Oh that you were like my brother, who nursed from the breasts of my mother! If I found you outside, I would kiss you; yes, and no one would despise me.
Parallel Translations
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Oh that you were like my brother, who nursed from the breasts of my mother! If I found you outside, I would kiss you; yes, and no one would despise me.
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O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
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Oh that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, and none would despise me.
Cross-references (38)
Passages linked to Song of Solomon 8:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 45:10-11 Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father’s house. So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord.
- Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
- Psalms 102:16-17 For Yahweh has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory. He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.
- Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
- Isaiah 9:6 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, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you Yahweh’s City, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 66:11-12 that you may nurse and be satisfied at the comforting breasts; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.” For Yahweh says, “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will nurse. You will be carried on her side, and will be dandled on her knees.
- Haggai 2:7 and I will shake all nations. The precious things of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says Yahweh of Armies.
- Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Luke 2:38 Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
- Psalms 2:12 Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
- Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is better than wine.
- Matthew 13:16-17 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.
- Mark 12:42-44 A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin. He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”
- Mark 14:6-9 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying. Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News may be preached throughout the whole world, that which this woman has done will also be spoken of for a memorial of her.”
- Luke 2:26-32 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law, then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
- Luke 7:45-48 You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
- Luke 9:26 For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.
- Luke 10:16 Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
- Luke 10:23-24 Turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.”
- Luke 12:8 “I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God;
- Luke 18:9 He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
- John 7:46-52 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees therefore answered them, “You aren’t also led astray, are you? Have any of the rulers believed in him, or of the Pharisees? But this multitude that doesn’t know the law is cursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to him by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man, unless it first hears from him personally and knows what he does?” They answered him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search, and see that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”
- John 8:42 Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me.
- John 9:25-38 He therefore answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him again, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to become his disciples, do you?” They insulted him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.” The man answered them, “How amazing! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, and does his will, he listens to him. Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?” Then they threw him out. Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you.” He said, “Lord, I believe!” and he worshiped him.
- John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God,
- John 16:28 I came from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:28 God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist,
- Galatians 6:14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
- Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh;
- Philippians 3:7-8 However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ. 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 the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
- 1 Timothy 3:16 Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.
- Hebrews 2:9-14 But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone. 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 their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.” Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.” Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
- Hebrews 9:26-28 or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, me.
Or, me.
The Church called of the Gentiles, speaketh thus to the Church of Jerusalem.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Son 8:1 O that thou [wert] as my brother,…
Son 8:1 O that thou [wert] as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! [when] I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
Ver. 1. Oh that thou wert as my brother.] Heb., Who will give thee for a brother to me? - q.d., Men may give me many other things, but God alone can give me thy brotherhood, love, and communion, which I wish above all, saith the bride here. "Spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ" {Eph 1:3} are chiefly to be desired and endeavoured after. Quaerite primum bona animi, saith philosophy, Seek first the good things of the mind. Quaerite primum regnum Dei, saith divinity, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness": and then other things shall seek you, shall be cast into the bargain as it were. Let the "many say, Who will show any good?" David prefers one glance from God’s countenance before all the world’s wealth. {Psa 4:7} "Oh that Ishmael might live in thy sight," said Abraham. Oh that he might be "written among the living in Jerusalem," be an heir of life truly so called, for Aeterna vita vera vita! {a} "The Lord make his face to shine upon you," said the priests to the people. {Num 6:24-25} "Grace be to you, and peace," saith Paul; whatever else be wanting, "Covet earnestly the best things," saith he. {1Co 12:31} "With all thy getting, get understanding," saith Solomon. {Pro 4:7} He desired wisdom above wealth; and despatched the temple in seven years’ time, whenas he was thirteen years ere he finished his own house, as holding it a work of less haste and care. Elisha begs a "double portion": the spouse {Son 2:5} calls for whole "flagons"; nothing less would content her. The prophet Isaiah chides men for laying out their money on "that which is not bread," {Isa 55:1-2} or but panis lapidosus, bread made of gravel; and our Saviour bids, "Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat that endureth to eternal life." {Joh 6:27} Mors privare potest opibus, non operibus: these die not with us (as Hortentius’s orations did with him), but follow us to heaven when we die, and shall be "found to praise, honour, and glory at that day." {1Pe 1:7} Hence the Church so earnestly desireth here to have more close conjunction and consociation with Christ "as a brother"; yea, as a most natural and kind hearted brother that had "sucked the breasts of her mother," that had been her collactaneus, and so more inwardly affected toward her, as Joseph was toward his brother Benjamin. {Gen 43:29-30; Gen 43:34} In sum, she wisheth that she may feel Christ dwelling in her heart; that he would remove all impediments of their happy conjunction, and hasten the accomplishment thereof in heaven.
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When I should find thee without (or at the door), I would kiss thee.] As the bride was wont to do the bridegroom, receiving and welcoming him with all comely familiarity and sweetness. "Kiss the son," and covet his kisses. {Psa 2:12 Son 1:2} Be not ashamed or afraid to perform all duties of a holy love and sound obedience towards him. He was not ashamed of us, when we had never a rag to our backs. {Eze 16:3-13} He stretched the skirt of his love over us, and said unto us, "Live"; when he might well enough have loathed to look on us. {ib. Eze 16:6}
Yea, I should not be despised.] Heb., They should not despise me; or if they did, yet they should not dishearten me from duty. "If this be to be vile, I will be yet more vile," said David to his mocking Michal. {2Sa 6:22} We may not suffer ourselves to be mocked out of our religion. Barren Michal hath too many sons that scorn the holy habit and exercises; but they shall be plagued, as their mother was, with continual fruitlessness; they shall also one day - viz., when they are in hell - behold those with envy whom now they behold with scorn; as the scoffers of the old world, from the tops of the mountains that could not save them, beheld Noah’s ark floating upon the waters. It is as impossible to avoid, as necessary to contemn, the lash of lewd tongues, whether by bitter scoffs or scurrilous invectives, as full of scorn commonly as the wit of malice can make them. The Church here resolveth so to deport herself, as that none shall have cause to contemn her; or if they do, bravely to slight all contumelies and contempts for her conscience, taking them as crowns and confirmations of her conformity to Christ.
{a} Aug., De Pec. Mort., lib. i. cap. 11.
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 Oh that thou wert as my brother, most intimate,…
Oh that thou wert as my brother, most intimate, and free, and familiar with me, as brethren and sisters commonly are,
that sucked the breasts of my mother! that came out of the same womb, and sucked the same breasts, and consequently were brother and sister by father and mother too; for such are most dear to one another. See Gen 43:29; Deu 13:6. Heb. sucking the breasts, &c.; so she wisheth that he were as a little sucking brother, with whom she might innocently and inoffensively delight herself, as sister: do with such a brother. The church here expresseth her passionate desire of a stricter union and closer communion with Christ than yet she had attained. And in particular these may be the breathings of the ancient Jewish church after Christ’s incarnation, whereby he was to be their brother, Rom 8:29; Heb 2:11,12, and a sucking infant.
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Without; in the open streets; I might then express my affections to thee, and kiss thee openly, without any scandal or contempt. Or, without, i.e. come forth from the Father’s bosom into the world, Joh 16:28.
I would kiss thee; I would demonstrate my reverence, and subjection, and affection to thee, of all which kissing was a token in those times and places, as hath been oft observed in divers foregoing texts.
Yet I should not be despised; then should I not be ashamed or censured, as if I had done an indecent or immodest action, because such expressions of love are usual amongst persons so nearly and dearly related.
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 The church expresses her desire of familiarity with Christ,…
The church expresses her desire of familiarity with Christ, ver. 1. By the entertainment she would make him, ver. 2, 3. She charges the daughters of Jerusalem not to disturb her beloved, ver. 4. A commendation of the church for her faith in Christ, ver. 5. She prays for full assurance of his love, her invincible desire, ver. 6. Which is insatiable, ver. 7. The calling of the Gentiles with their intent, and her condition, ver. 8-13. Christ's coming prayed for, ver. 14.
O that - The church here expresses her desire of a stricter union, and closer communion with Christ. Without - In the open streets.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The love of the bride to her spouse, and…
CHAPTER VIII
The love of the bride to her spouse, and the nature of that
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love, 1-7.
The younger sister, 8-10.
Solomon's vineyard, 11, 12.
The confidence of the bride and bridegroom in each other,
13, 14.
NOTES ON CHAP. VIII
Verse 1. O that thou wert as my brother] The bride, fearing that her fondness for her spouse might be construed into too great a familiarity, wishes that he were her little brother; and then she might treat him in the most affectionate manner, and kiss him even in the streets without suspicion, and without giving offense to any one.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Son 8:1. O that thou wert as my brother…
Son 8:1. O that thou wert as my brother — Most intimate, and free, and familiar with me, as brethren and sisters commonly are; that sucked the breasts of my mother — That came out of the same womb and sucked the same breasts, and were brother and sister by father and mother too: for such are generally most dear to one another. The intent of these expressions, and of those in the three following verses, is to signify the church’s earnest desire of a stricter union, and more intimate fellowship with Christ. When I should find thee without, &c. — In the open streets; I would kiss thee, &c. — And thus express my affection to thee openly, without fearing any scandal or contempt; such expressions being usual among persons so nearly and dearly related.
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 Royal rank and splendor are grown wearisome. The king…
Royal rank and splendor are grown wearisome. The king once called her “sister” and “sister-bride.” Would he were indeed as a “brother,” her mother’s own child whom she might meet, embrace, and welcome everywhere without restraint or shame. Her love for him is simple, sacred, pure, free from the unrest and the stains of mere earthly passion.
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 Mother. The synagogue continues to pray for Christ’s coming.…
Mother. The synagogue continues to pray for Christ’s coming. (Worthington) --- Her request has been heard, and He has assumed our nature; so that we may receive from him all the marks of tenderness, and none but the carnal will shew any signs of contempt. The spouse wishes to manifest her love without restraint, and to be delivered from the shame of sterility, (Calmet) or the Church desires to see Christ in heaven, and to praise him. (Menochius)
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).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain See Son_5:1 ff for the passage quote with footnotes.
See Son_5:1 ff for the passage quote with footnotes.
Son_8:1. O that thou wert as a brother of mine,כְּאָח cannot possibly be taken as a simple vocative (Septuag., Luth.). It rather refers to a relation like that of a brother (“as a brother of mine,” comp. Psa_35:14) and consequently expresses the wish and that a wish seriously meant and speedily to be realized (vs. Weissb.), that Solomon would come so near to her in every respect, both inwardly and outwardly, that she could regard and treat him just as her own brother, as a member of her family, belonging to her own domestic household. The wish here expressed would have no meaning in respect to a lover of the rank of a shepherd. It most manifestly implies as its object a lover, whose whole station in life was above that of his beloved, in whose case there must be a coming down from his elevation, if an actual living communion is to subsist between him and her. For the fact of his having made his beloved a “queen” and a “prince’s daughter” is evidently without effect on the child-like and humble mind of this simple child of nature. She has not been able to prevail upon herself in addressing this proud lord of a harem, surrounded by his sixty queens and his eighty concubines, as well as by his female slaves, to call him her own with the same cordial confidence that a sister cherishes towards her brother. She has learned to call him דּוֹד “beloved” but not אָח “brother,” often as he may since their marriage have addressed her as אֲחוֹתִי כַלָּה “my sister, bride.” If this relation which she sustained to him be correctly estimated, Hengstenberg’s paraphrase of the exclamation before us “O that thou who art my brother, wouldst enter into a really brotherly relation to me” will appear to be by no means so absurd, as Weissb. would represent it.1Were I to find thee without, I would kiss thee. “Without,” i.e. on the street or in the open country and in general wherever I must now observe a stiff courtly etiquette toward thee as king. A new protest therefore against the manners of the harem, which had become intolerable to her.—Yet none would despise me.לֹא־יָבֻזוּ לִי they, viz. the people, would not despise and reproach me as though I were a vulgar wench who kissed strange men in the public street; comp Pro_7:12-13.
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Son_8:2. I would lead thee, bring thee to my mother’s house. What she had only dreamed before Son_3:4, she can now utter to her lover as the burning wish of her heart, certain of its speedy accomplishment. אֶנְהָֽגְךָ “I would lead thee,” that is to say by the hand; whither is told by the following verb, which limits the one before it in the same way as אֶשָּׁקְךָ does אֶמְצָאֲךָ in Son_8:1, b.—Thou wouldst instruct me. Again an indication that the lover is not a young shepherd but the wise and learned king Solomon, in comparison with whom Shulamith had long learned to feel her ignorance and at the same time her need of instruction from the rich stores of his mind. Feeling the incongruity of instruction by a lover, who was a mere shepherd, Hitz. has taken up again the conjecture of Ibn Ezra, that שֶׁ· is to be supplied before תְּלַמְּדֵנִי and the verb thus converted into a relative clause is to be referred as a 3d pers. fem. to the preceding אִמִּי: “my mother who would teach me,” viz. how to do every thing for you in the best manner. But this is quite arbitrary; for all the verbs before and after are in the 2d pers. [?]; a verb thus extraordinarily interrupting this series must necessarily have been indicated not merely by שֶׁ· or אֲשֶׁר but by an emphatic הִיא “she”; and to this הִיא would then have to be opposed an אֲנִי אַשְׁקֶךָetc. comp. (Böttcher Neue Aehrenl. III. 172). Most of the ancient versions confirm ours, which is the common view; and that the Sept. and Syr. in place of תְּלַמְּדֵנִי have mechanically repeated the last line of Son_3:4, can prove nothing against its correctness. I would give thee to drink of the spiced wine. That אַשְׁקְךָ “I would cause thee to drink” contains an intentional allusion to אֶשָּֽׁקְךָ “I would kiss thee,” Son_8:1, which is identical in its consonants, is an idle remark of Hitzig and Weissbach, which has little in its favor. Meier has needlessly taken this clause to be a statement of what her lover was to teach the speaker, “thou wouldst teach me how to make thee drink,” etc.; so too Ewald and Heiligst., according to whom the meaning is: “from thy mouth I would learn, what is pleasant and agreeable to thee, viz., to cause thee to drink,” etc. But all is simpler and in better taste if we assume no close relation between תְּלַמְּדֵנִי “thou wouldst instruct me” and this clause, and find nothing intimated here beyond the reciprocity subsisting between the spiritual gifts which the teacher confers, and the bodily refreshment which his pupil affords him in turn (comp. Luk_10:38 ff., 1Co_9:11; Gal_6:6).—By the spiced wine, of which she means to give him to drink, Shulamith probably means grape wine mixed with fragrant and pungent essences (according to a well-known oriental custom, comp. Döpke and Vaih., in loc). The definite article designates this wine as the well known drink of superior excellence, as the spiced wine par excellence; comp. יִיִן הַטּוֹב Son_7:10. Of my pomegranate juice. Notwithstanding the absence of the copula something different from the preceding is here intended and not the spiced wine itself, as though this were merely made from the juice of fruit (Hitzig). For such a difference is indicated by the use of עָסִים “must, unfermented juice,” instead of the preceding יַיִן “wine,” as well as by the mention above of the vine along with the pomegranate (Son_7:13, comp. Son_6:11). The suffix in רִמּוֹנִי (for which the Vulg. and Syr. read רִמוֹנַי “my pomegranates”) is gen. of possession to עָסִים (comp. הַר קָדְשִׁי) hence equivalent to “pomegranate wine prepared by me.” It makes against the view of Weissbach and others: “of the wine of my pomegranate tree,” that according to Son_6:11; Son_7:13, Shulamith had more than one such tree.—The ancients called the fermented juice of pomegranates “wine,” as appears from Plin. H. N. 14, Song 16: “Vinum fit—e punicis, quod rhoiden (ῥοιά, pomegranate) vocant”; comp. Winer R.- W.- B. Art. “Wein.”
Son_8:3. His left hand (is) under my head and his right embraces me. This verse is not a mere phrase to mark the termination of a section, and unconnected with what precedes (Hitzig). It rather stands in the same sort of connection with the detailed description given Son_7:13 ff. of what the two lovers would do and enjoy together in Shulamith’s home, that Son_2:6 does with the preceding representation of their mutual enjoyment of nature and of love, Son_1:16 ff.; Son_2:3 ff. Only there Shulamith was depicting the present, whilst here she vividly portrays joys belonging to the future; though not in an optative form, as Ewald, Vaih., etc., assume without sufficient reason.
Son_8:4. I adjure you, ye daughters of Jerusalem,etc.—On the significance of this exclamation here as Shulamith’s farewell to the daughters of Jerusalem (which Hitzig too has seen with substantial correctness), see on Son_2:7 above. Only it is not necessary with Vaih. to impute the brevity of its form to the excited and reproachful tone in which Shulamith, who had been affronted by the ladies of the court, here speaks.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The churchly allegorical exegesis is necessarily precluded from gaining an insight into the progress of the action in the act before us. It finds every where figurative representations of soteriological mysteries with no inner organic connection; shifting figures, the aim of which lies in the repeated exhibition of the central point of Christian truth, the conversion, justification, sanctification and perfection of the sinner by the grace of the Redeemer, or the call and election of the whole church to the saving communion of God in Christ. Thus the narrative of the dream, Son_5:2-7, together with the following dialogue, as far as Son_6:3, that is to say, the first scene according to our division seems to it to be a dramatic representation, which is already complete, of the apostasy and restoration of the Church, or of the fall and redemption of mankind. This one section constitutes, as it were, the Canticles in brief, a poetic picture of the entire history of redemption from first to last. This representation opens, according to Hengstenb. (p. 135), with a “dark scene,” or night piece. The apostasy of unbelieving mankind from their God, and especially the rejection of the Saviour by the daughter of Zion, together with the punishment of induration and blindness which overtook her in consequence, are so distinctly set forth by the dream-like figures of Shulamith’s sleep, her lover’s vain desire to be admitted, his subsequent disappearance, and the fruitless search for him, and finally by the blows which the watchmen (the “heavenly ministers of vengeance”) administered to her during her search, that the whole forms, so to speak, a fit accompaniment to Isaiah 53 and likewise an illustration of Rom_11:7, “the election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded,” or of Rom_11:25-26. And then again the representation is directed to the goal of the ultimate conversion of Israel and the consequent consummation of the entire redemptive process. For forsaken and repelled by her lover, she nevertheless continues always sick with love and longing for him (Son_5:8); in answer to the question proposed to test her, what she thinks of her lover (Son_5:9), she exhibits a heart full of love and submission to the heavenly Solomon, as the ideal of all excellence (Son_5:10-16); finally she answers the second question also, which is addressed to her to pave the way for her reunion with her heavenly bridegroom, in a concrete manner (Son_6:1-3), since in her answer to, Where has thy beloved gone? she ungrudgingly recognizes that he has his being in the Church, and in consequence of this recognition the former relation may be regarded as restored.—So Hengstenberg, whose view may be regarded as the idealizing recapitulation of all former churchly-allegorical interpretations of this section.—The following portions also depict according to him the one main object of the song again and again—the restoration of the loving relation between the Lord and His Church, which originally existed, was then disturbed and broken off, and has finally been cemented again. Son_6:4-10 does this in the form of praises of the beauty of the bride, and a comparison of her with all other women, who constitute the household of the heavenly Solomon. Son_6:11 to Son_7:1 in the form of a narrative by the daughter of Zion of the way in which she attained to the high dignity of a bride of heaven’s king, together with a blessing bestowed upon her by the daughters of Jerusalem, who express their heartfelt joy at her return from her wanderings, and at the distinguished graces which have in consequence been imparted to her; Son_7:2-11, in the form of a new panegyric pronounced by the king upon the daughter of Zion, who has returned to him from her straying, and consequently to her former beauty,—to which is further added the expression of his determination to enjoy her charms, and her cordial assent to this determination (Son_7:8-11); and finally, Son_7:12 to Son_8:4, in the form of a prayer from the daughter of Zion to her heavenly lover, to restore to her his ancient love, and, far from the tumult of this sinful world, in rural retirement and seclusion, to live with her as her brother.—The explanations of the older allegorists are still richer in repetitions and in corresponding measure poorer in true inward progress. One of their number, e.g., Starke (who closely follows Marck, Ainsworth Michael., etc.) paraphrases Son_6:2-3, so as to make the bride set forth “the delightful feelings resulting from the special presence of the bridegroom of her soul, which she has just experienced in her heart,” describing thus Christ’s control in the spice garden of His Church, i.e., in the hearts of the true children of God, wherein the whole work of salvation by the Lord in the word and sacraments, and His operations on individual souls, planting, fostering, preserving and perfecting, is briefly exhibited. Son_7:1 he then paraphrases thus: “Return, return to me and to thyself from the confusion, in which thou wert, before I revealed myself again to thee (Son_5:6; Psa_116:7), O Shulamith, who hast obtained peace with God, righteousness and strength in communion with me; return again, banish all gloomy and timorous thoughts. I shall ever remain thy Jesus, thy Saviour and Benefactor. Fix only a confiding heart again on me, thy soul’s friend, that we, viz. I, thy Redeemer, with my Father who loves thee in me, and the Holy Spirit may look upon thee, i, e., may have our delight and joy in thee as a perfect mirror of spiritual beauty.” And in Son_8:1 the same interpreter remarks upon the words, “Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee,” etc.: If I find thee without, i.e., meet thee outside of my mother’s house, while I live in the foreign land and the pilgrimage of this world (2Co_5:6-9), I will kiss thee with the kiss of faith, love and obedience, yea, give thee all conceivable tokens of my sincere and ardent love (Psa_2:12; Hos_13:2; Job_31:27). And no one should put me to shame, least of all they, to whom I appear so despicable, and who scoff at me when I boast of my communion with thee and declare thy praise (Son_5:7; Gen_38:23, etc., etc.).” In short, every possible thing is here found in every thing, and the simple meaning of the words is almost every where sacrificed to the superabundant fancy of a dogmatical and mystical interpretation.
2. The proper antithesis to such excesses can surely not lie in banishing with the profane-erotic exegesis every thing sacred from the course of the action here presented, and converting it, as is done particularly by Hitzig and Renan, into a succession of voluptuous scenes in the harem, without order or progress. This view becomes really repulsive, especially where it maintains that the poet brings Solomon’s love for other favorites than Shulamith before his readers or spectators by a detailed description of his amorous intercourse with them; that he describes with particularity by word and act how the king turns wearied away from the coy Shulamith, to “indemnify” himself with the other beauties of his harem. Hitzig’s exegesis on the passage Son_7:2-11 based on this understanding of it, even Böttcher indignantly pronounces one that “culminates in the disgustingly vulgar,”—a judgment that might with equal reason be passed upon Renan’s treatment of the same section. But even in its more moderate form, as advanced by Herder, Umbr., Ew., Vaih., etc., the shepherd hypothesis invariably involves much that is of doubtful morality, by which the religious and ethical character of the section before us is sensibly damaged in several points. Solomon’s character especially suffers more than is just, inasmuch as there is heaped upon him besides the reproach of polygamy with its excesses, that of an assiduous attempt at seduction and a corrupting assault upon female innocence, an actually adulterous procedure therefore,—which especially in the so-called “final assault,” Son_7:2-10, comes into unseemly contrast with the alleged fidelity of the maiden to a distant lover. Shulamith’s character, too, appears on this view less fair and great than in ours; the extravagance, not to say the braggart character of the description given of her lover, Son_5:10-16, if this refers to a plain young shepherd, is particularly offensive; so is the excited pathos of the appeal which, according to this view, is directed to a far distant lover to go with her into the country, Son_7:12 ff. Some of the finest and loveliest traits in the picture of this noble woman are wholly lost, especially the symbolic significance of her dream, Son_5:2-7; the lovely gentleness with which she seeks by her evasive answer in Son_6:2-3, to excuse her absent husband; the adroitness with which she interrupts him (Son_7:10) in order wholly to disarm and captivate him; the genuine womanly naiveté with which, in her picture of the innocent joys of their life together in the country, she inserts, Son_8:2, a hint of the instruction which she hopes to receive from her lover, etc.
3. The typical Messianic view avoids these faults in a manner which really satisfies both the æsthetic and the religious feeling. It throughout gives due prominence alike to light and shade, and while it sets forth in all its rigor the conflict of the lovely, chaste and pure child of nature with the corrupt manners of the court and her royal lover who shared them, it nevertheless paves the way likewise for a truly blessed reconciliation and removal of this conflict by showing how Shulamith’s urgency to return to her country home, lays the foundation for a change of mind in her husband, and for satisfying her boldest and highest wishes. The true power of love in the humble maiden thus shines in its most glorious light, and the lover who at first resisted is drawn along by it; his resistance to the sanctity of the marriage connection is overcome by the purity of her feelings.—When put in a parallel with the relation of Christ to His Church, this episode from the story of the love of Solomon and Shulamith certainly exhibits more disparity than resemblance. But it forms also just that section of the story, in which the dissimilarity of the two relations must naturally come most strongly out, in some parts of it almost to the obliteration of every trace of similitude. And yet there remain even here significant analogies enough to establish the essentially Messianic character of the whole. Above all the glowing description of the beauty of the lover, Son_5:10-16, which is only applicable to Solomon, not to any of his subjects, points to the King of all kings as the heavenly prototype of that king, as the possessor of an eternal glory which far outshines the splendor of the earthly Solomon. Mankind seeking after God, and craving His salvation, the antitype in the history of redemption of the earthly Shulamith, by its earnest and continued longing, waiting, entreating and imploring, succeeds in moving this heavenly Solomon to give up his glory and enter into its low estate, as she moves her lord and king to the resolve to live with her in her mother’s house, and to partake with her of all the simple country enjoyments and pleasures which this house, with its surroundings, could offer him and her. In this parallel there certainly lies a prophecy of the fulfilling of that which is written, Joh_14:23, “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him;” likewise of 2Co_6:16 (Lev_26:11; Heb_8:10), “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people;” as well as of Rev_21:3, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and He himself, God with them, shall be their God.” That significant phrase too, “thou wouldst instruct me,” Son_8:2, points to the higher stage of divine revelation to which mankind has been exalted under the New Testament, in the same manner as Isa_54:13 (Joh_6:45): “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord;” or as Jer_31:33 (Heb_8:10 ff.): “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;—and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord,” (comp. Joe_3:1 f.; Act_2:16 f.; 1Jn_2:27, etc.).—But certainly,—and herein lies the exaltation of the New Testament Solomon above the Old, and the superiority of the New Testament covenant of grace, as compared with the marriage covenant between Solomon and Shulamith—no express entreaty with flattering words and persistent supplication was needed to bring down the Lord of the New Covenant to His own. Even if here and there in His parables He assumes the air of the reluctant friend or the unmerciful judge, and thus seems to impose upon His own people the duty of importunate begging and crying (Luk_11:5-8; Luk_18:1-7), this is purposely done that the contrast between human hard-heartedness and His own infinitely merciful and prevenient love, may induce to a heartier confidence in the latter. His becoming poor in order to make us rich, His emptying and humbling Himself to the form of a servant was prevenient throughout, with no merit or worthiness on the part of man; yea, so that He “was found of them that sought Him not, and was made manifest unto them that asked not after Him” (Rom_10:20; Isa_65:1). Of His coming to His own it may in truth be said:
“You do not need to labor,
Nor struggle day and night,
To bring Him down from heaven,
By efforts of your might.
He comes of His own motion,
Is full of love and grace,
Your every grief and sorrow
He’ll utterly efface.”
And besides it is a real and substantial glory, which He gives up and forsakes from love to the poor children of men, not a mere seeming glory, full of sin and vanity, like that of the earthly Solomon. His love to the poor damsel of earth is so utterly unselfish that He gives everything and receives nothing, whilst she can give nothing but only receive (comp. St. Francis of Assisi’s fable of the rich king Christ, and the fair damsel “Poverty”). Nay, she does not even possess as her own those “excellent fruits, new and old,” with which she was to regale her gracious and heavenly guest upon his entrance into her mother’s house. But it is her lover, and He alone, who makes the seed of His divine word bring forth in her good and worthy fruit, which endureth unto everlasting life. It is He alone who makes her rich in all the fruits of the Spirit and of righteousness (Php_1:11; Gal_5:22, etc.). He alone distributes the precious wine of joy at the table of His grace, by which He solemnly seals and confirms with His earthly bride, the covenant of His love, established by His bloody sacrificial death (comp. Joh_2:1-11). And while Shulamith’s entreaty of her royal lord and husband “O that thou wert like my brother, who sucked the breasts of my mother” (Son_8:1) can only be made in the most restricted sense,—while she, upon a calm and sober view of the case at least, can expect no more than a transient coming down of her lover into her poverty and retirement, the heavenly bridegroom of the Church, on the contrary, comes not only once and in the fullest truth, but for ever as our brother on the earth. He “is not ashamed to call all them, whom He redeems, His brethren” (Heb_2:11; comp. Joh_20:17). He is made partaker of their earthly flesh and blood in order to raise them from being slaves of sin and death to be children of God and heirs of His eternal, heavenly blessedness (Heb_2:14-15; Joh_8:32-36).—Thus set in the light of His deeds of redeeming love, this section of the Canticles becomes a song of praise to the grace of the Lord, which worketh all in all, a hymn of glory to that inscrutable mystery of the Divine mercy, of which Paul exclaims, Rom_11:34 f.: “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. A quiet and tender play of fancy.
1. A quiet and tender play of fancy.
O that thou wert — Better, If thou hadst but been. When I, etc. — “If I found thee even in the streets, I would kiss thee, and none would reproach me for it.” She could then lay aside reserve and act with greater freedom. This is said as the lovers walk to the country.
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 Ch. Son_8:1. O that thou wert as my brother]…
Ch. Son_8:1. O that thou wert as my brother] As should probably be omitted, as the accidental repetition of the last letter of the preceding word. She wishes that her lover were her brother. That she should wish that being her lover he were in the same position in regard to her as a brother would have occupied, does not seem to be likely. What she desires is freedom to love him and to express that love. Had he been her brother she would have had that liberty. Only the uterine brother and the father’s brother’s son have among the Bedawin the right to kiss a maiden. Cp. Wetzstein, ZDMG. XXII. pp. 93, 108. Such a wish as this seems quite incompatible with the view that the Song is a collection of songs sung at weddings after the marriage has been consummated.
when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee] Better, so that, should I find thee without, I might kiss thee, and yet none would despise me. She would in that case be doing nothing unmaidenly, nothing for which she could be held in contempt, in shewing her love.
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 (1) O that thou wert as my brother.—The poet…
VIII.
(1) O that thou wert as my brother.—The poet makes his beloved recall the feelings she had for him before the obstacles to their union were removed. She dared not then avow her affection for him as a lover, and wished that their relationship had been such as to allow of their meeting and embracing without reproach. Marg., “They (i.e., her family and friends) should not despise (i.e., reproach) me.”
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 Vers. 1-3. Oh that thou wert as my brother,…
Vers. 1-3. Oh that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; and none would despise me. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother"s house, who would instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. The meaning seems to be this Let our relation to one another be the highest and the purest and the most permanent possible. The sisterly relation is not merely one of affection, but one of blood. The bond between husband and wife may be broken by the caprice and weakness of human feeling, but nothing can destroy the bond of blood. "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity"; (Pro_17:17) "There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother". (Pro_18:24) The brotherly bond represents the strength of the blood relationship. When to that is added personal affection, then the tie is perfect. Shulamith means that she would have their love freed from all the uncertainties of human fickleness. As symbolically interpreted, therefore, we take this whole passage to signify that the Church, when it is desiring the closest fellowship with the Saviour, would be lifted above all the temptations of earthly life, which so often lower the standard of Christian feeling and service. The words are specially impressive in the lips of the bride of Solomon. It is a testimony to the inspiration of the whole book that the voluptuous monarch, whose life fell so far below the ideal of a godly king, should yet, indirectly though still powerfully, condemn and rebuke his own departure from God, setting clearly before us the surpassing excellence of pure love and the sanctity of married life. In the Mug"s address to his bride he called her "sister" and "sister-bride;" she now virtually returns his own sentiment and calls him "brother." She shows that she has risen in her love far above the mere fleshly desires lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." She would blend her whole existence with that of her Lord. I would kiss thee; yea, and none would despise me. Nothing can more exquisitely and delicately express the fulness of affection. It is not merely a return for that which is given; it is free and spontaneous. So should our spiritual feelings be. They should be the natural outpouring of the soul towards the Saviour; not a worked up, artificial, spasmodic impulse, not a cold, dead formalism, not an unsympathetic service of conscience; but "doing the will of God from the heart." "Love is the fulfilling of the Law;" "Faith worketh by love." The second verse is differently rendered by some. Jerome, Venetian, and Luther take it as referring to the bride"s dependence on her husband"s superior wisdom wouldest instruct me;" which, of course, is a very suitable sentiment as addressed to the wise King Solomon. The Targum expounds it thus: "I would conduct thee, O King Messiah, and bring thee into the house of my sanctuary; and thou wouldest teach me to fear God and to walk in his ways." Hitzig and our Revisers take the verb as in the third person feminine, and applied to the mother. "She would teach me as a mother teaches a young bride, from her own early experience." The old view that the bride is the personification of wisdom seems quite refuted by this speech of Shulamith"s. She desires and waits for instruction. Solomon is wisdom. She is the soul of man, or the Church of God, delighting to sit at his feet and learn of him. Whichever rendering we choose, whether the mother or Solomon be regarded as teacher, the meaning is the same. It is, as Delitzsch has observed, a deep revelation of Shulamith"s heart. "She knew how much she yet came short of being to the king all that a wife should be. But in Jerusalem the bustle of court life and the burden of his regal duties did not permit him to devote himself to her; in her mother"s house, if he were once there, he would in. struct her, and she would requite him with her spiced wine and with the juice of the pomegranates." The "spiced wine," vinum conditura, aromatic wine, probably grape wine "mixed with fragrant and pungent essences," as in the East. The juice, or pressed juice, of the pomegranate is a delicious drink. There is no allusion to any love symbol. The grains of the pomegranates were said by the Arabians to be from Paradise (cf. the roithv , or "vinum de punicis quod roidem vocant" in Dioscorides and Pliny). Perhaps this reference to exchange of gifts may be taken as symbolizing the happy state of the Church when she pours out her treasures in response to the spiritual blessings which she is freely receiving. The meaning is something beautiful and precious. And that is the highest state of religious life when the service we render and the gifts we place on the altar are felt to be the grateful sacrifices of our hearts under a sense of Divine love. When the Church of Christ depends for its support on such fellowship between itself and the Saviour there will be no limits to its attainments, no achievements beyond its powers. "All that see" such a state of the Church "shall acknowledge" the glory of it, "that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed" (see the whole of the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, which breathes the very spirit of Solomon"s Song). The rejoicing bride then gives herself up to the thought of her husband"s affection. In that beautiful simplicity and purity of her childhood"s life she would realize the bliss of her new relation. Delitzsch describes her state of mind thus: "Resigning herself dreamily to the idea that Solomon is her brother, whom she may freely and openly kiss, and her teacher besides, with whom she may sit in confidential intercourse under her mother"s eye, she feels herself as if closely embraced by him, and calls from a distance to the daughters of Jerusalem not to disturb this her happy enjoyment." Perhaps the sense of weakness and dependence is meant to be expressed. The bride is conscious that her lord is everything to her. In that identification which the highest love brings vividly into the soul, there is the joy of exultation. "All things are ours; and we are Christ"s, and Christ is God"s.
Vers. 1-4. Wishes of the bride.
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1. That she had known the bridegroom always. The bride continues the address of ch. 7. She is still speaking to the king, telling him of her love. He had again and again called her his sister his sister-bride. She now wishes that he were to her as a brother; that they could have been children of the same mother; that they could have known one another from infancy. So in the close union of love between husband and wife there comes sometimes such a longing, a desire that each could have known the other from the beginning; that instead of the years in which they were strangers, and never heard one another"s voice, or touched one another"s hand, they had always lived together, and known one another through and through in all the varied experiences of child life, of girlhood or of boyhood; sometimes there comes a sort of innocent envy of the brothers or sisters who then knew one or other of the wedded pair when they were unknown to one another. The bride wishes that she had always thus known the bridegroom; that she could have loved him always with a sisterly affection; that their mutual endearments might have been, like those of brothers and sisters, without shame, attracting no observation. How often the converted soul longs with an intense longing that it had always from the beginning known and loved the heavenly Bridegroom! How utterly wasted and lost those years now seem which were spent without that knowledge of Christ which is eternal life! How ardently we wish that they could be blotted out of our remembrance, with all their ignorance and all their sins, as we humbly hope that through the atonement of the precious blood they are blotted out from the handwriting "that was against us, that was contrary to us"! (Col_2:14) Blessed be God we have his holy promise, "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee". (Isa_44:22) We know that in his gracious mercy he so putteth away the sins of them that truly repent that he remembereth them no more. (Jer_31:34 Heb_8:12 Heb_10:17) But though we believe in the forgiveness of sins, and thank God heartily for that blessed revelation of his love, yet we cannot but long and that the more earnestly the nearer we draw to him that we had always known him with the knowledge of faith and love, that we had always remembered him, that we had kept our heart pure from other loves, and loved him always. There is a difference between the love of the forgiven penitent and the love of saints like Enoch or Samuel, who, as far as human imperfection allows, have always in the main bent and purpose of their lives striven to walk with God. The love of the penitent is more demonstrative, more passionate if the word may be used, more enthusiastic; the love of men like Samuel is calmer, quieter, fuller, dominating the entire life in all its pursuits and amusements; and just because it is not intermittent, but uniform, it is not so much observed of men. The still waters run deepest; the interpenetration of the heart by the long-continued influences of the Holy Spirit, without any marked and sudden change visible to the eyes of men, produces a very high type of Christian character. Enoch seems to have walked with God all his life. "He was not, for God took him;" "He had this testimony, that he pleased God". (Heb_11:5) It is a poor offering to give the dregs of our life to God, when the evil days when the temptations of youth have lost their power over us; "when the evil days come, and the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them". (Ecc_12:1) A life dedicated to God from early childhood must be a thing well pleasing in his sight, as Holy Scripture tells us it was in the case of Enoch. Such a life is very rare, and we may well be full of thankfulness to Almighty God for his gracious promises to the penitent sinner. He "will not despise the broken and the contrite heart." "If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live." We thank God for these gracious words. If we have been called at the sixth or at the eleventh hour, it is enough to fill us with adoring gratitude; we wonder, as we look back upon the past, that God bore with us so long in our sin and unbelief; we thank him with all our heart for his long suffering mercy. But when we remember that sin and that unbelief, we cannot but long that we had given to God those lost and wasted years; that we had remembered our Creator in the days of our youth, and not grieved the Holy Spirit of God by so many transgressions, so much coldness and hardness of heart.
2. That she had brought him into her mothers house. Those lost years involved the loss of many opportunities of doing good to others. The bride, had she known the bridegroom in early youth, would have brought him, she says, into her mother"s house. There (she adds in what seems to be the best reading) "thou shouldest instruct me." How much good we might have done in our families, among our friends, if we had given our earliest years to God, if we had lived then as in his presence, and had carried the consciousness of that presence, with all the feelings of awe and reverence and love which attend it, always with us in our family life, in our dealings with relations and friends; if we had given him of our best, and willingly offered up for his service all that we most prized and valued, how much calmer, holier, happier, our life would have been! For he would have instructed us. He bids us learn of him. He is the great Teacher, the Master. "All thy children," he says, "shall be taught of the Lord: and great shall be the peace of thy children". (Isa_54:13)
3. The bride repeats the aspirations of Son_2:7. If we had listened to that instruction from the time when we were first made his disciples, if we had given him from the beginning that for which he thirsted our affections, our heart"s love then he would now be wholly ours; "his left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me." That blessed union with the Saviour, growing ever nearer and closer, is the object of the deepest longings of the Christian soul. We think sometimes that if only we had always loved him and walked with him, our walk now might be very close with God; we might have attained to that calm and serene trustfulness which is the privilege of his saints; we might have found rest for our souls in the embrace of his holy love. But though we have greatly sinned, and have lost much through past neglect and unbelief, yet even now that blessed rest is not beyond our grasp. It was to Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Lord had cast seven devils, that those words were said which seemed at first severe and forbidding, but really involved the promise of a holier union, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto my Father." She was about to embrace his feet, to cling to the human form of him who had done such great things for her. The Lord implies a promise of a better, spiritual communion. When he had ascended into heaven, when he had sent down the blessed Spirit that he might abide forever with his Church, then the believing soul might touch him with the touch of faith; might cling to him with a holler, a more blessed embrace.; then he would be with us all the days, guiding, strengthening, comforting. his left hand under our head to support us when we seem to be ready to fall, his right hand embracing us to shield us from all evil, to assure us of his love.
4. The thrice-repeated charge to the daughters of Jerusalem. The bride"s longings for the tokens of the bridegroom"s love again arouse her feelings of maidenly reserve: as in Son_2:7 and Son_3:5, she bids her virgin friends not to stir up or awaken love until it please to manifest itself. The Christian"s aspirations after the abiding presence of God arouse in him feelings of reverential awe. He will remember the Lord"s caution, "Touch me not;" he will avoid expressions of love which savour too much of merely human tenderness; he will shrink instinctively from any approach to familiarity; he will remember that the Lord Jesus is the Word of God, the King, the Judge of all; he will be reverent in all his approaches to the Saviour; he will endeavour to instil reverence into those around him by example, by tone, by manner, by word. We must wait on the Lord until he pleases to manifest himself; we must not be impatient; we must learn to Say with the psalmist, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God". (Psa_42:11)
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-4. "Oh that men would understand!
Such seems to be the sentiment of these verses. She who speaks grieves that those about her did not see how natural and right was her love for her beloved. She could almost wish he were her brother instead of her betrothed, for then those who saw her love for him would not, as now they did, despise her for it. She could not have been already a bride, as is so constantly assumed, for in that case her love could not have awakened scorn. But they despised her for clinging to one who, compared with Solomon, was in their esteem despicable. We may take the section as in part parallel to the sentiments in Rom_9:1-3 Rom_10:1. She who speaks could not wish to be not betrothed, and only as a sister. Some, therefore (Newton), have regarded these verses as an address to the unconverted and unsaved. Others have held that the "brother" means only an infant brother. But we take it that as Paul could wish himself unsaved for Israel"s sake, so here, she who speaks could even wish that she did not hold so dear a relationship to the beloved, but only that of a sister, so that those about her, etc. (cf. supra). The words in Romans and here are to be regarded as hyperbolical expressions, telling of strong desire for others" good, but not to be regarded au pied de la lettre. We note that
I MEN WILL ACCEPT THAT WHICH THEY REGARD AS NATURAL. The expression of affection between brother and sister all understand, allow, and approve. And some expressions of religious feeling they will also admit, provided they are marked by what, they deem sobriety and conformity to general usage. All beyond that they despise.
II BUT THE VEHEMENT AFFECTION OF THE SOUL FOR CHRIST THEY DESPISE. Several marks of such affection are suggested here.
1. Open avowal of love to him. "The religion of every sensible man," said one, "is that which every sensible man keeps to himself." Therefore such confession as is suggested by ver. 1, "When I should find... I would kiss thee," is of course extravagant and to be despised.
2. Proselytizing in the family. (Ver. 2) "I would bring thee into my mother"s house." Sincere religion is often deprecated as bringing strife into households, and it is difficult to see how our Lord"s word, "I came not to send peace on earth, but a sword," can be escaped under such circumstances. And even if there be not absolute proselytizing, the mere presence of an earnest disciple in a house troubles those therein who have no or but little love for Christ.
3. The habitual heed to his teaching. (Ver. 2) "That thou mightest instruct me" (Revised Version, margin). She would, like Mary, sit at her Lord"s feet and listen to him. And even good people like Martha think such conduct not "a good part," and that opportunity for it ought to "be taken away from her.
4. The giving to him of her best. This the meaning of "the wine prepared from the pomegranate" (ver. 2). Such a sincerely loving soul will not be content with mere ordinary and routine service, but the best of all she has to give she will offer to him.
5. But all this wins scorn and dislike. She who speaks here was evidently "despised" for her devotion to her beloved, and so it is still when the like is seen towards Christ.
III OUR AIM SHOULD, THEREFORE, BE TO SHOW MEN THAT WHAT THEY DESPISE IS ALTOGETHER REASONABLE AND RIGHT. That men might see this is what is so desired here. But men are as a child playing on a railway line in front of an advancing train. Some kind bystander rushes forward and clutches the child and puts it out of danger before the train is upon it. The child probably only stares displeasedly at him who has roughly interrupted its play; no spark of gratitude is there. So men now do not see what Christ has done for them and is willing to do, and so their hearts are cold to him. The truth, therefore, that "God so loved the world" must be held up, insisted on, and shown by lives consecrated to him under the sense of that love. S.C.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Vers. 1-3. The ardour of spiritual love.
There is no measure, no restraint, in this language. If it is possible for human love, when duly placed, to be too fervent and absorbing, this is when that is given to the creature which it behoves us to reserve for the Creator. Passion and poetry combine to express the deepest emotions, the most ardent wishes of the soul.
I THE OBJECT OF SPIRITUAL LOVE.
1. In loving Christ the soul centres its purest and strongest affections upon One who is in himself infinitely excellent. Earthly love is often the creature of the imagination, conceiving beauty and excellence which do not exist, or which exist in a measure extravagantly exaggerated. There is no possibility of thinking too highly of the Saviour, of admiring him too absorbingly, of loving him too warmly. He is all, and more than all, that our imagination can picture.
2. In loving Christ the soul does but render to him what his services and his sufferings deserve from our hearts. "We love him, because he first loved us." He has done for us what none other could or would have done. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Is it possible to overstate our obligations to offer him more than he has a right to expect and to claim from us?
II THE YEARNING OF SPIRITUAL LOVE. Love would receive from the beloved. Two points are suggested by the passionate and glowing language of the text.
1. A desire for intimacy, for closest fellowship, for endearing friendship.
2. A desire for instruction, for lessons such as Christ only can convey to the soul of the disciple. It is well that we should look to our Lord for all things, for the wisdom that guides, the love that cheers, the grace that supports and sustains. The proper attitude of the Christian towards his Lord and Saviour is an attitude of dependence, of supplication, of expectation.
III THE TRIBUTE OF SPIRITUAL LOVE. Love would give to the beloved. And the saved, rejoicing soul would fain offer of its best to Christ. The kisses, the spiced wine, and the pomegranate juice which the bride would offer to her spouse may suggest to us that Christ looks for the affection, the holy service, the consecrated devotion, of those for whom he died. What can we give him? If we cannot bathe his feet with tears or anoint his head with precious and fragrant unguents, we can at all events offer to him the sincere affection of the heart, a constant place in our thoughts, the tribute of our praise, and, to crown all, the service which, being rendered to his people, he will accept as given to himself. 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 Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Chap. Son_8:1-4
SHULAMITE’S WISH
Chap. Son_8:1-4
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O that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find thee without,
I would kiss thee,
Yea, I should not be despised.
I would lead thee,
And would bring thee unto my mother’s house,
Who would (or thou wouldst) instruct me.
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
That ye stir not up,
Nor awaken my love,
Until he please.
Shulamite still addresses her Beloved, perhaps now already on the way to the fields, towards her mother’s house. Expresses the wish that she could be as familiar with him even outside, as if he were her brother. She had desired his kisses; and now wishes she could becomingly repay them with her own. She could wish to have him with her in her mother’s house, and be her instructor there; where on her side she would present him with the best of the beverages she possessed, as the fruit of her own labour in the vineyard. In language already employed in relation to the enjoyment of his fellowship and love (chap. Son_2:6-7), she pictures to herself the joy she should thus experience, and the care she would take that nothing should disturb it. The whole the language of a loving wife, expressed according to Oriental manners, and in the style of Oriental poetry. Observe—
1. The renewed soul, brought to the realization of Christ’s preciousness and love, and to the experience of the blessedness of being united to Him as His Bride, cannot be satisfied without the closest intimacy and unrestrained enjoyment of His fellowship. An intense longing after more of His fellowship and love, a mark of the heaven-born soul, and of the Bride of Christ. Unable to enjoy in this world as much of that communion with Christ as he desires, he looks forward with wistfulness to a better. ‘I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better.’ In heaven, believers see Him as He is; are fed by Him as His sheep, and led by Him to ‘fountains of living waters.’ ‘Follow Him whithersoever He goeth.’ Their happiness there not merely to enjoy Christ fully, but to express, without restraint of fear or shame, the ardour of their love and affection. ‘I would kiss thee.’ Believers hindered in the present world, by causes both internal and external, from letting out their love on Christ as they would. The holy delight and satisfaction in doing so reserved for a better state. In reality, however, the language of the Bride realized in relation to Christ. The Bridegroom of the Church no longer as in the time of Old Testament saints, the mere infinite and absolute God—‘the King eternal, immortal, and invincible, dwelling in that light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen or can see.’ The longing of the Old Testament Church fulfilled in the New. The Divine Bridegroom now our very ‘Brother’—seen with our eyes, looked upon and handled with our hands (1Jn_1:1). John leaned on His bosom. Mary held Him by His feet. The woman that had been a sinner kissed His feet while she washed them with her tears. Probably the disciples were in the habit of kissing His cheek according to the custom of the time; though the only such kiss recorded, alas! is that of the man that betrayed Him. His message after His resurrection—‘Go and tell My brethren.’ ‘Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise took part of the same’ (Heb_2:11-14).
2. Christ still to be found ‘without.’ Believers have still to go forth unto Him ‘without the camp.’ Christ still to the world at large ‘a root out of a dry ground.’ The world no nearer knowing Him now than when He sojourned on earth. The ‘reproach of Christ’ to be experienced till He shall come again. Danger of being ‘ashamed’ of Him ‘in this sinful and adulterous generation.’ Christ also found ‘without’ in His cause, and in the persons of those who are to be gathered to Him out of the world, both at home and abroad. ‘Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye did it unto me.’ Christ, in the person of His redeemed, found by the Bride after Pentecost in Judea, Samaria, and the lands of the heathen, and brought by her unto her mother’s house, the Church.
3. The desire of believers to have Christ brought into their mother’s house.
(1) Into the Church at large, and especially that portion of it with which they are more immediately connected. ‘Christ to be taken by the believer from the closet into the sanctuary.’ Well when believers not only find Christ in the Church, but take him there. Jerusalem which is above, the mother of us all: yet to every believer, in a narrower sense, some section of the visible Church, and some particular congregation or mission, his ‘mother’s house,’ in which he found Christ and was born again. ‘Of Zion it shall be said, This man and that man was born there.’
(2) The circle of their own kindred and relations. So Andrew found his brother Simon, and brought him to Jesus. Christ’s direction to the restored Demoniac: ‘Go home to thy friends, and show them what great things God hath done for thee.’ Salvation and blessing promised not only to believers themselves, but, conditionally, to their family (Psa_115:14; Act_2:39). Hence households baptized with their believing head. Individual conversion to be followed by the conversion of the household. ‘The religion of the closet and of the sanctuary tried and confirmed by that of the family.’ Parents saved for the sake of their children as well as for themselves. On the other hand, the salvation of the children often followed by that of the parents. Noah was not only to enter the ark, but his family with him. Rahab was not only to be saved in the destruction of Jericho, but her father and mother, brother and sisters, along with her. The happiest family that in which Christ is made an inmate. ‘No resting place to the Son of man sweeter than the bosom of a pious family.’ Such the family at Bethany (Luk_10:38-42; Joh_11:1-2).
4. The privilege of believers to be under the continued teaching of Christ and His Church. ‘Who would (or thou wouldst) instruct me.’ All needful instruction in the possession of Christ. Christ the prophet, as well as the Priest and King of His Church. The Great Teacher. Hid in Him are ‘all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’ Natural that He should be the teacher of His Bride. Divine teaching promised to all the children of the true Jerusalem. ‘All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.’ Christ, ‘the wisdom of God,’ made ‘wisdom’ to those who are in Him. Believers to grow in the knowledge of their Lord and Saviour. Much always to be learned. Here we know but in part. Our privilege to have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, that we may know all things. Eye-salve given by Christ, that we may anoint our eyes and see. Spiritual instruction to be found in the Church, our ‘mother’s house.’ The Church furnished by her Head with the means for such instruction. Gifts of the Spirit bestowed for that purpose (Eph_4:7; Rom_12:7). True pastors and teachers Christ’s gift. Believers to teach and admonish one another. Our privilege always, with Mary, to sit at Jesus, feet and hear his words. The Scriptures given for our learning, that the man of God may be perfect. The great commission, not only to preach the Gospel, but to ‘teach’ the Church’s members (Mat_28:20). The Bridegroom’s voice to His Bride: ‘Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart’ (Mat_12:29). The most advanced believers the most earnest and humble learners. Believers never to be above ordinances, yet always to look above them to Christ. To be taught not by special revelation, but in connection with instituted means in their ‘mother’s house.’ Must find the truth in ordinances, or cease to attend them (Pro_19:27). Will not hear the voice of strangers, but ‘flee from them.’ Believers after Pentecost ‘continued steadfastly in the doctrine of the Apostles,’ who ‘daily in the temple and in every house, ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ’ (Act_2:42; Act_10:42).
5. The believer’s duty and delight, to make a return for Christ’s love with whatever he has or is. ‘I would cause thee to drink,’ &c. The inquiry natural: ‘What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits?’ Believers constrained by the mercies of God in Christ to present their bodies to Him as a living sacrifice (Rom_12:1). The love of Christ constraineth us, to live not to ourselves but ‘to Him who died for us’ (2Co_5:10). Our love desired in return for His. ‘My son, give me thine heart.’ Our love, manifested by obedience and self-denying service, His greatest refreshment and delight. ‘I have meat to eat which ye know not of.’ Christ refreshed and fed in His members. ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,’ &c. ‘He that is taught in the word, to communicate unto Him that teacheth in all good things.’ What is given to His servants who teach in His name, regarded as given to Himself. ‘He that receiveth you, receiveth Me’ (Mat_10:40-42). Believers after Pentecost ‘sold their possessions, and brought the price and laid it down at the Apostle’s feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need’ (Act_2:45; Act_4:34-37).
6. Believers walking faithfully with Christ, warranted to expect the repetition of former enjoyment in His fellowship and love. ‘His left hand should be under my head,’ &c. This happiness already, on a former occasion, enjoyed and recorded (chap. Son_2:6). The delight once experienced in special communion with Christ, and the enjoyment of His manifested love, to be desired and expected by the believer in the course of his pilgrimage. That experience usually found in proportion to the desire after it, and in connection with faithfulness in following Christ, confessing Him before men, and seeking after the lost. Special communication of His love often Christ’s loving reward for faithful, self-denying service. Yet an open door, and a hearty welcome will bring Him in to sup with us (Rev_3:20).
7. Care always needed by the believer to guard against disturbing influences while in the enjoyment of Christ’s presence and love. ‘I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,’ &c. The charge already given on two former occasions (chap. Son_2:7; Son_3:5). Always needful so long as the believer is in this world. Seasons of spiritual rest and enjoyment to be cherished and improved to the utmost (Act_9:31). Care to be taken not to grieve or quench the Spirit (Eph_4:20; 1Th_5:19). Disturbing influences both within and without. Believers to keep the heart tender and watchful in entertaining a found Christ. No absolute freedom from interruption in the enjoyment of Christ till we see Him as He is.
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.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain Son 8:13-14
Son 8:13-14
I. Notice the title by which the Church is addressed. "Thou that dwellest in the gardens." (1) A garden is an enclosed space taken from the surrounding uncultivated waste—connected with it, but yet not of it; separated and distinct from all around. Is not this true of the Church of the Redeemer? (2) A garden is designed for a special and peculiar purpose. So it is with the Church of the Redeemer. God has a special design to carry out in those whom He calls to be members of the mystical body of Christ: they have been redeemed from iniquity that they should be a peculiar people to show forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into His marvellous light. (3) We generally find that a garden is protected or defended by a wall or fence against the intrusion of those who would enter to steal or injure. So it is with the Church: it is guarded by all the Divine attributes; it is defended by the Almighty power of God. (4) The productions of a garden are not such as naturally grow or spring up of themselves. Does not this apply to the soil of the human heart? (5) We have in a garden great variety. So with the Church of the Redeemer. The gifts of God are different, and the callings of God are different.
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II. Look next at our Lord’s address to the Church (Son 8:13). "The companions hearken to Thy voice." This presupposes that amongst all true disciples of Christ there is mutual intercourse or fellowship, that they converse one with another on the things which belong to their everlasting peace. The warning is that we must never allow fellowship one with another to supersede fellowship with Christ Himself.
III. Notice the response which the Church makes to this address. "Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices." These words are to be regarded as a prayer for the return of the Saviour, and there are three senses in which we may understand this as a prayer for the coming of Christ: (1) It may be a prayer of the believer for the coming of Christ in the fuller revelation of Himself to His own soul; (2) we may understand this as a prayer for Christ’s return to His Church; (3) we may understand it as a prayer for the coming of Christ in His glory.
E. Bickersteth, Penny Pulpit, No. 438.
References: Son 8:13, Son 8:14.—J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 374; R. M. McCheyne, Additional Remains, p. 210.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain The last chapter of the Song is a review…
CHAPTER 8
The last chapter of the Song is a review of the whole. There is unquestionably a recapitulation of the entire book. The bride’s desires are once more given to be loved and caressed by Him. For the last time we have the charge to the daughters of Jerusalem and once more the coming is announced. “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved?” She returns with Him. The Beloved is mentioned seven times in the book. There is the voice of the Beloved (Son 2:8); the call of the Beloved (Son 2:10); claiming the Beloved (Son 2:16); opening the Beloved (Son 5:5); praising the Beloved (Son 5:9-16); leaning on the Beloved (Son 8:5) and longing for the Beloved (Son 8:14).
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Here again the apple tree is found (Son 2:3). It is Christ. There the Lord awoke her and manifested Himself to her. From Christ alone she derives her life. Thus only can Israel give birth to this remnant, which, at Jerusalem, shall become the earthly bride of the great King, which desires to be, and shall be, as a seal upon His heart, according to the power of a love that is strong as death, that spares nothing and yields nothing. The little sister of verse 8 has been interpreted as meaning Ephraim, the ten tribes, who will then also come into remembrance and blessing. Solomon’s vineyards at Baal-hamon (master of multitudes) points clearly to the converted nations in the millennium and then His own vineyard. Israel is mentioned in Song of Solomon 8:12.
The Song of Songs ends with a prayer, “Haste my Beloved, and be Thou like a gazelle or a young hart upon the mountain of spices.” Thus the remnant of Israel will plead in the future, that He may come and be manifested in His glory; but the bride of Christ, the Church, prays “Even so, Come Lord Jesus.”
In conclusion, we mention the attempt made by some, to trace in this Song of Songs the entire history of the Church. We give the divisions made for those who desire to examine this interpretation. John the Baptist’s Ministry is claimed to be covered by chapters 2:8--3:5. The Ministry of the Lord Jesus on earth is traced in chapters 3:6--5:1. From the agony in Gethsemane to the conversion of Samaria is thought to be in chapters 5:2--8:5. Then chapter 8:5-14 is said to be a picture of the times when the Gentiles were first called to the revelation and the coming of the Lord.
We think the safest interpretation is that which holds closely to the Jewish meaning, as we have done in these brief annotations.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Joys of the Heavenly Marriage.
The Joys of the Heavenly Marriage.
The Longing Cry of the Church
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v. 1. O that Thou wert as my brother, literally, "as a brother to me," that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find Thee without, out in the open country, the far reaches of the world, I would kiss Thee; yea, I should not be despised, or, "yet none would despise me. "
v. 2. I would lead Thee and bring Thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me, rather, "Thou wouldest instruct me"; I would cause Thee, in return for such instruction, to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate, the full and true love of her heart.
v. 3. His left hand should be under my head, and His right hand should embrace me, 2:6.
v. 4. I charge you, so the Bridegroom calls out once more, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up nor awake My love, until he please, rather, "until it please," 2:7.
Although the work of the Church is done willingly and faithfully, yet it is done under difficulties. And therefore she cries out to Him who is her Brother, with whom, by virtue of His humanity, she is connected with the closest ties, that she hopes soon to find and meet Him outside this present world. In the Great Beyond she will no longer be subject to disgraceful behavior on the part of her enemies; she will be at home, in the city of her eternal rest. Together with Christ, whose work in and with the Church will be brought to an end with the conversion of the last elect, she will enjoy the bliss of eternity. There He will give His Church the full understanding of all things, 1 Corinthians 13, 12. There her heart will be given to Him in the perfection of bliss ineffable. So sure is the Church of this fulfillment of her hopes that she speaks of them as being present; she is even now possessing everything contained in the promises of her Bridegroom. And he, in turn, insists upon granting to His Church every possible moment and hour of rest and respite, that she may enjoy His love all the more in the halls of heaven.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
See: Poetry and Parallelism
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you were like my brother
A woman could show affection for her brother in public. This woman wanted to be able to show affection for the man in public. (See: Simile)
you outside
"you in public"
I could kiss you
A woman would probably kiss her brother on his cheek order to greet him.
would despise me
"would think that I am a bad person"
translationWords
kiss
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 8:1-4 The woman expresses her desire to be with…
8:1-4 The woman expresses her desire to be with the man and in his embrace.
8:1 If he were her brother she could kiss him publicly; romantic kisses were not appropriate in public, but kisses between blood relatives were acceptable.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.