Song of Solomon 5:15
in Song of Solomon 5His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, as majestic as the cedars.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: His aspect is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
KJV
His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 5
Commentary
16 notes on this verseWho indeed but Christ could dare to claim the church as his bride, whom he alone, and none other, has called from Libanus, saying, "Come here from Lebanon, my bride; come here from Lebanon"? Or of whom else could the church have said, "His throat is sweetness, and he is altogether desirable"? And seeing that we entered upon this discussion from speaking of the shoes of his feet, to whom else but the Word of God incarnate can those words apply? "His legs are pillars of marble, set upon bases of gold."
This site's exposition
His legs are as pillars of marble
on Song of Solomon 5:15-16
His legs are as pillars of marble finishes the downward portrait with strength and stature, set upon sockets of fine gold, and his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars closes it with the same northern grandeur the poem has used throughout for what is high and lasting. The description ends in taste rather than sight, his mouth is most sweet, and then in the two lines the church has read longest and most often as its own confession: yea, he is altogether lovely, this is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Those two lines have stood at the center of the church's reading of the whole book across the centuries, Bernard's sermons and Gill's exposition chief among them, taken as words the church could say of Christ even while the verse itself is the bride's own praise of her bridegroom.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A pillar must rest on the foundation of truth. Truth is golden, and its bases are the bridegroom's legs adorning his hands and head. The foundation may be interpreted as marble. We understand by the Song's words that the body's legs are marble pillars, that is, those persons who support and bear the body of the church by exemplary lives and sound words. Through them the base of our faith is firm, the course of virtue is completed, and the entire body is raised on high by our longing for God's promise. Truth and stability guide the church's body. Gold represents truth, which, according to Paul, is called the foundation of the divine edifice. … Christ is the truth upon whom are founded the legs, or pillars of the church.
"His form is like choice incense, like cedars." Here again she makes reference to the fact of two natures, calling the divine nature "incense" since by the law incense was offered to God, and by "cedar" referring to the human nature in its not being …
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaFRAGMENTS IN THE COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 5:15 · Written before 444.
proposed
"His legs are pillars of marble." These are clearly foundations, for whoever builds does so upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. He aptly praises the legs after the belly, who says that marble is set upon bases of gold. Peter and John are pillars of the church, for example, who had Christ, called by a golden name, as their foundation. And they are marble, for Paul also calls them a pillar, surely on account of their stability and consistency, sustaining and supporting the common body of the church, moreover, with their enlightened lives and their saving doctrine. But the charity with which we love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves also supports the common body of the church, as though on pillars of marble. For whoever is perfected in these two commandments becomes a pillar and support of the church, such that the whole body of the church rests upon this double virtue, as though on legs. The golden foundation contains the unwavering and unchanged base of faith and in all things holds fast reasonably to the good.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 6 · Written before 1153.
proposed
But those spiritual feet of God, which the penitent must first kiss spiritually, I ought not to pass over. I know your curiosity, which allows nothing to pass by altogether uninvestigated of its own accord. Nor indeed should it be held in contempt to know …
His legs are marble columns, etc. By the term "legs of the Lord" are indicated the paths of His incarnation, by which He deigned to come to our salvation. These are well compared to marble columns, because they are both strong and straight. For what …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
His appearance is like Lebanon, etc. Why, he says, should I labor to describe each of his members individually? I will summarize it briefly. Just as Mount Lebanon, famous in Phoenicia, is notable for its height and grandeur, so our Lord rightfully surpasses all those …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 5 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
For by the legs we understand the apostles, through whom he went around the entire world, and as they preached the faith, he scattered it among the peoples who heard. To whom he himself says in the Gospel: "Go into all the world, and preach …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Marble - White, and strait, and well shaped and strong. Gold - His feet are compared to gold, for their singular brightness, for which they are compared to fine-brass, Rev. i, 15. Countenance - Hebrew. his aspect or appearance, his form or person.
This sets forth the stateliness and magnificence of the goings of our God, our King, in his sanctuary ( Ps. lxviii. 24 ), and the steadiness and evenness of all his dispensations towards his people. The ways of the Lord are equal; they are all mercy and truth; these are the pillars of marble, more lasting than the pillars of heaven.
His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold,....
These words are Christ's answer to the church's prayer in the close of the foregoing chapter, Let my beloved come into his garden; here he has come, and lets her know it. See how ready God is to hear prayer, how ready Christ is to accept the invitations that his people give him, though we are backward to hear his calls and accept his invitations.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
From the several parts, she proceeds to the general effect of the whole person of Jesus Christ. Lebanon--so called from its white limestone rocks. excellent--literally, "choice," that is, fair and tall as the cedars on Lebanon (Eze 31:3, &c.). Majesty is the prominent thought (Ps 21:5).
His legs are as pillars of marble - Exquisitely turned and well-shaped; the sockets of gold may refer to his slippers. On these a profusion of gold and ornaments are still lavished in Asiatic countries. His countenance is as Lebanon - As Lebanon exalts its head beyond all the other mountains near Jerusalem, so my beloved is tall and majestic, and surpasses in stature and majesty all other men. He is also as straight and as firm as the cedars.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
His countenance - Or, his appearance (his whole port and mien, but especially head and countenance) “is as the Lebanon.”
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שׁוֹקָיו֙ | shokav | legs his | H7785 → | |
| עַמּ֣וּדֵי | ʾamudei | [are] pillars of | H5982 → | |
| שֵׁ֔שׁ | shesh | marble | H8336 → | |
| מְיֻסָּדִ֖ים | meyusadim | founded | H3245 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַדְנֵי־ | ʾadnei- | bases of | H134 → | |
| פָ֑ז | faz | pure gold | H6337 → | |
| מַרְאֵ֙הוּ֙ | marehu | appearance his | H4758 → | 103 times |
| כַּלְּבָנ֔וֹן | kalevanon | [is] like <the> Lebanon | H3844 → | 71 times |
| בָּח֖וּר | bachur | chosen | H977 → | |
| כָּאֲרָזִֽים׃ | kaarazim | like <the> cedars | H730 → | 73 times |
שׁוֹקָיו֙legs his
shokavH7785 →
עַמּ֣וּדֵי[are] pillars of
ʾamudeiH5982 →
שֵׁ֔שׁmarble
sheshH8336 →
מְיֻסָּדִ֖יםfounded
meyusadimH3245 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אַדְנֵי־bases of
ʾadnei-H134 →
פָ֑זpure gold
fazH6337 →
מַרְאֵ֙הוּ֙appearance his
marehuH4758 →103 times
כַּלְּבָנ֔וֹן[is] like <the> Lebanon
kalevanonH3844 →71 times
בָּח֖וּרchosen
bachurH977 →
כָּאֲרָזִֽים׃like <the> cedars
kaarazimH730 →73 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
Zechariah 9:17How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.
it leads to
- Isaiah 33:17
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar.
- 1 John 4:8–11
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
- Isaiah 62:8–9
The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which…
- Exodus 15:11
Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
- Psalms 36:7
How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
- Isaiah 33:17
Through
Song of Solomon 7:4Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 4:4
Your neck is like the tower of David, built with rows of stones; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.
- Song of Solomon 4:4
Through
1 Kings 4:33He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
it leads to
- Psalms 51:7
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
- Psalms 92:12
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
- Psalms 51:7
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 14 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, Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.10.74; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 6; Cyril of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS IN THE COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 5:15; Gregory of Nyssa, HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 14; 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 5 and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 5.