My dove, my perfect 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. Song of Solomon 6:9
The Mutual Delight of the Bride and Bridegroom
6:1 The chorus members now join in the search. In the dream sequence, we suspect that the chorus is well aware of his location. It is only the bride who needs to discover his whereabouts.
1 The Daughters of Jerusalem Where has your beloved gone, O fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned aside, That we may seek him with you?
6:2 his garden… his flock: This is a change of language from 4:12-16. On their wedding night, the bride presented herself to Solomon as his garden. But he has another “garden” to tend as well, and it is one in which he also takes great pleasure. This is the “garden” of his work, his responsibility as the king of Israel. The flock is the people; the lilies represent the produce of the land. This realization leads to the strong affirmation in the next verse that the husband and wife belong to each other. Another use of the word garden occurs in 6:11.
2 The Shulamite My beloved has gone to his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed his flock in the gardens, And to gather lilies.
6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: These words are an inversion of the words of 2:16; compare also 7:10. He feeds his flock among the lilies: with these words the bride comes to terms with the reality that, as much as she and the king are in love, he still has other responsibilities and so does she. His work as king makes him the shepherd of his people, yet his love for her does not necessarily diminish because of his devotion to his work.
3 I am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among the lilies.
6:8, 9 sixty… eighty: This use of numbers is a rhetorical device to emphasize that the bride alone is Solomon’s love. Praised: Here is a use of this verb in a context other than the worship of God.
8 There are sixty queens And eighty concubines, And virgins without number. 9 My dove, my perfect 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.
6:11 Here the term garden refers to the Shulamite’s homeland.
11 The Shulamite I went down to the garden of nuts To see the verdure of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded And the pomegranates had bloomed.
⇒ God’s love for His people is as strong as the love a man and a woman have for each other on their wedding day. God loves His people collectively and individually like that. He made His commitment long ago all by Himself and tells us so in the Bible.
6 1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. 2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. 4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. 5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome [1] me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. 6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. 7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. 8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. 9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. 10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? 11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. 12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. 13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.
