Song of Solomon / Chapter 6

Song of Solomon 6

13 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Chapter 6 opens with the Daughters of Jerusalem asking where the beloved has gone so they may seek him together. The woman responds that he has gone to his garden — she already knows where he is. She restates the formula of mutual belonging: 'I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.' The man then delivers another wasf praising her beauty, comparing her to Tirzah and Jerusalem, declaring that she is unique among all women — queens, concubines, and maidens alike acknowledge her singularity. The chapter closes with a mysterious scene involving the Shulammite and the dance of the two camps.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The reversal of the mutual-possession formula in verse 3 is subtle but theologically significant. In 2:16 she said 'my beloved is mine and I am his.' Here she reverses the order: 'I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.' The emphasis shifts from possession to self-giving — she names her belonging to him first, then his to her. By 7:11 it will shift again: 'I am my beloved's and his desire is toward me.' The progression tracks a deepening of love from mutual claiming to mutual yielding. The 'terrible as armies with banners' comparison (verse 4) is one of the Song's most striking moments — beauty is not merely pleasant but overwhelming, a force that can conquer armies.

Translation Friction

Verse 12 is among the most obscure verses in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew is genuinely unclear: lo yadati nafshi samatni markevot ammi-nadiv — something like 'I did not know, my soul set me among the chariots of my noble people' or 'I did not know myself — my desire set me in the chariots of Amminadib.' Every translation is a guess. The identity of the Shulammite (6:13/7:1 in Hebrew versification) is equally debated — is she from Shulem (Shunem), is this a feminine form of 'Solomon' (Shelomoh/Shulammit), or is it a title?

Connections

The comparison to Tirzah (verse 4) dates the poem or its setting to before 880 BCE, when Tirzah served as the capital of the northern kingdom before Samaria replaced it (1 Kings 15:33). The sixty queens and eighty concubines (verse 8) echo Solomon's harem (1 Kings 11:3), though the numbers here are smaller. The 'dance of the two camps' (mecholat ha-machanayim) in verse 13 may connect to the place name Mahanaim (Genesis 32:2), where Jacob saw the camp of angels.

Song of Solomon 6:1

אָ֚נָה הָלַ֣ךְ דּוֹדֵ֔ךְ הַיָּפָ֖ה בַּנָּשִׁ֑ים אָ֚נָה פָּנָ֣ה דוֹדֵ֔ךְ וּנְבַקְשֶׁ֖נּוּ עִמָּֽךְ׃

Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned? Let us seek him with you.

KJV Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Daughters of Jerusalem respond to the wasf of chapter 5 by offering to join her search. Their question — anah halakh dodekh ('where has your beloved gone?') — uses the same language she used in her search (3:1-4, 5:6). But the woman no longer needs their help.
Song of Solomon 6:2

דּוֹדִ֗י יָרַ֤ד לְגַנּוֹ֙ לַעֲרוּג֣וֹת הַבֹּ֔שֶׂם לִרְע֣וֹת בַּגַּנִּ֔ים וְלִלְקֹ֖ט שׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃

My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spice, to graze in the gardens and to gather lilies.

KJV My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. She knows exactly where he is — in his garden (ganno). The language echoes 4:16 and 5:1: the garden is her body, and he has gone to it. Li-r'ot ba-gannim ('to graze in the gardens') and li-lqot shoshannim ('to gather lilies') are erotic euphemisms — he feeds on her beauty and gathers her flowers. She answers the daughters' question with calm certainty: he is with me.
Song of Solomon 6:3

אֲנִ֤י לְדוֹדִי֙ וְדוֹדִ֣י לִ֔י הָרֹעֶ֖ה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine — he who grazes among the lilies.

KJV I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The formula from 2:16 returns reversed: there it was dodi li va-ani lo ('my beloved is mine and I am his'); here it is ani le-dodi ve-dodi li ('I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine'). She puts her belonging to him first. The shift suggests a deepening from claiming to yielding — she leads with gift, not possession.
Song of Solomon 6:4

יָפָ֨ה אַ֤תְּ רַעְיָתִי֙ כְּתִרְצָ֔ה נָאוָ֖ה כִּירוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם אֲיֻמָּ֖ה כַּנִּדְגָּלֽוֹת׃

You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, formidable as armies with banners.

KJV Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אֲיֻמָּה ayummah
"formidable" — terrible, awe-inspiring, formidable, terrifying; inspiring dread through majesty

Ayummah describes something that inspires awe and dread — not ugliness but overwhelming power. Her beauty is a conquering force. The same word appears in Habakkuk 1:7 describing the Babylonian army.

Translator Notes

  1. Tirzah ('delight') was the capital of the northern kingdom before Samaria — a city of legendary beauty. Jerusalem represents the southern ideal. Together they encompass all of Israel's beauty. Then the stunning third comparison: ayummah ka-nidgalot ('formidable as bannered hosts'). Her beauty is not merely attractive but terrifying — it overwhelms like an army on the march. Beauty as military force.
Song of Solomon 6:5

הָסֵ֤בִּי עֵינַ֙יִךְ֙ מִנֶּגְדִּ֔י שֶׁ֥הֵם הִרְהִיבֻ֑נִי שַׂעְרֵךְ֙ כְּעֵ֣דֶר הָֽעִזִּ֔ים שֶׁגָּלְשׁ֖וּ מִן־הַגִּלְעָֽד׃

Turn your eyes away from me — they overwhelm me! Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead.

KJV Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Hasebbi enayikh mi-negdi she-hem herhivuni ('turn your eyes from opposite me, for they have overwhelmed/emboldened me') — her gaze is too much for him. He asks her to look away because her eyes undo his composure. This is not rejection but surrender: her beauty has conquered him. He then repeats the wasf from 4:1 — her hair like goats descending Gilead.
Song of Solomon 6:6

שִׁנַּ֙יִךְ֙ כְּעֵ֣דֶר הָרְחֵלִ֔ים שֶׁעָל֖וּ מִן־הָרַחְצָ֑ה שֶׁכֻּלָּם֙ מַתְאִימ֔וֹת וְשַׁכֻּלָ֖ה אֵ֥ין בָּהֶֽם׃

Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from the washing — each one bearing twins, none among them bereaved.

KJV Thy 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nearly identical to 4:2 — the repetition is deliberate, creating a structural parallel between the two wasf passages. The teeth metaphor emphasizes whiteness, uniformity, and completeness. Repetition in the Song is not laziness but ritual: praise worth saying once is worth saying again.
Song of Solomon 6:7

כְּפֶ֤לַח הָרִמּוֹן֙ רַקָּתֵ֔ךְ מִבַּ֖עַד לְצַמָּתֵֽךְ׃

Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.

KJV As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Repeated from 4:3b — the pomegranate flush of her cheeks glimpsed through the tsammah ('veil'). The repetition of these specific comparisons ties chapters 4 and 6 together as a matched pair of praise poems.
Song of Solomon 6:8

שִׁשִּׁ֥ים הֵ֙מָּה֙ מְּלָכ֔וֹת וּשְׁמֹנִ֖ים פִּילַגְשִׁ֑ים וַעֲלָמ֖וֹת אֵ֥ין מִסְפָּֽר׃

Sixty are the queens, eighty the concubines, and young women beyond counting.

KJV There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The ascending numbers (sixty, eighty, countless) catalog the royal court's women — queens (melakhot), concubines (pilagshim), and alamot ('young women, maidens'). Against this vast field of feminine beauty, one woman will be singled out as incomparable.
Song of Solomon 6:9

אַחַ֥ת הִיא֙ יוֹנָתִ֣י תַמָּתִ֔י אַחַ֥ת הִיא֙ לְאִמָּ֔הּ בָּרָ֥ה הִ֖יא לְיֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑הּ רָא֤וּהָ בָנוֹת֙ וַֽיְאַשְּׁר֔וּהָ מְלָכ֥וֹת וּפִילַגְשִׁ֖ים וַֽיְהַלְלֽוּהָ׃

But one is she — my dove, my perfect one. She is the only one of her mother, the pure one of the woman who bore her. The young women saw her and called her fortunate; queens and concubines praised her.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אַחַת achat
"one" — one, unique, singular, alone; numerically one and qualitatively incomparable

Achat is the feminine numeral 'one,' but here it functions as a superlative of uniqueness. Against all the women who exist, she is the one. The echo of the Shema's echad ('one') may be intentional — she is to him what God is to Israel: unique.

Translator Notes

  1. Achat hi ('one is she') — against sixty queens, eighty concubines, and countless maidens, she is achat, unique, singular. Yonati tammati ('my dove, my perfect one') — the same pair of epithets from 5:2. She is unique to her mother and barah ('pure, bright, chosen') to the one who bore her. All the women of the court recognize her superiority: the daughters call her ashru ('fortunate, blessed') and the queens hallelu ('praise her').
Song of Solomon 6:10

מִי־זֹ֥את הַנִּשְׁקָפָ֖ה כְּמוֹ־שָׁ֑חַר יָפָ֣ה כַלְּבָנָ֗ה בָּרָה֙ כַּֽחַמָּ֔ה אֲיֻמָּ֖ה כַּנִּדְגָּלֽוֹת׃

Who is this gazing down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, formidable as armies with banners?

KJV Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Mi zot ('who is this?') echoes 3:6. She is compared to celestial bodies in ascending intensity: the dawn (shachar — the first light breaking), the moon (levanah — 'the white one'), the sun (chammah — 'the hot one,' blazing brilliance). Then the military comparison returns: ayummah ka-nidgalot. She is dawn, moon, sun, and army — everything that rises and overwhelms.
Song of Solomon 6:11

אֶל־גִּנַּ֤ת אֱגוֹז֙ יָרַ֔דְתִּי לִרְא֖וֹת בְּאִבֵּ֣י הַנָּ֑חַל לִרְאוֹת֙ הֲפָֽרְחָ֣ה הַגֶּ֔פֶן הֵנֵ֖צוּ הָרִמֹּנִֽים׃

I went down to the walnut garden to see the new growth by the stream, to see if the vine had blossomed, if the pomegranates were in bloom.

KJV I 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The speaker shifts — likely the woman. Ginnat egoz ('walnut garden') is a specific, cultivated space. She descends to inspect the ibbe ha-nachal ('green growth of the valley/stream'). The vine and pomegranates are checked for blossoming — the garden imagery that has represented the lovers' relationship is now examined for signs of flourishing.
Song of Solomon 6:12

לֹ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי נַפְשִׁ֣י שָׂמַ֔תְנִי מַרְכְּב֖וֹת עַמִּי־נָדִֽיב׃

Before I knew it, my desire set me among the chariots of my noble people.

KJV Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This verse is notoriously obscure. Lo yadati ('I did not know') introduces confusion or surprise. Nafshi samatni ('my soul/desire placed me') — her own desire transported her. Markevot ammi-nadiv could mean 'chariots of Amminadib' (a proper name), 'chariots of my noble people,' or 'chariots of a willing people.' The overall sense: desire swept her away before she understood what was happening.
Song of Solomon 6:13

שׁ֤וּבִי שׁ֙וּבִי֙ הַשּׁ֣וּלַמִּ֔ית שׁ֥וּבִי שׁ֖וּבִי וְנֶחֱזֶה־בָּ֑ךְ מַֽה־תֶּחֱזוּ֙ בַּשּׁ֣וּלַמִּ֔ית כִּמְחֹלַ֖ת הַֽמַּחֲנָֽיִם׃

Turn, turn, O Shulammite! Turn, turn, that we may gaze upon you! Why would you gaze upon the Shulammite as at the dance of the two camps?

KJV Return, 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

הַשּׁוּלַמִּית ha-Shulammit
"Shulammite" — a woman from Shulem/Shunem; or the feminine form of Solomon (Shelomoh)

The name appears only here and is deeply debated. If it is the feminine of Solomon, the Song presents the lovers as a matched pair: Shelomoh and Shulammit, king and queen, male and female forms of the same root (shalom, 'peace/wholeness').

Translator Notes

  1. Shuvi shuvi — the fourfold repetition of 'turn, return' creates urgent rhythm. The Shulammit is addressed by name (or title) for the only time in the Song. The chorus wants her to turn so they may gaze at her. The responding question may be the woman's self-deprecating reply: why would you stare at me?
  2. The mecholat ha-machanayim ('dance of the two camps') is unknown — it may be a specific dance, a military formation, or a wedding tradition. The Shulammite title may be the feminine form of Shelomoh (Solomon) — making her his counterpart.
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