Abishag: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savor of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured forth; therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me.⁶

Chorus: We will run after thee.⁸

Abishag: The king hath brought me into his chambers.

Chorus: We will be glad and rejoice in thee; we will remember thy love more than wine.

Abishag: The upright love thee. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

Solomon: If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.⁷

Chorus: We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

Abishag: While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night between my breasts. My David is unto me as a cluster of henna in the vineyards of Engedi.

Solomon: Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.

Abishag: Behold, thou art fair, my David, yea, pleasant. Also our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir. I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

Solomon: As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

Abishag: As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my David among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

The voice of my David! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

My David is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. My David spake, and said unto me:

Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.⁹

Brothers of Abishag: Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

Abishag: My David is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my David, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

Solomon: Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

Abishag: Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my David come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

Solomon: I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Abishag: I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my David that knocketh, saying,

Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

Abishag: I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? My David put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. I rose up to open to my David; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my David; but my David had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me [descent into the underworld].  I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my David, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

Chorus: What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

Abishag: My David is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my David, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Chorus: Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

Abishag: My David is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my David's, and my David is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

Solomon: Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

Abishag: I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.

Friends of Solomon: Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Solomon: How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine.

Abishag: For my David, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. I am my David's, and his desire is toward me. Come, my David, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my David.

O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

Relative: Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

Abishag: Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

Brothers of Abishag: We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

Abishag: I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

David: Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

Abishag: Make haste, my David, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

The fact is that Solomon built temples for his wives, all of the important ones.

Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites .... And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines .... For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites.... Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the detestation of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestation of the children of Ammon. And so did he for all his foreign wives, who offered and sacrificed unto their gods.

The Levites spun this fact and made those temples dedicated to gods other than Yahweh the product of his old age and his drifting away from the worship of their "true God," but the fact is that the Temple of Yahweh was only one of many and had no special significance to anyone but one of his wives, her fellow worshippers, and the later Levites and their followers. This was because Solomon was not simply king of the Jews. He was king of, or leader of a federation that covered, the entire region from the Euphrates River to the borders of Egypt and may have had political relationships as far away as Sheba in southern Arabia and Ophir on the Indus, supposedly reached by a fleet of ships sailing from Eilat and manned by Israelites and Phoenicians. This was no petty mountain kingdom as some have claimed, but neither was it the great empire of the early Jewish kings ruled from the biblical Jerusalem. So again, the bible is right in its broad brush strokes but the details have been fudged to fit the political and theological agenda of a later priesthood.

As we have seen time and time again in the current study, the bible rarely strays very far from the actual truth and there is often a cryptic and easily overlooked clue at hand. So we are justified in asking whether the true location of Solomon's Temple is not hinted at somewhere in the description of events surrounding the breakup of the United Monarchy.

And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all of Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it―for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, and they sent and called him―that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke unto Rehoboam, saying: "Thy father made our yoke grievous ...."

Now Shechem was a seminal location in the lives of the forerunners of Solomon. Abraham built an altar there. It was, according to some, the place where he stopped upon entering Canaan and it was the place where Yahweh himself gave Abraham the future land of Israel. Joseph is supposed to be buried there, though we have already seen that his mummy remains in Egypt. Jacob's sons are purported to have massacred the population at one point. It is mentioned in the Amarna letters found at Akhnaton's short-lived capital of Akhetaton, its ruler Labayu having hired mercenaries from among the Habiru, associated by some with the early Hebrews. Joshua assembled the tribes there after his conquest of Canaan, and it later became the religious capital of the Samaritans. The city had a Bronze Age temple and was conquered and rebuilt by the Israelites in the 10th Century after having been destroyed in the 11th, possibly by Abimelech. And it was the first capital of the Northern Kingdom, so that it appears that Rehoboam did not just lose the fealty of the ten tribes of Israel, he was summarily ejected from his own capital, so angry were they at his presumptuousness.

Kenneth Humphries, on his website dedicated to the proposition that the entire bible is fictional―an understandable proposition considering the, especially chronological, distortions it contains―nevertheless manages to retrieve a clue originally discovered by a Swiss collector and former diplomat that speaks to the problem of the true nature of Solomon's Temple. Humphries quotes an Assyrian stele due to Shamshi-Adad V:

I ascended the Lebanon mountains and cut down the mighty beams of cedar. At that time I carried those cedars from Lebanon and at the gate of the temple of Shulmânu, my lord, I laid them down.... The old temple which Shalmaneser, my father, had built, had become decrepit, and I, in my skill, rebuilt that temple from its foundations to its pinnacles.... The beams of cedar from Lebanon I laid on it.... When this temple becomes old and decrepit, may a future prince renew its decrepit parts and return the inscription to its place.

Humphries thinks that the Solomon of the bible is the god Shulmanu worshipped in Assyria, which he very well may have been on some level or another of legendary development, but the real implication here is simply that the building of temples dedicated to the God of Solomon out of cedar from Lebanon was not limited to the kingdom of Israel and that there were kings named after Shulmanu elsewhere than at Ashur, just as there were Hammurabis at places other than Babylon and there was even a Sargon among the ancestors of Noah. One even has to wonder if Saul and Solomon did not follow the pattern of Eber and Abram noted in Chapter Five, making them Shulmanu I and II of Israel.

So here we have three consecutive Jewish rulers whose names look like truncations of theomorphic names based on the gods of the Western Semites concurrently worshipped by the Assyrians and other nearby peoples. This period lasted about 60 years and then the naming conventions in Israel returned to those of the period of the Judges, as if someone had invaded the land of Israel, made their influence felt by ruling there for a few generations, and then left. What are we to make of this historical equivalent of an erratic boulder in an otherwise geologically consistent landscape?

The end of the period in question is roughly synchronous with the return of Jeroboam from Egypt and the invasion of Israel by Shoshenq I. So that it is fair to ask whether the end of a series of kings with names linked to the followers of Adad (David) and Shulmanu (Shaul, Solomon) marks the return of Egyptian domination over the lands of ancient Israel, the implication of which would be that the supposedly vast empire of especially the last two of these rulers was that of some grouping of Western Semitic states during a period of Egyptian weakness before the rise of the 22nd Dynasty. It is not immediately clear what exactly was the nature of this confederation but it may very well have resembled that to which Ahab belonged toward the middle of the 9th Century BC about which we will speak in a moment.

How did Jerusalem come to be identified with Solomon? Ahmed Osman, in Jesus in the House of the Pharaohs, points out that many scholars derive the name Jerusalem, Urusalim in the Akkadian of the Tell el Amarna letters, from the words yarah meaning "to found" and Shalim or Shulmanu, the latter of whom we have already had the pleasure of meeting in the very person of "Solomon" as presented in the Song of Songs. So Jerusalem was "founded by [the god] Shulmanu," not a terribly long etymological distance from the concept of its foundation by King Solomon. The problem with the biblical account is that the city was built in the name of Shulmanu long before the rise of the Jewish kingdom in the area and even before the first Shalmaneser ruled Assyria. Osman disputes the translation, but it is clear that the area of Jerusalem must have been a major cultic center of Shulmanu long before the decay had set in that left the city itself virtually nonexistent by the 10th Century BC.