Song of Solomon
Changes this passage only. Set your default for every passage.
Song of Solomon 8
Song of Solomon 8
Commentary · verses 1-14
1Oh that thou wert as my brother, That sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; Yea, and none would despise me.
2I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, Who would instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate.
1O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
2I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.
Commentary · verses 1-2
She saw Solomon as a brother and would treat him as one. Then she spoke of her groom...
3His left hand should be under my head, And his right hand should embrace me.
3His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
Commentary · verse 3
The groom ought to be the one who was most intimate with her. Then, she spoke to the ladies...
4I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
4I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
Commentary · verse 4
She warned them for the last time to give up their plan for her to marry Solomon. The bride left with the groom and returned home. The shepherd's friends saw the couple approaching...
5Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple-tree I awakened thee: There thy mother was in travail with thee, There was she in travail that brought thee forth.
5Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
Commentary · verse 5
On the way back, the couple stopped by the tree where they first met, which was also her birthplace. They pledged their love...
6Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of Jehovah.
7Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned.
6Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
7Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
Commentary · verses 6-7
Doctrines on this passage
8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts: What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for?
8We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?
Commentary · verse 8
This verse has been said to be the Jewish Church speaking of the Gentile Church. However, the literal context showed the bride's brothers remembering their discussion while she was a girl about what they would do for her when she got married...
9If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver: And if she be a door, We will inclose her with boards of cedar.
9If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.
Commentary · verse 9
"A wall" referred to her being upright and pure. "A door" referred to her not being a virgin. "Boards of cedar" referred to a coffin. If she did not remain a virgin she would be killed. Her brothers wanted to know if she had remained a virgin during her time with Solomon. Next, the bride responded...
10I am a wall, and my breasts like the towers thereof Then was I in his eyes as one that found peace.
10I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.
Commentary · verse 10
She stated she was worthy of the peace she found in the shepherd's eyes.
11Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He let out the vineyard unto keepers; Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
12My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: Thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousand, And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
11Solomon had a vineyard at Baal–hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
12My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
Commentary · verses 11-12
She stated that she deserved her reward because she had kept her own "vineyard"...unlike Solomon who let his "vineyard" out to many.
13Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken for thy voice: Cause me to hear it.
13Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.
Commentary · verse 13
The shepherd asked her to tell the whole story of her time with Solomon so that everyone knew about it. It would make sense that she had already told him everything on the journey back and he wanted others to hear it while he took pride in her. She responded...
14Make haste, my beloved, And be thou like to a roe or to a young hart Upon the mountains of spices.
14Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.
Commentary · verse 14
This fifth and final book that made up the poetic section of the Old Testament told the story of the woman that got away. Solomon desired a Shulammite woman to be his "queen of queens." Instead, she rejected Solomon for the shepherd that she loved.
There was a lot of symmetry when we look at the five books of the poetic section of the Old Testament. It began with a book about a righteous man who suffered unjustly. The Book of Job showed that God was Just in the long term. This understanding was consistently referred to in the rest of the poetic section. David began as a lowly shepherd. He was a man after God's own Heart that went through many of the same trials and tribulations as Job as shown in the Book of Psalms. He concluded his reign by providing for his son and secured in the knowledge that the Christ would come from his lineage. Solomon began his reign in a powerful fashion as shown in the Book of Proverbs. However, he violated commands given by God, the most important of which was not to marry many women because they would turn his heart away from God. In this book, we saw Solomon was rejected by the woman he desired the most...for a lowly shepherd. At the end of his life, his response to the questions Job struggled with showed a faulty thought process in the Book of Ecclesiastes. The next Section of the Old Testament was made up of the five major prophets...
Again, this was a song. The focus of the dialogue changed often and quickly...