Song of Solomon 3:4
in Song of Solomon 3I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let go until I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It was but a little that I passed from them, When I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, Until I had brought him into my mother’s house, And into the chamber of her that conceived me.
KJV
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 3
Commentary
27 notes on this verseBut otherwise the footstool of the feet of Jesus is the soul of the believer. Happy is he in whose breast the feet of Jesus are daily placed. Would that his feet were placed in my breast too, would that his footprints might ever cling in my heart, would that I too might say with the bride: "I will hold him, and I will not let him go." The bridegroom is quickly offended, he ever loves cleanness: wherever he sees filth, he quickly withdraws.
This site's exposition
I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city
on Song of Solomon 3:3-4
She asks the watchmen whether they have seen "the one I love," and just past them she finds him. She "would not let go until I had brought him to my mother’s house". Franz Delitzsch notes it as the customary place in that world where a betrothal was concluded.
This site's exposition
I held him and would not let go
The search ends at her mother's house. Adam Clarke compared Isaac, who brought Rebekah into his mother's tent when he took her as his wife (Genesis 24:67). Matthew Henry read the homecoming as her wish that all her family might know him too.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The chamber is indeed the heart that becomes an acceptable dwelling of God when it returns to that state which it had in the beginning made by "her who conceived me." We would be correct by understanding "mother" as the first cause of our being.
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 …
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" …
"In my mother's house and in the chamber where she conceived me." This is the voice of the church speaking. If the church is a mother to all, we must ask for the identity of the mother of the church, in whose house and in …
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.
19 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
What is signified by the house of your mother and her chamber except the interior, secret place of your nature? Keep this house, and cleanse its inmost parts so that, once it is an immaculate house unstained by any sordidness of an adulterous conscience, a spiritual house held together by the cornerstone may rise into a holy priesthood, and the Holy Spirit may dwell in it. One who thus seeks Christ, who entreats him, is not abandoned by him. Rather, that one is frequently visited, for he is with us until the end of the world.
The Medieval Church6 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
In order to reach such a summit, it is good for us to be carried above every sense, every rational operation related to the imagination, even to dismiss the angelical intelligences, so that it may be said: "The watchmen came upon me as they made …
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 79 · Written before 1153.
proposed
2. And so they send her forth, thus briefly instructed concerning that which she seeks, so that she says: "A little while after I had passed beyond them, I found him whom my soul loves." Well does she say "a little while," because they made …
A commentator
Gregory the Dialogist40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 25 · Written before 604.
proposed
When we pass a little beyond them, we find him whom we love, because our Redeemer, though by humility a man among men, was nevertheless by divinity above men. Therefore when the watchmen are passed by, the beloved is found, because when we perceive that the prophets and apostles are beneath him, we consider that he who is God by nature is above men.
After I had slightly passed by them, etc. The one who wishes to enjoy the teaching of truth should not approach it hastily and negligently: for the one who desires to meet the beloved must necessarily pass very diligently by those who proclaim his name, …
I held him and will not let him go, etc. All the more fervently, she says, I held the one found, because it took longer to find the one I was seeking. I proclaim that I will never let him go, but instead strive to …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
She passes the watchmen a little way and finds her beloved, because while she considers them to be mere men, she raises her mind to the divinity, and there recognizes her bridegroom as equal to the Father, above men. She says she then found him …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
How desirous she was to make others acquainted with him: " I brought him to my mother's house, that all my relations, all who are dear to me, might have the benefit of communion with him." When Zaccheus found Christ, or rather was found of him, salvation came to his house, Luke xix. Wherever we find Christ we must take him home with us to our houses, especially to our hearts.
Mother's house - As the spouse here, signifies particular believers, so her mother is the universal church, or the true Jerusalem, which hath its rise from above, which is the mother of us all, Gal. iv, 26, in which Christ and believers are united, and have sweet communion together in holy ordinances, into which believers are said to bring Christ, by faith and prayer.
It was but a little that I passed from them,....
The Nineteenth Century9 voices
Into my mother’s house - The women in the East have all separate apartments, into which no person ever attempts to enter except the husband. We find Isaac bringing Rebecca into his mother’s tent, when he made her his wife, Gen 24:67. What is here related appears to refer to the third night of the nuptials.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Jesus Christ is generally "found" near the watchmen and means of grace; but they are not Himself; the star that points to Beth-lehem is not the Sun that has risen there; she hastens past the guideposts to the goal [MOODY STUART]. Not even angels could satisfy Mary, instead of Jesus Christ (Joh 20:11-16). found him-- (Isa 45:19;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
'It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.''Song of Solomon 3:4-5. IS IT NECESSARY to say that the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer corporeally present in his church?
'It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.''Song of Solomon 3:4-5. IS IT NECESSARY to say that the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer corporeally present in his church? It ought not to be needful to assert so evident a truth; and yet it is important to do so, since there are some who teach that in what they are pleased to call 'the Holy Sacrament.' Christ is actually present in his flesh and blood. Such persons unwittingly deny the real humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, for if he has indeed assumed our humanity, and is in all points made like unto his brethren, his flesh and blood cannot be in two places at one time. Our bodily humanity could not be present in more places than one at one time, and if Christ's humanity be like ours it cannot be in an unlimited number of places at once; in fact, it can only be in one place. Where that place is we know from Scripture, for he sitteth at the right hand of God, expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Unless you are to suppose that the humanity of Christ is something altogether different from ours, it cannot be here and there and everywhere; but to suppose that it is a different humanity from ours is to deny that he is Incarnate in our nature. Our Lord Jesus told his disciples that he would go away, and he has gone away. He ascended into heaven, bearing humanity up to the throne of God.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2485: “Love's Vigilance Rewarded” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
WHEN I look upon this great assembly of people, I think to myself—there will be many here to whom these chapters that we have read out of Solomon's Song will seem very strange. Of course they will, for they are meant for the inner circle of Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ! This sacred Canticle is almost the central Book of the Bible. It seems to stand like the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden of Eden, in the very center of the Paradise of God.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2485: “Love's Vigilance Rewarded” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
WHEN I look upon this great assembly of people, I think to myself—there will be many here to whom these chapters that we have read out of Solomon's Song will seem very strange. Of course they will, for they are meant for the inner circle of Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ! This sacred Canticle is almost the central Book of the Bible. It seems to stand like the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden of Eden, in the very center of the Paradise of God. You must know Christ and love Christ, or else many of the expressions in this Book will seem to you but as an idle tale. The subject on which I am about to speak will be very much of the same character. Outsiders will not be able to follow me, but then we are coming to the Communion Table so I must, for a while, forget the unsaved among my hearers, and think only of those who do know the secret of the Lord which is with them that fear Him. To my mind, it is a very melancholy thought that there should be any who do not know the sweetest thing in all the world, the best and happiest thing beneath the stars—the joy of having Christ in their heart as the hope of Glory! While I may seem to forget you, dear Friends, for a while, I cannot really help remembering you all the time and it is the earnest desire of my heart that while I am speaking of some of those delights which are enjoyed only by the people of God, you may begin to long for them—and I remind you that when you truly long for them, you may rest assured that you may have them! Around the garden of the Lord there is no wall so high as to keep out one real seeking and trusting soul—and in the wall, itself, there is a gate that always stands ajar—no—that is always wide open to the earnest seeker. I am not going to try so much to preach a sermon as to talk out freely from my heart some of those delightful experiences which belong to the children of God.
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I held him - This begins the fourth stanza. The bride’s mother is mentioned again in Son 6:9; Son 8:2.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Scarcely had I departed from them. Shortly after their parting from me, 8 I.e., shortly after the deaths of Moshe and Aharon. at the end of the forty years.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The watchmen found me. Moshe and Aharon. 7 They guarded the Bnei Yisroel from sin during the Egyptian exile. Also in reference to Ezra and Nechemyah who watched over the Bnei Yisroel during the exile of Bavel. (Alshich)
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּמְעַט֙ | kimat | like a little | H4592 → | |
| שֶׁעָבַ֣רְתִּי | sheavarti | that I had passed away | H5674 → | 556 times |
| מֵהֶ֔ם | mehem | from them | ||
| עַ֣ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שֶֽׁמָּצָ֔אתִי | shematzati | that I found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖ה | sheahavah | whom it loves | H157 → | 211 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אֲחַזְתִּיו֙ | ʾachaztiv | I grasped him | H270 → | 67 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַרְפֶּ֔נּוּ | ʾarpenu | I let go him | H7503 → | |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שֶׁ֤הֲבֵיאתִיו֙ | shehaveitiv | that I had brought him | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אִמִּ֔י | ʾimi | mother my | H517 → | 220 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חֶ֖דֶר | cheder | [the] room of | H2315 → | |
| הוֹרָתִֽי׃ | horati | [the one who] conceived me | H2029 → |
כִּמְעַט֙like a little
kimatH4592 →
שֶׁעָבַ֣רְתִּיthat I had passed away
sheavartiH5674 →556 times
מֵהֶ֔םfrom them
mehem
עַ֣דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
שֶֽׁמָּצָ֔אתִיthat I found
shematzatiH4672 →455 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖הwhom it loves
sheahavahH157 →211 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יself my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
אֲחַזְתִּיו֙I grasped him
ʾachaztivH270 →67 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אַרְפֶּ֔נּוּI let go him
ʾarpenuH7503 →
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
שֶׁ֤הֲבֵיאתִיו֙that I had brought him
shehaveitivH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אִמִּ֔יmother my
ʾimiH517 →220 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
חֶ֖דֶר[the] room of
chederH2315 →
הוֹרָתִֽי׃[the one who] conceived me
horatiH2029 →
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
Matthew 7:7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
it leads to
- Matthew 21:22
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
- 1 John 3:22
and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.
- John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
- Psalms 145:18–19
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Matthew 21:22
Through
Proverbs 8:17I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me.
it leads to
- John 14:23
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
- John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- Psalms 91:14
“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.
- John 14:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 21 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virginity 13:78; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 79; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1035: “The Real Presence, the Great Want of the Church” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2485: “Love's Vigilance Rewarded” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Gregory of Elvira, EXPLANATION OF THE SONG OF SONGS 5:12; Gregory of Nyssa, HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6; Gregory the Dialogist, 40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 25; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 26 (PSALM 98); 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.