Chapter 3

1 The church’s fight and victory in temptation. 6 The church glorieth in Christ.

1. By night. Verses 1–5 are best explained as the recounting of a dream in which the maid dreamed that she had momentarily lost her beloved. However, the separation was brief and the reunion most joyful.

4. My mother’s house. The women in the East have separate apartments, into which no one but the immediate family enters. Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother’s tent when he made her his wife (see Gen. 24:67). The maiden dreams of the marriage taking place not in the bridal chamber of Solomon’s palace but in her northern home (see on S. of Sol. 4:8).

5. I charge you. See on ch. 2:7.

6. Who is this? The pronoun “this” and the accompanying verb “cometh” represent feminine forms in the Hebrew. Either the bride is referred to or the “bed” of v. 7, which is a feminine form in the Hebrew. In the latter case the words should be translated “what is this?” The speaker cannot be definitely identified.

A new section begins. A royal procession is described. A description of the journey of the procession depends upon the interpretation of “who is this.” If this refers to the Shulamite, the procession may be the one in which Solomon went to fetch his country maiden. If “who is this” or “what is this” refers to the “litter of Solomon,” the bride may be the one watching the approach of the procession, and giving an eyewitness description of the impressive display.

Wilderness. Heb. midbar, which may mean merely a pastureland or a wide, open space.

Like pillars of smoke. This probably refers to the custom of heading a procession with burning incense which pervades the route of the procession with fragrant odors. This is an ancient and common custom in the East.

Bed. Heb. mittah, a couch for sitting, reclining, or reposing. The context suggests that here it refers to the litter on which Solomon would be carried.

Threescore valiant men. These were the guards that surrounded the pavilion of the bridegroom. The security of the head of the state required the unwearying vigilance of such a guard as this.

9. Chariot. Heb. Хappiryon, here probably synonymous with mittah (v. 7), hence Solomon’s “sedan,” “litter,” or “palanquin.”

10. Pillars. Presumably the bedposts or corner posts either made of solid silver or covered with silver plate. Royal chariots were richly adorned.

The bottom. Heb. rephidah, which seems rather to refer to the support, or railing, on the sides of a litter.

The covering. Heb. merkab. Rather the “seat” of the litter. The word appears in Lev. 15:9, where it is translated “saddle.”

Paved with love. The latter part of this verse reads literally, “its interior, paved love from the daughters of Jerusalem.” A free translation would be, “the interior was decorated as a mark of love by the daughters of Jerusalem.” The paving with love may refer to verses worked on the counterpane, the hangings, or the carpet by the daughters of Jerusalem as an expression of their love for King Solomon and his bride.