Song of Solomon 4:6
in Song of Solomon 4Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, And to the hill of frankincense.
KJV
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verseUntil the day break - Until the morning breeze. See Son 2:17. The shadows flee away - Till the sun sets. Mountain of myrrh - Probably the same as the mountains of Bether, Son 2:17. Mountains where the trees grew from which myrrh and incense were extracted.
This site's exposition
the mountain of myrrh
on Song of Solomon 4:6-8
"Before the day breaks and the shadows flee" repeats 2:17, now in his mouth. "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw" sums up the song. The call from Lebanon, "from the summits of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions," draws her down.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
I will go to the mountain of myrrh, etc. In myrrh is represented the mortification of the flesh, or the endurance of sufferings for the sake of piety; in incense, the high devotion of prayer is expressed. But the mountain of myrrh, and the hill …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 4 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
What do we understand by the mountain of myrrh, if not the strong height of mortification in work, and what by the hill of frankincense, if not the lofty humility in prayer? The bridegroom therefore goes to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The holy hill (as some observe) is here called both a mountain of myrrh, which is bitter, and a hill of frankincense, which is sweet, for there we have occasion both to mourn and rejoice; repentance is a bitter sweet. But in heaven it will be all frankincense, and no myrrh. Prayer is compared to incense, and Christ will meet his praying people and will bless them.
His treasure is in it; it is his peculiar treasure ( Exod. xix. 5 ); and therefore there his heart is also. "Never was love like unto the love of Christ, which made him even mindless of himself, when he emptied himself of his glory, and despised all shame and pain, for our sakes.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
This in prophetic writings is called a mountain, and may well be called a mountain of myrrh and frankincense, both for the acceptable services which are there offered to God, and for the precious gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, which are of a sweet smelling savour to God and men. Thus Christ directs believers, where they may find him, namely in his church and ordinances.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away,.... Until the day of grace breaks on every elect sinner, and the shadows of darkness, ignorance, and unbelief, are in a great measure fled and gone; or until the everlasting day breaks, and there will be no more night, nor any darkness of affliction, nor any more desertion, doubts, and fears; see Son 2:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
His promise is almost exactly in the words of her prayer (So 2:17), (the same Holy Ghost breathing in Jesus Christ and His praying people), with the difference that she then looked for His visible coming. He now tells her that when He shall have gone from sight, He still is to be met with spiritually in prayer (Ps 68:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַ֤ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שֶׁיָּפ֙וּחַ֙ | sheiyafuach | that <it> will breathe | H6315 → | 14 times |
| הַיּ֔וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְנָ֖סוּ | venasu | and they will flee | H5127 → | |
| הַצְּלָלִ֑ים | hatzelalim | the shadows | H6752 → | |
| אֵ֤לֶךְ | ʾelekh | I will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לִי֙ | li | <for> myself | ||
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַ֣ר | har | [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַמּ֔וֹר | hamor | <the> myrrh | H4753 → | 12 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גִּבְעַ֖ת | givat | [the] hill of | H1389 → | |
| הַלְּבוֹנָֽה׃ | halevonah | <the> frankincense | H3828 → | 21 times |
עַ֤דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
שֶׁיָּפ֙וּחַ֙that <it> will breathe
sheiyafuachH6315 →14 times
הַיּ֔וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
וְנָ֖סוּand they will flee
venasuH5127 →
הַצְּלָלִ֑יםthe shadows
hatzelalimH6752 →
אֵ֤לֶךְI will go
ʾelekhH1980 →1546 times
לִי֙<for> myself
li
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַ֣ר[the] mountain of
harH2022 →546 times
הַמּ֔וֹר<the> myrrh
hamorH4753 →12 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
גִּבְעַ֖ת[the] hill of
givatH1389 →
הַלְּבוֹנָֽה׃<the> frankincense
halevonahH3828 →21 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
Exodus 20:24You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Psalms 132:13–14
For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- 2 Chronicles 6:6
But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
- 1 Kings 9:3
And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart…
- Deuteronomy 12:11
then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all…
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Through
Isaiah 2:2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to…
it leads to
- Micah 4:1–3
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to…
- Isaiah 56:7
I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called…
- Micah 4:1–3
Through
Luke 1:78because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
it leads to
- Malachi 4:2
“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.
- Malachi 4:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; 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 and Robert of Tombelaine, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 4.