Biblia Files (part 9) - Song of Solomon and Keeping Mum

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Song of Solomon

Also called Song of Songs. It's one of the books of poetry in the Old Testament.  Jews called it the Holy of Holies of Scripture and would not allow young men to read it until they were 30.  {reference: Dr. J. Vernon McGee :: Notes for Song of Solomon }

It's a Cinderella story for mature audiences.

A Shulamite girl is forced to work the vineyards and tend to the sheep. She's beautiful, yet sun-burnt from working outside. And has no time to tend to herself.

But she meets a shepherd. They fall in love. He goes away and promises to come back. When he returns for her, she discovers her shepherd is King Solomon.

They marry. She's brought to the palace. Where they're really into each other. And their passion is described with much poetry.

Keeping Mum?

I've never seen a movie that uses the Song of Solomon in a serious way. Except for this BBC dark comedy, Keeping Mum (2005). And the Song of Solomon is pivotal to turning the tide in the story.

The Reverend Walter Goodfellow is in a crisis. Losing his passion for the ministry as well as growing cold toward his wife Gloria. And Gloria is dangerously close to plunging into an affair with a real creep--who fancies not only her, but her daughter.

Then their housekeeper Grace Hawkins shows up in a Mary Poppins sort of way. Only darker.  And Grace has a method of fixing things--permanently.  Yet she turns the Reverend on to the Song of Solomon, as shown in the clip below:

(reference:  https://youtu.be/QNK6oj22IHU )

And the Reverend sees his wife through a romantic lens of Solomon and comes to appreciate her for the blessing she is.

Here are the words:

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.

For thy love is better than wine.

His fruit was sweet to my taste.

His left hand is under my head,

and his right hand doth embrace me.

Behold, thou art fair, my love.

Behold, thou art fair.

Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet.

Thine eyes are as doves behind the veil.

And comely is thy mouth.

Thy two breasts are like fawns feeding among the lilies.

Thy navel is like a round goblet...

wherein no mingled wine is wanting.

Thy belly is like a heap of wheat,

set about with lilies.

Let thy breasts be as clusters on the vine.

And thy mouth like the best wine.

Open to me my dove,

for my head is filled with the drops of the night.

Come, my beloved,

let us see if the vine flourishes...

and the tender grapes appear...

and the pomegranates bud forth.

Let's hear it for Solomon, one of the heroes in this movie.

His timeless songs saved the marriage, rekindled passion, and got them through the crisis.

Indeed, Solomon was a very wise and passionate man.

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More posts in the series:

Biblia Files (part 1) - Thru the Bible (2013)

Biblia Files (part 2) - What is the Bible Basically About? (2013)

Biblia Files (part 3) - Gideon - weakness, warts and all (2013) 
   
Biblia Files (part 4) - Holy Hyperlinks (2014)

Biblia Files (part 5) - Waiting .... (2014)
  

Biblia Files (part 6) - Crowns and Frowns (2015)
  
Biblia Files (part 7) - Follow Me (2017)

Biblia Files (part 8) - What's Yom Kippur?  (2018)

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photo:  Kiss/everystockphoto.com