Song of Solomon 6:1-13

A Wonderful Song about Love

Song of Songs

Mark Kirkpatrick

Chapter 6

The Women of Jerusalem

v1 Where has your lover gone,

most beautiful among women?

Tell us which way your lover went.

Then we can help you to look for him.

The Woman

v2 My lover has gone down to his garden,

to the places where *spices grow.

He will eat food from the garden.

He will gather flowers there.

v3 I belong to my lover

and my lover belongs to me.

It is he who eats near the flowers.

The Fifth Song

The Man

v4 You are beautiful, my special young woman.

You are as beautiful as Tirzah,

as lovely as Jerusalem.

You are as wonderful as those great cities.

v5 Turn your eyes away from me.

They excite me too much!

Your hair is long.

It is like a *flock of goats that are coming down from Gilead.

v6 Your teeth are like a *flock of sheep.

Their wool is clean.

Each sheep has its *twin.

None of the sheep is alone.

v7 Your cheeks are red behind your *veil.

They are like the halves of a *pomegranate.

v8 There might be 60 queens.

There might be 80 women who live in the palace.

There might be too many *virgins to count.

v9 But my *dove, my perfect young woman, is special.

She is the only daughter of her mother.

Her mother prefers her to any other person.

The young women see her and they praise her.

There are queens and women in the palace.

They praise her too.

Verse 1 The friends seem to ask a foolish question. If the woman knew the answer, she would not need help to find him. The woman has not really lost her husband. The woman’s friends realise that the man is very special.

Verses 2-3 Of course the woman can find the man! She knows exactly where he is. The ‘garden’ is probably a *symbol for the woman’s body, or for their love. The man is like a gardener. So he looks after his garden (the woman). And the man is also like an animal that eats among the flowers. The woman was a *virgin. But now she is his wife.

Verse 4 The man returns from his ‘absence’. He reminds her that she is beautiful. Joshua defeated the people of Tirzah (Joshua 12:24). Jeroboam made it his capital (1 Kings 14:12-17). So it was an important city. Perhaps it had pleasant gardens. There was a good supply of water. A psalm describes Jerusalem as having ‘perfect beauty’ (Psalms 50:2).

Verses 5-7 The man is bold. He is staring at her. It is difficult for the man to stay calm. David was bold in the same way (Psalms 138:3). Verses 5b–7 are almost the same as Song of Solomon 4:1-3. Although he is now her husband, he still desires her. She expects much from him.

Verse 8 The woman is better than all other women. The actual large numbers do not mean very much. They are just a *symbol. In Proverbs, we often read that ‘there are three things...’. The actual number is not important. Some people say that these women belong to Solomon. But the reference to queens may be more general than this.

Verse 9 It is always good to be a favourite child. The man mentions the queens and ‘women’ again. People cannot praise his new wife enough. She is more special than any other woman.

The Women of Jerusalem

v10 Who is this woman?

She seems to shine like the dawn.

She seems as beautiful as the moon.

She seems as bright as the sun.

She is as wonderful as the stars.

The Woman

v11 I went down to the group of nut trees.

I went to see the young plants in the valley.

I went to see if the *vines were beginning to flower.

Or the *pomegranates were beginning to flower.

v12 Then my hope came true.

I was next to my prince.

We were in a *chariot.

The *chariots belonged to the king.

I was with people that I knew.

This happened before I realised it.

The Women of Jerusalem

v13 Come back, come back, *Shulamite.

Come back, come back. Then we can stare at you.

The Man

Do not stare at the *Shulamite!

Do not stare as she dances the Mahanaim dance!

Verse 10 The woman is already like a city (Song of Solomon 6:4). Now she is also like the stars. The woman is very beautiful. The moon and the sun have different types of light. But their light is lovely. The *Hebrew may mean that she is rising from a background.

Verses 11-12 The man may be speaking in this verse. There may be different speakers for verses 11 and 12. The meaning depends on the speaker(s). If the woman speaks both verses, it might mean this: ‘I meant to go to the group of nut trees. I am among the royal *chariots. But I do not know what I am doing there.’ If the man speaks both verses, it might mean: ‘I wanted to check the group of nut trees and *vineyards. I wanted to see if they had fruit. Instead, I find myself among these *chariots.’ The fruit might refer to the woman. Verse 12 is the most difficult verse to translate in the Song. It is not certain what it means.

Verse 13 *Shulamite – This is the only place in the Old *Testament where we have this word. Perhaps it is the name of a place. The women want the bride to remain with them. Then they can enjoy her beauty. But the bride’s new husband speaks for her. The time when they stare is now over. She was a beautiful bride. But the wedding is over. Mahanaim – the *Hebrew might mean ‘dance of the two groups’. However, we cannot be sure about this.

spice ~ a special plant that has a strong smell and taste. People use spices to make incense and perfume.
incense ~ a spice that produces a sweet smell.
perfume ~ a sweet smell.
flock ~ a group of sheep, goats or other animals.
twin ~ one of a pair - both come from one mother in one birth.
veil ~ a piece of cloth; a woman wears it over her face; it is possible to see through it.
pomegranate ~ a fruit which is the size of an orange.
virgin ~ a woman who has never had sex.
dove ~ a bird.
symbol ~ something that represents something else; a sign of an object; something that actually means something else.
vine ~ a plant with fruit; grapes (a small, soft fruit) grow on them.
chariot ~ a vehicle with two wheels. A horse pulls it.
Shulamite ~ the woman may be called the Shulamite because she comes from a town called Shulem.
Hebrew ~ the language that Song of Songs is written in.
vineyard ~ a place where vines grow.
vine ~ a plant with fruit; grapes (a small, soft fruit) grow on them.
testament ~ collection of books in the Bible. The Old Testament is the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before Jesus came.'

How to love God with all your heart

Song of Songs

Commentary: Keith Simons. Translation: Mark Kirkpatrick

Chapter 6

The young woman meets Solomon again

The women of Jerusalem

v1 Where has your lover gone,

most beautiful among women?

Tell us which way your lover went.

Then we can help you to look for him.

The young woman

v2 My lover has gone down to his garden,

to the places where *spices grow.

He will eat food from the garden.

He will gather flowers there.

v3 I belong to my lover

and my lover belongs to me.

It is he who eats near the flowers.