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SONG OF SOLOMON 8
COMMENTARY NOTES |
This is a work in progress - please use "as is"
or as they say in business "Caveat Emptor"! |
Shulammite...
Song 8:1 "Oh that you were like a brother to me Who nursed at my mother's
breasts. If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you; No one would despise me,
either.
2 "I would lead you and bring you Into the house of my mother, who used to
instruct me; I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my
pomegranates.
3 "Let his left hand be under my head, And his right hand embrace me."
Solomon...
Song 8:4 "I want you to swear, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not arouse or awaken my
love, Until she pleases." |
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TODAY IN THE WORD - An anonymous humorist defined the honeymoon as “a
short period of doting between dating and debting.” Honeymoons may be short,
but few are as short as Carla Dunford’s. According to a British newspaper,
Dunford left her husband Pete for Chris Herbert after she had been married
for less than three weeks. Her husband was away on a trip when she met her
new love interest. “He’d only
been gone a couple of days,” Carla said, “when I walked into the newsagent’s
and there was this gorgeous man there. It was Chris, although all I knew at
the time was that he was young, smart, good-looking and sexy.” Claiming
“love at first sight,” Dunford announced her decision to end the marriage
when her husband returned home.
The phrase “the honeymoon is over” implies that the initial fire of romance
will diminish over time. To some extent this is true. The nature of the love
relationship changes–but it does not have to grow cold. In our passage
today, the bride longed to see the passion they experienced during their
honeymoon continue into the marriage.
Her wish that the groom would be like a brother who had been nursed at her
mother’s breasts probably sounds a little strange to modern ears, if not
perverse. It must be understood in light of ancient Hebrew culture, where it
was unusual for a husband and wife to show affection to one another in
public. If he were her brother, however, she could embrace him publicly
without stigma.
Technically, she does not say that she wishes that her groom were actually
her brother, but rather that he would be to her “like” a brother. This
simile is used in the New Testament to characterize the relationship between
men and women in the church. As we see in today’s verse, Paul urged Timothy
to treat the women in the church with the same respect found in family
relationships.
If you are a married person, why not plan a “honeymoon” weekend with your
spouse? If you cannot afford to get away for the weekend, plan a romantic
dinner at home. |
Daughters of Jerusalem...
Song 8:5 "Who is this coming
up from the wilderness, Leaning on her beloved?"
Solomon...
"Beneath the apple tree I awakened
you; There your mother was in labor with you, There she was in labor and
gave you birth.
6 "Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is
as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes
of fire, The very flame of the LORD.
7 "Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man
were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly
despised."
Daughters of Jerusalem...
8:8 "We have a little sister, And she has no breasts; What shall we do for our
sister On the day when she is spoken for?
9 "If she is a wall, We shall build on her a battlement of silver; But if
she is a door, We shall barricade her with planks of cedar." |
Song of
Solomon 8:5-9
TODAY IN THE WORD - An old song says, “Don’t sit under the apple tree
with anyone else but me.” The bride might have sung the same words. Today’s
passage describes the couple’s return to an ancestral home, although we
aren’t given more details in the text.
People marvel at the sight of the
bride, who appears “coming up from the desert leaning on her lover” (v. 5).
This may suggest that she was pregnant with their first child, and they are
returning home for the birth.
The imagery the bride uses as she speaks to the groom emphasizes the
importance of commitment and the power of love. For example, she asks him to
place her like a “seal” over his heart. Seals were often made of gold or
precious gems and were given as a pledge. They were used to signify
ownership and right of access. Even today, wedding rings are given and worn
as a kind of “seal.” They symbolize the wearer’s obligation to be faithful
to the one they have wed.
The bride’s call to faithfulness is accompanied by a warning about jealousy.
This is not a petty reminder. It is true that there are times when jealousy
is a sin. Christians are warned not to act in “dissension and jealousy”
(Rom. 13:13). Jealousy is one of the works of the flesh listed in Galatians
5:20. But jealousy is also an attribute of God. He is a “jealous” God (Ex.
20:5; 34:14). In His case, jealousy is appropriate. God alone deserves our
worship.
In some contexts human jealousy is also an appropriate response. Jealousy
arouses a husband’s fury and sparks a desire for justice (Prov. 6:34). Old
Testament scholar Derek Kidner calls this kind of jealousy, “a proper
intolerance of disruptive intrusion.” He notes that it is actually a mark of
love.
What makes you feel jealous? Make a list. Next to each item write either the
letter “A” (for appropriate) or “I” (for inappropriate). If you have items
marked “A” on your list, consider prayerfully discussing them with the one
who is the cause. Your feelings may be a sign of a more serious problem in
the relationship. If you have items marked “I” on your list, ask God to
replace your jealousy with the appropriate fruit of the Spirit. If you are
unsure whether your feelings are appropriate or inappropriate, consider
discussing them with your pastor or a Christian counselor. |
Shulammite...
Song 8:10 "I was a wall, and my
breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.
11 "Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He entrusted the vineyard to
caretakers; Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its
fruit.
12 "My very own vineyard is at my disposal; The thousand shekels are for
you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit."
Solomon...
8:13 "O you who sit in the gardens,
My companions are listening for your voice-- Let me hear it!"
Shulammite...
8:14 "Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the
mountains of spices." |
| Song
8:10 -
Net Bible Note: The noun מִגְדָּל
(migdal, “tower”, wall) can refer to the watchtowers of a
fortified city (2Ki 17:9; 18:8; 2Chr 26:9), projecting median towers along
the fortified city wall which were crucial to the defense of the city (2Chr
14:6; 26:15; 32:5), or fortress towers in the countryside set for the
defense of the land (Jdg 9:52; 2Chr 27:4; Ezek 27:11)...
The Beloved mixes metaphors by describing
her breasts with a comparison of sense and a comparison of sight:
(1) Comparison of sense: She successfully
defended her virginity and sexual purity from seduction, as fortress towers
defended the city.
(2) Comparison of sight: Just as the
fortress towers along a city wall projected out at the corners of the wall,
the Beloved’s breasts finally developed into beautiful “towers” (see Song
8:8 when she had no breasts as a young girl).
Peace (shalom) - An eloquent
wordplay is created by the use of the noun שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace, favor”)
in Song 8:10b and the name שְׁלֹמֹה (shélomoh, “Solomon” = "peaceable") in
Song 8:11a. The Beloved found “favor” (shalom = שָׁלוֹם) in the eyes of
Solomon. She won his heart because she was not only a beautiful young woman
(“my breasts were like fortress towers”), but a virtuous woman (“I was a
wall”).
Song 8:11 -
Net Bible Note: The term כֶּרֶם (kerem,
“vineyard”) is used literally in 8:11 in reference to Solomon’s
physical vineyard, but in 8:12 it is used figuratively (hypocatastasis) in
reference to the Beloved: כַּרְמִי (karmi, “my vineyard”).
Throughout the Song, the term כֶּרֶם (“vineyard”)
is used figuratively (Song 1:6; 2:15; 8:12). In Song 8:12 it is used in
reference to either (1) herself, (2) her choice of whom to give herself to
in love, or (3) her physical body. In contrast to Solomon’s physical
vineyard, whose fruit can be bought and sold (Song 8:11), she is not for
sale: She will only give herself freely to the one whom she chooses to
love...
In contrast to King Solomon, who owns the
vineyard at Baal-Hamon and who can buy and sell anything in the vineyard
that he wishes, she proclaims that her “vineyard” (= herself or her body)
belongs to her alone. In contrast to the vineyard, which can be leased out,
and its fruit, which can be bought or sold, her “vineyard” is not for sale.
Her love must and is to be freely given. (Bolding added)
At my disposal - This can also
be expressed as "before me" (cp this idea of "before" in e.g., Ge 13:9;
20:15; 24:51; 34:10; 47:6; Jer 40:4) The idea is that someone who has
control (such as a land-owner or king) over the property to dispose of as he
wishes.
Song 8:13 -
Listening (07181)(qashab) means
to incline one's ears, to attend to, to hearken to.
Net Bible adds that
Hiphil stem which denotes an intense
desire to hear someone’s voice, that is, to eagerly listen for someone’s
voice (e.g., Je 6:17)...The participle functions verbally and denotes a
continual, ongoing, durative action.
Let me hear
- This is in the form of a command by Solomon to his beloved to hear her
voice, which he described as "sweet" in Song 2:14.
Song 8:14-
Hurry
- A command of the Shulamite
to her beloved. And then she pictures what his rushing to her side looks
like ("like a gazelle or young stag on the mountains")
TODAY
IN THE WORD - “We are all made for marriage, as our bodies show and the
Scriptures state,” Martin Luther noted. On this point, however, Luther was
wrong. Scripture does not actually say that we are all made for marriage.
Jesus taught that being married and being single were both callings from
God. While some marry, others have been called to be single for the sake of
the kingdom of God.
Likewise,
the apostle Paul pointed out that single people enjoy certain advantages
when it comes to serving God. They have the potential to minister without
the distractions of married life. The determining factor is a matter of
divine purpose for the individual. Paul favored the single life because of
his own personal experience; he admitted that “each man has his own gift
from God; one has this gift, another has that” (1Cor. 7:7).
Paul also recognized that one’s marital state is also a matter of choice.
When he was asked by a group of singles in the Corinthian church whether it
was appropriate for them to marry, Paul left the decision up to them (1Cor.
7:25-28). They had the freedom to marry whomever they pleased, as long as
they married another believer (cf. 1 Cor. 7:39).
In today’s reading the bride speaks of a similar freedom. She compares what
she has to offer with the vineyard in Baal-hamon that Solomon already
possesses. Just as Solomon had the right to let his vineyard out to tenants,
she has the right to give herself to the one she chooses. The Song of
Solomon concludes with her offering herself to the one she loves, as a
treasure unequaled.
During the wedding ceremony both husband and wife are asked to make a
commitment. In a sense, the same is true of the believer’s relationship with
Christ. Jesus has already spoken His vows. He has promised to receive all
who come to Him in faith (John 6:37). He sealed this vow by offering Himself
on the cross as a payment for sin. All that remains is for us to respond.
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