Song of Solomon 3:1-11

A Wonderful Song about Love

Song of Songs

Mark Kirkpatrick

Chapter 3

The Woman

v1 At night, when I was on my bed, I looked for my man.

He is the man that my heart loves.

I looked for him, but I did not find him!

v2 I will get up now.

I will go round the city.

In the streets and squares,

I will search for the man that I love.

So I looked for him but I could not find him.

v3 The guards who go about the city found me.

I asked them, ‘Have you seen the man that I love?’

v4 As soon as I left the guards, I found my man.

I found the man that I love.

I held him, and I would not let him go.

Then I took him to my mother’s house.

It was the room where I was born.

v5 Women of Jerusalem, make a promise to me.

Think about the wild *gazelles and *deer as you make this promise.

Do not think about love until the right time.

Verse 1 The woman is lonely at night. She wants the man whom she loves. In Ezekiel 23:17, a ‘bed’ means a ‘love bed’. There is nowhere else in the Song where we have this word. These few verses might be part of a dream, or a type of dream. However, the Song does not say this.

Verse 2 The woman wishes to see her man. So now she takes more action. She probably did not actually wander about the streets. She was going on a journey. But it was a journey in her mind.

Verse 3 This is the first time that we read about the guards. They appear suddenly. The guards also appear in Song of Solomon 5:7. In this verse, they are silent. Perhaps the guards are a type of *symbol. The woman has not had sex. So the guards are ‘protecting’ her. Someone might try to have sex with her.

Verse 4 The woman has great determination. She has tried hard to find her man. But now she finds him. She is glad. She takes him to her mother. Her mother can arrange her marriage. But perhaps, the ‘mother’ and the ‘house’ are *symbols. If so, she probably did not really take her man to her mother. She is just saying that she wants to marry him.

Verse 5 The woman makes another appeal to the young women of Jerusalem. The woman is still a *virgin. She has thought much about this. But now she has come to a big decision. Their present situation is not satisfactory. She has decided to marry the man. So the right time for their love will be very soon.

The Third Song

The Woman

v6 Somebody is coming from the desert.

And men are coming with clouds of smoke.

They come with *myrrh and *incense.

They have a wonderful smell.

v7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage!

Sixty (60) soldiers guard it.

They are the best soldiers in Israel.

v8 All of them are skilful with the sword.

People have trained them to fight.

Their swords are at their sides.

They are ready for any danger during the night.

v9 King Solomon made the carriage for himself.

The wood came from Lebanon.

v10 He made the poles from silver.

And it has a gold base.

A purple cloth covers the seat.

The women of Jerusalem made the beautiful inside of the carriage.

They made it with grace.

v11 Women of Zion, come out and see King Solomon.

Look at the crown that his mother put on him.

This is the crown for his wedding.

And he is so happy because of his wedding.

Verse 6 Someone is coming. There is a great procession. There are lovely smells.

Verse 7 The *Hebrew has ‘bed’ instead of ‘carriage’. But it is probably not a bed. It perhaps means a large chair where people could rest. Men carried such chairs. Only important people would use them. Perhaps Solomon is a *symbol of an important man. The soldiers are guards. In ancient times, the man would lead a procession to home of the bride's family. Usually the man’s friends would go with him. But Solomon was the king. So, if the man was Solomon, this was a royal wedding. And his best soldiers would guard him.

Verse 8 The soldiers are part of the splendid scene. They need to keep the bride and her husband safe. We do not know what the ‘dangers’ might be. Wild animals might attack them. Or enemies might attack them. They do not want any attacks on the king on his wedding day.

Verses 9-10 There is another chair for a king in 1 Kings 10:18-20. It is splendid in an equal way. The wood from Lebanon was often *cedar. Many people wanted it. Everything in this carriage or chair is expensive. Good cloth usually came from Tyre and Sidon. Many people wanted the colour purple. Purple cloth was the most expensive cloth. The *Hebrew for the word ‘grace’ is not clear. It might mean ‘stones’. People have different opinions about it. Perhaps the woman is calling everything (chair and people) beautiful. This is because everything is wonderful.

Verse 11 The girls of Jerusalem should see ‘King Solomon’. But we do not learn anything about Solomon himself. The ‘crown’ may mean clothes for a wedding. Or it could be flowers on the husband’s head. Weddings were not private in ancient times. Everyone in the wider family came to them.

gazelle ~ an animal.
deer ~ an animal.
symbol ~ something that represents something else; a sign of an object; something that actually means something else.
virgin ~ a woman who has never had sex.
myrrh ~ something that comes from trees; people use it in incense.
incense ~ a spice that produces a sweet smell.
spice ~ a special plant that has a strong smell and taste. People use spices to make incense and perfume.
perfume ~ a sweet smell.
incense ~ a spice that produces a sweet smell.
spice ~ a special plant that has a strong smell and taste. People use spices to make incense and perfume.
perfume ~ a sweet smell.
Hebrew ~ the language that Song of Songs is written in.
cedar ~ a type of tall tree, or wood from the cedar tree.'

How to love God with all your heart

Song of Songs

Commentary: Keith Simons. Translation: Mark Kirkpatrick

Chapter 3

The young woman looks for Solomon

The young woman

v1 At night, when I was on my bed, I looked for my man.

He is the man that my heart loves.

I looked for him, but I did not find him!

v2 I will get up now.

I will go round the city.

In the streets and squares,

I will search for the man that I love.

So I looked for him but I could not find him.

v3 The guards who go about the city found me.

I asked them, ‘Have you seen the man that I love?’

v4 As soon as I left the guards, I found my man.

I found the man that I love.

I held him, and I would not let him go.

Then I took him to my mother’s house.

It was the room where I was born.

v5 Women of Jerusalem, make a promise to me.

Think about the wild *gazelles and *deer as you make this promise.

Do not think about love until the right time.