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Song Page for
Song of Solomon 3 |
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Lyrics
Beloved
1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into
my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
6 Who is this that cometh out of the
wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's;
threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made the pillars thereof of silver,
the bottom thereof of gold,
the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being
paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.1
Bible
Commentary
1. By night. Verses 1-5 are best explained as the recounting of a dream in which
the maid dreamed that she had momentarily lost her beloved.
However, the separation was brief and the reunion most joyful.
4. My mother's house. The women in the east have separate apartments, into which no one
but the immediate family enters. Isaac brought Rebekah into
his mother's tent when he made her his wife (see Gen. 24:67).
The maiden dreams of the marriage taking place not in the bridal
chamber of Solomon's palace but in her home in Lebanon. (see
S. of
Sol. 4:8).
6. Who is this? The pronoun "this" and the accompanying verb "cometh" represent
feminine forms in the Hebrew. Either the bride is referred to
or the "bed" of v.7, which is a feminine form in the Hebrew.
In the later case the words should be translated "what is this"?
The speaker cannot be definitely identified. A new section
begins. A royal procession is described. A description
of the journey of the procession depends upon the interpretation of
"who is this". If this refers to the Shulamite, the procession
may be the one in which Solomon went to Lebanon to fetch his country
maiden. If "who is this" or "what is this" refers to the
"litter of Solomon", the bride may be the one watching the approach
of the procession, and giving an eyewitness description of the
impressive display.
Wilderness. Heb. midbar, which may mean merely a pastureland or a wide,
open space.
7. Bed. Heb. mittah, a couch for sitting, reclining, or reposing.
The context suggests that here it refers to the litter on which
Solomon would be carried.
Threescore valiant men.
These were the guards that surrounded the pavilion of the
bridegroom. The security of the head of the state required the
unwearying vigilance of such a guard as this.
9. Chariot.
Heb. 'appiryon, here probably synonymous with mittah
(v.7), hence Solomon's "sedan", "litter" or "palanquin".
10. Pillars.
Presumably the bedposts or corner posts either made of solid
silver or covered with silver plate. Royal chariots were
richly adorned.
The bottom.
Heb. rephidah, which seems rather to refer to the
support, or railing, on the sides of a litter.
The covering.
Heb. merkab. Rather the "seat" of the litter.
The word appears in Lev. 15:9, where it is translated "saddle".
Paved with love.
The latter part of this verse reads literally, "its interior,
paved love from the daughters of Jerusalem". A free
translation would be, "the interior was decorated as a mark of love
by the daughters of Jerusalem". The paving with love may refer
to verses worked on the counterpane, the hangings, or the carpet by
the daughters of Jerusalem as an expression of their love for King
Solomon and his bride.4
References and notes
1. King James Authorized Version
2. Matthew Henry Bible Commentary - http://eword.gospelcom.net/comments/song/mh/song3.htm
3. John Darby's Synopsis of the Bible - http://eword.gospelcom.net/comments/song/darby/song3.htm
4.
SDA Bible
Commentary - Vol. 3 pgs. 1109, 1115, 1116
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About Canticles 3 |
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Easyfind |
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Music for
Cant. 3 |
 Click
image for hear a song preview of Song
of Solomon
3.
This song features on the 43 minute CD album
Song of Solomon.
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Structure of Canticles 3 |
In this chapter,
 The church gives an account of a sore trial wherewith she
was exercised through the withdrawing of her beloved from
her, the pains she was at before she recovered the
comfortable sense of his favour again, and the resolution
she took, when she did recover it, not to lose it again, as
she had done through her own carelessness (v. 1-5).
The daughters of Jerusalem admire the excellencies of
the church (v. 6).
The church admires Jesus Christ under the person of
Solomon, his bed, and the life-guards about it (v. 7, 8),
his chariot (v. 9, 10). She calls upon the daughters of
Zion, who were admiring her, to admire him rather,
especially as he appeared on his coronation day and the day
of his nuptials (v. 11).2
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Overview |
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In chapter 3 we have
another attitude, another state of heart. She is alone and
in darkness. She seeks her Beloved, but finds Him not. There
is affection, but no joy. She questions the watchmen in
Jerusalem who go about the city. As soon as she passes from
them, she finds Him. Again He will have her rest in His
love. But all this is only prophetically and in testimony,
for the comfort of those who have not yet found Him, by
shewing them what He is for them. The Spirit of prophecy
then exhibits the Bridegroom coming up out of the wilderness
with His bride, where (like Moses) He had been with her in
spirit. The chapter confirms the application to Israel. In
her solitary state she seeks the Messiah, and, after
inquiring of those who watched, soon found Him her soul
loved, and brought Him into the place of Israel, for to
Israel the Son was born, though in a new relationship. There
He maintains her rest, and there, the other side of the
picture, the true Solomon comes up out of the wilderness,
crowned now in the day of His espousals, and in the day of
the gladness of His heart, by the Israel that had rejected
Him.3 |
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