Song of Solomon / Chapter 3

Song of Solomon 3

11 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Chapter 3 divides into two distinct movements. In verses 1-5, the woman recounts a nighttime search through the city streets for her beloved — she seeks him in bed, then rises to search the streets, encounters the watchmen, and finally finds him and brings him to her mother's house. In verses 6-11, an unnamed voice describes a royal procession: Solomon's litter ascending from the wilderness, surrounded by sixty warriors, elaborately constructed with silver, gold, and purple, crowned by his mother on his wedding day.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The night-search sequence (verses 1-5) is one of the Song's most psychologically intense passages. The woman lies in bed, desire keeping her awake, and the one her nefesh loves is absent. She decides to search — an extraordinary act for an unmarried woman alone in the city at night. The watchmen who find her are ambiguous figures — protectors or threats? When she finds him, she seizes him (achaztivu — the verb is strong, even violent) and refuses to let go until she has brought him to her mother's chamber. The mother's house, not the father's, is the space of female sexuality and agency in the Song.

Translation Friction

The relationship between the night-search narrative and the Solomon procession is the chapter's central puzzle. Are verses 6-11 the woman's fantasy of a royal wedding? A flashback? A separate poem? The shift in tone, speaker, and imagery is so abrupt that many scholars treat them as originally independent compositions. The 'bed of Solomon' in verse 7 may connect to the woman's bed in verse 1, suggesting the search ends in royal consummation — or it may be an entirely different scene.

Connections

The night-search motif connects to 5:2-8, where a nearly identical sequence occurs with a darker outcome — the watchmen beat her. The mother's house (bet immi) echoes 8:2, where the woman again brings her beloved to her mother's house. Solomon's procession with its sixty warriors echoes the sixty queens of 6:8. The wedding crown placed by his mother connects to the broader biblical motif of mothers blessing sons at pivotal moments.

Song of Solomon 3:1

עַל־מִשְׁכָּבִי֙ בַּלֵּיל֔וֹת בִּקַּ֕שְׁתִּי אֵ֥ת שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖ה נַפְשִׁ֑י בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֖יו וְלֹ֥א מְצָאתִֽיו׃

On my bed through the nights I sought the one my soul loves. I sought him but did not find him.

KJV By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

מִשְׁכָּב mishkav
"bed" — bed, couch, place of lying down; used for both sleep and sexual activity

Mishkav is the common word for bed, but in context it carries erotic weight — this is the bed where the beloved should be, the place of union. His absence from the mishkav is what drives her into the streets.

Translator Notes

  1. Ba-lelot ('through the nights') is plural — this is not one night but a recurring experience. The bed (mishkavi) is the site of expected intimacy; his absence from it is the crisis. The doubled verb biqqashti ('I sought') with the negative lo metsativu ('I did not find him') establishes the seeking-and-not-finding pattern that drives the narrative.
Song of Solomon 3:2

אָק֨וּמָה נָּ֜א וַאֲסוֹבְבָ֣ה בָעִ֗יר בַּשְּׁוָקִים֙ וּבָרְחֹב֔וֹת אֲבַקְשָׁ֕ה אֵ֥ת שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖ה נַפְשִׁ֑י בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֖יו וְלֹ֥א מְצָאתִֽיו׃

Let me rise now and go about the city, through the streets and the squares. Let me seek the one my soul loves. I sought him but did not find him.

KJV I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

שְׁוָקִים shevaqim
"streets" — streets, lanes, marketplaces; narrow commercial thoroughfares of an ancient city

The shevaqim are the narrow lanes of the commercial district, as opposed to the rechovot ('broad plazas'). Together they represent a comprehensive search.

Translator Notes

  1. Aqumah na ('let me rise now') — the na particle adds urgency. She leaves the safety of her bed and house to search the city. The shevaqim ('streets') and rechovot ('broad places, squares') are public spaces — for an unaccompanied woman at night, this is a transgressive and dangerous act.
Song of Solomon 3:3

מְצָא֙וּנִי֙ הַשֹּׁ֣מְרִ֔ים הַסֹּבְבִ֖ים בָּעִ֑יר אֵ֥ת שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖ה נַפְשִׁ֥י רְאִיתֶֽם׃

The watchmen found me, those who go about the city. "Have you seen the one my soul loves?"

KJV The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

שֹׁמְרִים shomrim
"watchmen" — watchmen, guards, keepers; those who patrol and protect

The shomrim recur at 5:7 with a much darker role. Here they represent the city's institutional authority encountering a woman driven by private desire.

Translator Notes

  1. Ha-shomrim ha-sovevim ba-ir ('the watchmen who go about the city') are the night patrol. That they 'found' her reverses the pattern: she has been seeking without finding, and now she is the one found. Her question gives no name, no description — she assumes her desire is self-evident.
Song of Solomon 3:4

כִּמְעַט֙ שֶׁעָבַ֣רְתִּי מֵהֶ֔ם עַ֣ד שֶׁמָּצָ֔אתִי אֵ֥ת שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖ה נַפְשִׁ֑י אֲחַזְתִּיו֙ וְלֹ֣א אַרְפֶּ֔נּוּ עַד־שֶׁ֤הֲבֵיאתִיו֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית אִמִּ֔י וְאֶל־חֶ֖דֶר הוֹרָתִֽי׃

Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my soul loves. I seized him and would not let him go until I had brought him to my mother's house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

KJV It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

בֵּית אִמִּי bet immi
"my mother's house" — mother's house; the domestic space associated with female lineage and female sexuality

The mother's house appears three times in the Song (3:4, 8:2) and is always the destination for erotic encounter. In contrast to the father's house (the space of contracts and patriarchal authority), the mother's house is where women's desire is legitimate.

Translator Notes

  1. Achaztivu ve-lo arpenu ('I seized him and would not let him go') — achaz is strong, even aggressive. She does not simply find him — she grabs him and refuses to release him. She is the active agent; he is the one seized.
  2. Bet immi ('my mother's house') and cheder horati ('the chamber of the one who conceived me') specify the destination: not the father's house but the mother's — the matrilineal space of female sexuality. Bringing him there carries unmistakable sexual implication.
Song of Solomon 3:5

הִשְׁבַּ֨עְתִּי אֶתְכֶ֜ם בְּנ֤וֹת יְרוּשָׁלַ֙͏ִם֙ בִּצְבָא֔וֹת א֖וֹ בְּאַיְל֣וֹת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה אִם־תָּעִ֧ירוּ ׀ וְאִם־תְּעֽוֹרְר֛וּ אֶת־הָאַהֲבָ֖ה עַ֥ד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּֽץ׃

I adjure you, O Daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and the does of the field — do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.

KJV I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי hishba'ti
"I adjure" — to make swear, to adjure, to put under oath; a solemn charge

The hif'il form of shava ('to swear') means 'to cause to swear, to place under oath.' The woman administers an oath to the daughters of Jerusalem — she has authority to bind others with solemn charges about the nature of love.

Translator Notes

  1. The second occurrence of the adjuration refrain (identical to 2:7). It marks the close of the night-search narrative and the transition to the Solomon procession. After the intensity of seeking and seizing, the adjuration counsels patience: do not force love's timing.
Song of Solomon 3:6

מִ֣י זֹ֗את עֹלָה֙ מִן־הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר כְּתִֽימֲר֖וֹת עָשָׁ֑ן מְקֻטֶּ֤רֶת מוֹר֙ וּלְבוֹנָ֔ה מִכֹּ֖ל אַבְקַ֥ת רוֹכֵֽל׃

Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with every powder of the merchant?

KJV Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

לְבוֹנָה levonah
"frankincense" — frankincense, incense; a white aromatic resin burned in cultic and ceremonial contexts

Levonah (from lavan, 'white') is the white resin of the Boswellia tree, imported from southern Arabia. Its association with both temple worship and luxury processions makes it a bridge between sacred and royal registers.

מִדְבָּר midbar
"wilderness" — wilderness, desert, open pastureland; the uncultivated space beyond settlements

The midbar is the liminal space between civilization and chaos. That this procession 'comes up from the wilderness' echoes Israel's exodus — a journey from emptiness to fulfillment.

Translator Notes

  1. Mi zot ('who is this?') signals awe at an approaching spectacle. Something ascends (olah) from the midbar ('wilderness'). The pillars of smoke (timrot ashan) may be incense or dust clouds. The fragrance of myrrh and frankincense combined with every merchant's powder creates olfactory overwhelm — this arrival is announced by scent before sight.
Song of Solomon 3:7

הִנֵּ֗ה מִטָּתוֹ֙ שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹ֔ה שִׁשִּׁ֥ים גִּבֹּרִ֖ים סָבִ֣יב לָ֑הּ מִגִּבֹּרֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Look — it is Solomon's litter! Sixty warriors surround it, the mightiest of Israel.

KJV Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

מִטָּה mittah
"litter" — bed, couch, bier, litter; a portable reclining platform

Mittah in processional context refers to a carried couch. The word's primary meaning ('bed') creates deliberate ambiguity: this is both a vehicle for a public procession and a bed for a wedding night.

גִּבֹּרִים gibborim
"warriors" — mighty men, warriors, heroes; the elite fighting force

Gibborim are the military elite. Their presence around a wedding litter combines martial power with erotic ceremony.

Translator Notes

  1. Mittato shel Shelomoh ('his litter/bed, which is Solomon's') — mittah can mean 'bed' or 'portable couch/litter.' In processional context it is a palanquin. The sixty gibborim ('warriors') who surround it echo David's thirty mighty men (2 Samuel 23:8-39), doubled for Solomon's greater glory.
Song of Solomon 3:8

כֻּלָּם֙ אֲחֻ֣זֵי חֶ֔רֶב מְלֻמְּדֵ֖י מִלְחָמָ֑ה אִ֤ישׁ חַרְבּוֹ֙ עַל־יְרֵכ֔וֹ מִפַּ֖חַד בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃

All of them grip swords, trained for war — each with his sword at his thigh against the terrors of the night.

KJV They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

פַּחַד בַּלֵּילוֹת pachad ba-lelot
"terrors of the night" — fear in the night, nocturnal dread, nighttime dangers

Pachad ba-lelot echoes Psalm 91:5 ('you will not fear the terror of the night'). The warriors' vigilance protects the wedding night from interruption.

Translator Notes

  1. These are combat-ready warriors whose swords rest on their thighs — ready to draw instantly. The threat they guard against is mi-pachad ba-lelot ('against the terror of the night'). The nighttime setting connects to the woman's night-search in verses 1-4.
Song of Solomon 3:9

אַפִּרְי֗וֹן עָ֤שָׂה לוֹ֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה מֵעֲצֵ֖י הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃

King Solomon made himself a palanquin from the wood of Lebanon.

KJV King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אַפִּרְיוֹן appiryon
"palanquin" — palanquin, litter, sedan chair; a portable enclosed couch for royalty

This word appears nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Its likely foreign origin suggests imported luxury — the vehicle itself comes from outside Israel, like the spices that adorn it.

Translator Notes

  1. Appiryon is a hapax legomenon — it appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It may derive from Sanskrit paryanka ('bed, couch') via Persian, or Greek phoreion ('sedan chair'). We render it 'palanquin.' The word's foreignness suits the Song's cosmopolitan vocabulary. The Lebanon timber is the same material as the temple (1 Kings 5-6).
Song of Solomon 3:10

עַמּוּדָ֣יו ׀ עָשָׂ֣ה כֶ֗סֶף רְפִידָתוֹ֙ זָהָ֔ב מֶרְכָּב֖וֹ אַרְגָּמָ֑ן תּוֹכוֹ֙ רָצ֣וּף אַהֲבָ֔ה מִבְּנ֖וֹת יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

Its pillars he made of silver, its base of gold, its seat of purple cloth. Its interior is inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.

KJV He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אַרְגָּמָן argaman
"purple cloth" — purple, reddish-purple; the color of royalty, extracted from murex sea snails

Argaman was among the most expensive dyes in the ancient world — thousands of murex snails were needed to produce a small quantity. Purple cloth signaled royalty, wealth, and divine favor.

Translator Notes

  1. The materials ascend in value: silver pillars, gold base, purple seat (argaman — the royal purple dye extracted from murex shells). Then the climactic detail: tokho ratsuf ahavah ('its interior is inlaid with love'). The physical construction gives way to metaphor — the innermost space is not lined with material but with love itself.
Song of Solomon 3:11

צְאֶ֧ינָה ׀ וּרְאֶ֛ינָה בְּנ֥וֹת צִיּ֖וֹן בַּמֶּ֣לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֑ה בָּעֲטָרָ֗ה שֶׁעִטְּרָה־לּ֤וֹ אִמּוֹ֙ בְּי֣וֹם חֲתֻנָּת֔וֹ וּבְי֖וֹם שִׂמְחַ֥ת לִבּֽוֹ׃

Go out and gaze, O daughters of Zion, upon King Solomon — upon the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on 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.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

עֲטָרָה atarah
"crown" — crown, wreath, garland; a head ornament signifying honor, victory, or celebration

This atarah is not a political crown but a wedding garland — placed on the groom by his mother. The image is tender and unique. His greatest glory is not conquest but love.

חֲתֻנָּה chatunnah
"wedding" — wedding, marriage celebration; from chatan ('bridegroom, son-in-law')

Chatunnah appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Like appiryon (3:9), its rarity suggests the Song's distinctive vocabulary for occasions that require special language.

Translator Notes

  1. Tse'enah ur'enah ('go out and gaze') — the famous Yiddish women's Bible commentary takes its name from this verse. The women of Jerusalem are called to see Solomon in his wedding crown (atarah) — not the royal crown of kingship but a bridal crown placed by his mother.
  2. Be-yom chatunnato uve-yom simchat libbo ('on the day of his wedding and the day of the gladness of his heart') — the wedding day is when heart-joy reaches its peak. The mother who crowns him is the last figure in the chapter — maternal blessing authorizes the marriage.
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