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Song of Solomon 3:7

in Song of Solomon 3

Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage, escorted by sixty of the mightiest men of Israel.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Behold, it is the litter of Solomon; Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty men of Israel.

KJV

Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

This verse in Song of Solomon 3

Commentary

18 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

On Isaac and the Soul 5.45 · Written before 397.

Seeing therefore the daughters of Jerusalem cleaving to Christ and still ascending with Him (for He deigns frequently to meet with them who seek Him, and to descend to raise them), they say: Who is this that ascendeth from the desert? For this desert place of the earth appears rough and uncultivated, covered with the thistles and thorns of our sins.

This site's exposition

Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage

on Song of Solomon 3:7-8

"Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage" names the litter carried in the procession, "escorted by sixty of the mightiest men of Israel," a picked guard. "Each has his sword at his side prepared for the terror of the night" describes a real armed escort, since a wedding party needed protection.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Hippolytus of Rome

TREATISE ON THE SONG OF SONGS 27:1 · Written before 235.

proposed

"Behold the litter of Solomon surrounded by sixty mighty men from the powerful of Israel, each one equipped with a sword and trained for battle." O blessed sight! O litter of sabbath rest! For Solomon's litter reveals nothing other than Christ himself.

A commentator

Gregory of Nyssa

HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6 · Written before 395.

proposed

What then is their meaning? Perhaps the loveliness of the divine beauty has something fearful about it as characterized by elements contrary to corporeal beauty. What attracts our desire is pleasant to the sight, soft to the touch, and not associated with anything fearful or terrifying. But that incorruptible beauty is fearful, terrifying and not easily frightened. Since our desire for carnal things in the body's members is subject to passion and defilement, like a band of robbers it ambushes the mind, captivates it and carries away the will. Therefore it becomes God's enemy; as the apostle says, the wisdom of the flesh arises from what is inimical to God. It follows that the love of God arises from what is opposed to carnal desire. If carnal desire consists of weakness, laxity and laziness, the love of God is made up of a fearful, terrifying fortitude. An unrelenting anger scares and puts to flight the ambush resulting from pleasure, thus revealing the soul's beauty as pure and no longer sullied by a desire for carnal pleasure. The king's nuptial bed is therefore surrounded by armed men expert in battle. The sword at the thigh terrorizes and causes fear against dark, nocturnal thoughts and against those who lie in ambush to shoot arrows in the darkness at the upright of heart. The weapons of those standing guard around the bed destroy impure desires.

A commentator

Aponius

EXPOSITION OF SONG OF SONGS 5:48 · Written before 500.

proposed

Thus he was crowned by the blessed mother who begot him according to the flesh, Christ the King, the true Solomon. This was the day of his wedding and the day of gladness of heart, when the immaculate was joined to the stained. Our Lord …

A commentator

Theodoret of Cyrus

COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3 · Written before 458.

proposed

We must enquire why on earth they call the bridegroom Solomon. Solomon means "peaceable," as you can find in the Chronicles. God said to David, when he wanted to build the new temple, "Lo, a son is born to you; he will be a man …

A commentator

Theodoret of Cyrus

COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3 · Written before 458.

proposed

"Lo, it is Solomon's bed." Let us understand the bridegroom's bed to be the divine Scriptures. When the bride reclines on them, as it were, along with the bridegroom, and receives the seeds of teaching, she conceives, bears, is in labor and gives birth to …
11 more voices on this verse

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Concerning Virginity 3.5.21 · Written before 397.

proposed

For Solomon made himself a bed of wood from Lebanon. Its pillars were of silver, its bottom of gold, its back strewn with gems.

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on the Song of Songs · Written before 735.

proposed

Behold, the little bed of Solomon, etc. Thus, to the little bed and chariot of Solomon, that is, of the peaceful king, evidently our Lord and Savior, is his ascent: namely, to the little bed in which he rests eternally in peace; and to the …

A commentator

Robert of Tombelaine

Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3 · Written in the 11th century.

proposed

Solomon is interpreted as "the peaceful one." What then is understood by Solomon, if not Christ, of whom it is written: "He himself is our peace, who made both one" (Ephesians 2:14)? We therefore make a bed for Solomon when we cease entirely from the …

A commentator

Bonaventure

Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

Without doubt Solomon wished to rest in her as in a secure place; but this could not be unless she were strong, because it is said in the Canticle that "sixty valiant ones surround the bed of Solomon." Solomon is interpreted as "the desirable king": …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Bed - The bed seems to denote the church, which is comely through Christ's beauty, and safe by his protection, in which Christ is glorified, and believers enjoy sweet fellowship with him. Solomon's - Which is the bed, not of an ordinary man, but of a great king, whom Solomon typifies, and who is greater than Solomon.
Behold his bed which is Solomon's,.... Not Solomon the son of David, and penman of this song, but a greater than he, the antitype of him; so it is interpreted of the Messiah by many Jewish writers (q): they were both sons of David and sons of God, and kings and preachers in Jerusalem.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

His bed, which is above Solomon's, so some read it. Christ's bed, though he had not where to lay his head, is better than Solomon's best bed. The church is his bed, for he has said of it.

The Nineteenth Century4 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Threescore valiant men - These were the guards about the pavilion of the bridegroom, who were placed there because of fear in the night. The security and state of the prince required such a guard as this, and the passage is to be literally understood.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

In So 3:6 the wilderness character of the Church is portrayed; in So 3:7, 8, its militant aspect. In So 3:9, 10, Jesus Christ is seen dwelling in believers, who are His "chariot" and "body." In So 3:11, the consummation in glory. bed--palanquin.
GREAT PRINCES IN THE EAST are in the habit of travelling in splendid palanquins, which are at the same time chariots and beds. The person reclines within, screened by curtains from public view; a body-guard protects the equipage from robbers, and blazing torches light up the path along which the travelers proceed. King Solomon, in this Song, describes the Church of Christ, and Christ himself, as travailing through the world in such a palanquin. The day is coming when both our divine Lord and his chosen bride shall be revealed in glory before the eyes of all men. The present age is the period of concealment—the mystical Solomon and his beloved Solyma are both on earth, but they are unseen of men; like the ark of old they dwell within curtains; only the anointed priests of God can discern their beauties, and even these gaze rather by faith than by sight. "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," is certainly true, for Jesus is here; but equally correct is that word of Peter, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." He is here in the reality, power, and influence of his presence, but he is not here as to the visibility of his kingdom and person, for we wait with our loins girt about, and with patience of hope, until the revelation of Jesus Christ. The portion of the blessed canticle now before us is, we think, descriptive of the progress of the hidden Christ through the world. He has been borne along, in very truth, but he himself has been so little perceived of men, that they even ask the question, "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness?" He is not now manifested openly to men. If any should say, "Lo here!" or "Lo there! this is Christ!" believe them not, for Christ is not as yet seen.
GREAT PRINCES IN THE EAST are in the habit of travelling in splendid palanquins, which are at the same time chariots and beds. The person reclines within, screened by curtains from public view; a body-guard protects the equipage from robbers, and blazing torches light up the path along which the travelers proceed. King Solomon, in this Song, describes the Church of Christ, and Christ himself, as travailing through the world in such a palanquin. The day is coming when both our divine Lord and his chosen bride shall be revealed in glory before the eyes of all men.

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • הִנֵּ֗הthere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • מִטָּתוֹ֙bed his

    mitatoH4296 →

  • שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹ֔הwhich [belongs] to Solomon

    shelishlomohH8010 →291 times

  • שִׁשִּׁ֥יםsixty

    shishimH8346 →

  • גִּבֹּרִ֖יםwarriors

    giborimH1368 →158 times

  • סָבִ֣יב[are] around

    savivH5439 →

  • לָ֑הּ<to> <the> it

    lah

  • מִגִּבֹּרֵ֖יsome of [the] warriors of

    migiboreiH1368 →158 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel

    yisraelH3478 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Song of Solomon 1:16

    How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how delightful! The soft grass is our bed.

    it leads to

    • Song of Solomon 2:3

      Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

    • Psalms 45:2

      You are the most handsome of men; grace has anointed your lips, since God has blessed you forever.

    • Zechariah 9:17

      How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.

  • Through

    1 Kings 9:22

    But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry.

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 25:39

      If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.

    • 1 Kings 4:1–27

      So King Solomon ruled over Israel,

  • Through

    1 Samuel 28:2

    David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 27:10

      who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”

    • Romans 12:9

      Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

    • 2 Samuel 16:16–19

      And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About Song of Solomon

The Beloved or The Bride, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, between 1865 and 1866. Public domain.
The Beloved or The Bride, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, between 1865 and 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul 5.45; Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virginity 3.5.21; Aponius, EXPOSITION OF SONG OF SONGS 5:48; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 482: “The Royal Pair in Their Glorious Chariot” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory of Nyssa, HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 6; Hippolytus of Rome, TREATISE ON THE SONG OF SONGS 27:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.