The Song of
Author
The Hebrew wording of 1:1 may be understood to mean that the song is written by Solomon or that it is written for him or about him. There are additional references to Solomon throughout the book (1:5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11, 12), but these do not settle the question of authorship with any certainty. Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba, after the death of their first child (2 Samuel 12:15–25). He reigned over Israel from 970 to 930 B.C. The material majesty of his reign is detailed in 1 Kings 10.
Purpose
“Love” is the key word in the Song. This love, presenting the passionate desire between a man and a woman, King Solomon and the Shulamite, celebrates the joyous potential of marriage in light of sworn covenant principles. The basis for all human love should be covenant love, the master metaphor of the Bible. This covenant love is also the basis of the relationship between God and man; therefore, the Song applies properly to both marriage and to covenant history. The Shulamite therefore personifies the wife in an ideal marriage and the covenant people and their history in the Promised Land under the blessings of royal Solomonic love.
Characteristics
The Song is the best of all songs, a literary work of art and a theological masterpiece. In the second century one of the greatest Jewish rabbis, Akiba ben Joseph, said, “In the entire world there is nothing to equal the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel.” The Song itself is like its favorite fruit, pomegranates, alive with color and full of seeds. Quite unlike any other biblical book, it merits special consideration as a biblical archetype which presents anew the basic realities of man’s relationships. The Song employs symbolic language to express timeless truths.
Content
The Song contains portraits of the Shulamite woman along with a full array of her garden products. These should be taken both as poetic parallels of marital love and as covenant blessings of the people in their land.
Clear directions are given in the discovery of covenant blessings, “Follow in the footsteps of the flock” (1:8). Footsteps here is literally “heelprints,” and may be an allusion to Jacob, the national father whose name connotes “a heel.” Jacob’s shepherd role and his lifelong struggle for the blessing of God and man are cited as the biblical norm for God’s people (Hos. 12:3–6, 12, 13). He was born grasping his brother’s heel, a congenital manipulator. He was “disjointed” with deception at the core of his being as illustrated by his limp at Mahanaim (Gen. 32). He was forced to live outside the land under the threat of an angry brother. He returned to the land after twenty years with a faulty family foundation. Deception, lack of love, jealousy, anger, and love for hire (for mandrakes) went into the shaky substructure. The very names of the Twelve Tribes show the need for a new family history.
The Shulamite relives and rewrites that history. She does the memorial dance to Mahanaim (6:13; see Gen. 32:2). When she finds the one she loves she holds him and will not let him go (3:4; see Gen. 32:26). Fragrant mandrakes grow in her fields (7:11–13; see Gen. 30:14). When the daughters see her, they call her blessed or happy (6:9; see Gen. 30:13). In the Shulamite the corrupt family tree of Israel bears “pleasant fruits,” the very best (7:13; see Deut. 33:13–17). The covenant blessings that had gone awry are redeemed.
These same incidents can be seen as portraits of marital love as well. In this respect it is her husband whom she holds and will not let go (3:4). It is her husband who praises her beauty (6:4–10), and it is a royal wedding procession and the bride and groom’s rejoicing in one another that are portrayed in 3:6—5:1.
Personal Application
The Song is a constant goad to drifting marriages with its challenge to seek for openness, growth, and joyous relationship. It also makes an excellent premarital manual. As a biblical archetype it can bring healing to the core of our being with its hope of covenant love as it reshapes our marriages. Its portrayal of the covenant love relationship also has application to the covenant love relationship enjoyed by God’s church. In this regard, the Song can be rich in symbolism but should not be read as an arbitrary allegory with mysterious meanings supplied by the whim of the reader; rather, any such personal application of one’s love relationship with Christ should be interpreted with solid application, using obvious biblical parallels.
Christ Revealed
In the Song of Solomon, as in other parts of the Bible, the Garden of Eden, the Promised Land, the tabernacle with its ark of the covenant, the temple of Solomon, the new heavens and the new earth are all related to Jesus Christ, so it is not a matter of merely choosing a few verses that prophesy of Christ. The very essence of covenant history and covenant love is reproduced in Him (Luke 24:27; 2 Cor. 1:20).
The Holy Spirit at Work
According to Romans 5:5, “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” On the basis of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is the bond and the binding power of love. The joyous oneness revealed in the Song is inconceivable apart from the Holy Spirit. The very form of the book as song and symbol is especially adapted to the Spirit, for He Himself uses dreams, picture-language, and singing (Acts 2:17; Eph. 5:18, 19). A subtle wordplay based on the divine “breathing” of the breath of life (the Holy Spirit, Ps. 104:29, 30) in Genesis 2:7 seems to surface in the Song. It shows up in the “break” or breathing of the day (2:17; 4:6), in the “blowing” of the wind on the Shulamite’s garden (4:16), and surprisingly in the fragrant scent and fruit of the apple tree (7:8).
Outline of Song of Solomon
A. Remembering the love of the king with the good name 1:1–4
B. The dark but lovely vineyard keeper 1:5, 6
C. Finding love in the footsteps of the flock 1:7, 8
D. Removing the marks of slavery 1:9–11
E. The language of love 1:12–17
F. The thorn and the tree 2:1–6
G. The first sworn charge 2:7
II. The quest for openness 2:8—3:5
A. Beginning the quest 2:8–15
B. The joy of love in the cool of the day 2:16, 17
C. The determined search for the primal goal 3:1–4
D. The second sworn charge 3:5
III. The quest for mutuality 3:6—5:8
A. The royal wedding carriage of covenant love 3:6–11
B. Getting acquainted with the Shulamite 4:1–7
C. A view of the land from the top of Mount Hermon 4:8
D. Intimate union life in a shared garden banquet 4:9—5:1
E. The fall of the Shulamite 5:2–7
F. The third sworn charge 5:8
IV. The quest for oneness 5:9—8:4
A. Getting acquainted with Solomon 5:9—6:3
B. The Shulamite’s triumphant glory 6:4–10
C. The Shulamite’s noble people 6:11, 12
D. The memorial dance to Mahanaim 6:13—7:9
E. The initiation of a new love as equals 7:9—8:3
F. The fourth sworn charge 8:4
V. Closing scenes with summary achievements 8:5–14
A. Achieving the primal goal 8:5
B. Achieving authentic love 8:6, 7
C. Achieving motherhood and peace 8:8–10
1 THE asong of songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Banquet
The 1Shulamite
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
aFor 1your love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
The Shulamite
The king chas brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in 2you.
We will remember 1your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
5 I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has 1tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own avineyard I have not kept.
(To Her Beloved)
7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who 1veils herself
By the flocks of your *companions?
The Beloved
8 If you do not know, aO fairest among women,
1Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I have compared you, amy love,
bTo my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 aYour cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
11 We will make 1you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.
The Shulamite
12 While the king is at his table,
My 1spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.
The Beloved
15 aBehold, you are fair, 1my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.
The Shulamite
16 Behold, you are ahandsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our 1bed is green.
17 The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.
1 I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys.
The Beloved
So is my love among the daughters.
The Shulamite
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And ahis fruit was sweet to my taste.
The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem
4 He brought me to the 1banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6 aHis left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7 aI 1charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Beloved’s Request
The Shulamite
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 aMy beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “O my adove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your 1face,
bLet me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
Her Brothers
15 Catch us athe foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
The Shulamite
16 aMy beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
(To Her Beloved)
17 aUntil the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be blike a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of 1Bether.
A Troubled Night
The Shulamite
1 By anight on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 aThe watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the ahouse of my mother,
And into the 1chamber of her who conceived me.
5 aI 1charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not *stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Coming of Solomon
The Shulamite
6 aWho is this coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
Solomon the King
Made himself a 1palanquin:
10 He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.
The Beloved
1 Behold, ayou are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a bflock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2 aYour teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is 1barren among them.
3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
aYour temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4 aYour neck is like the tower of David,
Built bfor an armory,
On which hang a thousand 1bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5 aYour two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6 aUntil the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
And there is no spot in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir aand Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
My sister, my spouse!
aHow much better than wine is your love,
And the 1scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
Drip as the honeycomb;
aHoney and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is blike the fragrance of Lebanon.
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
A well of aliving waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
The Shulamite
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
aLet my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant bfruits.
The Beloved
1 I ahave come to my garden, my bsister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
cI have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
(To His Friends)
Eat, O dfriends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!
The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening
The Shulamite
2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
aHe knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, 1my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My 2locks with the drops of the night.”
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I 1defile them?
By the 1latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My 1heart leaped up when he spoke.
aI sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 aThe watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
9 What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
aO fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so 1charge us?
The Shulamite
10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
1Chief among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12 aHis eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And 1fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
*Dripping liquid myrrh.
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my *friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
1 Where has your beloved gone, aO fairest among women?
Where has your beloved turned aside,
That we may seek him with you?
The Shulamite
2 My beloved has gone to his agarden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
3 aI am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty
The Beloved
4 O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
5 Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have 1overcome me.
Your hair is alike a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.
6 aYour teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing;
Every one bears twins,
And none is 1barren among them.
7 aLike a piece of pomegranate
Are your temples behind your veil.
8 There are sixty queens
And eighty concubines,
And avirgins without number.
9 My dove, my aperfect one,
Is the only one,
The only one of her mother,
The favorite of the one who bore her.
The daughters saw her
And called her *blessed,
The queens and the concubines,
And they praised her.
10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon,
Clear as the sun,
aAwesome as an army with banners?
The Shulamite
11 I went down to the garden of nuts
To see the verdure of the valley,
aTo see whether the vine had budded
And the pomegranates had bloomed.
My soul had made me
As the chariots of 1my noble people.
The Beloved and His Friends
13 *Return, return, O Shulamite;
Return, return, that we may look upon you!
The Shulamite
What would you see in the Shulamite—
As it were, the dance of 1the two camps?
Expressions of Praise
The Beloved
1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
aO prince’s daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of the *hands of a skillful workman.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet;
It lacks no 1blended beverage.
Your waist is a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies.
3 aYour two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
4 aYour neck is like an ivory tower,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like purple;
A king is held captive by your tresses.
6 How fair and how pleasant you are,
O love, with your delights!
7 This stature of yours is like a palm tree,
And your breasts like its clusters.
8 I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of its branches.”
Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
The fragrance of your 1breath like apples,
9 And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.
The Shulamite
The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved,
1Moving gently the 2lips of sleepers.
And bhis desire is toward me.
Let us go forth to the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us asee if the vine has budded,
Whether the grape blossoms are open,
And the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 The amandrakes give off a fragrance,
And at our gates bare pleasant fruits,
All manner, new and old,
Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.
1 Oh, that you were like my brother, Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I should find you outside,
I would kiss you;
I would not be despised.
2 I would lead you and bring you
Into the ahouse of my mother,
She who used to instruct me.
I would cause you to drink of bspiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
(To the Daughters of Jerusalem)
3 aHis left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
4 aI charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
Love Renewed in Lebanon
A Relative
5 aWho is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awakened you under the apple tree.
There your mother brought you forth;
There she who bore you brought you forth.
The Shulamite to Her Beloved
6 aSet me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
bJealousy as 1cruel as 2the *grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
3A most vehement flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
aIf a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.
The Shulamite’s Brothers
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she is spoken for?
We will build upon her
A battlement of silver;
And if she is a door,
We will enclose her
With boards of cedar.
The Shulamite
And my breasts like towers;
Then I became in his eyes
As one who found peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;
aHe leased the vineyard to keepers;
Everyone was to bring for its fruit
A thousand silver coins.
(To Solomon)
12 My own vineyard is before me.
You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
And those who tend its fruit two hundred.
The Beloved
13 You who dwell in the gardens,
The *companions listen for your voice—
aLet me hear it!
The Shulamite
And bbe like a gazelle
Or a young stag
On the mountains of spices.
1:1 The Shulamite: It will be most helpful to note carefully the NKJV insertions as to who is speaking. The identification of the Shulamite, found in 6:13, may refer to a woman from Shulam (which would be an unknown location), a woman from Shunem (with Shulam being a variant spelling of Shunem in Issachar), or a feminine version of Solomon (meaning “Solomoness” or “Solomon’s woman”).
1:2–4 This scene reveals awakened desire for intimate life with the king because of his surpassing excellence, illustrating that love is a passionate desire for union life. The love of this fragrant king is twice good (the word “good” appears twice in Hebrew in its plural form).
1:2 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
1:4 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
1:5, 6 The Shulamite woman is clearly one of several biblical characters of color. The basic meaning of the term dark/black, coupled with the descriptive simile, which likens her color to the tents of Kedar, clearly emphasizes the dark hue of her skin. The word “Kedar” is from the root kaadar and means “black skinned” or “to be black” (Ps. 120:5). The tents of Kedar were made of skins from black goats. The term is more descriptive than literal.
1:7 The Shulamite shuns being one who veils herself. This best describes the isolation of a leper who dwells alone, outside the camp, in contrast to the community’s shared life of covenant love. Shared covenant love is crucial for curing “leprosy-loneliness.” This is perhaps why Jesus specifically sent the disciples to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” with a command to “cleanse the lepers” (Matt. 10:6–8).
1:8 The footsteps of the flock are literally “heelprints,” from which Jacob gets his name (Gen. 25:23–26). All the patriarchs of Israel were shepherds, and Jacob’s shepherd role is a norm for the nation (Hos. 12:12, 13). Her beloved is therefore telling her to locate her lover by following the flocks of the fields.
1:12–17 This brief series of loving responses models communication and shows the inherent dialogue of love. En Gedi is a beautiful oasis alongside the Dead Sea, where David refused to harm Saul. The language of love ends all hostile and divisive communication, for it speaks out of a shared life and magnifies oneness: our bed, our houses, our rafters.
1:13 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
1:16, 17 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
1:16, 17 Their bed is the green field with trees serving as their ceiling.
2:1–6 The pronoun in v. 5 is emphatic: this means me, I am lovesick! Love is a life-and-death issue, a personal matter; without the love of the other, one is alone and incomplete, love-starved. The banner over the banqueting house joyously signals that love has the proper place, the necessary provisions, and the triumphant power to respond.
2:4 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
2:6 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
2:7 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
2:7 This charge appears four times with variations and provides an overall outline for the Song (v. 7; 3:5; 5:8; 8:4). The urgent message is that unauthorized love is not to be stirred up or awakened. In other words, there is no true love without self-restraint and ethical responsibility. In these charges love appears as a person; it has its own laws and operates by independent rights as natural as the laws of nature. These sworn principles are illustrated by the gazelles and does of the field, magnificent fugitive animals never meant to be tamed. They belong in the wild, following their own inner laws of joyous unbounded freedom.
2:8–15 Love can bound over mountains, but it cannot leap over the wall of the beloved; it is strong but never uses force. She must come out from behind her wall and willingly venture into the openness of springtime. There are no giants in our land, but there are little foxes, like unbelief, resistance, and hardness of heart (Num. 13; 14). Hardness of heart is the great enemy of love, since everything depends on receptivity and openness.
2:16, 17 The Song frequently inserts a series of similar joyous relational statements (vv. 6, 16, 17; 4:6; 6:2, 3; 7:10; 8:3, 14). They affirm the truth of oneness and acknowledge the need for mutual nurturing.
3:1–5 The Shulamite is disappointed that her beloved has not appeared and is having a troubled night’s sleep. She finally decides to rise and seek the one she loves.
3:5 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
3:6–11 The interpretation of this section is diverse among scholars. Most see it as the approach of her beloved, even portraying their wedding. In this case the palanquin would be a type of royal wedding bed, which formed part of the regal cavalcade characterizing wedding processions prior to the destruction of the second temple.
Apart from its interpretive difficulties, covenant love principles between God and Israel seem clear. The route of the palanquin out of the wilderness to Zion follows the redemptive journey of the ark of the covenant. The opening question (v. 6) recalls the first appearance of God’s glory in the giving of the manna (Ex. 16:10–15). The fragrant smoke resembles the pillar of the guiding cloud and the altar of incense (Ex. 13:21; 30:34–38).4:1–16 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
4:1–7 This portrait of the Shulamite mingles ancient poetic imagery with covenant blessings, picturing a fruitful and perfected covenant people in full possession of the Promised Land. Mt. Gilead, across the Jordan, is an expanded land and includes the rest of the tribes of Israel (Num. 32).
4:7 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
4:8 All the mountain scenes in the Song are positive; this is not an invitation to leave Lebanon but an invitation to tour through Lebanon and look around from its highest peaks to view the entire Promised Land.
4:9—5:1 Man’s deepest need is to experience the oneness of authentic love in a dependable relationship. The endearing terms sister and spouse, used of the Shulamite, depict an enduring mutuality and permanent oneness. She is not a garden enclosed locking him out, but a private protected garden for royal use into which she invites her beloved to enter. The Shulamite, along with all her choice products, is now his. Together as friends and lovers they share the satisfying common meal with encouragement and approval (5:1).
4:9, 11 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
4:12 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
5:1 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
5:1 Eat, O friends! may be expressed to the friends of the couple, inviting them to celebrate the couple’s love, or may be expressed by the friends in affirmation of the couple enjoying their love.
5:2–8 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
5:2–7 The Shulamite has a troubled dream in which she sees her beloved leaving her (had turned away and was gone). The reason for his departure is her delayed response, which is attributed to the removal of her two garments, making her un-presentable. She herself had taken off one of the garments, symbolizing her own independent actions. She then goes looking for him and is seen by the watchmen who mistake her for a harlot and violently remove her second garment, a veil (likely an outer garment worn over her dress). This symbolizes the removal of her authority. Her beloved is her only hope; but where has he gone, and when will he return? Her independent action and the violent action of others then have caused her loss.
5:9—6:3 Solomon’s glory rightly represents the regal perfections of love. He is like his father David, ruddy, altogether lovely, and memorialized by the number ten thousand (1 Sam. 16:12; 18:7). He is unequaled in dependability, endurance, strength, and value; but he is no hard, cold metallic man. For the Shulamite her beloved is beyond compare (5:9).
5:10–16 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
5:13 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
5:16 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
6:4–10 This happy scene exalts the Shulamite’s beautiful queenly power and records her glorious impression. Her two capital cities, Tirzah (the first capital of the northern kingdom) and Jerusalem, manifest her lovely majesty. Everyone—queens, concubines, virgins, and daughters —praises the Shulamite because she personifies them.
6:8 This may be a reference to Solomon’s harem, though he eventually exceeded this number (1 Kin. 11:3). It also may be a reference to beautiful women outside the palace, even outside the kingdom.
6:11, 12 The chariots identify her noble people, Ammi Nadib. Nadib is a royal person of true nobility, a prince with freedom and liberality.
6:13—7:9 This section deals with Solomon’s attempt to resecure the Shulamite’s wandering love. His ardent call to return, return is given against the backdrop of the wandering of God’s covenant people, a backdrop to which he alludes in his reference to Mahanaim, the two camps. Mahanaim is the memorial name of a supreme event in covenant history (Gen. 32). It marked the return of the national family to the land (6:13; see Gen. 32:9; Hos. 14:1). Here Jacob received his new name, “Israel,” “Prince with God,” God’s name joined to Jacob’s. Mahanaim magnified grace and truth by contrasting the un-worthy smallness of Jacob in his departure from the land, with only a staff, with his massive fruitful return as two companies (Gen. 32:9, 10; Amos 7:2, 5).
7:1–9 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
7:4 Heshbon was the ancient capital of Sihon, about 20 miles east of the Dead Sea. It was known for its lush reservoirs. Bath Rabbim is unknown today. The tower of Lebanon was a famous and beautiful projecting tower in an unspecified city near the eastern slopes of Hermon. Nose here may be a reference to her face.
7:5 Purple: Perhaps refers to the hue that black hair can have or to the head covering of royalty.
7:6–9 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
7:7 Palm tree implies life-giving water (Ex. 15:27).
7:9—8:3 The Song moves from openness to mutuality and now oneness. Everything is new: new growth, new pleasant fruits, a new spiced wine, a vital new relationship, and a new manner of love.
7:10–13 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
7:10 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
8:3 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
8:5 The couple come, not dependently leaning, but clinging, joined equally. Love has worked its awakening power.
8:6, 7 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
8:6, 7 A seal represents a person and his authoritative power, somewhat like a signature. As Solomon’s seal, the Shulamite identifies with his love and represents it.
8:8–10 The Shulamite’s house is a protective towerlike palace built into the city wall. Her breasts have developed into a nurturing life source. She is a wall, not a door, mature with integrity and protective of others. The Shulamite has found motherhood and peace, and she models marriageability for all “little sisters.”
8:8, 9 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Song.
8:11, 12 Solomon’s vineyards were priceless, as indicated by the thousand silver coins. The Shulamite’s figurative vineyard, her love, is of equal value, and she gives the owner’s portion to her beloved.
8:13, 14 The unending kingdom of love with its mountains of spices awaits lovers.
CHAPTER 1
1 A Palestinian young woman, Song 6:13. The speaker and audience are identified according to the number, gender, and person of the Hebrew words. Occasionally the identity is not certain.
1 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
1 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
1 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
1 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
2 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
1 Lit. looked upon me
1 LXX, Syr., Vg. wanders
* See WW at Ps. 119:63.
1 Lit. Go out
a Song 2:2, 10, 13; 4:1, 7; John 15:14
1 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
1 perfume
1 my companion, friend
1 couch
CHAPTER 2
1 Lit. house of wine
1 adjure
1 Lit. appearance
a Ps. 80:13; Ezek. 13:4; Luke 13:32
1 Lit. Separation
CHAPTER 3
a Song 5:7; Is. 21:6–8, 11, 12
1 room
1 adjure
1 A portable enclosed chair
CHAPTER 4
1 bereaved
1 Small shields
a Deut. 3:9; 1 Chr. 5:23; Ezek. 27:5
1 fragrance
1 locked or barred
CHAPTER 5
1 my companion, friend
2 curls or hair
1 dirty
1 opening
1 Lit. soul
1 adjure
1 Distinguished
1 sitting in a setting
* See WW at Ezek. 21:2.
* See WW at Prov. 17:17.
CHAPTER 6
1 overwhelmed
1 bereaved
* See WW at Prov. 31:28.
1 Heb. Ammi Nadib
1 Heb. Mahanaim
CHAPTER 7
* See WW at Josh. 4:24.
1 Lit. mixed or spiced drink
1 Lit. nose
1 Gliding over
2 LXX, Syr., Vg. lips and teeth.
b Song 2:3; 4:13, 16; Matt. 13:52
CHAPTER 8
a Is. 49:16; Jer. 22:24; Hag. 2:23
1 severe, lit. hard
2 Or Sheol
3 Lit. A flame of YAH, poetic form of YHWH, the LORD
* See WW at Hos. 13:14.
* See WW at Ps. 119:63.
1 Hurry, lit. Flee