Footnotes

1. Song of Songs 1:1 Solomon composed poems and songs, and tradition decided to place this Book under his patronage. But let us go on to the text itself.
   The bride is seized with the desire to rejoin her bridegroom in a perfect and joyous union. She issues a call for him to be with her and musters up her hope. In uninterrupted variations, the Song will take up again the same call and the same hope.
   Is it not equally true that the people of God in the solitude of the Exile wait impatiently for the day on which God, their King, will manifest himself anew and lead them back to the Holy Land and Jerusalem. Today, the Church—and every believer with her—remains in wait for the coming of her Lord.
2. Song of Songs 1:1 The speakers are indicated by the captions Bride, Bridegroom, and Companions respectively. In some cases, the divisions are open to question. By Solomon: Solomon is said to have authored one thousand and five songs (1 Ki 5:12).