Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 7:6
How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
6. for delights ] Better, among delights, i.e. how surpassingly delightful is love above all other pleasures of life. The word translated delights does not necessarily, or even generally, mean sensuous delights, as some say. Cp. Pro 19:10; Mic 1:16; Mic 2:9. This sudden turn to the praise of love, not the beloved, is abrupt, but it has frequent parallels in the love poetry of the East, cp. the ode written out for Wetzstein at Kenakir. (Cp. his Essay on the Threshing-Board, loc. cit.) That the Heb. verb yphh may be used of love in this abstract sense may be inferred from Eze 28:7, where the noun of this root is used in a similar abstract way in the phrase, “the beauty of thy wisdom.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A brief dialogue; Son 7:6-9 are spoken by the king, Son 7:9 and Son 7:10 by the bride.
Son 7:6
A general sentiment.
How fair, and what a charm hast thou,
O love! Among delightsome things!
Compare Son 2:7, note; Son 8:6-7, note.
Son 7:7
This thy stature – The king now addresses the bride, comparing her to palm, vine, and apple-tree for nobility of form and pleasantness of fruit; and the utterances of her mouth to sweetest wine.
Son 7:9
For my beloved, that goeth down sweetly – Words of the bride interrupting the king, and finishing his sentence, that goeth smoothly or pleasantly for my beloved. Compare Pro 23:31.
Son 7:10
His desire is toward me – All his affection has me for its object. The bride proceeds to exercise her power over his loving will.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. How fair and how pleasant] Thou art every way beautiful, and in every respect calculated to inspire pleasure and delight.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
How fair and how pleasant art thou? it were infinite to reckon up all the particulars of thy beauty; in one word, thou art universally amiable beyond expression.
For delights; for those various lovely features which are in thee, and for the great and manifold delights which are or may be enjoyed in conversing with thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. Nearer advance of thedaughters to the Church (Act 2:47;Act 5:13, end). Love to her isthe first token of love to Him (1Jo5:1, end).
delightsfascinatingcharms to them and to the King (Son 7:5;Isa 62:4, Hephzi-bah). Hereafter,too (Zep 3:17; Mal 3:12;Rev 21:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!] These are the words of the King in the galleries, wondering at the church’s beauty, it being incomparable and inexpressible, it could not be said well how great it was; and expressing the strength of his love to her, which was invariably the same as ever. Of the “fairness” of the church, and of this title, “love”, see So 1:9; and here she is said also to be “pleasant” to him, as his spouse and bride, in whom he takes infinite delight and pleasure, loving her with a love of complacency and delight; and therefore adds, “for delights”, which he had in her before the world was, Pr 8:31. She was all delight g to him; her words, her actions and gestures, her comely countenance, her sweet and pleasant voice in prayer and praise, her ravishing looks of faith and love, her heavenly airs, and evangelic walk; in all which she appeared beautiful and delightful, beyond all human thought and expression.
g “Meae deliciae”, Plauti Stichus, Act. 5. Sc. 5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6 How beautiful art thou, and how charming,
O love, among delights!
It is a truth of all-embracing application which is here expressed. There is nothing more admirable than love, i.e., the uniting or mingling together of two lives, the one of which gives itself to the other, and so finds the complement of itself; nor than this self-devotion, which is at the same time self-enrichment. All this is true of earthly love, of which Walther v. d. Vogelweide says: “ minne ist sweier herzen wnne ” love is the joy of two hearts, and it is true also of heavenly love; the former surpasses all earthly delights (also such as are purely sensuous, Ecc 2:8), and the latter is, as the apostle expresses himself in his spiritual “Song of Songs,” 1Co 13:13, in relation to faith and hope, “greater than these,” greater than both of them, for it is their sacred, eternal aim. In it is indicated that the idea, and in that the eudaemonistic feature of the human soul attains its satisfaction in love. The lxx, obliterating this so true and beautiful a promotion of love above all other joys, translate (in the enjoyment which thou impartest). The Syr., Jerome, and others also rob the Song of this its point of light and of elevation, by reading O beloved! instead of . The words then declare (yet contrary to the spirit of the Hebrew language, which knows neither nor as vocat.) what we already read at Son 4:10; while, according to the traditional form of the text, they are the prelude of the love-song, to love as such, which is continued in Son 8:6.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
PRAISE OF THE HUSBAND
Verses 6-9 express in poetic language the praise of the shepherd husband for his bride
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. O love That is, O lovely one. Admiration is expressed for the general effect of the special qualities now enumerated. The aggregate of the whole is most fascinating.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The BELOVED continues.
“How fair and how pleasant are you, O love, for delights! This your stature is like to a palm-tree, And your breasts to its clusters. I said, I will climb up into the palm-tree, I will take hold of its branches, Let your breasts be as clusters of the vine, And the smell of your breath like apples, And your mouth like the best wine –.”
He now describes her statuesque beauty and compares her with a palm tree, with her breasts like coconuts, so that he can shin up the tree and sample her delights by grabbing hold of its branches; or like clusters of grapes on the vine. And he ends his idyllic picture with a description of the sweetness of her breasts, and the fact that her mouth is like the best wine. It is at this point that his wife then takes over the theme.
While we might find these long descriptions somewhat overextended, the people of Israel at their feasts no doubt delighted in these theoretical description of themselves in the Lord’s eyes, as it described His delight in them. (We say theoretical because it strictly only applied to the righteous among them). The same descriptions, of course apply to us. We too can delight in the descriptions, but we must remember that we are only beautiful in His eyes if we are truly His, and it is being revealed in our lives. It is only then that He can climb up and partake of our fruits.
His YOUNG WIFE takes up her husband’s rhythm and replies (note the use of ‘my beloved’ which indicates the change).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Act of Intercourse Literal Interpretation – Many Christian scholars interpret Son 7:6-9 as a description of the act of intercourse between a man and a woman. In Son 7:6 the husband makes his request for intercourse with his wife in the expression, “O love, for delights”. The act of intercourse between a man and a woman is not solely for procreation, but is also intended to give delight in the marriage. In Son 7:7 he likens her feminine shape to the palm tree. We can picture the palm tree in the Middle East as it grows so beautifully along well-watered areas. It has a long, tall trunk with no limbs. At the top is a group of long, curved palm branches giving the tree its unique shape. Just under its leaves are clusters of dates, or coconuts, which give the tree its character and identity.
Son 7:8 then describes the act of climbing these palm trees. This is because they were harvested by them and taking hold of their branches in order to cut off their clusters. As a young teenager my two brothers and I once climbed a pine tree in our yard. It had a long vine running down from its branches, which we held on to in order to climb. For the lowest branches of the pine tree are twenty feet off of the ground. Thus, we had to climb with our legs wrapped tightly around the trunk of the tree, much like these harvesters of the date palms. Although we were youth, as we climbed with our legs squeezing tightly around the trunk of the tree, my brothers and I would feel an orgasm coming. The higher we climbed the strong the urge. We did not understand what was happening. So, we simply stopped and squeezed ourselves against the tree trunk until the urge subsided and we came down. If we had continued to climb up to the lower branches we surely would have had a full orgasm. This is what such harvesters would have experienced while harvesting their dates or coconuts. Taking hold of the boughs would represent the orgasm.
Finally, in Son 7:9 he expresses his delight in kissing her lovely face during intercourse by referring to her mouth and lips.
How can the Lover speak this way to the Shulamite woman? It is simply because they have now been wed and he is speaking to his wife; for we find that the marriage ceremony has taken place (Son 3:6-11) and the marriage bed has been consummated (Son 4:16 to Son 5:1). Thus, they are now husband and wife.
Figurative Interpretation Bickle believes Son 7:6-9 symbolizes the Lord releasing a greater measure of the anointing in a mature believer’s life. [237]
[237] Mike Bickle, Session 17 Vindication of the Persecuted Bride (Song of Solomon 6:11-7:9 ), in Song of Songs (Kansas City, Missouri: International House of Prayer, 1998), 2, 16.
Son 7:6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
Son 7:6
Comments – The word “O” was added by the translators and is not found in the original text.
Son 7:6 Literal Interpretation The phrase “for delights” in Son 7:6 suggests that the act of intercourse between a man and a woman is not solely for procreation, but is also intended to give delight in the marriage.
Figurative Interpretation At this point in the believer’s maturity God greatly delights in his devotion. Even in the midst of trials and tests the believer has proved to truly love God above all else.
Son 7:7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
Son 7:7
Son 7:7 Literal Interpretation The husband expresses his strong attraction for the beautiful physique of his wife, her shapely stature, or figure, and breasts.
Figurative Interpretation A palm tree flourishes, even in the desert. The Lord expresses his delight in the maturity of the believer in the midst of the desert and wilderness of this world. He has been steadfast and grown to maturity so as to produce fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven. He is able to nurture others in the faith.
Son 7:8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;
Son 7:8
[238] Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Song of Solomon (Garland, Texas: Sonic Light, 2000) [on-line]; accessed 28 December 2008; available from http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm; Internet, 26.
Son 7:8 Comments – There have been many allegorical interpretations as to the two breasts referred to in Son 4:5 and Son 7:8. Dennis Kinlaw says, “Jewish scholars have seen in the bride’s breasts Moses and Aaron; the two Messiahs, Messiah Son of David and Messiah son of Ephraim; Moses and Phinehas; and Joshua and Eleazar. Christian interpreters have been equally ingenious. They have seen the bride’s breasts as the church from which we feed; the two testaments, Old and New; the twin precepts of love of God and neighbor; and the Blood and the Water. Gregory of Nyssa found in them the outer and the inner man, united in one sentient being. Little wonder that the allegorical interpretation has come under increasing attack in the last two centuries. It is not difficult to understand Luther when he insisted that the literal sense.” [239]
[239] Dennis F. Kinlaw, “Introduction,” in Song of Solomon, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 5, ed. Frank E. Gaebelien, J. D. Douglas, and Dick Polcyn (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1976-1992), in Zondervan Reference Software, v. 2.8 [CD-ROM] (Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Zondervan Corp., 1989-2001).
Son 7:8 Literal Interpretation Son 7:8 describes the act of climbing these palm trees. Reaching the top and taking hold of the boughs would represent the man’s orgasm.
Figurative Interpretation “I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof” Perhaps this statement means that the Lord will release His anointing through this servant of God. “and the smell of thy nose like apples” Watchman Nee suggests this phrase to mean that this believer expresses the fragrance of Christ. [240]
[240] Watchman Nee, Song of Songs (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications, c1965, 2001), 136.
Son 7:9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
Son 7:9
Figurative Interpretation “And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved” If the wine is figurative of the Holy Spirit, then this servant of God is allowing the Holy Spirit to move through him and bring to life those who are “asleep”, or inattentive to the things of God. Watchman Nee suggests this refers to a believer’s desire for the new wine of the new millennium at the resurrection of the saints (Mat 26:29). [241]
[241] Watchman Nee, Song of Songs (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications, c1965, 2001), 136.
Mat 26:29, “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! (7) This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. (8) I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; (9) And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
We have in these verses the gracious Lord still taking delight in the beauties and graces of his church. Under several very interesting similitudes these things are said by him. And it is impossible to take into consideration these united views of Jesus’s love, and the church’s undeserving, without being struck with astonishment at the contemplation of the unsearchable riches of his grace! The prophet Zephaniah hath a beautiful passage much to the same amount, as is expressed in one of these verses, of Christ’s resting in his love, and in his delights, Zep 3:17 . If what naturalists say of the palm-tree be correct, the figure Jesus useth of this tree in making a comparative statement to the church, is uncommonly beautiful and striking. And as the palm trees were very common in Judea, there should seem to be no doubt of the correctness of their account. It is said that the palm tree differs from other trees in this striking particularity; that it doth not live by its roots, but its head. Whether this be so, or not, I cannot determine: but certain it is, the church of Christ hath Christ for her head, as well as her root. In fruitfulness the church resembles the palm-tree, and in height, and verdure, for it is an ever-green. It is exceedingly prolific, and so is the church. And what so lofty, so exalted, as the church of Christ. Most elegantly, as well as true, doth the Psalmist speak of God’s people in allusion to this tree, when it is said by him, That the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow, like the cedar in Lebanon. Psa 92:12 . And sure I am that if it be true, as it is said, the palm tree flourisheth the more it is trodden under; nothing can be more descriptive of Christ’s church, for in all ages the more it hath been persecuted, the more glorious it hath risen. And hence, those now in glory; who have come out of great tribulation, are clothed with white robes, and have palms in their hands: Rev 7:9 . I must not wholly overlook what the Redeemer hath said in these verses, of the blessed effects which he himself here setteth forth, of his granting the church his presence. He goeth with her by his grace he taketh hold of her, and thereby causeth all his gifts and mercies to be received by her, that, like the best wine, it is swallowed with delight; so that it hath an infinite and divine effect; causing even the sleeping soul and the sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, to speak. Oh! how blessed is it to the church, and to every believer of the church, to know and enjoy Christ. Well might the church cry out, Thy love is better than wine. Son 1:2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son 7:6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
Ver. 6. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights. ] Emphatica haec admodum sunt, cum toties exclamatio ponatur, saith one. This is a most emphatic exclamation, proceeding from admiration, and importing that all he could say of her was too little. Well might the prophet say, “As the bridegroom rejoiceth over his bride, so doth thy God over thee.” Isa 62:5 Hence he can make no end here of commending her; but, having finished one praise, he presently begins another. This yields infinite matter of comfort to the saints, that Christ loves them so dearly, prizeth them so highly, praiseth them so heartily. Howbeit, let not them hereupon “turn again to folly,” Psa 85:8 or give way to carnal security. Laetemur in domino, sed caveamus a recidivo. Argue not from mercy to liberty – that is the devil’s logic – but from mercy to duty, as those good souls do. Ezr 9:13-14 Having received such and such, both privative and positive favours, should we again break thy commandments? There is so much unthankfulness and disingenuity in such an entertainment of mercy, that holy Ezra thinks heaven and earth would be ashamed of it. “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” saith the apostle. Rom 6:1 And it is as if he should say, that were most unreasonable, and to a good heart, impossible. A man may as well say the sea burns, or fire cools, as that assurance of Christ’s love breeds careless and loose living. They that hold so, know not the compulsive power of Christ’s love, 2Co 5:14 nor what belongs to the life of God Eph 4:18
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
pleasant = charming.
love. Hebrew ‘ahabah = love in the abstract. It is not the person who is here addressed. See note on Son 2:7.
for delights = among delightsome things.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Son 7:10, Son 1:15, Son 1:16, Son 2:14, Son 4:7, Son 4:10, Psa 45:11, Isa 62:4, Isa 62:5, Zep 3:17
Reciprocal: Son 1:2 – thy love Son 4:9 – thou hast Son 7:12 – there will I give thee Isa 5:7 – his pleasant plant