Song of Solomon 6:8-10

The Maiden’s Beauty Is without Peer

8 Sixty queens there [are], eighty concubines, and maidens beyond number.

9 My dove, {she is the one}; my perfect, {she is the only one}; she [is] {the favorite of} her mother who bore her. Maidens see her and consider her fortunate; queens and concubines praise her:

10 "Who [is] this that looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, {bright as the sun}, {overwhelming as an army with banners}?"

Song of Solomon 6:8-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO SONG OF SOLOMON 6

The discourse between the church and the daughters of Jerusalem is continued in this chapter: they inquire whither her beloved was gone, in order to seek him with her, So 6:1; she tells them where he was gone, and for what purpose he went thither, and what he was doing there; and claims and asserts her interest in him, So 6:2,3; Then follows a commendation of the church by Christ, who admires her beauty, and describes her by her eyes, hair So 6:4-7; and prefers her to all others; being a singular and choice one to him, and the praise of others, So 6:8-10; and next he gives an account of his going into his garden, and his design in it, and of what happened to him there, So 6:11,12. And the chapter is concluded with a charge to the Shulamite, to turn herself, that she might be looked upon; which occasions a question, to which an answer is returned, So 6:13.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "she [is] one"
• [b]. The term "one" functions here as an adjective of quality: "unique, singular, the only one"
• [c]. Literally "she [is] one"
• [d]. Or "the only daughter of her mother." Although the latter option is permissible, the term is used elsewhere of the heir as the favored child (e.g., Gen 22:2; Prov 4:3). This nuance is supported by the parallel term "favorite"
• [e]. Or "she [is] the pure one." Since there are two Hebrew terms spelled the same way, some relate this to the adjective that means "pure." Others relate it to the verb that means "to choose, select." The parallelism favors the latter
• [f]. Literally "the favorite for"
• [g]. Or "call her happy" or "call her blessed" or "bless her"
• [h]. Literally "pure as the glow"
• [i]. Or "bright as the heat of the sun." The Hebrew term "glow" poetically refers to the bright rays of the sun (Psa 19:7; Isa 24:23; 30:26)
• [j]. Literally "terrible as the bannered ones"