Song of Solomon 3:9
in Song of Solomon 3King Solomon has made his carriage out of the timber of Lebanon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon.
KJV
King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
⋯
This verse in Song of Solomon 3
Commentary
11 notes on this verseKing Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. The word translated chariot is only used in this place; some render it a bride chamber (u); others a nuptial bed (w), such as is carried from place to place; it is used in the Misnah (x) for the nuptial, bed, or open chariot, in which the bride was carried from her father's house to her husband's.
This site's exposition
a chariot of the wood of Lebanon
on Song of Solomon 3:9-10
King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon names cedar, the same wood used in the temple and in Solomon's own house, a material chosen for status rather than mere availability. The pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem catalogues real royal materials, purple dye among the costliest goods of the ancient world, and ends on the one immaterial item in the list, love, set into the litter alongside silver and gold. Delitzsch reads the description as the poem borrowing the vocabulary of Solomon's actual court to dress a wedding no less rich than a king's own.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
King Solomon made himself a palanquin, etc. It is called a palanquin because it carries the bodies of those seated or reclining at a banquet, or because it is usually carried from place to place according to the opportunity of the times. The holy Church …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
The timbers of Lebanon are declared to be imperishable. Therefore King Solomon made himself a litter from the timbers of Lebanon, because, according to the grace of His foreknowledge, Christ built the holy Church from saints who would endure forever.
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And he said: I have wanted to lead you to this "tree of life." "King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus. The pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the going up of purple: the midst he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
By this chariot he seems to understand the word of Christ dispensed by his ministers, whereby Christ rides triumphantly in the world, and believers are carried into heavenly glory. Of Lebanon - Of cedars, which wood being incorruptible, doth fitly signify the word of the gospel, which endureth forever, 1 Pet. i, 25.
This is that work of Christ himself wherein the glory of his grace and love to sinners most eminently appears, and which makes him amiable and admirable in the eyes of believers. In this covenant love is conveyed to them, and they are carried in it to the perfection of love, and, as it were, ride in triumph.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Of the wood of Lebanon - Of the cedar that grew on that mount. It is very likely that a nuptial bed, not a chariot, is intended by the original word אפיון appiryon. Montanus properly translates it sponsarum thalamum, a nuptial bed. It may, however, mean a palanquin.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
chariot--more elaborately made than the "bed" or travelling litter (So 3:7), from a Hebrew root, "to elaborate" [EWALD]. So the temple of "cedar of Lebanon," as compared with the temporary tabernacle of shittim wood (2Sa 7:2, 6, 7; 6:15-18), Jesus Christ's body is the antitype, "made" by the Father for Him (1Co 1:30;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Its covering. His resting place and His dwelling were on the Ark cover, which is gold. 11 See Shemos:17,.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
After he had completed it, he placed in it the Ark of the Testimony, which is the pillar of the world.
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
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַפִּרְי֗וֹן | ʾapiryon | a litter | H668 → | |
| עָ֤שָׂה | ʾasah | he has made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | for himself | ||
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| מֵעֲצֵ֖י | meatzei | from [the] wood<s> of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃ | halevanon | <the> Lebanon | H3844 → | 71 times |
אַפִּרְי֗וֹןa litter
ʾapiryonH668 →
עָ֤שָׂהhe has made
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
לוֹ֙for himself
lo
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
מֵעֲצֵ֖יfrom [the] wood<s> of
meatzeiH6086 →328 times
הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃<the> Lebanon
halevanonH3844 →71 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
Revelation 14:6Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.
it leads to
- Mark 16:15
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Revelation 8:13
And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead, calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded…
- Ephesians 3:9–11
and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
- Psalms 139:24
See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.
- Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like…
- Mark 16:15
Through
2 Samuel 23:5Is not my house right with God? For He has established with me an everlasting covenant, ordered and secured in every part. Will He not bring about my full salvation and my every desire?
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:3
Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
- 2 Samuel 7:14–16
I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
- Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Isaiah 55:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Song of Solomon
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 482: “The Royal Pair in Their Glorious Chariot” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert of Tombelaine, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3.