Song of Solomon · chapter 6 of 8
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Song of Solomon 6 answers the question of the daughters of Jerusalem: the man has gone down to his garden, to graze among the lilies. The woman declares that she is her beloved's and he is hers. The man then praises her as beautiful and awe-inspiring, unique among countless queens and concubines, and the chapter ends with a difficult passage in which the Shulammite is called to return.
Song of Solomon 6 picks up the thread of the previous chapter: the daughters of Jerusalem ask where the beloved is and the woman answers calmly. The chapter presents another praise of her, with images of cities and armies, and ends with verses whose sense is hard to pin down and which translators understand in different ways.
The daughters of Jerusalem ask the woman where her beloved has gone, so that they may seek him with her (v. 1). She answers that her beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to graze in the gardens and to gather lilies (v. 2). She declares: I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies (v. 3).
The man praises her: you are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners (v. 4). He asks her to turn her eyes away from him, for they overwhelm him (v. 5). He repeats images from chapter 4 about her hair, her teeth and her cheeks (vv. 5-7). There are sixty queens and eighty concubines and virgins without number, but there is one who is his dove, his perfect one, the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her; the young women saw her and called her blessed, and the queens and concubines also praised her (vv. 8-9). He asks who this is who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners (v. 10).
The voice of the poem speaks of going down to the nut orchard to look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vines had budded and the pomegranates were in bloom (v. 11). Before he knew it, his desire set him among the chariots of his noble people: the text is difficult and is translated in different ways (v. 12). The chapter ends with a call: return, return, O Shulammite, return, that we may look upon you; and the question of what is seen in the Shulammite, as in the dance of two camps (v. 13).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to graze and to gather lilies. The woman answers calmly: she knows where her beloved is, and the garden is an image of love and shared intimacy.
I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies. The declaration of mutual belonging repeats that of chapter 2, with a change: now she begins by giving herself to him.
There are many queens, concubines and young women, but only one is his dove, his perfect one. The image presents love as exclusive: the man sees one woman as unique, and the others praise her.
Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners? The praise mixes beauty and strength and presents the woman as someone worthy of admiration.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: His garden, to the beds of spices. — Song of Solomon 6:2
Answer: That she is her beloved's and he is hers. — Song of Solomon 6:3
Answer: Tirzah and Jerusalem. — Song of Solomon 6:4
Answer: Sixty queens and eighty concubines, besides virgins without number. — Song of Solomon 6:8
Answer: Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners. — Song of Solomon 6:10
Answer: To return, that they may look upon her. — Song of Solomon 6:13
Song of Solomon 6 invites us to consider faithfulness as beauty. In a world with many options, the man affirms that only one is his dove. In a group of married couples you can talk about what it means to be exclusive in words and actions, and how screens and distractions can compete with the relationship.
It also shows a couple who meet without fear after distance. The woman's answer is serene: she knows her beloved is hers and she is his, which offers a model of security in a healthy relationship.
Song of Solomon 6 affirms mutual belonging and the exclusivity of love. Chapter 7 continues with a very detailed praise of the Shulammite and her invitation to go out to the countryside.
The text does not explain. The word may be a place name, from Shulem or Shunem, a village, or a feminine form of the name Solomon. Many understand it as another name for the woman. Some scholars point to the difficulty of the text, which is why the verse is translated in various ways.
No. The passage mentions a king's many queens and concubines to stress that the woman is unique and that the love of the poem is exclusive. It is not an endorsement of polygamy; the text underlines the choice of one as the perfect one.