Song of Solomon 8:5-7

5 "¹Who is this coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her beloved?" " Beneath the ² apple tree I awakened you; There your mother was in labor with you, There she was in labor and gave you birth.

6 "Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a ³seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, ⁴Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD.

7 "Many waters cannot * quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; ⁵If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised."

Song of Solomon 8:5-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO SONG OF SOLOMON 8

This chapter begins with an ardent wish of the church for a free and intimate converse with Christ; declaring what she would do to him, and for him, should she have such an interview with him, So 8:1,2; what familiarity should be between them, So 8:3; charging the daughters of Jerusalem not to give him any disturbance, So 8:4. Upon which they inquire who she was that was in such a posture they saw her in, So 8:5; when the church, instead of giving them an answer, says some things concerning her beloved, on whom they saw her leaning; and makes some requests to him for more nearness to him, and manifestations of his love to her; urged from the strength her love and affections to him, which was invincible, So 8:6,7. Next follows a speech of the church about her little sister; expressing a concern for her, and what she would do to her and with her, So 8:8,9; and the answer of the little sister, declaring what she, was, and what she enjoyed, So 8:10; then the words of the church again, concerning her husband's vineyard; the place, keepers, and profit of it, So 8:11,12. And the chapter, and with it the Song, is concluded with a request of Christ to the church, that he might hear her voice, So 8:13; and with a petition of hers to him, that he would come quickly to her, So 8:14.

Cross References

• 1. Song of Songs 3:6
• 2. Song of Songs 2:3
• 3. Isaiah 49:16; Jeremiah 22:24; Haggai 2:23
• 4. Proverbs 6:34
• 5. Proverbs 6:35

Footnotes

• [a] CHORUS
• [b] BRIDE
• [c] Or "apricot"
• [d] Or "signet"
• [e] Or Its "ardor is as inflexible"
• [f] Another reading is "A vehement flame"