Song of Solomon 3:1
in Song of Solomon 3On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
KJV
By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 3
Commentary
24 notes on this verse"In my bed, I sought the one whom my soul loves during the nights." Whoever seeks well, let them seek in their bed, let them seek during the nights, neither on holidays nor on nights of rest. Let no time be vacant from the duty of piety; and if it does not find it at first, let it continue in seeking. ... And since we see heavenly mysteries prefigured in the Gospel on earth, let us come to that Mary, let us come also to Magdalene.
This site's exposition
On my bed at night I sought the one I love
on Song of Solomon 3:1-2
"On my bed at night I sought the one I love" opens a night search, and the phrase the one I love recurs four times. "I sought him, but did not find him" sends her into the city, "through the streets and squares," a reckless course for a woman alone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
She says she found him and did not let him go before bringing him into her mother's house and the inner chamber of the one who conceived her. By "city" she refers to the house of God, which we call church, by "marketplaces" and "streets" …
To what does this bed refer, upon which the church seeks the one whom its soul loves, if not to the bed of its heart in which wisdom rests, where it seeks our Lord and Savior through continuous meditation? If the bed is the secrecy …
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaFRAGMENTS IN THE COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3:1 · Written before 444.
proposed
"In my chamber by night I sought him." This refers to the women who came at the beginning of the morning on the sabbath to the tomb of Jesus and did not find him. He is in the chamber, therefore, or away from the chamber. Or perhaps they call their chamber the Lord's tomb because we are buried together with him. But when they did not find him, they heard at once: "He is not here, for he has been raised." And they discovered guardian angels, whom they asked, "Where have you laid the Lord?" Then, when they had left the angels whom they were questioning, the Lord met them and said, "Rejoice." For this reason, it says, "When I had passed by them for a little while, I found him whom I will not let go." She grasped his feet and heard, "Don't hold me." Finally, he called the gathering of the apostles the house of the mother, to whom he announced the resurrection of Christ.
Since the bridegroom is incomprehensible in his being even to the holy angels, and hence they did not give me an answer to my question, teaching me by their silence that he is incomprehensible even to them, the uncreated to created beings, I left them …
Let us follow him by day, the present day of the church, which Abraham saw and was glad. This is why we follow Christ during the day; for he will not be found by night. "Upon my bed," Scripture says, "by night I sought him whom my soul loves. I called him, but he gave no answer."
17 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church10 voices
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 80 · Written before 1153.
proposed
A Subtle Disputation Concerning the Image, or the Word of God, and the Soul Which Is to the Image: and Concerning the Error of Gilbert, Bishop of Poitiers. 1. Certain of you, as I have learned, bear it with less than a fair spirit that …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 81 · Written before 1153.
proposed
On the Fitness and Likeness of the Soul to the Word According to Identity of Essence, Immortality of Life, and Freedom of Choice. 1. The affinity of the soul to the Word was inquired into before, and that indeed necessarily. For what agreement is there …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 82 · Written before 1153.
proposed
How the Soul, Remaining Like God, Was Nevertheless Made Unlike through Sin in Simplicity, Immortality, and Freedom. 1. What does it seem to you? Can we now return to the order of exposition from which we digressed, since the affinity of the Word and the …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 83 · Written before 1153.
proposed
How the Soul, However Much Corrupted by Vices, Can Still Return Through Chaste and Holy Love to the Likeness of the Bridegroom, That Is, of Christ. 1. As much as the regular hour permitted, which we have appointed for ourselves for speaking, this period of …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 84 · Written before 1153.
proposed
That the Soul Seeking God Has Been Anticipated by Him: and What That Seeking Is, in Which It Has Already Been Anticipated by Him. 1. "In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves" (Song 3:1). It is a great good to …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 75 · Written before 1153.
proposed
God Is to Be Sought at the Due Time, in the Due Manner, and in the Due Place. And That Now Is the Acceptable Time, in Which Each One Can Find God for Himself through Good Works, and Work Out His Own Salvation. 1. "In …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 85 · Written before 1153.
proposed
On the Seven Necessities on Account of Which the Soul Seeks the Word: Which Soul, at Last Reformed, Approaches to Contemplate and Enjoy His Sweetness. 1. "In my bed I sought him whom my soul loves" (Song 3:1). To what end? It has been said, …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 86 · Written before 1153.
proposed
On the Caution and Modesty of the Bride Seeking the Word; and on the Commendation of Modesty. 1. There is no reason why it should now be asked of me why the soul seeks the Word: this has been sufficiently and more than sufficiently made …
A commentator
Gregory the Dialogist40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 25 · Written before 604.
proposed
For we seek the beloved in bed when in some little rest of the present life we sigh with longing for our Redeemer. We seek by night, because even if the mind is now awake in him, nevertheless the eye still grows dim.
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
The holy soul makes a bed for itself through the nights, when, fleeing all the disturbances of the world, it prepares a secret place in which it rests. In this bed it seeks the one it loves, because while it is free from all the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
She failed in her endeavour. Sometimes he is found of those that seek him not ( Isa. lxv. 1 ), but here he is not found of one that sought him, either for punishment of her corruptions, her slothfulness and security (we miss of comfort because we do not seek it aright), or for the exercises of grace, her faith and patience, to try whether she will continue seeking.
By night - When others compose themselves to sleep, my affections were working towards him. I sought - I sought for Christ's gracious and powerful presence. I sought - This repetition denotes her perseverance and unweariedness in seeking him.
By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
By night on my bed I sought him - It appears that the bridegroom only saw the bride by night: that on the night referred to here he did not come as usual. The bride troubled on the account, rose and sought him, inquired of the city guards, and continued to seek till at last she found him, and brought him to her apartment, Son 3:2-4.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The spiritual desertion here (So 2:17; 3:5) is not due to indifference, as in So 5:2-8. "As nights and dews are better for flowers than a continual sun, so Christ's absence (at times) giveth sap to humility, and putteth an edge on hunger, and furnisheth a fair field to faith to put forth itself" [RUTHERFORD].
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3485: “The Dejected Lover” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
How exquisitely pleasant is communion with our Lord Jesus Christ! And how supremely favored are those who enjoy it! Holy Scripture exhausts every earthly figure to delineate its sacred charms, its ineffable delights! Yes, Inspiration, itself, exhausts its metaphors without compassing its mystery, because it is impossible for human language to express the sweetness of His Grace, or the solace of our acquaintance with Him. In just so much as it is sweet to know that fellowship, so is it sad not to know or to experience it. But alas, how frequently is this communion unfelt and unproved! I. THE BRIDEGROOM WAS MISSED. In addressing this large assembly, I can but think a considerable number of the Lord's people are in the condition of the spouse. You do not at present enjoy access to Christ, or sweet communion with Him. It may do you good to consider the things that remain to you, though this fellowship is suspended, for let it be remembered that it is not upon communion with Christ our life depends. Our salvation stands in the knowledge of Him, not in communion with Him. We are made safe by what He has done, not by what we feel. Not our enjoyments, but His sufferings we must lay as the solid foundation of our hope! There remains to us, dear Friends (for I confess to be sometimes in the same state)—though there are no privileged token of our love to Christ, nor any palpable enjoyment of His love to us—there remains at this hour the positive conviction and the open confession that we do love Him. Four times, I think, does this benighted spouse cry, "Him whom my soul loves." She cannot see Him, but she cherishes a tender affection for Him. She does not enjoy His Presence just now, but her heart cleaves to Him and appreciates His excellence.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3485: “The Dejected Lover” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
How exquisitely pleasant is communion with our Lord Jesus Christ! And how supremely favored are those who enjoy it! Holy Scripture exhausts every earthly figure to delineate its sacred charms, its ineffable delights! Yes, Inspiration, itself, exhausts its metaphors without compassing its mystery, because it is impossible for human language to express the sweetness of His Grace, or the solace of our acquaintance with Him. In just so much as it is sweet to know that fellowship, so is it sad not to know or to experience it. But alas, how frequently is this communion unfelt and unproved! I.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On my bed at night. In my distress, when I lived in the darkness. The Bnei Yisroel were left in darkness after the Clouds of Glory had withdrawn from them and the holy crown that had been given to them at Mt. Sinai was taken away.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִשְׁכָּבִי֙ | mishkavi | bed my | H4904 → | |
| בַּלֵּיל֔וֹת | baleilot | in the nights | H3915 → | 233 times |
| בִּקַּ֕שְׁתִּי | bikashti | I sought | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖ה | sheahavah | whom it loves | H157 → | 211 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֖יו | bikashtiv | I sought him | H1245 → | 225 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְצָאתִֽיו׃ | metzativ | I found him | H4672 → | 455 times |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִשְׁכָּבִי֙bed my
mishkaviH4904 →
בַּלֵּיל֔וֹתin the nights
baleilotH3915 →233 times
בִּקַּ֕שְׁתִּיI sought
bikashtiH1245 →225 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖הwhom it loves
sheahavahH157 →211 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יself my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֖יוI sought him
bikashtivH1245 →225 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
מְצָאתִֽיו׃I found him
metzativH4672 →455 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
Isaiah 55:6Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–14
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Psalms 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Isaiah 45:19
I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth;…
- Psalms 32:6
Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.
- Psalms 14:2
The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Jeremiah 29:12–14
Through
1 Peter 1:8Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
it leads to
- John 20:29
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
- Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- John 20:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 22 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul, 5.38, 42; Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virginity 8:45; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 80; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 81; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 82; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 83; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 84; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 75; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 85; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 86; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3485: “The Dejected Lover” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cyril of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS IN THE COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3:1; Gregory of Elvira, EXPLANATION OF THE SONG OF SONGS 5:2; Gregory the Dialogist, 40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 25; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Robert of Tombelaine, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3 and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3.