The Odes of Solomon were, perhaps, composed for liturgical use. In the Syriac manuscripts, all of the Odes end with a hallelujah, and the Harris manuscript marks this word in the middle of an ode by the Syriac letter hê (). The use of plural imperative and jussive verb-forms suggest that on occasion a congregation is being addressed. Bernard,Bernard, JH (1912). "The Odes of Solomon" in Texts and Studies VIII. Aune, PiercePierce, Mark (1984). "Themes in the Odes of Solomon and other early Christian writings and their baptismal character" in Ephemerides Liturgicae XCVIII". and others who have commented on the Odes find in them clear early baptismal imagery — water is an ever-present theme (floods, drinking the living waters, drowning and the well-spring) as is the language of conversion and initiation. Charlesworth has led the criticism of this view.
