Song of Solomon 1 KJV
The Bride's Longing
Song of Solomon Chapter 1: The Bride's Longing
The reference to Pharaoh's chariots in verse 9 draws an unexpected parallel between the beloved and Egyptian military power, subtly evoking the Exodus narrative within an erotic context.
1he song of songs, which is Solomonโs.
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my motherโs children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherdsโ tents.
9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaohโs chariots.
10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
11 We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast dovesโ eyes.
16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.
17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.
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Did You Know?
The reference to Pharaoh's chariots in verse 9 draws an unexpected parallel between the beloved and Egyptian military power, subtly evoking the Exodus narrative within an erotic context.
The daughters of Jerusalem function as a recurring choral voice beginning here, a device echoing ancient Canaanite and Mesopotamian dialogue poems rather than typical Hebrew prophetic or wisdom literature.
The bride's reference to her own neglected vineyard in verse 6 uses the literal image of sunburn from labor to symbolize forfeited personal inheritance, a motif with deeper resonance in Israel's land-covenant theology.
Verses 12-14 blend spikenard from the Himalayas and camphire from Cyprus with local myrrh and Engedi vineyards, illustrating the Solomonic era's extensive trade routes that brought exotic aromatics into Judean royal settings.
The rapid alternation of speakers in the chapter creates a dramatic intimacy that mirrors ancient Near Eastern courtship rituals while foreshadowing the mutual pursuit theme later allegorized as the soul's quest for divine union.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain The song of songs โ The most excellent of all songs, Hebrew idiom (Ex 29:37; De 10:14). A foretaste on earth of the "new song" to be sung in glory (Re 5:9; 14:3; 15:2-4). Solomon'sโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Song of Solomon 1 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Canticle i.-- (so 1:2-2:7) --the bride searching for and finding the king.
- 1
- The song of songs โ The most excellent of all songs, Hebrew idiom (Ex 29:37; De 10:14). A foretaste on earth of the "new song" to be sung in glory (Re 5:9; 14:3; 15:2-4). Solomon's โ "King of Israel," or "Jerusalem," is not added, as in the opening of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, not because Solomon had not yet ascended the throne [MOODY STUART], but because his personality is hid under that of Christ, the true Solomon (equivalent to Prince of Peace). The earthly Solomon is not introduced, which would break the consistency of the allegory. Though the bride bears the chief part, the Song throughout is not hers, but that of her "Solomon." He animates her. He and she, the Head and the members, form but one Christ [ADELAIDE NEWTON]. Aaron prefigured Him as priest; Moses, as prophet; David, as a suffering king; Solomon, as the triumphant prince of peace. The camp in the wilderness represents the Church in the world; the peaceful reign of Solomon, after all enemies had been subdued, represents the Church in heaven, of which joy the Song gives a foretaste.
- 2
- him โ abruptly. She names him not, as is natural to one whose heart is full of some much desired friend: so Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre (Joh 20:15), as if everyone must know whom she means, the one chief object of her desire (Ps 73:25; Mt 13:44-46; Php 3:7,8). kiss โ the token of peace from the Prince of Peace (Lu 15:20); "our Peace" (Ps 85:10; Col 1:21; Eph 2:14). of his mouth โ marking the tenderest affection. For a king to permit his hands, or even garment, to be kissed, was counted a great honor; but that he should himself kiss another with his mouth is the greatest honor. God had in times past spoken by the mouth of His prophets, who had declared the Church's betrothal; the bride now longs for contact with the mouth of the Bridegroom Himself (Job 23:12; Lu 4:22; Heb 1:1, 2). True of the Church before the first advent, longing for "the hope of Israel," "the desire of all nations"; also the awakened soul longing for the kiss of reconciliation; and further, the kiss that is the token of the marriage contract (Ho 2:19, 20), and of friendship (1Sa 20:41; Joh 14:21; 15:15). thy love โ Hebrew, "loves," namely, tokens of love, loving blandishments. wine โ which makes glad "the heavy heart" of one ready to perish, so that he "remembers his misery no more" (Pr 31:6, 7). So, in a "better" sense, Christ's love (Hab 3:17, 18). He gives the same praise to the bride's love, with the emphatic addition, "How much" (So 4:10). Wine was created by His first miracle (Joh 2:1-11), and was the pledge given of His love at the last supper. The spiritual wine is His blood and His spirit, the "new" and better wine of the kingdom (Mt 26:29), which we can never drink to "excess," as the other (Eph 5:18; compare Ps 23:5; Isa 55:1).
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