Song of Solomon 1:10(v13)Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.
Song of Solomon 1:15(v12)Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are like doves.
Song of Solomon 4:1(v12)Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is as a flock of goats,…
Psalms 45:2(vv10, 13, 16)You are the most excellent of the sons of men. Grace has anointed your lips, therefore God has blessed you forever.
Exodus 24:10(v14)They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness.
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Song of Solomon 2:1(vv10, 13, 16)I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
1 Kings 4:33(v15)He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of…
Psalms 45:17(v10)I will make your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever.
Song of Solomon 5:2(v11)I was asleep, but my heart was awake. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for…
Song of Solomon 6:2(v13)My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
Song of Solomon 7:5(v11)Your head on you is like Carmel. The hair of your head like purple. The king is held captive in its tresses.
Song of Solomon 7:9(v16)Your mouth is like the best wine, that goes down smoothly for my beloved, gliding through the lips of those who are asleep.
Isaiah 54:11(v14)“You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with…
Daniel 7:9(v11)“I watched until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like…
Ephesians 1:21-22(v11)far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. He…
Philippians 2:9-11(v10)Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,…
Hebrews 4:13(v12)There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an…
Revelation 1:14(v11)His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.
Revelation 1:15-16(v15)His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters. He had seven stars…
Song of Solomon 4:11(vv13, 15)Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
Exodus 15:6(v14)Your right hand, Yahweh, is glorious in power. Your right hand, Yahweh, dashes the enemy in pieces.
Exodus 26:19(v15)You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under…
Exodus 28:20(v14)and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be enclosed in gold in their settings.
Exodus 39:13(v14)and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.
Deuteronomy 32:31(v10)For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves concede.
Judges 13:6(v15)Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very…
1 Samuel 16:12(v10)He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. Yahweh said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.”
Psalms 4:6-7(v13)Many say, “Who will show us any good?” Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than when…
Psalms 19:10(v16)They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.
Psalms 27:4(v13)One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s…
Psalms 89:6(v16)For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh? Who among the sons of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh,
Psalms 89:15(v13)Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh.
Psalms 92:12(v15)The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psalms 99:4(v14)The King’s strength also loves justice. You establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Psalms 119:103(v16)How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth!
Psalms 148:13(v16)let them praise Yahweh’s name, for his name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and the heavens.
Song of Solomon 1:2(v16)Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is better than wine.
Song of Solomon 1:16(v16)Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, yes, pleasant; and our couch is verdant.
Song of Solomon 2:3(v16)As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, his fruit…
Song of Solomon 2:14(v15)My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, let me see your face. let me hear your voice; for your voice…
Song of Solomon 2:16(v16)My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.
Song of Solomon 3:6(v13)Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all spices of the merchant?
Song of Solomon 5:5(v13)I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock.
Song of Solomon 6:3(v16)I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. He browses among the lilies.
Song of Solomon 7:2(v14)Your body is like a round goblet, no mixed wine is wanting. Your waist is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.
Song of Solomon 7:4(v15)Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon…
Isaiah 9:6-7(v16)For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,…
Isaiah 9:7(v14)Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold…
Isaiah 50:6(v13)I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting.
Isaiah 52:13(v14)Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.
Jeremiah 3:20(v16)“Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel,” says Yahweh.
Jeremiah 15:16(v16)Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by your name, Yahweh, God…
Ezekiel 1:16(v14)The appearance of the wheels and their work was like a beryl. The four of them had one likeness. Their appearance and their work was as it…
Ezekiel 1:26-28(v14)Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone. On the likeness of the…
Daniel 2:37-38(v11)You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory. Wherever the…
Hosea 3:1(v16)Yahweh said to me, “Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they…
Hosea 14:7(v15)Men will dwell in his shade. They will revive like the grain, and blossom like the vine. Their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.
Zechariah 9:17(v15)For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
Matthew 17:2(v15)He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.
Matthew 28:3(v15)His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
Luke 4:22(v13)All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
Acts 2:28(v15)You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
Galatians 2:20(v16)I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live…
Philippians 3:8(v16)Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered…
Colossians 1:18(v10)He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the…
1 Timothy 3:16(v15)Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached…
Hebrews 2:10(v10)For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of…
Hebrews 7:26(v10)For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
James 2:23(v16)So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness,” and he was called the…
James 4:4(v16)You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a…
1 Peter 2:6-7(v16)Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen and precious: He who believes in him will not be…
Revelation 21:23(v13)The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Psalms 44:4-7(v14)You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob! Through you, will we push down our adversaries. Through your name, we will tread down…
Isaiah 10:18(v10)He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints.
Isaiah 50:4(v13)The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary. He awakens…
Isaiah 59:19(v10)So they will fear Yahweh’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which…
Isaiah 66:19(v10)“I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to…
Romans 9:5(v10)of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.
78 distinct cross-references across this passage (83 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv11, 14She describeth Christ to be of perfect beauty and…
She describeth Christ to be of perfect beauty and comeliness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv10–16Son 5:10 My beloved [is] white and ruddy, the…
Son 5:10 My beloved [is] white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
Ver. 10. My beloved is white and ruddy, &c.] Love lacks no rhetoric to lay forth the thing beloved in liveliest colours. "White and ruddy!" What can be more laudable and lovely? What can come nearer to a perfect symmetry, to a sound and sure constitution and complexion? Sure it is that these two, being comelily mixed, do make the most beautiful or orient look or colour; see the prophet’s description of the Nazarites, Lam 4:7. And note, saith an expositor, that the Holy Ghost joineth both these together - the whiteness making the ruddiness more fresh and fair, and the ruddiness discerning the whiteness from paleness of face, or phlegmatic complexion. Sed sunt in his mysteria investiganda, saith another, itaque candor refert divinam Christi naturam, rubor humanam. White and red may signify Christ’s Godhead and manhood. God is called the "Ancient of days"; {Dan 7:9} his "head and his hairs are white like wool, as white as snow." {Rev 1:14} Man had his name Adam of the red earth, out of which he was taken. {Gen 2:7} Christ also, the second Adam, became red with his own blood, whereby he "purchased the Church" {Act 20:28} - a bloody spouse she was unto him - and paved for her "a new and lively way into the most holy place"; {Heb 10:20} upon the battlements whereof he hangs out still (as once that warlike Scythian did) a white flag of grace and mercy to penitent persons, that humble themselves at his feet for favour; but a red flag of justice and severity to those his enemies that will not have him to rule over them - in token whereof his raiment is said to be red, {Isa 63:1-3} his vesture dipped in blood. {Rev 19:13}
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The chiefest among ten thousand.] Heb., Vexillatus prae decem millibus; that is, famous and conspicuous among and above many, as "Saul was higher than the people by the head and shoulders," as the Hachmonite was the chief of David’s mighties; {1Ch 11:11} or, "the standardbearer of ten thousand." Now the goodliest, and with it the ablest, men used to carry the banner or standard. Christ standeth "for an ensign of the people," {Isa 11:10} and hath ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him, following him wheresoever he goeth, {Rev 7:9; Rev 7:14} and singing, "We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God (vexillabimus) we will set up our banner." {Psa 20:6} The Church’s design here is to hold out Christ as altogether matchless and incomparable, that there is none like him in the earth, as God said of Job; {Son 1:8} to teach us to esteem him, as the people did David, more worth than ten thousand others; {2Sa 18:3} to set him upon the chief chariot, and to give him the sole command of all, as Pharaoh dealt by Joseph. And as the sun, moon, and eleven stars in Joseph’s vision did obeisance to him, so let our souls, bodies, all our temporal, natural, moral, and spiritual abilities, be subject and serviceable to Christ, who, if he be the chiefest of ten thousand, ought to have as much love as ten thousand hearts put into one could hold.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv10–16White and ruddy; which two colours rightly mixed together…
White and ruddy; which two colours rightly mixed together make a face beautiful. Or the white may note his pure and spotless innocency, and the brightness of his glory and majesty, and the ruddy colour may intimate his bloody passion, which made him amiable both to God and men.
The chiefest, Heb. the standard-bearer; for such are usually persons of great eminency, both for stature, and courage, and dignity.
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Among ten thousand; among all persons, angels or men. A certain number is put for an uncertain. There are other kings, and priests, and prophets, but none to be compared with him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv10–16White - The white may denote his pure and…
White - The white may denote his pure and spotless innocency, and the ruddy colour his bloody passion.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv10–16Verse 10. My beloved is white and ruddy] Red…
Verse 10. My beloved is white and ruddy] Red and white, properly mixed, are essential to a fine complexion; and this is what is intimated: he has the finest complexion among ten thousand persons; not one in that number is equal to him. Literally, "He bears the standard among ten thousand men;" or "He is one before whom a standard is borne," i.e., he is captain or chief of the whole.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv10, 14Son 5:10-13. My beloved is white and ruddy —…
Son 5:10-13. My beloved is white and ruddy — The white may denote his pure and spotless innocence, and the ruddy colour, his bloody passion. His head is as the most fine gold — It shines like gold, by reason of the crown of pure gold upon his head. We need not aim at a distinct application of this and the following particulars unto some special excellences of Christ, because such things are mere conjectures, and the only design of this description is to set forth the beauty of Christ under the notion of a most amiable person, in whom there is no defect or blemish, from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet. His eyes, the eyes of doves — Lovely and pleasant, chaste and innocent. By rivers of waters — Where they delight to abide. Washed with milk — The doves, not their eyes, were of a white colour. His cheeks — His face or countenance, an eminent part whereof is the cheeks; are as a bed of spices — Of aromatic flowers, which delight both the eye with a pleasant prospect, and the smell with their fragrancy. His lips are like lilies — Beautiful and pleasant; dropping sweet-smelling myrrh — Not only grateful to the eye, as lilies are, but also fragrant to the smell.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv10–16My beloved is white and ruddy - Compare 1Sa…
My beloved is white and ruddy - Compare 1Sa 16:12; Dan 7:9. The complexion most admired in youth. Jewish interpreters remark that he who is elsewhere called “the Ancient of Days” is here described as the Ever-Young. “White in His virgin-purity,” says Jerome, “and ruddy in His Passion.”
The chiefest among ten thousand - literally, “a bannered one among a myriad;” hence one signalized, a leader of ten thousand warriors.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv10, 11, 13, 14, 16Ruddy. Or shining. Et color in niveo corpore purpureus.…
Ruddy. Or shining. Et color in niveo corpore purpureus. The divine and human nature, or the conception and sufferings of Christ are thus described. (Calmet) --- The spouse gives this admirable description of her beloved. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv10–1610. White and ruddy — His bright and flush…
10. White and ruddy — His bright and flush complexion make him as conspicuous among common men as a standard-bearer is in an army.
Chiefest — Hebrew, Standard-man, colour-bearer. The phrase among ten thousand is of military origin.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv10–1610. white] The Heb. tsach is an adj. derived…
10. white] The Heb. tsach is an adj. derived from tsâchach, ‘to shine’ or ‘glow,’ ‘to be brightly white.’ Here, and in Lam_4:7, where the word is used of the colour of the skin, it means a clear, white complexion. In the latter passage the phrase is, ‘more tsach than milk’ contrasted with ‘darker than blackness.’
the chiefest] Probably, as R.V. marg., marked out by a banner, or raised like a banner, ‘eminent,’ ‘distinguished.’ Some critics, however, connect the word with an Assyrian root meaning ‘to look,’ and explain ‘looked at,’ ‘admired,’ ‘conspicuous.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv10–16(10) Chiefest.—Marg., a standard bearer; Heb. dagûl, participle of…
(10) Chiefest.—Marg., a standard bearer; Heb. dagûl, participle of a word occurring in Psa_20:5, where the Authorised Version gives “we will set up our banners.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv10, 11, 16My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among…
My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. The mingling of colours in the countenance is a peculiar excellence. The word tsach, from the root tsahach, (cf. Lam_4:7) means a bright, shining clearness; it is not the same as lavan, which would mean "dead white." So in Greek lamprov differs from leukov . The red adhom, from the root dam, which means "to condense," is dark red (rouge puce), no doubt as betokening health and vigour. The pure, delicate white among the Caucasians denotes high rank, superior training, hereditary nobility, as among ourselves the "aristocratic paleness" (cf. Hom., "I1.," 4:141, ivory with purple;" Virg., "AEn.," 12:65; Ovid, "Am.," 2; "Eleg.," 5:39; Hor., Od., 1:13, etc.; Tibull., "Eleg.," ext. 4, etc.). The chiefest, that is, the distinguished one, the chosen (so the Greek versions, Syriac, Jerome, Luther). The LXX has ekleloxismenov , e cohorte selectus. Another rendering is "bannered," furnished with a banner or pennon (lgD) hence the word lWgD as a past participle (so the Venetian seshmaiwmenov ). The numeral (revava) ten thousand" is simply used to represent an innumerable multitude; "myriad" is so used among ourselves. (Eze_16:7)
"Chiefest among ten thousand.
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The figure here employed by the bride to depict the superiority and excellence of her royal husband is very striking. In reply to the inquiry of those who mock and taunt her in the season of her sorrow and her loss, asking what her beloved is more than another, she replies that he is the banner in the vast embattled host, rising conspicuous and commanding above the thousand warriors by whom he is encompassed. Christians are often reproached with their attachment to Christ. Men who are willing to acknowledge him as one of many, to rank him with "other masters," cannot tolerate the claims advanced by his Church on his behalf, and ask what there is in him to entitle him to adoration so supreme, to devotion so exclusive. The answer of Christ"s people is one which gathers force with the lapse of time and the enlargement of experience. Christ is "chiefest among ten thousand." He excels all other teachers, leaders, saviours of society, in every respect.
I IN THE PROFUNDITY OF HIS INSIGHT INTO TRUTH, AND IN THE CLEARNESS WITH WHICH HE REVEALS TRUTH. Among the sages and philosophers who have arisen in ancient and in modern times, and to whom the world is indebted for precious communications, for great thoughts, which it will not willingly let die, there is none who can compete with Christ. His sayings are more original in their substance than those of others, with regard both to the character and service of God and to the duty and hopes of men. In fact, he is "the Truth," proved to be such by the persistence of those utterances which have sunk into the minds of men, enlightening and enriching humanity with its choicest treasures.
II IN THE EFFECTUAL COMPASSION WITH WHICH HE RECOVERS THE MORALLY LOST. The Lord Jesus is not merely a wise Teacher; he is a mighty Saviour. He knew well that little good is done by communicating truth, unless at the same time the heart can be reached and the character moulded anew. During his earthly ministry he put forth his moral power in many and most memorable instances, and rescued the sinful, the degraded, those abandoned by men, restoring them to integrity, to purity, to newness of moral life. And since his ascension he has been exercising the same power with the same results. His Name, by faith in his Name, has made many whole. His gospel loses none of its efficacy, his Spirit exercises the same energy of grace, as generation succeeds generation. Ten thousand attempt what Christ alone performed.
III IS THE SPIRITUAL POWER WITH WHICH HE RULES OVER HUMAN SOCIETY. If A comparison be made between Christ and other founders of religious systems and Churches, it will be seen that the superiority rests with him, in the sway wielded over the true nature of men. Compare him, for example, with Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, or with Mohammed. What is the result of such a comparison? There can be no question that, in the matter of spiritual authority, it will be to establish the supremacy of the Son of man. He lays hold, as none other has done, of the affections, the moral susceptibilities and convictions, the inner principles, of men"s being, and thus controls and inspires their true life. In this respect ten thousand are inferior to him; but he stands alone his banner towers above the host.
IV IN THE WELL-FOUNDED PROSPECT WHICH HE IMPARTS TO THE WORLD"S FUTURE. Every well wisher to his race, in looking forward to what shall be after him, must often be assailed with fear and foreboding. There is much to make the outlook gloomy and stormy. And there is no principle which can subdue such natural anxiety, which can inspire confident and sustaining hope with regard to the future of human society, except the principle of Christianity, i.e. the personal and spiritual power of the Lord Christ to govern and to guide mankind to glorious issues. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv10, 13, 16My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among…
Son_5:10
My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
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Christs perfection and precedence
The spouse in this verse styles her Lord, my Beloved, from which it is easy for us to gather that it is of the utmost importance that our hearts affection should be really and truly set upon Christ Jesus, our Lord. We must trust Him, and we must ]ore Him. Christ on the cross saves us when He becomes to us Christ in the heart. If we have reached that stage in our journey heavenwards, it will be well if we go on a step further. Loving our Lord and Saviour in our heart, and being assured of that love in our inmost conscience after earnest heart-searching, it will be well if we have the courage never to hesitate in the avowal of that love. We must not cast our pearls before swine; but, on the other hand, it is so ennobling a passion that we need never blush to own it in any company. If we ever are ashamed of loving Christ, we have good reason to be ashamed of such shameful shame. Loving Jesus, knowing that we love Him, and boldly confessing our love to Him, let us, next, so study His person and His character that we shall be able to give a reason for the love that is in us to any who make the inquiry, What is thy Beloved more than another beloved?
I. First, then, the spouse saith, my Beloved is white and ruddy, and so she sets forth His charming complexion.
1. Our Lord is, first of all, in Himself white; that is, He has immaculate perfection of character. In His Godhead, Jesus Christ is perfection itself. As to His manhood, the term whiteness well describes Him who was born without natural corruption, or taint of hereditary depravity--that holy thing, the Christ of God, who became incarnate, yet without sin. Doth not this word white describe Him also in His actual life? There was never any sin in Christ. As to Christs actions, they are matchless and perfect in every respect; the two great objects of His life were the glory of God and the good of man. There is no spot in Him; He is the Lamb of God without blemish, the perfect Christ, and hence it is that we love Him.
2. But, next, we come to the blood-shedding, the sacrificial character of Christ. This is the chief reason, after all, why Christs people love Him, because, in His precious blood, they see the pardon of all their sins, they see the lifting of themselves up into the life of God, they see the open way of access unto the Father, they see the gates of heaven opened to all believers.
II. Now notice that the spouse saith of her Beloved that He is the chiefest among ten thousand. These words set forth His personal precedence. He is the chiefest among ten thousand, and it so happens that this word chiefest may mean any one of three or four things.
1. First, take it as it stands Chiefest, that is to say, Christ is higher, better, lovelier, more excellent than any who are round about Him. If you shall bring ten thousand angels, He is the chiefest Angel, the Messenger of the covenant. If you shall bring ten thousand friends, He is the chiefest Friend, the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Christ is the chiefest, the best, the highest of all beings; whatever excellences there may be in others, they are all eclipsed by the surpassing excellences that are found in Him.
2. Christ is the chiefest among ten thousand; that is to say, He is the Head, the Ruler, the Prince, the King, the Lord over all. Let Christ, and Christ alone, wear the crown He bought with His own blood; He alone is King, and let Him ever be so proclaimed-and acknowledged.
3. According to thee Septuagint, the text has another meaning. Our Lord in Scripture is called the chosen One, the elect of God. As the psalmist puts it, speaking by prophecy, I have exalted One chosen out of the people. Christ is chosen out of ten thousand, as the Mediator to stand between God and men. Whoever else might have been employed by God for this service--and we are not able to think of any other--yet first of all was Christ chosen of God; and to-day we may call Him the chosen One because He is the chosen of His Church.
4. Lastly, according to the margin of our Bible, the text should be thus read, He is the Standard-bearer among ten thousand. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ has come into this world, and set up a standard because of the truth, and well does He handle it, firmly doth He grasp it. When on the cross, the battle thickened round Him; all the hosts of hell and all the bands of cruel ones on earth sought to smite Him, and to seize the standard, too, but He bore it still aloft through all the dreadful fray! and this day, though He is now in heaven, yet by His blessed Spirit that standard is still unfurled to the breeze. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v10
SHULAMITE’S DESCRIPTION OF HER BELOVED
Son_5:10-16
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SHULAMITE
My beloved is white and ruddy,
The chief among ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold;
His locks are bushy,
And black as a raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves,
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
His cheeks are as a bed of spices,
As sweet flowers;
His lips are like lilies,
Dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.
His hands are as gold rings,
Set with the beryl.
His belly (or body) is as bright ivory,
Overlaid with sapphires.
His legs are as pillars of marble,
Set upon sockets of fine gold.
His countenance is as Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet:
Yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem.
In reply to the daughters of Jerusalem, Shulamite gives a full-length portrait of her beloved. The description one of enraptured admiration and affection. ‘Superlatively glorious, and given in brief and comprehensible language.’ Rich specimen of Oriental poetry. Observe from it—
1. Believers able to give a true, if not a full description of Jesus. Living Christians well acquainted with Christ, and able to give a reason of their love as well as their hope.
2. Believers to be ready to make others acquainted with Christ. This their calling and privilege. ‘Ye shall be my witnesses.’
3. The joy of a living believer to testify for Jesus, and to guide inquirers to Him. ‘I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ Love must speak of its object.
4. Better to be employed in setting forth Christ’s excellence, than in dwelling on our own defects or troubles.
5. Testimony concerning Jesus to be borne with heartiness and love. The truth to appear not only in the matter but the manner of our testimony.
6. Thoughts of Jesus, and the expression of them, the best anodyne for a troubled spirit. McCheyne’s recipe: ‘For one look at self take ten at Christ.’ Confession of Christ often the shortest way to comfort in Christ. Speaking of Him for others, a precious help to our realizing Him for ourselves.
7. Testimony to Christ’s loveliness and excellence for others, to be accompanied with a personal appropriation of Him for ourselves. ‘This is my beloved,’ &c. Preachers to commend Christ and speak of Him as their own Beloved and Friend.
8. Christ’s excellence and preciousness the best subject for the fellowship of believers with each other. Believers thus to stir up their own love to Christ and that of others.
9. A pre-eminence and perfection of beauty in Jesus. The concentration of all creature loveliness. The union of all the elements of loveliness found in Him. The sum of all conceivable and all possible beauty and sweetness. ‘Thou art fairer than the children of men.’ The chief (conspicuous, or a standard-bearer) among ten thousand. The one Pearl of great price. Natural that the source of all beauty should Himself be the perfection of beauty.
10. The happiness of believers to be made to perceive, appreciate, and enjoy that beauty. Eyes anointed by the Spirit’s eye-salve, and hearts renewed by His grace, required for that perception and appreciation.
11. The beauty and excellence of Christ made up of a variety of particulars. The holy perfume composed of various ingredients (Exo_30:34-35). His offices, relations, attributes, words and works, make up the one Christ.
12. Everything in Christ excellent and glorious in itself, as well as attractive and precious in the eyes of a believer. ‘Altogether lovely;’ or, ‘all desirable things.’ Christ an unalloyed congeries of excellencies and delights. Every divine and human perfection found in Him, and nothing but what is absolutely perfect.
13. That in Jesus which exceeds all description and all knowledge. The Bride breaks off as unable to describe the beauty and excellence of her beloved. A breadth, and length, and depth, and height in Jesus and His love, never to be fully comprehended. The duty and happiness of believers to grow in the knowledge of Christ. All comparisons fall short of fully exhibiting Him. The most beautiful and excellent things in nature and art employed, but fail.
The description of the bridegroom inclusive of his dress and ornaments, as well as his person. That of a youthful prince eminent for dignity and beauty. Probably such as Solomon himself appeared to the eyes of beholders in the early period of his reign. Corresponds to his father’s appearance at a similar age (1Sa_16:12). Not necessary to find in Jesus an exact counterpart in every particular. Yet every part suggestive of something to be found in Him. The application to be made as the Holy Spirit gives understanding. We have in
The Bridegroom’s Portrait,
1. His Complexion. ‘White and ruddy.’ Fair and blooming. The perfection of a beautiful and healthy complexion. Suggests the Saviour’s general loveliness, as well as His purity and spiritual health. ‘Holy, harmless, undefiled.’ ‘Fairer than the children of men.’ Recalls His spotless life and atoning death, as well as the union of the divine and human nature constituting the one God-man Redeemer. His meek and heavenly ‘visage’ not less lovely because, for our sakes, ‘marred more than the sons of men.’ His form not less beautiful because bruised and lacerated with the scourge and the nails, and ‘ruddy with His own precious blood.’
2. His Head. ‘As the most fine gold.’ For excellence, a mass of pure and precious gold. Perhaps including an allusion to the golden crown which at times adorned it. Suggests the kingliness and nobility of Jesus, as well as His ‘excellent wisdom.’ ‘Head over all things to His Church.’ ‘Head over all principality and power.’ ‘In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’
3. His Hair. ‘His locks are bushy (or curled and pendulous), and black as a raven.’ Expressive of youthful and manly vigour. Jesus only known on earth as one in the prime and bloom of life. His death at the age of thirty-three. Jesus ever young. The same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Appears in heaven ‘as a Lamb that had been slain.’ In another description of his appearance: ‘his hair white as snow’ (Rev_1:14), as expressive of His eternity—the Ancient of Days. His raven locks perhaps symbolical of His human, and His snow-white hair of His divine, nature.
3. His Eyes. ‘As the eyes of doves (or, as doves), by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set’ (or, ‘sitting in fulness’—in full streams). Suggestive of the love, tenderness, and gentleness of Him who was meek and lowly in heart; who, ‘when He beheld the city, wept over it,’ and when He saw the sisters of Lazarus weeping at his grave, and the Jews also weeping, wept along with them.
4. His Cheeks. ‘As beds of spices’ (or, balsams), as sweet flowers,’ (or, ‘towers of perfume’). The loving aspect of Jesus the index of His loving heart. His countenance ordinarily lighted up with gracious smiles that cheered the penitent, invited even publicans and sinners to draw near to Him, and made Him attractive even to little children. His benignant aspect made His presence like a bed of spices to such as, like Mary, ‘sat down at His feet, hearing His words.
5. His Lips. Like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.’ Expressive either of the gracious words that proceeded from His mouth, and which, as recorded in the Scriptures, have been the comfort of millions ever since, or the sweetness felt in the communication of His love to the soul—‘the kisses of His mouth’ (chap. Son_1:2).
6. His Hands. ‘As gold rings (or cylinders), set with the beryl’ (chrysolite or topaz). The image probably from the rings that usually adorned the hands of Oriental princes. His hands themselves were as the costliest jewels. Suggestive of those works of benevolence and love—‘wonderful and glorious’—wrought by Jesus when on earth, as well as those which, though invisible, He is working still, as the Head and High Priest of His Church.
7. His Body. ‘His belly (or body) is as bright ivory, overlaid with sapphires.’ The tender compassion of Jesus, combined with heavenliest purity. He who said: ‘I have compassion on the multitudes,’ said also: ‘Which of you convinceth me of sin?’ ‘Ye are from beneath; I am from above: Ye are of this world; I am not of this world’ (Joh_8:23; Joh_8:46).
8. His Legs. ‘As pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold.’ The marble whiteness of His pillar-like legs suggestive of the spotless purity and integrity of His life, as well as His faithfulness and ability to support all who trust in Him. ‘His feet like sockets of fine gold,’ descriptive of Him who went about doing good. ‘Beautiful on the mountains,’ as the feet of Him who brought glad tidings to a perishing world.
9. His Figure or General Aspect. ‘Like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.’ The majesty and stateliness of His figure, resembling in its general character and aspect the ‘goodly mountain’ with its noble cedars, expressive of the amiable dignity of Him who is both Son of God and Son of Man, the man that is Jehovah’s fellow, the brightness of the divine glory, while not ashamed to call us brethren.
10. His Mouth. ‘Most sweet.’ Recalling the sweetness of the discourse of Him who ‘spake as never man spake.’ Suggestive also of the divine sweetness of that love which is ‘better than wine.’
The enraptured and magnificent description closes ‘with a holy admiration and amazement which ends in silence.’ ‘Yea, Ile is altogether lovely’ (or, ‘all of Him is lovely and desirable things.’) Winds up with an emphatic
Appropriation of the Beloved.
‘This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.’
Commendation of Christ to others to be accompanied with conscious choice and personal appropriation of Him by ourselves. That choice and appropriation of Christ by ourselves to be openly avowed while we commend Him to others. Conscious interest in Christ by ourselves, that which gives heart and life to our commendation of Him to others. The Bride’s language expressive of—
1. The believer’s personal apprehension of Christ’s loveliness and excellence. ‘This’—the person I have described to you—‘is my Beloved.’
2. Choice of Him in preference to all other objects of attraction.
3. Appropriation and personal possession of Christ as our own.
4. Consciousness of such choice and appropriation. ‘My Lord and my God.’ ‘I know whom I have believed.’ ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’
5. Unchanged and unchanging attachment. ‘My Beloved,’ notwithstanding present appearances. ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,’ and love Him. ‘I will wait on him who hideth himself.’
6. Full satisfaction with and glorying in Him as our choice and portion, our beloved and friend. ‘My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.’
7. A bold and fearless confession of Him as the object of our choice, and the Saviour in whom we trust. Christ not only to be believed in with the heart, but confessed with the mouth (Rom_10:9-10).
8. Christ at once the believer’s beloved and friend—beloved and lover. The love a mutual one. Christ, as
The Christian’s Beloved,
Is loved—
(1) For what He is in Himself—the ‘chief among ten thousand,’ and ‘altogether lovely.’
(2) For what He is to us, Saviour, Redeemer, husband, brother, and friend.
(3) For what He has done for us—given Himself to humiliation and anguish, a bloody and shameful death, to satisfy, as our sacrifice and substitute, the demands of Divine justice upon us; sought us when we were wanderers; won our hearts, and espoused us to Himself as His own. That Christ is our beloved implies—
(1) Wonderful condescension and love on the part of Christ, that sinners should be able to call Him their beloved.
(2) Precious grace, that so changes the heart and renews the nature that we can thus truly and sincerely speak of Christ.
(3) Blessed condition of believers, that they are able to claim Jesus as their beloved. Christ, as
The Christian’s Friend,
Is—
(1) Loving, generous, and sympathizing.
(2) Faithful and true,—‘sticketh closer than a brother.’
(3) Unchanging—loving ‘to the end.’
(4) Rich and powerful. His hand able to answer the dictates of His heart.
(5) Tried and proved—proved both by suffering for us, and suffering from us. Performs all the offices of a loving and faithful Friend—
1. Pays our debts.
2. Redeems our person.
3. Supplies our wants.
4. Comforts us in trouble.
5. Counsels us in difficulty.
6. Warns us of danger.
7. Reproves and corrects our faults.
8. Confides to us His secrets.
9. Delights in our society.
10. Entrusts us with His interests.
11. Defends our name and reputation.
12. Takes our part against all adversaries.
Christ a friend in need and a friend indeed. Rich and blessed the pauper who has Christ for his friend; poor and wretched the prince who has not. A man’s highest wisdom to make Christ his friend while he may. Happy and only happy the man that can say of Him, ‘this is my beloved, and this is my friend.’ Reader, let this happiness be yours.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v12fitly set Heb. "sitting in fulness;" i.e. fitly placed,…
fitly set Heb. "sitting in fulness;" i.e. fitly placed, and set as a precious stone in the foil of a ring.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
This phrase refers to the man whom the woman loves. In some languages it may be more natural for her to refer to him as "my lover." See how you translated this in Song of Songs 1:13. AT: "My dear one" or "My lover"
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is radiant and ruddy
This phrase refers to his complexion. AT: "has radiant and ruddy skin" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
radiant
"is completely healthy" or "is pure." The man has skin that does not have any problems.
ruddy
a healthy color of the skin that is brownish red
outstanding among ten thousand
"the best of 10,000." AT: "better than anyone else" or "no one else is like him." (See: Metaphor and Numbers)
His head is the purest gold
The man's head is as precious to the woman as the purest gold. (See: Metaphor)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 165:10-16 This extended portrayal of the lover in the…
5:10-16 This extended portrayal of the lover in the Song emphasizes his worth to the woman.
5:10 dark and dazzling: He is radiantly healthy and deeply tanned. This description is not meant as an allusion to race; it likely reflects radiant health and exposure to the sun.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11, 14 She describeth Christ to be of perfect beauty and…
She describeth Christ to be of perfect beauty and comeliness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–16 Son 5:10 My beloved [is] white and ruddy, the…
Son 5:10 My beloved [is] white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
Ver. 10. My beloved is white and ruddy, &c.] Love lacks no rhetoric to lay forth the thing beloved in liveliest colours. "White and ruddy!" What can be more laudable and lovely? What can come nearer to a perfect symmetry, to a sound and sure constitution and complexion? Sure it is that these two, being comelily mixed, do make the most beautiful or orient look or colour; see the prophet’s description of the Nazarites, Lam 4:7. And note, saith an expositor, that the Holy Ghost joineth both these together - the whiteness making the ruddiness more fresh and fair, and the ruddiness discerning the whiteness from paleness of face, or phlegmatic complexion. Sed sunt in his mysteria investiganda, saith another, itaque candor refert divinam Christi naturam, rubor humanam. White and red may signify Christ’s Godhead and manhood. God is called the "Ancient of days"; {Dan 7:9} his "head and his hairs are white like wool, as white as snow." {Rev 1:14} Man had his name Adam of the red earth, out of which he was taken. {Gen 2:7} Christ also, the second Adam, became red with his own blood, whereby he "purchased the Church" {Act 20:28} - a bloody spouse she was unto him - and paved for her "a new and lively way into the most holy place"; {Heb 10:20} upon the battlements whereof he hangs out still (as once that warlike Scythian did) a white flag of grace and mercy to penitent persons, that humble themselves at his feet for favour; but a red flag of justice and severity to those his enemies that will not have him to rule over them - in token whereof his raiment is said to be red, {Isa 63:1-3} his vesture dipped in blood. {Rev 19:13}
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The chiefest among ten thousand.] Heb., Vexillatus prae decem millibus; that is, famous and conspicuous among and above many, as "Saul was higher than the people by the head and shoulders," as the Hachmonite was the chief of David’s mighties; {1Ch 11:11} or, "the standardbearer of ten thousand." Now the goodliest, and with it the ablest, men used to carry the banner or standard. Christ standeth "for an ensign of the people," {Isa 11:10} and hath ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him, following him wheresoever he goeth, {Rev 7:9; Rev 7:14} and singing, "We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God (vexillabimus) we will set up our banner." {Psa 20:6} The Church’s design here is to hold out Christ as altogether matchless and incomparable, that there is none like him in the earth, as God said of Job; {Son 1:8} to teach us to esteem him, as the people did David, more worth than ten thousand others; {2Sa 18:3} to set him upon the chief chariot, and to give him the sole command of all, as Pharaoh dealt by Joseph. And as the sun, moon, and eleven stars in Joseph’s vision did obeisance to him, so let our souls, bodies, all our temporal, natural, moral, and spiritual abilities, be subject and serviceable to Christ, who, if he be the chiefest of ten thousand, ought to have as much love as ten thousand hearts put into one could hold.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–16 White and ruddy; which two colours rightly mixed together…
White and ruddy; which two colours rightly mixed together make a face beautiful. Or the white may note his pure and spotless innocency, and the brightness of his glory and majesty, and the ruddy colour may intimate his bloody passion, which made him amiable both to God and men.
The chiefest, Heb. the standard-bearer; for such are usually persons of great eminency, both for stature, and courage, and dignity.
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Among ten thousand; among all persons, angels or men. A certain number is put for an uncertain. There are other kings, and priests, and prophets, but none to be compared with him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv10–16 White - The white may denote his pure and…
White - The white may denote his pure and spotless innocency, and the ruddy colour his bloody passion.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv10–16 Verse 10. My beloved is white and ruddy] Red…
Verse 10. My beloved is white and ruddy] Red and white, properly mixed, are essential to a fine complexion; and this is what is intimated: he has the finest complexion among ten thousand persons; not one in that number is equal to him. Literally, "He bears the standard among ten thousand men;" or "He is one before whom a standard is borne," i.e., he is captain or chief of the whole.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv10, 14 Son 5:10-13. My beloved is white and ruddy —…
Son 5:10-13. My beloved is white and ruddy — The white may denote his pure and spotless innocence, and the ruddy colour, his bloody passion. His head is as the most fine gold — It shines like gold, by reason of the crown of pure gold upon his head. We need not aim at a distinct application of this and the following particulars unto some special excellences of Christ, because such things are mere conjectures, and the only design of this description is to set forth the beauty of Christ under the notion of a most amiable person, in whom there is no defect or blemish, from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet. His eyes, the eyes of doves — Lovely and pleasant, chaste and innocent. By rivers of waters — Where they delight to abide. Washed with milk — The doves, not their eyes, were of a white colour. His cheeks — His face or countenance, an eminent part whereof is the cheeks; are as a bed of spices — Of aromatic flowers, which delight both the eye with a pleasant prospect, and the smell with their fragrancy. His lips are like lilies — Beautiful and pleasant; dropping sweet-smelling myrrh — Not only grateful to the eye, as lilies are, but also fragrant to the smell.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv10–16 My beloved is white and ruddy - Compare 1Sa…
My beloved is white and ruddy - Compare 1Sa 16:12; Dan 7:9. The complexion most admired in youth. Jewish interpreters remark that he who is elsewhere called “the Ancient of Days” is here described as the Ever-Young. “White in His virgin-purity,” says Jerome, “and ruddy in His Passion.”
The chiefest among ten thousand - literally, “a bannered one among a myriad;” hence one signalized, a leader of ten thousand warriors.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 13, 14, 16 Ruddy. Or shining. Et color in niveo corpore purpureus.…
Ruddy. Or shining. Et color in niveo corpore purpureus. The divine and human nature, or the conception and sufferings of Christ are thus described. (Calmet) --- The spouse gives this admirable description of her beloved. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv10–16 10. White and ruddy — His bright and flush…
10. White and ruddy — His bright and flush complexion make him as conspicuous among common men as a standard-bearer is in an army.
Chiefest — Hebrew, Standard-man, colour-bearer. The phrase among ten thousand is of military origin.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–16 10. white] The Heb. tsach is an adj. derived…
10. white] The Heb. tsach is an adj. derived from tsâchach, ‘to shine’ or ‘glow,’ ‘to be brightly white.’ Here, and in Lam_4:7, where the word is used of the colour of the skin, it means a clear, white complexion. In the latter passage the phrase is, ‘more tsach than milk’ contrasted with ‘darker than blackness.’
the chiefest] Probably, as R.V. marg., marked out by a banner, or raised like a banner, ‘eminent,’ ‘distinguished.’ Some critics, however, connect the word with an Assyrian root meaning ‘to look,’ and explain ‘looked at,’ ‘admired,’ ‘conspicuous.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–16 (10) Chiefest.—Marg., a standard bearer; Heb. dagûl, participle of…
(10) Chiefest.—Marg., a standard bearer; Heb. dagûl, participle of a word occurring in Psa_20:5, where the Authorised Version gives “we will set up our banners.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 16 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among…
My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. The mingling of colours in the countenance is a peculiar excellence. The word tsach, from the root tsahach, (cf. Lam_4:7) means a bright, shining clearness; it is not the same as lavan, which would mean "dead white." So in Greek lamprov differs from leukov . The red adhom, from the root dam, which means "to condense," is dark red (rouge puce), no doubt as betokening health and vigour. The pure, delicate white among the Caucasians denotes high rank, superior training, hereditary nobility, as among ourselves the "aristocratic paleness" (cf. Hom., "I1.," 4:141, ivory with purple;" Virg., "AEn.," 12:65; Ovid, "Am.," 2; "Eleg.," 5:39; Hor., Od., 1:13, etc.; Tibull., "Eleg.," ext. 4, etc.). The chiefest, that is, the distinguished one, the chosen (so the Greek versions, Syriac, Jerome, Luther). The LXX has ekleloxismenov , e cohorte selectus. Another rendering is "bannered," furnished with a banner or pennon (lgD) hence the word lWgD as a past participle (so the Venetian seshmaiwmenov ). The numeral (revava) ten thousand" is simply used to represent an innumerable multitude; "myriad" is so used among ourselves. (Eze_16:7)
"Chiefest among ten thousand.
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The figure here employed by the bride to depict the superiority and excellence of her royal husband is very striking. In reply to the inquiry of those who mock and taunt her in the season of her sorrow and her loss, asking what her beloved is more than another, she replies that he is the banner in the vast embattled host, rising conspicuous and commanding above the thousand warriors by whom he is encompassed. Christians are often reproached with their attachment to Christ. Men who are willing to acknowledge him as one of many, to rank him with "other masters," cannot tolerate the claims advanced by his Church on his behalf, and ask what there is in him to entitle him to adoration so supreme, to devotion so exclusive. The answer of Christ"s people is one which gathers force with the lapse of time and the enlargement of experience. Christ is "chiefest among ten thousand." He excels all other teachers, leaders, saviours of society, in every respect.
I IN THE PROFUNDITY OF HIS INSIGHT INTO TRUTH, AND IN THE CLEARNESS WITH WHICH HE REVEALS TRUTH. Among the sages and philosophers who have arisen in ancient and in modern times, and to whom the world is indebted for precious communications, for great thoughts, which it will not willingly let die, there is none who can compete with Christ. His sayings are more original in their substance than those of others, with regard both to the character and service of God and to the duty and hopes of men. In fact, he is "the Truth," proved to be such by the persistence of those utterances which have sunk into the minds of men, enlightening and enriching humanity with its choicest treasures.
II IN THE EFFECTUAL COMPASSION WITH WHICH HE RECOVERS THE MORALLY LOST. The Lord Jesus is not merely a wise Teacher; he is a mighty Saviour. He knew well that little good is done by communicating truth, unless at the same time the heart can be reached and the character moulded anew. During his earthly ministry he put forth his moral power in many and most memorable instances, and rescued the sinful, the degraded, those abandoned by men, restoring them to integrity, to purity, to newness of moral life. And since his ascension he has been exercising the same power with the same results. His Name, by faith in his Name, has made many whole. His gospel loses none of its efficacy, his Spirit exercises the same energy of grace, as generation succeeds generation. Ten thousand attempt what Christ alone performed.
III IS THE SPIRITUAL POWER WITH WHICH HE RULES OVER HUMAN SOCIETY. If A comparison be made between Christ and other founders of religious systems and Churches, it will be seen that the superiority rests with him, in the sway wielded over the true nature of men. Compare him, for example, with Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, or with Mohammed. What is the result of such a comparison? There can be no question that, in the matter of spiritual authority, it will be to establish the supremacy of the Son of man. He lays hold, as none other has done, of the affections, the moral susceptibilities and convictions, the inner principles, of men"s being, and thus controls and inspires their true life. In this respect ten thousand are inferior to him; but he stands alone his banner towers above the host.
IV IN THE WELL-FOUNDED PROSPECT WHICH HE IMPARTS TO THE WORLD"S FUTURE. Every well wisher to his race, in looking forward to what shall be after him, must often be assailed with fear and foreboding. There is much to make the outlook gloomy and stormy. And there is no principle which can subdue such natural anxiety, which can inspire confident and sustaining hope with regard to the future of human society, except the principle of Christianity, i.e. the personal and spiritual power of the Lord Christ to govern and to guide mankind to glorious issues. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 16 My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among…
Son_5:10
My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
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Christs perfection and precedence
The spouse in this verse styles her Lord, my Beloved, from which it is easy for us to gather that it is of the utmost importance that our hearts affection should be really and truly set upon Christ Jesus, our Lord. We must trust Him, and we must ]ore Him. Christ on the cross saves us when He becomes to us Christ in the heart. If we have reached that stage in our journey heavenwards, it will be well if we go on a step further. Loving our Lord and Saviour in our heart, and being assured of that love in our inmost conscience after earnest heart-searching, it will be well if we have the courage never to hesitate in the avowal of that love. We must not cast our pearls before swine; but, on the other hand, it is so ennobling a passion that we need never blush to own it in any company. If we ever are ashamed of loving Christ, we have good reason to be ashamed of such shameful shame. Loving Jesus, knowing that we love Him, and boldly confessing our love to Him, let us, next, so study His person and His character that we shall be able to give a reason for the love that is in us to any who make the inquiry, What is thy Beloved more than another beloved?
I. First, then, the spouse saith, my Beloved is white and ruddy, and so she sets forth His charming complexion.
1. Our Lord is, first of all, in Himself white; that is, He has immaculate perfection of character. In His Godhead, Jesus Christ is perfection itself. As to His manhood, the term whiteness well describes Him who was born without natural corruption, or taint of hereditary depravity--that holy thing, the Christ of God, who became incarnate, yet without sin. Doth not this word white describe Him also in His actual life? There was never any sin in Christ. As to Christs actions, they are matchless and perfect in every respect; the two great objects of His life were the glory of God and the good of man. There is no spot in Him; He is the Lamb of God without blemish, the perfect Christ, and hence it is that we love Him.
2. But, next, we come to the blood-shedding, the sacrificial character of Christ. This is the chief reason, after all, why Christs people love Him, because, in His precious blood, they see the pardon of all their sins, they see the lifting of themselves up into the life of God, they see the open way of access unto the Father, they see the gates of heaven opened to all believers.
II. Now notice that the spouse saith of her Beloved that He is the chiefest among ten thousand. These words set forth His personal precedence. He is the chiefest among ten thousand, and it so happens that this word chiefest may mean any one of three or four things.
1. First, take it as it stands Chiefest, that is to say, Christ is higher, better, lovelier, more excellent than any who are round about Him. If you shall bring ten thousand angels, He is the chiefest Angel, the Messenger of the covenant. If you shall bring ten thousand friends, He is the chiefest Friend, the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Christ is the chiefest, the best, the highest of all beings; whatever excellences there may be in others, they are all eclipsed by the surpassing excellences that are found in Him.
2. Christ is the chiefest among ten thousand; that is to say, He is the Head, the Ruler, the Prince, the King, the Lord over all. Let Christ, and Christ alone, wear the crown He bought with His own blood; He alone is King, and let Him ever be so proclaimed-and acknowledged.
3. According to thee Septuagint, the text has another meaning. Our Lord in Scripture is called the chosen One, the elect of God. As the psalmist puts it, speaking by prophecy, I have exalted One chosen out of the people. Christ is chosen out of ten thousand, as the Mediator to stand between God and men. Whoever else might have been employed by God for this service--and we are not able to think of any other--yet first of all was Christ chosen of God; and to-day we may call Him the chosen One because He is the chosen of His Church.
4. Lastly, according to the margin of our Bible, the text should be thus read, He is the Standard-bearer among ten thousand. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ has come into this world, and set up a standard because of the truth, and well does He handle it, firmly doth He grasp it. When on the cross, the battle thickened round Him; all the hosts of hell and all the bands of cruel ones on earth sought to smite Him, and to seize the standard, too, but He bore it still aloft through all the dreadful fray! and this day, though He is now in heaven, yet by His blessed Spirit that standard is still unfurled to the breeze. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v10
SHULAMITE’S DESCRIPTION OF HER BELOVED
Son_5:10-16
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SHULAMITE
My beloved is white and ruddy,
The chief among ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold;
His locks are bushy,
And black as a raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves,
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
His cheeks are as a bed of spices,
As sweet flowers;
His lips are like lilies,
Dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.
His hands are as gold rings,
Set with the beryl.
His belly (or body) is as bright ivory,
Overlaid with sapphires.
His legs are as pillars of marble,
Set upon sockets of fine gold.
His countenance is as Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet:
Yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem.
In reply to the daughters of Jerusalem, Shulamite gives a full-length portrait of her beloved. The description one of enraptured admiration and affection. ‘Superlatively glorious, and given in brief and comprehensible language.’ Rich specimen of Oriental poetry. Observe from it—
1. Believers able to give a true, if not a full description of Jesus. Living Christians well acquainted with Christ, and able to give a reason of their love as well as their hope.
2. Believers to be ready to make others acquainted with Christ. This their calling and privilege. ‘Ye shall be my witnesses.’
3. The joy of a living believer to testify for Jesus, and to guide inquirers to Him. ‘I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ Love must speak of its object.
4. Better to be employed in setting forth Christ’s excellence, than in dwelling on our own defects or troubles.
5. Testimony concerning Jesus to be borne with heartiness and love. The truth to appear not only in the matter but the manner of our testimony.
6. Thoughts of Jesus, and the expression of them, the best anodyne for a troubled spirit. McCheyne’s recipe: ‘For one look at self take ten at Christ.’ Confession of Christ often the shortest way to comfort in Christ. Speaking of Him for others, a precious help to our realizing Him for ourselves.
7. Testimony to Christ’s loveliness and excellence for others, to be accompanied with a personal appropriation of Him for ourselves. ‘This is my beloved,’ &c. Preachers to commend Christ and speak of Him as their own Beloved and Friend.
8. Christ’s excellence and preciousness the best subject for the fellowship of believers with each other. Believers thus to stir up their own love to Christ and that of others.
9. A pre-eminence and perfection of beauty in Jesus. The concentration of all creature loveliness. The union of all the elements of loveliness found in Him. The sum of all conceivable and all possible beauty and sweetness. ‘Thou art fairer than the children of men.’ The chief (conspicuous, or a standard-bearer) among ten thousand. The one Pearl of great price. Natural that the source of all beauty should Himself be the perfection of beauty.
10. The happiness of believers to be made to perceive, appreciate, and enjoy that beauty. Eyes anointed by the Spirit’s eye-salve, and hearts renewed by His grace, required for that perception and appreciation.
11. The beauty and excellence of Christ made up of a variety of particulars. The holy perfume composed of various ingredients (Exo_30:34-35). His offices, relations, attributes, words and works, make up the one Christ.
12. Everything in Christ excellent and glorious in itself, as well as attractive and precious in the eyes of a believer. ‘Altogether lovely;’ or, ‘all desirable things.’ Christ an unalloyed congeries of excellencies and delights. Every divine and human perfection found in Him, and nothing but what is absolutely perfect.
13. That in Jesus which exceeds all description and all knowledge. The Bride breaks off as unable to describe the beauty and excellence of her beloved. A breadth, and length, and depth, and height in Jesus and His love, never to be fully comprehended. The duty and happiness of believers to grow in the knowledge of Christ. All comparisons fall short of fully exhibiting Him. The most beautiful and excellent things in nature and art employed, but fail.
The description of the bridegroom inclusive of his dress and ornaments, as well as his person. That of a youthful prince eminent for dignity and beauty. Probably such as Solomon himself appeared to the eyes of beholders in the early period of his reign. Corresponds to his father’s appearance at a similar age (1Sa_16:12). Not necessary to find in Jesus an exact counterpart in every particular. Yet every part suggestive of something to be found in Him. The application to be made as the Holy Spirit gives understanding. We have in
The Bridegroom’s Portrait,
1. His Complexion. ‘White and ruddy.’ Fair and blooming. The perfection of a beautiful and healthy complexion. Suggests the Saviour’s general loveliness, as well as His purity and spiritual health. ‘Holy, harmless, undefiled.’ ‘Fairer than the children of men.’ Recalls His spotless life and atoning death, as well as the union of the divine and human nature constituting the one God-man Redeemer. His meek and heavenly ‘visage’ not less lovely because, for our sakes, ‘marred more than the sons of men.’ His form not less beautiful because bruised and lacerated with the scourge and the nails, and ‘ruddy with His own precious blood.’
2. His Head. ‘As the most fine gold.’ For excellence, a mass of pure and precious gold. Perhaps including an allusion to the golden crown which at times adorned it. Suggests the kingliness and nobility of Jesus, as well as His ‘excellent wisdom.’ ‘Head over all things to His Church.’ ‘Head over all principality and power.’ ‘In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’
3. His Hair. ‘His locks are bushy (or curled and pendulous), and black as a raven.’ Expressive of youthful and manly vigour. Jesus only known on earth as one in the prime and bloom of life. His death at the age of thirty-three. Jesus ever young. The same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Appears in heaven ‘as a Lamb that had been slain.’ In another description of his appearance: ‘his hair white as snow’ (Rev_1:14), as expressive of His eternity—the Ancient of Days. His raven locks perhaps symbolical of His human, and His snow-white hair of His divine, nature.
3. His Eyes. ‘As the eyes of doves (or, as doves), by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set’ (or, ‘sitting in fulness’—in full streams). Suggestive of the love, tenderness, and gentleness of Him who was meek and lowly in heart; who, ‘when He beheld the city, wept over it,’ and when He saw the sisters of Lazarus weeping at his grave, and the Jews also weeping, wept along with them.
4. His Cheeks. ‘As beds of spices’ (or, balsams), as sweet flowers,’ (or, ‘towers of perfume’). The loving aspect of Jesus the index of His loving heart. His countenance ordinarily lighted up with gracious smiles that cheered the penitent, invited even publicans and sinners to draw near to Him, and made Him attractive even to little children. His benignant aspect made His presence like a bed of spices to such as, like Mary, ‘sat down at His feet, hearing His words.
5. His Lips. Like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.’ Expressive either of the gracious words that proceeded from His mouth, and which, as recorded in the Scriptures, have been the comfort of millions ever since, or the sweetness felt in the communication of His love to the soul—‘the kisses of His mouth’ (chap. Son_1:2).
6. His Hands. ‘As gold rings (or cylinders), set with the beryl’ (chrysolite or topaz). The image probably from the rings that usually adorned the hands of Oriental princes. His hands themselves were as the costliest jewels. Suggestive of those works of benevolence and love—‘wonderful and glorious’—wrought by Jesus when on earth, as well as those which, though invisible, He is working still, as the Head and High Priest of His Church.
7. His Body. ‘His belly (or body) is as bright ivory, overlaid with sapphires.’ The tender compassion of Jesus, combined with heavenliest purity. He who said: ‘I have compassion on the multitudes,’ said also: ‘Which of you convinceth me of sin?’ ‘Ye are from beneath; I am from above: Ye are of this world; I am not of this world’ (Joh_8:23; Joh_8:46).
8. His Legs. ‘As pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold.’ The marble whiteness of His pillar-like legs suggestive of the spotless purity and integrity of His life, as well as His faithfulness and ability to support all who trust in Him. ‘His feet like sockets of fine gold,’ descriptive of Him who went about doing good. ‘Beautiful on the mountains,’ as the feet of Him who brought glad tidings to a perishing world.
9. His Figure or General Aspect. ‘Like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.’ The majesty and stateliness of His figure, resembling in its general character and aspect the ‘goodly mountain’ with its noble cedars, expressive of the amiable dignity of Him who is both Son of God and Son of Man, the man that is Jehovah’s fellow, the brightness of the divine glory, while not ashamed to call us brethren.
10. His Mouth. ‘Most sweet.’ Recalling the sweetness of the discourse of Him who ‘spake as never man spake.’ Suggestive also of the divine sweetness of that love which is ‘better than wine.’
The enraptured and magnificent description closes ‘with a holy admiration and amazement which ends in silence.’ ‘Yea, Ile is altogether lovely’ (or, ‘all of Him is lovely and desirable things.’) Winds up with an emphatic
Appropriation of the Beloved.
‘This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.’
Commendation of Christ to others to be accompanied with conscious choice and personal appropriation of Him by ourselves. That choice and appropriation of Christ by ourselves to be openly avowed while we commend Him to others. Conscious interest in Christ by ourselves, that which gives heart and life to our commendation of Him to others. The Bride’s language expressive of—
1. The believer’s personal apprehension of Christ’s loveliness and excellence. ‘This’—the person I have described to you—‘is my Beloved.’
2. Choice of Him in preference to all other objects of attraction.
3. Appropriation and personal possession of Christ as our own.
4. Consciousness of such choice and appropriation. ‘My Lord and my God.’ ‘I know whom I have believed.’ ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’
5. Unchanged and unchanging attachment. ‘My Beloved,’ notwithstanding present appearances. ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,’ and love Him. ‘I will wait on him who hideth himself.’
6. Full satisfaction with and glorying in Him as our choice and portion, our beloved and friend. ‘My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.’
7. A bold and fearless confession of Him as the object of our choice, and the Saviour in whom we trust. Christ not only to be believed in with the heart, but confessed with the mouth (Rom_10:9-10).
8. Christ at once the believer’s beloved and friend—beloved and lover. The love a mutual one. Christ, as
The Christian’s Beloved,
Is loved—
(1) For what He is in Himself—the ‘chief among ten thousand,’ and ‘altogether lovely.’
(2) For what He is to us, Saviour, Redeemer, husband, brother, and friend.
(3) For what He has done for us—given Himself to humiliation and anguish, a bloody and shameful death, to satisfy, as our sacrifice and substitute, the demands of Divine justice upon us; sought us when we were wanderers; won our hearts, and espoused us to Himself as His own. That Christ is our beloved implies—
(1) Wonderful condescension and love on the part of Christ, that sinners should be able to call Him their beloved.
(2) Precious grace, that so changes the heart and renews the nature that we can thus truly and sincerely speak of Christ.
(3) Blessed condition of believers, that they are able to claim Jesus as their beloved. Christ, as
The Christian’s Friend,
Is—
(1) Loving, generous, and sympathizing.
(2) Faithful and true,—‘sticketh closer than a brother.’
(3) Unchanging—loving ‘to the end.’
(4) Rich and powerful. His hand able to answer the dictates of His heart.
(5) Tried and proved—proved both by suffering for us, and suffering from us. Performs all the offices of a loving and faithful Friend—
1. Pays our debts.
2. Redeems our person.
3. Supplies our wants.
4. Comforts us in trouble.
5. Counsels us in difficulty.
6. Warns us of danger.
7. Reproves and corrects our faults.
8. Confides to us His secrets.
9. Delights in our society.
10. Entrusts us with His interests.
11. Defends our name and reputation.
12. Takes our part against all adversaries.
Christ a friend in need and a friend indeed. Rich and blessed the pauper who has Christ for his friend; poor and wretched the prince who has not. A man’s highest wisdom to make Christ his friend while he may. Happy and only happy the man that can say of Him, ‘this is my beloved, and this is my friend.’ Reader, let this happiness be yours.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v12 fitly set Heb. "sitting in fulness;" i.e. fitly placed,…
fitly set Heb. "sitting in fulness;" i.e. fitly placed, and set as a precious stone in the foil of a ring.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 My beloved
My beloved
This phrase refers to the man whom the woman loves. In some languages it may be more natural for her to refer to him as "my lover." See how you translated this in Song of Songs 1:13. AT: "My dear one" or "My lover"
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is radiant and ruddy
This phrase refers to his complexion. AT: "has radiant and ruddy skin" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
radiant
"is completely healthy" or "is pure." The man has skin that does not have any problems.
ruddy
a healthy color of the skin that is brownish red
outstanding among ten thousand
"the best of 10,000." AT: "better than anyone else" or "no one else is like him." (See: Metaphor and Numbers)
His head is the purest gold
The man's head is as precious to the woman as the purest gold. (See: Metaphor)
a raven
a bird with very black feathers (See: Simile)
translationWords
beloved
pure
gold
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 5:10-16 This extended portrayal of the lover in the…
5:10-16 This extended portrayal of the lover in the Song emphasizes his worth to the woman.
5:10 dark and dazzling: He is radiantly healthy and deeply tanned. This description is not meant as an allusion to race; it likely reflects radiant health and exposure to the sun.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.