Chapter Six
verses 8-10
Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number;
Queens were the legal wives, concubines were those skilled in sexual performance but didn’t have the ‘wife’ status. These numbers show that the Song of Songs was written in an early part of Solomon’s reign for in the end he had 700 wives and 300 concubines (I Kings 11:3). The virgins are whose who were available as potential concubines. (24) page 51
but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.
this next line is spoken by the queens and concubines. Solomon is not denying that he went to where his wives and concubines were, but he says that they were saying how special she is – it sounds like they were saying that in agreeing with him.
Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?
This praise is illustrated by a brief song that opens with a cry of amazement: “Who is this?” (cf. Cant 3:6-8). The context puts it in the mouth of the queens, thereby giving the object of their praise an absolute, superlative status, alone atop the pyramid of maidens, concubines and queens. (29)
Of the two Hebrew words for moon, the word chosen in this text is the one which emphasizes the whiteness of the moon rather than the other which emphasizes the moon as yellow. Of the two Hebrew words for sun, the one chosen in this text emphasizes the warmness of the sun, whereas the other pictures the sun as unwearied. (24) page 53
Oh, that kind or surprise comes up in the Bible. We have a guy and a girl and sex, love, romance, marriage, and relationship. Now it turns out the guy has a bunch of wives.
Many of the wives (queens) were part of the peace treaty with another country. There were lots of small countries or nations and after dealing with David for 40 years, they were ready to make treaties. For the king to give a daughter to another king, it showed that he was serious about the treaty, and also gave him someone on the inside who could help smooth out problems when they came. We aren’t told what kind of relationship he had with any of these wives up to this point. Was she really the ‘love of his life’? We don’t know. We know that God warned him about having many foreign wives. And Solomon’s wives lead him away from God. What happened to this relationship? We just don’t know.
But for a period of time, he had a relationship with the girl in Song of Solomon and he wasn’t with any of the other girls. When he did this, they had a fantastic relationship. That is what Song of Solomon is about. It shows how great sex, love, romance, marriage, and relationship can be. It takes work to keep it together. It is easy for it to fall apart.
Solomon had extreme wisdom, power and money. He started strong, but he ended poorly. God told him that he left him in power because of his father David, but that he would tear the kingdom apart for his son.
What will people that know you say about your life?
What will God say about your life?
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