There was no real hero during the Solomon era, but there may have been a heroine. Solomon destroyed the establishment of marriage more than anyone that came before and I’m sure after him. We don’t know her name but this heroine was the Shulamite Woman.
The Shulammite spoke the first words in the poem “Let him kiss me”, and the last words “Make haste, my beloved,and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.”She also provides most of the lines in the poem including the heartfelt speeches about the power of love. The Shulammite is the main figure in the Song of Solomon and the symbol of pleasure. But who is she? What’s her name? Where is she from?
We don’t actually know her name, or really anything else besides the description the “Shulammite,” and it leaves us wondering. She does have some characterization throughout the Song. We see that she is probably just past the age of puberty which is implied by the response from her brothers. Then her response “my breasts are like towers” tells us that she may have already reached the age of sexual maturity. The brothers are responsible for her and they have punished her, by making her keeper of the vineyards. The Shulammite does describe herself and she says she is “dark and lovely”. This is a reference to her tanned skin because she says “the sun has looked upon me.” Working outdoors may also be associated with a lower social status. When she mentions her dark skin, she may be ashamed of it, but to me she sounds like she is proud of it and possibly boasting about it. Maybe woman during this time wanted tan skin just as they do today.
She is most likely called the Shulammite because she would have came from a place called Shulem, but there isn’t a place named Shulem. Therefore many scholars consider Shulammite to have connections with Shunammite, which is the people from Shunem. Shunem was a small town in northern Israel. Some researchers connect Shulem with Salem, believing Solomon’s lover was from Jerusalem.
One theory of the Shulammite is that she is the daughter of Egypt’s king, who of which Solomon married in 1 Kings, but who knows when it comes to Solomon. There is also no evidence supporting this theory in the song. Another theory mentions Abishag. Abishag was a young Shunammite who served King David in his old age which was also in 1 Kings. It is considered that Abishag may be the Shulammite woman. We know she was from Shunem, which could possibly be the same place as Shulem. Since she was David’s servant, Abishag would probably have known David’s son, which is in fact Solomon. Solomon’s half-brother Adonijah attempted to marry Abishag, and strangely enough, Solomon prevented the marriage.
After years of researching, scholars still do not have any information about this woman and probably never will. I, on the other hand, tend to agree with the theory that she is Abishag.
Old Testament 