Shulammite

The Shulammite addresses her feelings about love and her lover to a group of young women, the daughters of Jerusalem, who serve as a kind of chorus in the poem.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

The epithet “the Shulammite,” which occurs (twice) in only one verse of the Song (6: 13) and nowhere else in the Bible, is of uncertain meaning.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

Her lover knocks at her door at night, ardent and impatient, but the Shulammite coyly pretends reluctance; as soon as he leaves, she is filled with regret and longing.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

The Shulammite (from Hebrew shulammit, “woman of Jerusalem”) is the central figure in the Song of Solomon (also called Song of Songs or Canticles) and one of the most positive representations of young womanhood in the Hebrew Bible.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

In 8: i, the Shulammite says she wishes her lover was “like a brother”; then she could kiss him in the streets and no one would scorn her.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

In the Shulammite, indeed, we find one of the most unqualified celebrations of female eroticism in all of Western literature.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

The most complex portrait of the Shulammite is also the most dramatic scene in the poem (5: 2 – 8), conveying passion, coquetry, self-reproach, and yearning in quick succession.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

The Shulammite speaks the first words in the poem — “kiss me” (1: 2) — and the last (8: 14); she delivers most of the lines, including the rousing speeches about the power of love (2: 7; 8: 6 – 7).

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

Although she is not as fully articulated as the characters in biblical prose fiction, the Shulammite has a distinct consistency of characterization throughout the Song.

Shulammite: Bible. 2009

The Shulammite calls herself “black and beautiful” (1: 5 – 6).

Shulammite: Bible. 2009