Sexual Intimacy in the Song of Songs: Implications of the “Eating and Drinking” Motif

One of the reasons a literal interpretation of the Song of Songs is rejected by some scholars is because they observe that “there is no definitive progress in the plot, no real dramatic movement. This thesis has led to believe that the Song is a collection of songs and that the historical structure of the book, whether cyclical or linear, does not contain a chronological principle of sexual intimacy in the couple loving relationship. As a result no literary unity of the Song can be found. However, recent studies have aptly demonstrated that there are sufficient textual evidences of a literary unity of the Song, and that the Song of Songs is a single piece, one single poem.

Thus, this paper aims to examine if this unity is also depicted by a literary progressive imagery of “Eating and Drinking.” I will endeavor to observe the role of the “Eating and Drinking” motif in verses 4:16 and 5:1 as the central event throughout the Song. This analysis will be done in two parts: First, a grammatical analysis of 4:16 and 5:1 as the central text, and second an analysis of the “Eating and Drinking” motif throughout the Song. I will select nouns and verbs which depict with more frequency the theme found in 4:16 and 5:1. Finally, I will suggest a theology of intimacy.