When I did that internet search for rulers in disguise a few years ago, besides that King Abdullah news story, I also got an introduction to a comic-book hero called The King. That kept me interested for several hours, and I hope to go to the special library someday which keeps a collection of original comic books with this hero. The most interesting link that came up though, was an article by a bible school professor that was an interpretive re-telling of the story behind Song of Songs, also called Song of Solomon.
Now this book of the Bible has always been a mystery to me. It usually makes me think of my grade school days when the occasional student in my 4th/5th grade room would read a selection from it for lunchtime devotions and get many titters from the listeners. Then the teacher would give a lecture to us all about respect, proper preparation, and inappropriate Bible passages to use for lunchtime devotions and that student would have to redo devotions the next day as a consequence. The book is tricky to read because it is like reading a conversation transcript, with all dialogue and no narrative, no idea who is saying what, or what the action or setting is. Some translators are helpful by studing grammatical clues in the original languages of this book and adding character notations for who says what. But in general, it seems to be sort of a mysterious book, with many interpretations, and many different ways of understanding what is happening between the lines (besides lots of heavy petting) and what is the larger meaning of the story and how it fits in with the rest of the Bible.
Well when I came across the professor's article, I had a little leap of excitement at the possibilities that his interpretation opened up. You can read it yourself if you are interested (unfortunately the site has been revised and some of the article is now missing), but I will loosely summarize it here and maybe embellish it a bit to satisfy my own romantic imagination:
A wedding banquet is taking place in the King's Palace, and there are some poets or musicians or actors entertaining the newlywed couple and the banquet guests by retelling highlights (songs, poems, skits?) of the interesting love and courtship story of the King and his new bride:
King Solomon had some vineyards in the country of Baal-Hamon that are cared for by tenants, and he decides soon after becoming king to check out the vineyards and see how that area is doing. He disguises himself as a shepherd, so that he can go about unnoticed and avoid the hassles of traveling via motorcade. He meets a young girl who is sort of bullied around by her big brothers and has to do most of the work on the vineyard that the family is sharecropping. The two become lovers, and Solomon sneaks back to the area a few times, sometimes at night, always in disguise. Then they become engaged to get married. The shepherd tells the girl he has some business to take care of but once he has everything ready he'll be back to make her his bride.
Well a long time passes and the girl is starting to wonder whether her shepherd will ever return to marry her. She knows she is ready to come out into the open as a woman who has secured a lifetime lover but her own people don't seem to listen to her. Her family still treats her like a little kid and she doesn't have the time or the enthusiasm to take care of her looks. Maybe her neighbors are annoyed because she rebuffs their sons and refuses to be courted by anyone, or they are trying to persuade her that she is in fantasy-land when she talks about some out-of-town shepherd whom she is saving herself for.
One day, her neighbors are all excited to see that there is a huge royal procession coming down the way . . the king is out and about in the land! The girl is not that interested because she just misses her lover so much, but then the motorcade stops at her door. It is her shepherd, but now she recognizes that her lover is also the King! The townspeople and the family are amazed and turn to recognize the ordinary vinedresser with wide-eyed astonishment (our little sister? our sunburnt fieldhand neighbor? she is chosen to be the beloved queen?) The king throws a feast to celebrate their love in her town, and then she is taken to the big city and palace to get ready for the big wedding banquet.
Now if that is not a Cinderella type of story I don't know what is. Of course there are many credentialed people out there who have much more time and access to study the history and the geography and the cultural context and the original language clues and everything else that goes into a respectable interpretive reading of this particular piece of biblical literature, but this is the plot I will be picturing for the time being.
It seems to tell a story that encourages the hope of the oft-persecuted children of Israel who wait and wait and wait for the Messiah and are wondering if he will ever show himself to them. It also can be interpreted to encourage the hope of the oft-ridiculed followers of Christ who are waiting for the return of Jesus of Nazareth, God made flesh who was killed but came back to life.
At the least it is a plot for a very satisfying love story!
There is a much repeated chorus throughout the text: Be careful not to wake up love until the time is ripe! It seems that timing is crucial when we are talking about the consummation and public recognition of an long-enduring love affair.
There is also an exchange between the lovers in Chapter 8, about the power of love:
Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death;
ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol.
Love's flames are fiery flames
the fiercest of all.
Mighty waters cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
I think if this story were acted out, the background music swelling right at this passionate exchange of dialogue should be: The Eternal Flame by the Bangles. A song I could not get enough of in eighth grade.
Here's the words:
Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
Do you feel my heart beating, do you understand?
Do you feel the same, am I only dreaming?
Is this burning an eternal flame?
I believe it's meant to be, darling
I watched when you were sleeping, you belong with me
Do you feel the same, am I only dreaming
Or is this burning an eternal flame?
Say my name, sun shines through the rain
My whole life so lonely, and then you come and ease the pain
I don't want to lose this feeling
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