The threefold oath in the Song of Songs

The Song of Songs, is not an ordinary love poem. The name alone indicates a superlative: this song is the highest, the most beautiful, the deepest of all. As is so often the case in Scripture, this song too is a typological treasure chamber in which earthly images refer to a spiritual reality. The main theme? A hidden Bridegroom and a searching bride. And ultimately: reunion. But… in the time that pleases Him.

a refrain of adjuration

Three times a refrain sounds in the Song of Songs like an adjuration:

“I am adjuring you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the deer of the field: You must not rouse, You must not arouse love Until it delights.”
(S.S. 2:7; 3:5; 8:4 — the last text slightly varies)

A remarkable oath. Addressed three times to “the daughters of Jerusalem,” a picture of those who belong to the city of the great King (Matt. 5:35) and thereby share the position of the bride. They are adjured “by the gazelles or by the deer of the field.” These are timid creatures that vanish at the slightest disturbance. That is what happens with provoked love. It disappears. Love cannot be forced, certainly not with violence. It comes when it delights.

And thus, the return of the bride to her Bridegroom is not a matter of human planning or political will, but of divine timing.

the bride as a figure of Israel

The bride from the Song of Songs is much more than just a simple shepherdess from Shulamm. She represents the people of Israel. She seeks her Beloved, but does not find Him. He is hidden. This speaks of the tragedy of the Jewish people, who did not recognize their Messiah when He came (John 1:11). And to this day, she seeks Him in vain. But the Song of Songs speaks with hope: she will find Him. At the appointed time. Not before. Until that time, the call resounds: “You must not rouse love until it delights.”

the three oaths in Jewish tradition

That the Song of Songs has a deeper, prophetic dimension has always been acknowledged within Judaism itself. In the Talmud (tractate Ketubot 111a), we find a remarkable interpretation of the threefold oath from the Song of Songs. There, they are understood as follows:

1. Israel must not return en masse and with force to the land before the coming of the Messiah.
2. Israel must not rebel against the nations in which it dwells during the diaspora.
3. The nations must not excessively oppress Israel.

For centuries, this was regarded within religious Judaism as a divine command: no return to the land on one’s own initiative. One had to wait for the Messiah.

zionism: human zeal or divine timing?

Political Zionism, which emerged in the nineteenth century under the leadership of Theodor Herzl, broke radically with this idea. The long-awaited return was no longer seen as a matter of waiting on God, but as a task for men. Religious Jewish leaders such as Samson Raphael Hirsch, Chafetz Chaim, and the Satmar Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum protested fiercely. Teitelbaum even called the founding of the state of Israel “the greatest spiritual catastrophe of his time” and viewed the Holocaust as a consequence of violating the three oaths.

In his eyes, Zionism was not an innocent mistake, but a rebellion against God. A provocation of the promises. Love was roused prematurely. And the result? A situation filled with appalling conflict, strife, and suffering. And who does not, at this very moment, involuntarily think of the excessive violence in and around the Gaza Strip?

the relevance of the Song of Songs

The Song of Songs casts a remarkable light on current events. It declares under oath not to awaken love before it delights. “Not by vigor, nor by power,” says Zechariah (4:6), but by waiting for the time God has appointed. Only through great ruin and disgrace will political Zionism come to acknowledge this truth (Isa. 6:9–13).

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