Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 6:9
My dove, my undefiled is [but] one; she [is] the [only] one of her mother, she [is] the choice [one] of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; [yea], the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
9. but one ] The one here is numerical in contrast to the 60 and 80: in the second clause of the verse one is qualitative, unica or unice delecta. As in ch. 2, he compares her to the women of the hareem, and intimates that she alone is worth them all.
the choice one ] Heb. brh from brar, ‘to separate,’ and hence ‘to purify.’ LXX, . Here it is the former idea which predominates, the choice one, the darling of her mother, for the relation of mother and daughter is not one to which the idea of ‘purity’ is specially congruous. The only thing against this is that the adj. bar is not used in the O.T. in any sense but ‘pure’ or ‘clean’ (see Oxf. Lex.). But in 1Ch 7:40 and elsewhere the verb is used in the sense of ‘to choose’ or ‘select.’ As the Song is late, but not so late as Chron. probably, it would not be unnatural that the later meaning should be found alongside the earlier in Son 6:9-10 here.
The daughters saw her, and blessed her ] Better, daughters, i.e. women, cp. Gen 30:13 and Pro 31:29, saw her and called her happy. Cp. Pro 31:28, where the whole of this clause substantially occurs.
the queens and the concubines, and they praised her ] Cp. ch. Son 5:9, “O thou fairest among women.” On the hypothesis that the book is a mere collection of wedding songs, this statement that the women of Solomon’s hareem had seen and praised the Shulammite would be absurd. On our view, it would be quite natural, and unless the bride be brought in some such way as we suppose into connexion with Solomon’s court it is impossible to imagine how this verse could be true. Budde admits the difficulty, but gets over it in a very light-hearted fashion. He admits that a figure of speech which would permit the bridegroom who is called Solomon only because he is a bridegroom, to refer with scorn to the hareem of the actual Solomon, would be bold; but in a somewhat obscure sentence he says it hardly goes beyond what is possible in the circumstances as he supposes them to be. Few, we imagine, will be of that opinion.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Son 6:9
My dove, My undefiled is but one.
The Church-a dove
I. Comparing the Church to a dove.
1. The dove is a beautiful bird, especially in Eastern countries, where their plumage is so dazzling, and in this particular typifies the Church (Eze 16:14).
2. The believers righteous beauty is from Christ alone (Psa 90:17).
3. The dove is remarkable for her cleanliness; so the Church is both clean and cleanly (Heb 10:22).
4. Doves will feed only on pure grain; so true believers can only live on Christ (Psa 119:140; Tit 1:15; Joh 6:35).
5. The dove delights to be fed by her own mate; so does the Church by Christ (Son 1:7).
6. The dove is remarkable for its love to its mate; so is the Church to Christ (Psa 73:23-28).
7. The dove is remarkable for its deep grief when separated from its mate (Eze 7:16).
8. Doves are sociable creatures, and delight in each others company (1Jn 4:7).
9. Doves are fearful and timid birds (Mat 8:26).
10. Doves are swift on the wing; so David wished for the wings of a dove (Psa 55:6).
II. The oneness of the Church.
1. The Church is but one in respect of the world (Joh 15:19).
2. One in respect of unity and communion with herself (Eph 4:13; Col 2:2).
3. She has but one faith (Eph 4:4-5).
4. One in her conduct and practice (Heb 12:14).
5. One in the spirit and object of love (1Co 6:17).
6. And one in Christ their living Head, by whom they are saved (1Co 12:12).
7. And because Christ has no other spouse than the Church (Lev 20:24).
III. Why she is called His. She belongs unto Him by right of creation, donation, redemption, predestination, regeneration, or baptism, sanctification, and salvation. And as such–
1. She will never be lost while residing in the wilderness, for the Spirit is her guide.
2. No creatures of prey shall ever rob her of life, because Christ is her Protector.
3. Nothing shall keep her from glory, for Christ is in heaven to secure her entrance there. (T. B. Baker.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. The daughters saw her, and blessed her] Not only the Jewish women in general spoke well of her on her arrival, but the queens and concubines praised her as the most accomplished of her sex.
With this verse the fourth night of the marriage week is supposed to end.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Is but one; the only beloved of my soul, my only spouse, in comparison of whom I despise all others.
She is the only one of her mother; of Jerusalem above, which is the mother of us all, Gal 4:26. Or if this seem to confound the mother and daughter, the words may be thus rendered,
she is the only one of her mother, i.e. she is as dear and as precious to me as only children use to be to their parents, and especially to their mothers. So there is only a defect of the note of similitude, which is frequently understood, as hath been formerly noted and proved by undeniable instances.
Daughters, called virgins, Son 6:8.
They praised her; as more beautiful and worthy than themselves, which was so evident that they were forced to confess it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. Hollow professors, like halfwives, have no part in the one bride.
only one of hermothernamely, “Jerusalem above” (Ga4:26). The “little sister” (So8:8) is not inconsistent with her being “the only one”;for that sister is one with herself (Joh10:16).
choice (Eph 1:4;2Th 2:13). As she exalted Himabove all others (So 5:10), soHe now her.
daughters . . . blessed her(Isa 8:18; Isa 61:9;Eze 16:14; 2Th 1:10).So at her appearance after Pentecost (Act 4:13;Act 6:15; Act 24:25;Act 26:28).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
My dove, my undefiled, is [but] one,…. Of these titles, see So 2:14. Christ’s church is called one, in distinction from the many before mentioned; and either designs her small number, in comparison of the nations of the world, and of false churches, like one to sixty or eighty, and even to an innumerable company; see Ec 9:14
Lu 12:32; or else her unity in herself, being but one general assembly and church of the firstborn, made up of various particular congregated churches; and “one body”, consisting of various members, united together in affection, and partakers of the same grace, blessings, and privileges; actuated by “one Spirit”, the Spirit of God, Eph 4:4; and having but “one Head”, Christ Jesus, Eph 4:15: and it may signify that the church is the spouse of Christ; that though other princes may have sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and virgins without number, to wait on them, So 6:8; Christ had but one, and was well pleased with her, and desired no other;
she [is] the [only] one of her mother; the Jerusalem above, the mother of us all: or the sense is, she was to Christ as a mother’s only child, most tenderly beloved by him;
she [is] the choice one of her that bare her; esteemed and loved best of all her mother’s children. The word may be rendered, “the pure” or “clean one” l; so the church is, as clothed in “clean” linen, the righteousness of Christ; cleansed from sin in his blood; sprinkled with the clean water of the covenant, and of an unspotted conversation.
The daughters saw her, and blessed her; [yea], the queens and the concubines, and they praised her: it may seem strange that concubines should praise a queen; but it was not unusual in the eastern countries; with the Persians, as the queen admitted of many concubines by the order of her lord the king, so the queen was had in great veneration, and even adored by the concubines m: which may respect either the great esteem the church had, or should have, in the world, even from the great men of it, as she will have in the latter day,
Isa 49:23; or which young converts have for her; who may more especially be meant by the “daughters” and “virgins”, who, in So 6:1, call the church the “fairest among women”: these blessed her, and pronounced her happy, and wished all happiness to her; they “praised her”, spoke well of her, and commended her for her beauty; which was pleasing to Christ, and therefore observed by him.
l “munda”, Montanus, Mercerus; “pura”, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Marckius, Michaelis. m Dinon in Persicis apud Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 13. c. 1. p. 556.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) My dove . . . is but one.While the monarchs loves are so many, one is mine, my dove, my perfect one: one, the delight of her mother, the darling of her who bore her. It is impossible not to see in this a eulogy on monogamy, which, in practice, seems always to have been the rule among the Jews, the exceptions lying only with kings and the very rich. The eulogy is made more pronounced by putting an unconscious testimony to the superiority of monogamy into the mouths of the queens and concubines, who praise and bless this pattern of a perfect wife.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Is but one That is, there is none like her. It is not affirmed that she is an only child, or even an only daughter, but that she is without like or equal absolutely peerless in her beauty.
The daughters That is, The maidens in waiting
Blessed her praised her The verbs should be in the present. The King nowhere ventures to call her his betrothed.
My undefiled Hebrew, My perfect one. To connect this verse with the following, supply “saying.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The BELOVED continues with his welcome.
“My dove, my undefiled, is but one, She is the only one of her mother, She is the choice one of her who bore her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed, Yes, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. Who is she whose glance is as the appearance of the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Terrible as an army with banners?”
‘My dove, my undefiled.’ Note his return to the language he had used just prior to his rejection (Son 5:2). He is indicating that she is fully restored as though she had never turned him away. And now he stresses her uniqueness. She is her mother’s pet daughter, the choice one of her who bore her. And all who see her exult in her. The young women of her homeland see her and call her blessed. Yes, even the queens and concubines of subject kings round about, as symbolized by the crocuses and lilies, praise her (see our interpretation of verse 8). All praise her because of her outstanding beauty and loveliness, a reminder of the position to which she has been restored. For her glance is as the appearing of morning, as fair as the waning moon, as clear as the rising sun. She has the splendor of an army with banners at its approach.
And to our Lord Jesus Christ all true believers are in His eyes just as glorious. Once they are restored to Him they once more enjoy their uniqueness and become the praise of all who know them. No longer in the darkness and humiliation of backsliding (Son 5:7), they come forth as the appearance of the morning, fair and clear like moon and sun. Enjoying again having the majesty of an army with banners.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Son 6:9. My dove, my undefiled, &c. The author of the new version renders it thus, But, my dove, my undefiled is but one, (that is to say, stands alone in my affections;) she is dear to me as an only child to her mother; as her darling to her that bare her. The maidens saw her, and blessed her, &c. and thus they praised her:10. Who is she, &c.?
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Son 6:9 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.
Ver. 9. My dove, mine undefiled is but one. ] For though all the afore named may be called spouses, yet they all make but one. “He that hath the bride (not brides) is the bridegroom,” saith the Baptist. And this is “a great mystery,” saith Paul, “but I speak concerning Christ and the Church,” not churches. Eph 5:32 Una ecclesia, quia ex una fide, per unum Spiritum nascitur, saith Epiphanius. “Beware therefore of the concision” Php 3:2 – that is, of those that make divisions, and cut the Church in minutula frustula, as Augustine saith of the Donatists, into little pieces, and sucking congregations, making separations. a Peter himself was blamed for this, Gal 2:11-12 and others branded for profligate professors. “These are they that separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” Jdg 1:19 The primitive Christians were famous for their unity, animo animaque inter se miscebantur, saith Tertullian. The very heathens acknowledged that no people in the world did hold together, and love one another, so as Christians did. As the curtains of the tabernacles were joined by loops, so were they by love; and as the stones of the temple were so close cemented together, that they seemed to be all but one stone, so was it among them. Neither need we wonder, since Christ’s dove is but one; neither is there any such oneness or entireness anywhere as among the saints. Other societies are but as the clay in the toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image: they may cleave together, but not incorporated one into another.
She is the only one of her mother,
The daughters saw her, and blessed her,
a Christi tunica est unica.
b Sic in Elogio Proefator. De Confess. in Princip. Syntag. Confess., p. 6.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
My dove = But he is my dove.
but one = my only one. In contrast with the numbers of Son 6:8. Flattery enough to turn the heart of almost any woman.
praised her: supply the Ellipsis by adding [saying]. See note on Psa 109:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
My dove: Son 2:14, Son 5:2
one; she: Num 23:9, Psa 45:9, Gal 4:26, Eph 4:3-6
The daughters: Deu 4:6, Deu 4:7, Deu 33:29, Psa 126:2, Pro 31:28, Pro 31:29, 2Th 1:10, Rev 21:9, Rev 21:10
Reciprocal: Gen 30:13 – Happy am I Jos 14:13 – blessed Jdg 19:1 – a concubine 2Ch 11:21 – eighteen wives Est 2:15 – Esther Psa 45:17 – therefore Psa 74:19 – turtledove Pro 31:10 – can Son 5:9 – O thou Son 6:1 – O thou Mat 25:1 – ten