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LEB By Document By Section By Chapter Details
LEB GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH EZRA NEH EST JOB PSA PRO ECC SNG ISA JER LAM EZE DAN HOS JOEL AMOS OBA YNA MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL MAT MARK LUKE YHN ACTs ROM 1COR 2COR GAL EPH PHP COL 1TH 2TH 1TIM 2TIM TIT PHM HEB YAC 1PET 2PET 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN YUD REV
Maiden’s Soliloquy
Maiden’s Self-Description
Dialogue between Shepherdess and Shepherd
Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved
Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved
Mutual Admiration
Dialogue between Maiden and Her Beloved
Banquet Hall of Love
Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration
Rendezvous in the Countryside
Poetic Refrain(s)
Maiden’s Dream (?): Seeking and Finding
Adjuration Refrain
Royal Wedding Procession
Groom’s Praise of His Bride
The Mountains and Fragrance of Lebanon
The Locked Garden of Delights Is Unlocked
Maiden’s Dream: Seeking and Not Finding
Maiden’s Praise of Her Beloved
Solomon’s Praise of His Beloved
The Maiden’s Beauty Is without Peer
The Journey to the Valley
Solomon’s Praise of His Dancing Maiden
Rendezvous in the Countryside
Maiden’s Fanciful Wish
Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration
Up from the Wilderness and under the Apple Tree
The Nature of Genuine Romantic Love
Maiden’s Virtuous Chastity and Voluptuous Beauty
Solomon’s Vineyard and the Maiden’s Gift
Closing Words of Mutual Love
?:? This construction conveys a superlative connotation, e.g., “The most exquisite song”
?:? Or “by Solomon” or “about/concerning Solomon”
?:? In the maiden’s soliloquy, she thinks about her beloved in her thoughts (“May he kiss me!”), then poetically speaks to him as if he were in her presence (“for your love is better than wine”). To avoid confusion, the translation uses the second-person form throughout vv. 2–4
?:? Literally “May he kiss me”
?:? Literally “with the kisses of his mouth”
?:? The shift from the third person “he … his” to the second person “you … your” in vv. 2–4 should not be interpreted as suggesting two different referents, that is, one male whom the maiden is addressing as “you,” and another to whom she refers as “he.” Rather, this shift is a poetic device (called “grammatical differentiation”) that is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry (e.g., Gen 49:4 ; Deut 32:15 ; Psa 23:2–5 ; Isa 1:29 ; 42:20 ; 54:1 ; Jer 22:24 ; Amos 4:1 ; Mic 7:19 ; Lam 3:1 ; Song 4:2 ; 6:6 ). This shift is characteristic of a soliloquy, a dramatic or literary form in which a character reveals her thoughts without addressing a listener who is actually present (e.g., 2 Sam 19:4 ). In this case, the maiden’s private thoughts about her beloved (v. 2a ) shift to an imaginary address to her beloved (vv. 2b–4a )
?:? Literally “your oil lotions”
?:? Literally “good”
?:? Literally “oil lotion”
?:? Or “The king has brought me into his chambers”
?:? Or “black and beautiful”
?:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
?:? This is figurative for the maiden’s physical appearance; her skin was darkly tanned
?:? Literally “my vineyard that for me”
?:? Literally “soul”
?:? Literally “For to what will I be like”
?:? The reading of the MT (“like one who is veiled”) is supported by the LXX. However, several ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate, Symmachus) reflect an alternate Hebrew textual tradition in which two letters are transposed, resulting in the reading “like one who wanders about.” This makes good sense contextually, since the maiden does not know where her beloved would be at noon
?:? Literally “in the tracks”
?:? Or “your kids”
?:? Or “my mare”
?:? Or “chariot horses”
?:? Or “droplets”
?:? Literally “the bag”
?:? Or “he lays”
?:? Literally “green”
?:? Or “brambles”
?:? Literally “I sat down and I delighted”
?:? Literally “for I myself am sick with love”
?:? Or “would embrace me”
?:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
?:? Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our lovemaking until it is satisfied”
?:? Literally “this one”
?:? Literally “the fawn of the stag”
?:? Literally “This is he”
?:? Literally “from”
?:? Literally “from”
?:? Literally “Arise, you”
?:? Literally “And come, you”
?:? Literally “the rain”
?:? Literally “is over; it is gone”
?:? Literally “is seen”
?:? Literally “on the earth”
?:? Most likely, a subtle word play occurs here since there are two different words in Hebrew spelled the same way: “pruning” and “singing.” The former plays upon the first line and the latter upon the third line
?:? Literally “the time of the song arrived”
?:? Literally “Arise, to you!”
?:? Literally “My beauty, come, you”
?:? Literally “in the secret place”
?:? Or “in the covering”
?:? Literally “foothold in the rock”
?:? Or “cliff”
?:? Or “while”
?:? Literally “My beloved for me and I for him”
?:? Literally “Be like for you”
?:? Or “a buck gazelle”
?:? Literally “the fawn of the stag”
?:? Or “the mountains of Bether”
?:? Or “I seek”
?:? Literally “soul”
?:? Literally “soul”
?:? Literally “soul”
?:? Literally “As little that I passed”
?:? Literally “soul”
?:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
?:? Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our love-making until it is satisfied”
?:? Literally “couch” or “portable sedan chair”
?:? Literally “her”
?:? Literally “holders of sword”
?:? Literally “learnt of war”
?:? Literally “because of the fear”
?:? Literally “The king, Solomon”
?:? Or “its support,” “its base,” “its headrest,” “its litter,” “its cover”
?:? Or “love.” The Hebrew term here translated “leather” is spelled the same as the term for “love.” Most likely this is an example of a word play that puns on the intentional ambiguity: “Its interior was inlaid with leather//love by the maidens of Jerusalem”
?:? Literally “by the daughters of Jerusalem”
?:? Literally “O daughters of Zion”
?:? Literally “the king, Solomon”
?:? Literally “Behold!” Or “Look!”
?:? Literally “shields”
?:? Literally “There is no flaw in you!”
?:? Or “You must come”
?:? Or “With me”
?:? Or “a source locked”
?:? Or “your channel”
?:? Literally “fruit of choice things”
?:? Or “perfumes”
?:? Or “His perfumes can waft down”
?:? Or “Drink and become drunk, O lovers!”
?:? Or “and”
?:? Or “The sound of my beloved knocking!”
?:? Literally “my locks with drops of night”
?:? Literally “How will I put it on?”
?:? Literally “How will I soil them?”
?:? Or “my beloved had left; he was gone”
?:? Or “my soul left”
?:? Or “when he was speaking.” Translations equivocate on how to translate this verb, since there are two terms in Hebrew spelled identically: “to speak” and “to turn aside” (HALOT 1:210). The context suggests the latter
?:? Or “mantle”
?:? Literally “the sentinels of the walls”
?:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
?:? Literally “sick with love”
?:? Literally “What is your beloved more than another beloved …?”
?:? Literally “What is your beloved more than another beloved …?”
?:? Literally “red”
?:? Literally “more than”
?:? Or “streams”
?:? Literally “dwelling in a setting”
?:? Or “seated at a suitable mounting”
?:? Literally “cylinders”
?:? Or “rings”
?:? Literally “filled with”
?:? Or “body”
?:? Or “works of ivory set with sapphire”
?:? Or “marble”
?:? Literally “the cedars”
?:? Or “his palate”
?:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
?:? Literally “I for my beloved and he for me”
?:? Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
?:? Literally “from behind”
?:? Literally “she is one”
?:? The term “one” functions here as an adjective of quality: “unique, singular, the only one”
?:? Literally “she is one”
?:? Or “the only daughter of her mother.” Although the latter option is permissible, the term is used elsewhere of the heir as the favored child (e.g., Gen 22:2; Prov 4:3 ). This nuance is supported by the parallel term “favorite”
?:? Or “she is the pure one.” Since there are two Hebrew terms spelled the same way, some relate this to the adjective that means “pure.” Others relate it to the verb that means “to choose, select.” The parallelism favors the latter
?:? Literally “the favorite for”
?:? Or “call her happy” or “call her blessed” or “bless her”
?:? Literally “pure as the glow”
?:? Or “bright as the heat of the sun.” The Hebrew term “glow” poetically refers to the bright rays of the sun (Psa 19:7; Isa 24:23 ; 30:26 )
?:? Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
?:? Literally “soul”
?:? Or “Before I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib” (KJV, ASV) or “Before I knew it, my desire set me mid the chariots of Ammi-nadib” (JPS) or “Before I was aware, my soul set me over the chariots of my noble people” (NASB) or “Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people” (NIV) or “… among the chariots of Amminadab” (NIV margin) or “… among the chariots of the people of the prince” (NIV margin)
?:? NoneSong of Songs 6:13–7:13 in the English Bible is 7:1–14 in the Hebrew Bible
?:? Or “Return, return …!”
?:? Or “O perfect one,” “O peaceful one,” “O bride.” Many interpreters take this moniker as suggesting the maiden was from the village of Shulem (alternately called Shunem)
?:? Or “Return, return …!”
?:? Or “O daughter of leader”
?:? Literally “thigh”
?:? Literally “ornaments”
?:? Literally “a bowl of the roundness”
?:? Or “blended”
?:? Literally “looking out over the face of Damascus”
?:? Literally “Your head is on you like the Carmel”
?:? Because of its height and fertility, Mount Carmel is often associated with royalty
?:? Literally “the purple”
?:? Literally “this your height”
?:? Or “over lips of sleepers.” One Hebrew textual tradition preserves the reading “lips of those who sleep” (MT). Another Hebrew tradition reads “my lips and my teeth,” as reflected by the ancient versions (LXX, Latin Vulgate, Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta). The latter is adopted here since it makes the most sense poetically
?:? Literally “I am for my beloved”
?:? Literally “and his desire is for me.” Or “and his desire belongs to me”
?:? Literally “go forth into the field”
?:? Or “lodge”
?:? Or “let us go”
?:? Or “sprouted”
?:? Literally “have bloomed”
?:? Or “over our doorways all choice things”
?:? Literally “new also old I have laid up”
?:? Literally “at the breast of my mother”
?:? Literally “I will find you in the street”
?:? Literally “also they would not despise me”
?:? Literally “I would lead you and I would bring you”
?:? The combination of the two verbs creates a hendiadys which may be rendered more cogently as “I would surely bring you …”
?:? Literally “she will teach me”
?:? Literally “I would give you to drink from the wine of the spice”
?:? Or “juice”
?:? The traditional Hebrew reads the singular “my pomegranate.” However, the plural reading “my pomegranates” is attested in numerous medieval Hebrew manuscripts and is reflected in the ancient versions (Greek Septuagint, Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta). The latter makes the most sense in this context as a euphemistic description of the maiden’s delights
?:? Or “embraced”
?:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
?:? Or “Why must you … before it pleases?”
?:? Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our lovemaking until it is satisfied”
?:? Literally “was in labor with you”
?:? Or “and rivers cannot engulf it”
?:? Literally “in the love”
?:? Literally “they will utterly scorn him”
?:? Literally “a little sister for us”
?:? Literally “and there is no breast for her”
?:? Literally “on the day when it is spoken of her”
?:? Or “on the day when she is spoken for”
?:? Literally “we will build upon her a camp of silver”
?:? The term translated “turret” refers to the decorative parapet adorning the top of a building. This image is likely figurative for a silver tiara set upon the head
?:? Or “we will enclose her”
?:? Literally “then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace”
?:? Literally “A vineyard was for Solomon”
?:? Literally “he gave the vineyard to the keepers”
?:? Literally “each one brought a thousand silver pieces for his fruit”
?:? Literally “My vineyard that for me before my face”
?:? Literally “and two hundred for the keepers of his fruit”
?:? Literally “and be like for you to a gazelle”
?:? Literally “to the fawn of the stag”
?:? Literally “the mountains of spices”