ABSTRACT
In the opening prologue of his Commentary on the Song of Songs, Origen issues a warning about content: it will seem to be erotic, and readers with inadequate spiritual training will likely find themselves assaulted by temptation. Invoking Paul’s comparison between those who are ready only for milk and those who can now move on to solid food (1 Cor 3), Origen explains that readers who interpret the Song carnally are still drinking “milk” and should avoid this text altogether. Such readers, “not knowing how to hear love’s language in purity and with chaste ears” (p. 22) will twist and distort the sacred meaning and fall deeper into carnality and passion. On the contrary, the spiritually minded reader-one who has long practice in religious discipline-will see past the erotic overlay of “kisses,” “mouths,” and “bridal chambers” to the true meaning of the text. The Song of Songs is a figural (non-literal) tale narrating the desire of the soul and the church for intimacy with God. It is not a poetic narrative celebrating sexual love between a bride and a bridegroom.
