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The Old Testament book of the Song of Solomon is the most misunderstood in the Bible. Its story of a bride longing for her beloved has led many to mistakenly dismiss it as nothing more than romantic literature. As we are going to see, this could not be further from the truth.
The reality is that it's arguably the greatest book of prophecy in the entire Bible. Rabbis themselves testify to its significance. Rabbi Akiba called it the Holy of Holies. The Talmud went so far as to warn that trivializing any of its verses brings evil upon the world.
In the Song of Solomon, the bride spends much of her time searching for her beloved who keeps on disappearing. The Song of Solomon actually ends with the bride crying for her beloved to come quickly. It's only when one grasps that the bride symbolizes Israel and her beloved symbolizes God's redemption that its true meaning can be unlocked. Based on this understanding, the Song of Solomon depicts the people of Israel waiting for God to redeem them. The ancient Jewish Tarum interprets it in exactly this way as an inspired account of the redemptive history of Israel.
As we are now going to see, the bride's beloved, the Song of Solomon's prophesied redeemer of Israel, is none other than Muhammad, upon whom be peace, who was sent to wed Israel into a new everlasting covenant with God. Here are the key verses in Song of Solomon.
"My dove in the cliffs of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountain side. Show me your face. Let me hear your voice. Most beautiful of women, where has your lover gone? My lover has gone into his garden to the beds of spices. My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among 10,000. His head is purest gold. His hair is wavy and black as a raven. His arms are rods of gold set with topaz. His body is like polished ivory decorated with lapis lazuli. His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. For your love is more delightful than wine. His mouth is sweetness itself. He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved. This is my friend, daughters of Jerusalem."
As we're now going to see, all of this apparent love poetry is in fact allegorical and references other prophecies found throughout the Bible. As the Old Testament scholar Ellen Davis confirms, these verses are in conversation with the rest of the Bible. Let's now delve into how these verses link to other prophecies throughout the Bible.
Song of Solomon informs us that the bride's beloved can be found in the cliffs of the rock. The Hebrew word used here for rock is Salah. This is a direct link to the prophecy in Isaiah 42 which foretold the coming of a servant of God who will be associated with the people of Salah. As I covered in detail in the previous video, Muhammad and Medina in the Bible, Salah is a reference to the Arabian city of Medina as Salah is the name of a famous mountain in Medina. So here, Song of Solomon is associating the bride's beloved with Medina.
Yet another reference to Arabia can be found in the Song of Solomon's statement that the bride's beloved is in a location containing beds of spices. The Hebrew word translated here as vices is basm which also carries the meaning of balsam. This is according to lexicons such as strongs and brown drivers. In fact, multiple bible versions translate it as balsam. This means that song of solomon contains an illusion to the prophecy in psalm 84 which also speaks of balsam. As I covered in detail in the previous video, Mecca in the Bible, this is a reference to the Arabian city of Mecca, which historically is famous for its balsam trees. So here, Song of Solomon is associating the bride's beloved with the Arabian city of Mecca.
It's important to note that the Song of Solomon itself explicitly associates the bride's beloved with Arabia when it states that his head is the purest gold. The Hebrew word translated as pure gold faz refers to Arabian gold specifically. The commentary Gills notes on the Bible highlights it as the finest and purest gold of the Arabs. The very same verse in the Song of Solomon goes on to mention that the bride's beloved's hair is black as a raven. The Hebrew word translated as raven oreb happens to be linguistically connected to the Hebrew word for Arab as Strong's exhaustive concordance informs us. We can see that the Song of Solomon contains not only general references to Arabs but also specific associations with the Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina. All of which makes the location and ethnicity of the bride's beloved crystal clear.
Song of Solomon goes on to associate the bride's beloved with 10,000. The word translated here as outstanding is the Hebrew dagal which carries the meaning of a standard bearer in a military context. Barn's notes on the Bible commentary also points out the militaristic context. So the bride's beloved will be the leader of an army of 10,000. This bears a striking resemblance to the prophecy in Deuteronomy 33 which mentions the emergence of 10,000 saints. The Jewish commentary Cphra devarim also made this connection between Song of Solomon and Deuteronomy's mention of 10,000 saints. Hence, we can look to Deuteronomy 33 to learn more information about the bride's beloved. As I covered in detail in the previous video, Muhammad and the companions in the Bible, the book of Deuteronomy foretold the emergence of a new lawgiver in Arabia who would be supported by 10,000 saintly followers. So yet again, we have another instance here of the bride's beloved being linked to Arabia.
Song of Solomon goes on to liken the bride's beloveds body parts to various precious metals. This is an illusion to the book of Daniel chapter 2 which mentions Nebuchadnezzar's dream about the statue whose body parts are also made of various precious metals. These parallels between Song of Solomon and Daniel 2 which both speak of the head, body, arms and legs being made of a mixture of different materials have not gone unnoticed by biblical scholars. For example, professor in Neareastern studies, Ariel BL, acknowledged these parallels with Daniel 2. We can look to Daniel 2 to learn more information about the bride's beloved. As I covered in detail in the previous video, Muhammad in the book of Daniel, the book of Daniel, chapter 2, foretold the emergence of a kingdom of God that would conquer the nations of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
Song of Solomon goes on to describe the beloved's mouth as being sweetness. The Old Testament commonly utilizes sweetness to symbolize God's commands. For example, the book of Psalms explicitly makes this connection between God's commands and sweetness. The Jewish commentary Tan Yoshalami states that sweetness alludes to God's laws and precepts. This is closely connected to the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18 which states that God will put his commands in the mouth of the prophet like Moses. As the Jewish art scroll Tanakh series noted historically there have been many commentators who understood that Song of Solomon and Deuteronomy 18 are both using the mouth as a metaphor for God's direct communication. We can see that the song of Solomon is closely connected to the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18. As I covered in detail in the previous video, Muhammad the prophet like Moses, the book of Deuteronomy foretold a momentous individual to come who will bring a new divine law and covenant for Israel to follow just as Moses did and that he will be sent at a time after Jesus.
In summary, by linking the bride's beloved to prophecies found in Isaiah 42, Psalm 84, Deuteronomy 33, Daniel 2, and Deuteronomy 18, the Song of Solomon is informing us that all of these various prophecies are interconnected and represent a single individual who will possess the following qualities and achievements. He will be an Arab who is associated with Mecca and Medina. He will be supported by a large number of saintly followers. His kingdom will conquer the nations of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. He will bring a new divine law. He will be sent after the time of Jesus. In the entire history of mankind, there is only one individual who embodied all these characteristics and accomplished all these feats, and that is the prophet Muhammad upon whom be peace.
Now, the Song of Solomon doesn't just connect together biblical prophecies. It also shines more light on them because it gives us a detailed description of the physical appearance of the bride's beloved. Song of Solomon goes on to inform us that the bride's friends ask her for a description of her beloved. "How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women?" The bride obliges by sharing a detailed description of her beloved's physical appearance as follows.
"My beloved is radiant and ruddy. His hair is wavy and black as a raven. His eyes are like doves. His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His body is like polished ivory decorated with lapis lazuli. His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, beautiful as its cedars."
Let's now compare these characteristics to the descriptions of Muhammad's physical appearance as recorded by his close companions. Regarding the bride's beloved's radiance, Muhammad's face was said to shine like the sun and moon. Regarding the bride's beloved's ruddy complexion, Muhammad was also noted to have a reddish complexion. Regarding the bride's beloved's wavy hair, Muhammad was also said to have wavy hair. Regarding the bride's beloved's dark hair, Muhammad was also said to have extremely black hair. In fact, his hair is said to have remained extremely black even when he died as an old man. Regarding the bride's beloved's eyes being dove-like, this points to them being intensely dark. This matches the description of Muhammad's eyes as extremely black. Regarding the bride's beloved's cheeks being fragrant like perfume, Muhammad's body was said to have been naturally fragrant. Even his sweat had a beautiful scent, which is one of the many blessings bestowed upon him by God. Regarding the bride's beloved's body being polished ivory, the Hebrew word translated as body is mei, which carries the meaning of belly or abdomen. Muhammad's abdomen is said to have been white. Regarding the bride's beloved's legs resembling marble pillars, this points to them being thick and strong. Muhammad's very joints, his hands and feet were described as being large. Finally, regarding the bride's beloved being beautiful like cedar trees, Albert Barn's commentary describes these trees as the most luxurant, majestic, and beautiful in all of nature. Muhammad was likewise described as being the most beautiful. We can see that the physical resemblance between the bride's beloved and prophet Muhammad is absolutely uncanny. These descriptions in Song of Solomon fit like a glove.
The Song of Solomon takes things even further by alluding to the very name of the bride's beloved. "His mouth is sweetness itself. He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved." The Hebrew word translated as altogether lovely is Muhammadim. Let's listen to how the verse is recited in Hebrew. >> The Hebrew Muhammadim >> is in fact directly linguistically connected to the Arabic name Muhammad. As the Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman confirms they both share the same root Ham.
Now a question that may come to mind is why didn't the author of Song of Solomon just mention the name directly? In other words, if they intended the prophet Muhammad, then couldn't they have just stated something more straightforward like "his mouth is sweetness itself. He is Muhammad." The author of Song of Solomon seems to have creatively alluded to the name Muhammad. While keeping in the poetic style of the rest of the passage, rhyming Muhammadim with the words mamakim that precedes it. The Old Testament scholar Richard Hess confirmed that the author's intention was rhyming for ease of transition.
Moreover, in biblical studies, there is the concept of popular ethmology in which Hebrew words are understood to carry meanings that relate to their cause or origin. This phenomenon is in fact commonplace throughout the Old Testament. For example, the biblical professor Duey Beagle discussed the deeper meaning of the name Moses. The Hebrew form of the name Moses is Moshe. And since it is very similar to the Hebrew verb masha to draw out, the rescue of Moses from the Nile is taken as the reason for his name. The Hebrew Bible is filled with popular ethmologies. The ancient mind reasoned that there was an explanation for every name. We can see that ancient Jewish rabbis would have been fully aware that the word Muhammadim contained a deeper meaning. Muhammadim can be translated as the description altogether lovely in its immediate context and it can also be understood to be a reference to the proper name of a person in its wider context. These are standard Jewish exoggetical methods of interpreting texts that predate the advent of Islam.
In conclusion, we have seen that the Song of Solomon is no mere love story, but rather an allegorical account of the coming of Israel's redeemer. It is one of the richest books of prophecy, functioning as a map of how to connect other prophecies scattered throughout the Bible while also foretelling the redeemer's physical characteristics as well as foreshadowing his very name. These are all details that collectively have only been fulfilled by one person in the entire history of mankind. None other than Muhammad upon whom be peace. It's no wonder the Quran declares that the Jews of Arabia recognized him better than their own sons.
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For more information on biblical prophecies about the coming of Muhammad upon whom be peace, please download your free copy of the book Abraham Fulfilled at the link below.