an Old Testament book that belongs to the third section of the biblical canon, known as the Ketuvim, or "Writings." In the Hebrew Bible the Song of Solomon stands with Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther and with them makes up the Megillot, five scrolls that are read on various religious festivals of the Jewish year. This book is the festal scroll for Pesah (Passover), which celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The book in its present form postdates the Babylonian Exile (5th century BC onward), but the poems that it preserves date from about the 10th century BC, the period of the Davidic monarchy.