebrew.
The text also contains loanwords from Aramaic and Persian, suggesting composition or editing during or after the Persian period. These features make an early monarchic date unlikely (Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, pp. 533–536).
The Song’s poetic structure suggests careful literary shaping rather than spontaneous court poetry.
Traditional and Scholarly Views on the Date of Writing
Traditionally, the Song was attributed to Solomon, based on its opening verse and the association of Solomon with wisdom and poetry. This attribution shaped Jewish and Christian interpretation for centuries.
Modern scholarship, however, generally views the Solomonic attribution as symbolic rather than historical. Most scholars date the Song’s composition or final editing to the fifth through third centuries BCE, with some allowing for earlier poetic material incorporated into a later collection (Collins, pp. 491–493).
This dating accounts for both the book’s literary sophistication and its linguistic features.
Composition History and Development
The Song of Solomon is best understood as a collection of love poems rather than a single continuous composition. These poems may have circulated independently before being gathered into a unified book.
Editors shaped the collection into a coherent literary whole through repetition of imagery, refrains, and themes. The absence of overt theological framing suggests intentional restraint rather than theological absence.
The book’s placement within the wisdom literature reflects its role in exploring human experience as part of God’s created order (Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 400–403).
Relationship to Authorship
Questions about when the Song of Solomon was written intersect with debates about authorship. While Solomon’s name lends authority, the book itself is anonymous.
Most scholars understand the Solomonic reference as a literary device that situates the poems within Israel’s wisdom tradition rather than identifying a historical author.
For a fuller discussion of authorship traditions and scholarly perspectives, see Who Wrote Song of Solomon?.
Why the Date of Writing Matters
Dating the Song of Solomon helps explain its unique place in Scripture. It reflects a period when Israel could explore love and desire poetically without anchoring every text to historical crisis.
Understanding the Song as a postexilic wisdom work clarifies why it focuses on human intimacy as part of God’s good creation.
Recognizing when the Song of Solomon was written allows readers to appreciate its artistry, restraint, and theological subtlety.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was the Song of Solomon written by Solomon?
The book is traditionally associated with Solomon, but most scholars date its composition much later.
Is the Song historical or allegorical?
Historically, it is poetic literature; allegorical interpretations developed later.
Why does the Song lack explicit references to God?
Its focus is on human love within creation rather than covenant or law.
Is the Song one poem or many?
Most scholars view it as a collection of poems shaped into a unified book.
Does the date of the Song affect interpretation?
Yes. Historical context highlights its wisdom and literary character.
Works Consulted
John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, Fortress Press. Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, Fortress Press. Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament, Fortress Press. The New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV.
