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Texts -- The Song of Songs 8:1-13 (NET)

Context
The Beloved’s Wish Song
8:1 The Beloved to Her Lover: Oh, how I wish you were my little brother , nursing at my mother’s breasts ; if I saw you outside , I could kiss you– surely no one would despise me! 8:2 I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house , the one who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink , the nectar of my pomegranates .
Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration
8:3 The Beloved about Her Lover: His left hand caresses my head , and his right hand stimulates me. 8:4 The Beloved to the Maidens: I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem : “Do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases !”
The Awakening of Love
8:5 The Maidens about His Beloved: Who is this coming up from the desert , leaning on her beloved? The Beloved to Her Lover: Under the apple tree I aroused you; there your mother conceived you, there she who bore you was in labor of childbirth .
The Nature of True Love
8:6 The Beloved to Her Lover: Set me like a cylinder seal over your heart , like a signet on your arm . For love is as strong as death , passion is as unrelenting as Sheol . Its flames burst forth , it is a blazing flame . 8:7 Surging waters cannot quench love ; floodwaters cannot overflow it. If someone were to offer all his possessions to buy love , the offer would be utterly despised .
The Brother’s Plan and the Sister’s Reward
8:8 The Beloved’s Brothers: We have a little sister , and as yet she has no breasts . What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for? 8:9 If she is a wall , we will build on her a battlement of silver ; but if she is a door , we will barricade her with boards of cedar . 8:10 The Beloved: I was a wall , and my breasts were like fortress towers . Then I found favor in his eyes .
Solomon’s Vineyard and the Beloved’s Vineyard
8:11 The Beloved to Her Lover: Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Hamon ; he leased out the vineyard to those who maintained it. Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit . 8:12 My vineyard , which belongs to me, is at my disposal alone. The thousand shekels belong to you, O Solomon , and two hundred shekels belong to those who maintain it for its fruit .
Epilogue: The Lover’s Request and His Beloved’s Invitation
8:13 The Lover to His Beloved: O you who stay in the gardens , my companions are listening attentively for your voice ; let me be the one to hear it!

Pericope

NET
  • Sos 8:1-2 -- The Beloved's Wish Song
  • Sos 8:3-4 -- Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration
  • Sos 8:5 -- The Awakening of Love
  • Sos 8:6-7 -- The Nature of True Love
  • Sos 8:8-10 -- The Brother's Plan and the Sister's Reward
  • Sos 8:11-12 -- Solomon's Vineyard and the Beloved's Vineyard
  • Sos 8:13-14 -- Epilogue: The Lover's Request and His Beloved's Invitation

Bible Dictionary

  • Fellowship

    [nave] FELLOWSHIP. Eccl. 4:9-12; Amos 3:3 See: Fraternity; Fellowship. With God Gen. 5:22, 24; Gen. 6:9; Ex. 29:45; Ex. 33:14-17; Lev. 26:12; Isa. 57:15; Zech. 2:10; Mark 9:37; John 14:23; John 17:21, 23; 2 Cor. 6:16; 2 Cor. 13:...

  • Song

    [nave] SONG Sung at the passover, Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26. Didactic, Deut. 32. See: Psalms, Didactic. Impersonation of the church, Song 1-8. Of Moses and the Lamb, Rev. 15:3, 4. New, Psa. 33:3; 40:3. Prophetic, See: Psalms, P...

  • Personification

    [nave] PERSONIFICATION Of wisdom, Prov. 1; 2:1-9; 8; 9. possibly of the Church or Israel, Song 1-8.

  • SONG OF SONGS

    [isbe] SONG OF SONGS - (shir hashirim; Septuagint Asma; Codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Ephraemi, Asma asmaton; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) Canticum Canticorum): I. CANONICITY II. TEXT III. AUTHORSHIP AND DATE IV...

  • Breast

    [isbe] BREAST - brest: Signifying the front view of the bust in humans and the corresponding portion of the body in animals. chazeh, occurs in Ex 29:26,27; Lev 7:30,31,34; 8:29; 10:14,15; Nu 6:20; 18:18; and chadhi, in Dan 2:32. sh...
    [nave] BREAST parts of a sacrifice: Ex. 29:26, 27; Lev. 7:30, 30, 31, 34; 8:29; 9:20, 21; 10:14, 15; Num. 6:20; 18:18 area of the lap, chest: Jer. 31:19; Ezek. 21:12; Luke 18:13; 23:48; John 13:25; 21:20; Rev. 1:13; 15:6 of women: ...

  • Pomegranate

    [isbe] POMEGRANATE - pom'-gran-at, pom-gran'-at, pum'-gran-at (rimmon (tree and fruit); the Hebrew name is similar to the Arabic, Aramaic and Ethiopic; rhoa): 1. A Tree Characteristic of Palestine: One of the most attractive and mo...
    [smith] The pomegranate tree, Punicu granatum , derives its name from the Latin pomum granatum , "grained apple." The Romans gave it the name of Punica, as the tree was introduced from Carthage. It belongs to the natural order Myrtac...
    [nave] POMEGRANATE, a fruit. Abounded in the land of Canaan, 1 Sam. 14:2. Brought by the spies to show the fruitfulness of the land of Canaan, Num. 13:23. Figures of the fruits of, were embroidered on the ephod, Ex. 28:33, 34; 39:...

  • Wine

    [smith] The manufacture of wine is carried back in the Bible to the age of Noah, (Genesis 9:20,21) to whom the discovery of the process is apparently, though not explicitly, attributed. The natural history and culture of the vine are...
    [nave] WINE Made from grapes, Gen. 40:11; 49:11; Isa. 25:6; Jer. 40:10, 12; from pomegranates, Song 8:2. Kept in jars, Jer. 13:12; 48:12; in skins, Josh. 9:4, 13; Job 32:19; Matt. 9:17; Luke 5:37, 38; in bottles, Josh. 9:4, 13; Jo...

  • KISS

    [isbe] KISS - (nashaq; phileo, kataphilo, philema): The kiss is common in eastern lands in salutation, etc., on the cheek, the forehead, the beard, the hands, the feet, but not (in Pal) the lips (Cheyne, E B, under the word "Saluta...
    [smith] Kissing the lips by way of affectionate salutation was customary among near relatives of both sexes, in both patriarchal and later times. (Genesis 29:11; Solomon 8:1) Between individuals of the same sex, and in a limited degr...

  • PALESTINE, 3

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 3 - IV. Palestine in the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Job: In Job the scene is distinctively Edomite. Uz (Job 1:1; compare Gen 22:21 the English Revised Version; Jer 25:20; Lam 4:21) and Buz (Job ...

  • Love

    [nave] LOVE. Of Children for Parents See: Children. Of God See: God, Love of. Of Mankind for God Ex. 20:6 Deut. 5:10. Deut. 6:5; Deut. 7:9; Deut. 10:12; Deut. 11:1; Deut. 13:3; Deut. 30:6 vs. 16,20.; Josh. 22:5 Deut. 11:1, 13...

  • Vineyard

    [nave] VINEYARD Cottages in, Isa. 1:8. Towers in, Isa. 5:2; Matt. 21:33; Mark 12:1. Winepress in, Isa. 5:2. Pools in, Eccl. 2:4, 6. Leased, Song 8:11, 12; Isa. 7:23; Matt. 21:33-39. Of kings, 1 Chr. 27:26-28. Neglected, Prov....

  • WINE; WINE PRESS

    [isbe] WINE; WINE PRESS - win, win'-pres: I. Terms. 1. Wine: (1) (~yayin), apparently from a non-Tsere root allied to Greek oinos, Latin vinum, etc. This is the usual word for "wine" and is found 141 times in Massoretic Text. (2) c...

  • Apple

    [nave] APPLE, a fruit, Prov. 25:11; Song 2:3, 5; 7:8; 8:5; Joel 1:12.

  • AGRICULTURE

    [smith] This was little cared for by the patriarchs. The pastoral life, however, was the means of keeping the sacred race, whilst yet a family, distinct from mixture and locally unattached, especially whilst in Egypt. When grown into...

  • APPLE TREE, APPLE

    [smith] (Heb. tappuach). Mention of the apple tree occurs in the Authorized Version in (Solomon 2:3; 8:5) and Joel 1:12 The fruit of this tree is alluded to in (Proverbs 25:11) and Song 2:5; 7:8 It is a difficult matter to say what i...

  • BAAL

    [smith] geographical. This word occurs as the prefix or suffix to the names of several places in Palestine, some of which are as follows: BAAL a town of Simeon, named only in (1 Chronicles 4:33) which from the parallel list in (J...

  • Envy

    [nave] ENVY See: Strife.Job 5:2, 3; Psa. 37:1, 7 Prov. 24:19. Psa. 49:16; Psa. 73:3 vs. 17-20.; Psa. 112:10; Prov. 3:31; Prov. 14:30; Prov. 23:17; Prov. 24:1; Prov. 27:4; Eccl. 4:4; Song 8:6; Isa. 26:11; Ezek. 35:11; Rom. 1:29; Rom...

  • Jealousy

    [nave] JEALOUSY. Prov. 6:34; 27:4; Eccl. 4:4; Song 8:6. Law concerning, when husband is jealous of his wife, Num. 5:12-31. Image of, Ezek. 8:3, 4. Forbidden, Rom. 13:13. Attributed to God, Ex. 20:5; 34:13, 14; Num. 25:11; Deut...

  • Lovers

    [nave] LOVERS. Instances of Isaac for Rebekah, Gen. 24:67. Jacob for Rachel, Gen. 29:20, 30. Shechem for Dinah, Gen. 34:3, 12. Boaz for Ruth, Ruth 2-4. of romance, mistresses, paramours Song 1:13, 14, 16; 2:3, 8, 9, 10, 16, 1...

  • Silver

    [nave] SILVER From Tarshish, Ezek. 27:12; refining of, Prov. 17:3; 25:4; 26:23; Ezek. 22:18-22; Jer. 6:29, 30; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 3:3. See: Refining. Used for money, Gen. 13:2; 17:12; 20:16; 23:13-16; Amos 8:6; Matt. 10:9; 26:15; M...
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Arts

Hymns

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  • [Sos 8:5] Who Is This Fair One In Distress?

Questions

  • Love to God is commanded (Deu. 11:1) and is, indeed, the one great commandment (Matt. 22:38). It should be with all the heart, and is better than sacrifice (Deu. 6:5; Mark 12:33). It's produced by the Holy Ghost and engendere...
  • I've heard and read the same statement a number of times, but have never troubled myself to look up each passage. I'm not surprised that looking up "heaven" and "hell" in a concordance would give you contradictory results. T...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Many references to Solomon throughout the book confirm the claim of 1:1 that Solomon wrote this book (cf. 1:4-5, 12; 3:7, 9, 11; 6:12; 7:5; 8:11-12; 1 Kings 4:33). He reigned between 971 and 931 B.C.How could Solomon, who had...
  • There have been three primary reasons that some scholars have thought this book does not deserve to be in the Bible. First, it does not contain the name of God. However, God's name may appear in 8:6. Furthermore, what makes a...
  • Contemporary culture has affected the interpretation of this book more than that of most other Bible books. For many years believers considered this book to be a revelation of God's love for the believer and the believer's lo...
  • I. The superscription 1:1II. The courtship 1:2-3:5A. The beginning of love 1:2-111. Longing for the boyfriend 1:2-42. The girl's insecurity 1:5-83. Solomon's praise 1:9-11B. The growth of love 1:12-3:51. Mutual admiration 1:1...
  • Perhaps the outstanding characteristic of this first major section of the book is the sexual restraint that is evident during the courtship. This restraint contrasts with the sexual intimacy that characterizes the lovers afte...
  • As the book begins, the young woman and young man have already met and "fallen in love."In verses 2-4a the girl voices her desire for her boyfriend's physical affection."It is significant to this work that the girl speaks fir...
  • This charge by Solomon occurs again later (3:5; 8:4) and serves as an indicator that one pericope has ended. The point of Solomon's words is that others desiring the kind of relationship he and his beloved enjoyed should be p...
  • The Shulammite's desire for her husband's love continued to increase throughout their marriage (vv. 1-3).8:1 Ancient Near Easterners frowned on public displays of intimate affection unless closest blood relatives exchanged th...
  • These verses summarize the theme of the book.8:5a Evidently these are the words of the daughters of Jerusalem. The couple is coming up out of the wilderness. The "wilderness"connoted Israel's 40 years of trials to the Jewish ...
  • Verses 8-12 flash back to the Shulammite's life before meeting Solomon and their first encounter. Verses 13-14 reveal their final mature love....
  • 8:8-9 These words by the Shulammite's older brothers (cf. 1:6) reveal their desire to prepare her for a proper marriage. Comparing her to a wall may mean that she might use self-restraint and exclude all unwarranted advances ...
  • These verses reflect the desire that Solomon and the Shulammite still felt for each other. Solomon seems to have spoken verse 13 and the Shulammite verse 14. The mountains probably refer to her breasts (cf. 2:17; 8:14).The na...
  • The primary purpose of the book seems to be to present an example of the proper pre-marital, marital, and post-marital relationship of a man and a woman. This example includes illustrations of the solutions to common problems...
  • Isaiah, as a folk singer, sang a parable about a vineyard that compared Israel to a vineyard that Yahweh had planted and from which He legitimately expected to receive fruit.57However, the prophet's original audience did not ...
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