Wisdom · Chapter 6 of 8
Song of Solomon 6
The daughters of Jerusalem offer to help seek the vanished beloved, and the bride answers that he has gone down to his garden. She affirms that she is his and he is hers. The beloved returns with fresh praise of her beauty, calling her lovely as Tirzah and awesome as an army with banners, his one dove, unique and blessed. Others ask who she is, radiant as the dawn, and call the Shulamite to return.
What happens in Song of Solomon 6
The daughters of Jerusalem ask where the bride's beloved has gone so they may seek him with her (verse 1). She answers that he has gone down to his garden, to feed and gather lilies (verse 2). She repeats the covenant refrain that she is her beloved's and he is hers (verse 3). The beloved then praises her, calling her beautiful as Tirzah and awesome as an army with banners, and asks her to turn her eyes away (verses 4-5). He renews earlier images of her hair, teeth, and temples (verses 6-7).
Among many queens and concubines, he says, his dove, his undefiled, is the only one, blessed by all who see her (verses 8-9). Others ask who she is, looking out like the dawn, fair as the moon and clear as the sun (verse 10). The bride tells of going down to the nut garden, and the chapter closes with a call for the Shulamite to return (verses 11-13).
Song of Solomon 6 in context
This chapter continues the exchanged songs after the crisis of chapter 5, moving from the bride's search to reunion and renewed praise. Traditionally Solomonic, it reasserts the mutual belonging of the lovers and the beloved's delight in his one bride amid many others.
On its plain level it celebrates faithful, exclusive love. Jewish and Christian readers have also seen in the one dove among many and the bride radiant as the dawn images of God's chosen and cherished people.
Main themes of Song of Solomon 6
Song of Solomon 6 (KJV)
1Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. 2My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 3I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. 4Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. 5Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. 6Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. 7As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. 8There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. 9My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. 10Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? 11I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. 12Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. 13Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.
Verses to carry from Song of Solomon 6
“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.”Song of Solomon 6:3
“My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.”Song of Solomon 6:9
“Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?”Song of Solomon 6:10
Christian typology
How Song of Solomon 6 points to Jesus
On its plain level this chapter celebrates reunion and the beloved's delight in his one bride, and that reading holds. Yet Christians have read it, as interpretation and not prediction, in light of Christ and His people. The beloved's word that his dove is but one, the only one, has been heard as Christ's love for His one church, chosen and undefiled, whom He cleanses and calls His own. The restored refrain, I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine, voices the secure belonging of those who are in Christ, from whom nothing can separate them.
And the bride who looks forth fair as the morning, clear as the sun, recalls the church arrayed in the beauty her Lord gives her. Held modestly, the chapter pictures the cherished, radiant people of God. This is Christian typology.
Questions about Song of Solomon 6
What does the beloved mean by calling his dove the only one?
Though he speaks of many queens and concubines, he insists that his dove, his undefiled, is unique, the one and choice one of her mother. The point is the exclusivity and singularity of his love: among all others, one is set apart as supremely his. It exalts faithful, undivided devotion over mere multiplicity, prizing the one beloved above every rival.
Why is the bride described as awesome as an army with banners?
The striking image pairs beauty with a kind of majestic power. She is not only lovely as Tirzah and Jerusalem but formidable, radiant as the dawn and arresting as a marching host. The description resists reducing beauty to fragility; her presence commands wonder and even awe, so that those who behold her, and the beloved himself, are overcome by her.
Reflection
Hear how the beloved treasures his one dove above all others, and let it teach you the worth of singular, faithful love. If you belong to Christ, you are His cherished one, undefiled by His grace and radiant with the beauty He gives. Rest in the restored refrain: you are His, and He is yours, and nothing can undo that belonging.
A prayer from Song of Solomon 6
Read the whole Bible with the family
Open it in the app, study it live with someone, and let it lead you to Christ.
Open the BibleRead it togetherSee what God is doing