Song of Solomon 1:3
in Song of Solomon 1The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thine oils have a goodly fragrance; Thy name is as oil poured forth; Therefore do the virgins love thee.
KJV
Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 1
Commentary
28 notes on this verseAfter this, you went up to the priest. Consider what followed. Was it not that of which David speaks: "Like the ointment upon the head, which went down to the beard, even Aaron's beard"? This is the ointment of which Solomon, too, says, "Your name is ointment poured out, therefore have the maidens loved you and drawn you."
This site's exposition
song of songs, which is Solomon’s
on Song of Solomon 1:1-4
The title names itself the song of songs, the Hebrew superlative form meaning the best of all the songs Solomon wrote, a man the record credits with a thousand and five (1 Kings 4:32). The bride's voice opens the poem at once, wishing his kisses on her own mouth and naming his love better than wine, desire stated without preface or apology. Draw me, we will run after thee pictures a company running together rather than one alone, and the king hath brought me into his chambers reads either as the plain wedding chamber or, in the church's later line of reading, as the soul's nearness to Christ.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Let it not escape our notice that in some manuscripts we find written "because your discourses are better than wine" instead of what we read: "because your breasts are better than wine." Although it evidently seems to have meant those things which we have discussed in our spiritual interpretation, nonetheless we preserve in all matters the things written by the seventy translators, because we are certain that the Holy Spirit wanted the outlines of the mysteries to be concealed in the divine Scriptures and not to be revealed and out in the open.
And as we are examining his name, the seal of all we have said may be found in the oracle of Solomon the wisest of the wise, where he says in the Song of Songs: "Your name is as ointment poured forth." Solomon, being supplied with divine wisdom, and thought worthy of more mystical revelations about Christ and his church, and speaking of him as heavenly bridegroom and her as bride, speaks as if to [Christ] and says, "Your name, O Bridegroom, is ointment," and not simply ointment, but "ointment poured forth." And what name could be more suggestive of ointment poured forth than the name of Christ? For there could be no Christ, and no name of Christ, unless ointment had been poured forth. And in what has gone before I have shown of what nature the ointment was with which Christ was anointed.
Like ointment upon the head, which runs down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron. Oh, if there were time for us to discuss each detail, a day could not suffice us. We read in Exodus how the priestly ointment is prepared; then we read how there was another ointment, with which the kings were anointed. There was also another ointment with which the prophets were anointed. And why do I say more? All the ointments had their own distinctions and mysteries. Do we marvel about holy persons? A leper, after he has been cleansed, after he has been sprinkled with hyssop and with the blood of a bird, and one bird is released into the wilderness, he too has his own proper ointment. Nothing is sanctified except through ointment. Therefore the young maidens also say in the Song of Songs: "Thy name is ointment poured out. After thee we will run in the fragrance of thy ointments."
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 20 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 20 THREE QUALITIES OF LOVE I would like to begin with a word from St Paul: "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema." Truly, I ought to love the one through whom I have my being, my life, my …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 11 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 11 THANKSGIVING FOR CHRIST'S SAVING WORK I said at the end of my last sermon, and I have no hesitation in repeating it, that I long to see you all sharing in that holy anointing, that religious attitude in which the benefits of God …
21 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church16 voices
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 22 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 22 ON THE FOUR OINTMENTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES If the ointments of the bride are as precious and exquisite as you have heard them portrayed, how matchless must those of the Bridegroom be! And though any exposition of mine …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 12 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 12 ON THE PRECIOUS OINTMENT OF PIETY; AND ON THE REVERENCE TO BE SHOWN BY SUBJECTS TOWARD THEIR PRELATES 1. I recall having set forth two ointments for you. One of contrition, embracing many sins; the other of devotion, containing many benefits: both salutary, …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 13 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 13 OUR THANKSGIVING AND GOD'S GLORY Just as the sea is the ultimate source of wells and rivers, so Christ the Lord is the ultimate source of all virtue and knowledge. For who has power to endow us with virtues if not he who …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 14 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 14 ON THE CHURCH OF THE FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS, AND ON THE SYNAGOGUE OF THE FAITHLESS JEWS 1. God is known in Judah, in Israel his name is great (Ps 75:2). The people of the nations who walked in darkness saw a great light (Isa …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 15 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 15 THE NAME OF JESUS Wisdom is a kindly spirit, and easy of access to those who call upon him. Quite often he anticipates their request and says: "Here I am." Listen now to what, because of your prayers, he has revealed to me …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 16 · Written before 1153.
proposed
13. And now, thus compunct and thus confessed, and therefore assured of your own life, you are also assured, I think, that it is by no means with an empty name that Jesus is called, he who was able and willing to work such things …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 17 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 17 ON THE WAYS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE ENVY OF THE DEVIL Do you think we have advanced far enough into a sphere that is holy to God, in unraveling this wonderful mystery, or should we dare follow the Holy Spirit into …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 18 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 18 THE TWO OPERATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT "Your name is oil poured out." Of what truth of our interior life does the Holy Spirit wish to assure us by means of this text? He refers to the experience of a twofold operation, one …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 19 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 19 ON THE NATURE, MANNER, AND PROPERTIES OF THE LOVE OF THE ANGELS TOWARD GOD, DISCUSSED ACCORDING TO EACH OF THE ANGELIC ORDERS Still the bride speaks words of love, still she goes on further pursuing the praises of the bridegroom; and she provokes …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 9 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 9 ON THE BREASTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM And not only are they better than wine, but also fragrant with the finest ointments; because not only do you nourish those present with the milk of inward sweetness, but you also sprinkle the absent with the …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
"Ointment poured forth" is divinity incarnate. For if ointment is in a vessel, it gives off less scent, but if it is poured out, the fragrance of the poured ointment spreads far and wide. The name of God, therefore, is ointment poured forth, because from the immensity of His divinity He poured Himself outward into our nature, and from being invisible, He made Himself visible: for if He had not poured Himself out, He would never have become known to us. The ointment poured itself out when He preserved Himself as God and yet presented Himself as man. Concerning this pouring out, Paul says: "Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:7). What Paul said, "He emptied Himself," Solomon said, "He poured out." Therefore, because the Lord became known to the human race through the humility of the Incarnation, let it be said to Him: "Your name is ointment poured forth." There follows: "Therefore the young maidens have loved you." What do we understand by "young maidens" in this passage, if not the souls of the elect renewed through baptism? For the life of sin belongs to the old man, and the life of righteousness to the new. Because, therefore, he poured out his ointment abroad, he made the young maidens burn with love for him; because he presented renewed souls as fragrant with desire for him. Childhood does not yet suit love; old age ceases from love. A child is one who has not yet begun the pursuit of an ardent life; an old man is one who had indeed begun, but has ceased. […]
Oil poured forth is your name. Nor is it to be wondered if his limbs exude with ointments, for he himself received his name from oil, so that by anointing he is called Christ, that is, the anointed one. That anointing indeed of which Peter …
The fragrance of the finest ointments. The finest ointments are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, by which the breasts of Christ have a fragrance, because the holy teachers, the ministers of the evangelical milk, progress in the love of virtues through the anointing of …
Therefore, the young maidens have loved you. He calls young maidens the souls which, reborn in Christ, have cast away the filth of the old man. These adhere so much more to the love of their Creator, as they recognize themselves to receive solely by …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
First there is the ointment of piety upon the head; afterwards it descends upon all others who draw near to the head. First there ought to be piety in prelates and superiors, and afterwards in the common people. Concerning this oil of piety it is …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 10 · Written before 1153.
proposed
SERMON 10 THE BREASTS AND THEIR PERFUMES 4. Now I shall try to explain the nature of the ointments of which the breasts are redolent, and so I ask the aid of your prayers that I may benefit my hearers by a worthy expression of …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Wisdom, like oil, makes the face to shine; but the Redeemer outshines, in beauty, all others. The name of Christ is not now like ointment sealed up, as it had been long ( Ask not after my name, for it is secret ), but like ointment poured forth, which denotes both the freeness and fulness of the communications of his grace by the gospel.
Because of the savour of thy good ointments,....
(3.) The immediate answer that was given to this prayer: The King has drawn me, has brought me into his chambers. It is not so much an answer fetched by faith from the world of Christ's grace as an answer fetched by experience from the workings of his grace.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thy name is as ointment poured forth - Ointments and perfumes were, and still are, in great request among the Asiatics. They occur constantly in their entertainments. Thy name is as refreshing to my heart, as the best perfumes diffused through a chamber are to the senses of the guests. Therefore do the virgins love thee - She means herself; but uses this periphrasis through modesty.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
61:1), as "the savor of ointments" are the graces that surround His person (Ps 45:7, 8). Ec 7:1, in its fullest sense, applies to Him. The holy anointing oil of the high priest, which it was death for anyone else to make (so Ac 4:12), implies the exclusive preciousness of Messiah's name (Ex 30:23-28, 31-38).
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The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְרֵ֙יחַ֙ | lereiach | to odor | H7381 → | 58 times |
| שְׁמָנֶ֣יךָ | shemaneikha | oils your | H8081 → | 193 times |
| טוֹבִ֔ים | tovim | [are] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| שֶׁ֖מֶן | shemen | [is] oil | H8081 → | 193 times |
| תּוּרַ֣ק | turak | [which] it is poured out | H7324 → | |
| שְׁמֶ֑ךָ | shemekha | name your | H8034 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| עֲלָמ֥וֹת | alamot | young women | H5959 → | |
| אֲהֵבֽוּךָ׃ | ʾahevukha | they love you | H157 → | 211 times |
לְרֵ֙יחַ֙to odor
lereiachH7381 →58 times
שְׁמָנֶ֣יךָoils your
shemaneikhaH8081 →193 times
טוֹבִ֔ים[are] good
tovimH2896 →538 times
שֶׁ֖מֶן[is] oil
shemenH8081 →193 times
תּוּרַ֣ק[which] it is poured out
turakH7324 →
שְׁמֶ֑ךָname your
shemekhaH8034 →
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֖ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
עֲלָמ֥וֹתyoung women
alamotH5959 →
אֲהֵבֽוּךָ׃they love you
ʾahevukhaH157 →211 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 12:3Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the…
it leads to
- Mark 14:3–9
While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the…
- John 11:2
(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
- Luke 10:38–39
As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
- Matthew 26:6–13
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,
- Luke 7:37–38
When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.
- Mark 14:3–9
Through
Ecclesiastes 7:1A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
it leads to
- Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
- Proverbs 22:1
A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold.
- Ecclesiastes 4:2
So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.
- Revelation 14:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 25 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Mysteries 6:29-30; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 20; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 11; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 22; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 12; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 13; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 14; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 15; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 16; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 17; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 18; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 19; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 9; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 10; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3; Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 4:16; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 45 (Psalm 132); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 1:3.