Song of Solomon 3:11
in Song of Solomon 3Come out, O daughters of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown his mother bestowed on the day of his wedding— the day of his heart’s rejoicing.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon, With the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him In the day of his espousals, And in the day of the gladness of his heart.
KJV
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 3
Commentary
19 notes on this verseA commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaFRAGMENTS IN THE COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3:11 · Written before 444.
The church forged from the Gentiles says this: "Go forth and see." But what it calls the day of his wedding is the day of his passion, when he married the church by his blood.
This site's exposition
Come out, O daughters of Zion
"Come out, O daughters of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon" closes with "the crown his mother bestowed on the day of his wedding." The day is named twice, as his wedding and as "the day of his heart’s rejoicing," the gladness the whole procession has built toward.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Therefore, when the bride reaches the rest of the bridegroom, they sing a wedding song, saying to the daughters of Jerusalem: Go forth and see King Solomon, in the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding. They sing the wedding hymn and invite the other powers of heaven, or souls, to see the love that Christ has for the daughters of Jerusalem.
No one can adequately grasp the terms pertaining to God. For example, "mother" is mentioned in the Song in place of "father." Both terms mean the same, because there is neither male nor female in God. For how can anything transitory like this be attributed to God? But when we are one in Christ, we are divested of the signs of this difference along with the old person. Therefore every name equally indicates God's ineffable nature; neither can "male" nor "female" defile God's pure nature. Because of this, the father mentioned in the gospel parable prepares a wedding. The prophet says of God, "You have placed on his head a crown of precious stones." Hence the Song says that a crown is placed upon the bridegroom by his mother. Since the nuptials and bride are one, one mother places the crown upon the bridegroom's head. Neither does it make much difference whether one calls the Son of God the only begotten God, or the Son of his love. According to Paul, each name has the capacity to be a bridal escort that leads the bridegroom to dwell in us.
It is written that there was put on him a crown of thorns. Of this hear in the Canticles the voice of God the Father marveling at the iniquity of Jerusalem in the insult done to his Son: "Go forth and see, you daughters of Jerusalem, the crown with which his mother has crowned him."
Every king is proclaimed by soldiers. It was fitting that Jesus also, in figure, be crowned by soldiers. For this reason Scripture says in the Canticles: "Daughters of Jerusalem, come forth and look upon King Solomon in the crown with which his mother has crowned him." But the crown was also a mystery, for it was a remission of sins and release from the sentence of condemnation.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Go forth, and see, daughters of Zion, King Solomon. The daughters of Zion are also the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, souls longing for the joys of the heavenly homeland. For Zion means watchtower, or the watchman, Jerusalem means vision of peace: both names fittingly …
12 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church4 voices
In the diadem with which his mother crowned him. For this is clearly to say, "Behold the Lord in the humanity which, taken from the Virgin mother, he placed at the right hand of the paternal majesty." Indeed, his mother crowned him with a diadem …
On the day of her betrothal, etc. At the time of his incarnation, when he proceeded from the virginal womb to marry the Church, as a bridegroom from his chamber, it was a day of the joy of his heart, for he rejoiced that through …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 3 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
The blessed Mary, Mother of Christ, is believed to be she who crowned him with a diadem, because he himself assumed our humanity from her, as is recounted in the Gospel (Matt. 1). And this is said to have taken place on the day of …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The blessed Virgin was crowned with this stone in the flesh: seeing in the flesh the glorified body of Christ, seeing in spirit his glorified soul, and in mind his Divinity. Christ was crowned first, and she afterward. Whence in the Canticle: "Go forth, daughters …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
In the day - When the church is married to him, which is done when the covenant is confirmed between them, or when persons are converted to Christ, and more compleatly when they are received by Christ into his immediate fellowship in the kingdom of glory.
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,....
They give him the glory of his undertaking; to him is glory in the church, Eph. iii. When believers accept of him as theirs, and join themselves to him in an everlasting covenant, [1.] It is his coronation-day in their souls. Before conversion they were crowning themselves, but then they begin to crown Christ, and continue to do so from that day forward.
God is not wont to say to the seed of Jacob, Seek you me in vain; and yet here we have the spouse for a great while seeking her beloved in vain, but finding him at last, to her unspeakable satisfaction. It was hard to the Old-Testament church to find Christ in the ceremonial law, and the types and figures which then were of good things to come.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion - This is the exhortation of the companions of the bride to the females of the city to examine the superb appearance of the bridegroom, and especially the nuptial crown, which appears to have been made by Bathsheba, who it is supposed might have lived till the time of Solomon’s marriage with the daughter of Pharaoh. It is conjectured that the prophet refers to a nuptial crown, Isa 61:10. But a crown, both on the bride and bridegroom, was common among most people on such occasions.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Zec 9:9). crown--nuptial (Eze 16:8-12), (the Hebrews wore costly crowns or chaplets at weddings), and kingly (Ps 2:6; The crown of thorns was once His nuptial chaplet, His blood the wedding wine cup (Joh 19:5). "His mother," that so crowned Him, is the human race, for He is "the Son of man," not merely the son of Mary.
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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צְאֶ֧ינָה׀ | tzeeinah | come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וּֽרְאֶ֛ינָה | ureeinah | and look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְּנ֥וֹת | benot | O daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| צִיּ֖וֹן | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | |
| בַּמֶּ֣לֶךְ | bamelekh | on the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֑ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בָּעֲטָרָ֗ה | baatarah | on the crown | H5850 → | |
| שֶׁעִטְּרָה־ | sheiterah- | that <she> crowned | H5849 → | |
| לּ֤וֹ | lo | <to> him | ||
| אִמּוֹ֙ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| בְּי֣וֹם | beyom | on [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| חֲתֻנָּת֔וֹ | chatunato | wedding his | H2861 → | |
| וּבְי֖וֹם | uveyom | and on [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| שִׂמְחַ֥ת | simchat | [the] rejoicing of | H8057 → | |
| לִבּֽוֹ׃ ס | libo | heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
צְאֶ֧ינָה׀come out
tzeeinahH3318 →1067 times
וּֽרְאֶ֛ינָהand look
ureeinahH7200 →1300 times
בְּנ֥וֹתO daughters of
benotH1323 →588 times
צִיּ֖וֹןZion
tziyonH6726 →
בַּמֶּ֣לֶךְon the king
bamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֑הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
בָּעֲטָרָ֗הon the crown
baatarahH5850 →
שֶׁעִטְּרָה־that <she> crowned
sheiterah-H5849 →
לּ֤וֹ<to> him
lo
אִמּוֹ֙mother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
בְּי֣וֹםon [the] day of
beyomH3117 →2304 times
חֲתֻנָּת֔וֹwedding his
chatunatoH2861 →
וּבְי֖וֹםand on [the] day of
uveyomH3117 →2304 times
שִׂמְחַ֥ת[the] rejoicing of
simchatH8057 →
לִבּֽוֹ׃ סheart his
liboH3820 →595 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 1:7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:30
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds…
- Zechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
- Daniel 7:13
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led…
- John 19:37
And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
- Mark 14:62
“I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
- Matthew 24:30
Through
Jeremiah 2:2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness,…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 16:60
But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
- Ezekiel 16:8
Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a…
- Jeremiah 11:6
Then the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Hear the words of this covenant and carry them out.
- Ezekiel 16:60
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Song of Solomon
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
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, 5.46; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 482: “The Royal Pair in Their Glorious Chariot” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cyril of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS IN THE COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 3:11; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 13:17; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Gregory of Nyssa, HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 7; 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 Tyrannius Rufinus, COMMENTARY ON THE APOSTLES' CREED 22.