Song of Solomon 8:3
in Song of Solomon 8His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
His left hand should be under my head, And his right hand should embrace me.
KJV
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 8
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHis left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. That is, when she should have the presence of Christ in her mother's house. Or the words are a petition that so it might be, "let his left hand", &c. (g); or a declaration of what she did enjoy, "his left hand is under my head", &c. (h); see Gill on Son 2:6. (g) Tigurine version, Marckius, some in Michaelis. (h) Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis.
This site's exposition
O that you were to me like a brother
on Song of Solomon 8:1-4
She wishes he were like a brother, whom she could kiss outdoors and bring openly to her mother's house, as at 3:4. The fourth and last charge to the daughters falls here (2:7, 3:5, 5:8, 8:4): "Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right".
This site's exposition
His left hand is under my head
This line repeats 2:6 word for word. John Gill weighed whether it is a wish, let his left hand be under my head, or a statement of what she already has. Matthew Henry noted the Hebrew is the same as at 2:6, so the line may record her prayer answered.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The church answers unto [God the Word], "Who will give you to me, my brother, you who did suck the breasts of my mother? If I find you outside I will kiss you, and indeed they will not despise me. I will take you, and bring you into the house of my mother; and into the secret chamber of her who conceived me. You shall teach me." You see how, delighted with the gifts of grace, she longs to attain to the innermost mysteries and to consecrate all her affections to Christ. She still seeks, she still stirs up his love, and asks of the daughters of Jerusalem to stir it up for her, and desires that by their beauty, which is that of faithful souls, her spouse may be incited to ever richer love for her.
The Medieval Church2 voices
His left hand is under my head, etc. By His left hand He designates the sacraments of His incarnation and the gifts of His presence; by His right hand, indeed, He symbolizes the rewards that the elect will receive in the future: among these is …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 8 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
The left hand of Christ is held to be the present life, while the right hand is the blessed life. Moreover, our head is spiritually understood to be the mind. Therefore the Synagogue, now converted by the preaching of the Church, strengthened by examples, and …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thus Christ laid his right hand upon John when he was ready to die away, Rev. i. It may be read as it is ch. ii. 6 , His left hand is under my head (for the words are the same in the original) and so it expresses an immediate answer to her prayer; she was answered with strength in her soul, Ps. cxxxviii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
His left hand - See on Son 2:6 (note). With the fourth verse the Sixth night of the marriage week is supposed to end.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The bride now turns to and addresses the chorus as before (marginal reference).
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׂמֹאלוֹ֙ | semolo | left [hand] his | H8040 → | |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | [is] under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| רֹאשִׁ֔י | roshi | head my | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וִֽימִינ֖וֹ | vimino | and right [hand] his | H3225 → | |
| תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי׃ | techabekeni | it embraces me | H2263 → |
שְׂמֹאלוֹ֙left [hand] his
semoloH8040 →
תַּ֣חַת[is] under
tachatH8478 →505 times
רֹאשִׁ֔יhead my
roshiH7218 →599 times
וִֽימִינ֖וֹand right [hand] his
viminoH3225 →
תְּחַבְּקֵֽנִי׃it embraces me
techabekeniH2263 →
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
2 Corinthians 12:9But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
it leads to
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- 2 Corinthians 12:10
That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- Isaiah 40:29–31
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
- Ephesians 3:16
I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Philippians 4:13
Through
Deuteronomy 33:27The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
it leads to
- Psalms 90:1–2
Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.
- Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Isaiah 25:4
For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like…
- Psalms 90:1–2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this chapter
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 9 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, On the Mysteries 7:40; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert of Tombelaine, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 8.