Racialized Interpretations of Song of Songs 5:10a in Nineteenth-Century America

The history of racialized readings of Song of Songs 1:5a is well documented within contemporary biblical scholarship. Although not as prevalent, Sg. 5:10a also has a history of racialized readings—especially throughout the nineteenth century in the United States—which biblical scholars have overlooked. This article provides an overview of representative examples of interpretations of Sg. 5:10a from academic and popular sources to fill in a neglected but important segment in the history of racialized uses of texts from the Song of Songs. After a brief review of representative examples of how contemporary biblical scholars have analyzed Sg. 5:10a without much reference to its history of interpretation, I review racialized readings of this text in the nineteenth century. Focusing on three representative topics (biblical support for scientific racism, interracial marriage, and racial achievement), I illustrate how intellectuals used Sg. 5:10a to engage different social issues in which race plays an important factor.