What does the chapter actually say?
Identify the explicit claims before importing later doctrine or assumptions.
SONG OF SOLOMON • CHAPTER 8
Song of Solomon 8
Erotic love poetry, desire, beauty, longing, mutual attraction, separation, and reunion.
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Song of Solomon 8
WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE
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1
Oh that you were like my brother,
who nursed from the breasts of my mother!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you;
yes, and no one would despise me.
who nursed from the breasts of my mother!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you;
yes, and no one would despise me.
2
I would lead you, bringing you into the house of my mother,
who would instruct me.
I would have you drink spiced wine,
of the juice of my pomegranate.
who would instruct me.
I would have you drink spiced wine,
of the juice of my pomegranate.
3
His left hand would be under my head.
His right hand would embrace me.
His right hand would embrace me.
4
I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,
that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
until it so desires.
that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
until it so desires.
5
Who is this who comes up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?
Under the apple tree I aroused you.
There your mother conceived you.
There she was in labor and bore you.
leaning on her beloved?
Under the apple tree I aroused you.
There your mother conceived you.
There she was in labor and bore you.
6
Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm;
for love is strong as death.
Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a very flame of Yahweh.
as a seal on your arm;
for love is strong as death.
Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a very flame of Yahweh.
7
Many waters can’t quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love,
he would be utterly scorned.
neither can floods drown it.
If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love,
he would be utterly scorned.
8
We have a little sister.
She has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
in the day when she is to be spoken for?
She has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
in the day when she is to be spoken for?
9
If she is a wall,
we will build on her a turret of silver.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
we will build on her a turret of silver.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
10
I am a wall, and my breasts like towers,
then I was in his eyes like one who found peace.
then I was in his eyes like one who found peace.
11
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.
He leased out the vineyard to keepers.
Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
He leased out the vineyard to keepers.
Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
12
My own vineyard is before me.
The thousand are for you, Solomon,
two hundred for those who tend its fruit.
The thousand are for you, Solomon,
two hundred for those who tend its fruit.
13
You who dwell in the gardens, with friends in attendance,
let me hear your voice!
let me hear your voice!
14
Come away, my beloved!
Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices!
Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices!
POETRY
Where this chapter fits
Song of Solomon belongs to Israel's wisdom/poetic tradition, where literary form matters as much as historical setting.
Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.
Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.
ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS
Historical claims should be compared with historical evidence.
Scientific claims should be compared with science.
Moral claims should be examined morally.
Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Don't skip the hard parts.
What kind of literature is this?
Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.
What historical evidence matters?
Ask whether names, places, institutions, events, customs, and chronology can be independently investigated.
What are the strongest competing interpretations?
Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.
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