Song Of Solomon 5:9 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Song Of Solomon 5:9 kjv
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
Song Of Solomon 5:9 nkjv
What is your beloved More than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved More than another beloved, That you so charge us?
Song Of Solomon 5:9 niv
How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you so charge us?
Song Of Solomon 5:9 esv
What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us?
Song Of Solomon 5:9 nlt
Why is your lover better than all others,
O woman of rare beauty?
What makes your lover so special
that we must promise this?
Song Of Solomon 5 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Psa 73:25 | Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire... | God as the ultimate, incomparable desire. |
| Psa 45:2 | You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips... | Messianic prophecy of Christ's beauty/grace. |
| Isa 26:8 | ...your name and your remembrance are the desire of our soul. | Desire for God's name and presence. |
| SoS 3:1-4 | All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves... | Previous example of intense search for beloved. |
| Matt 13:45-46 | ...a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value... | Seeking and sacrificing for something of supreme worth. |
| Phil 3:7-8 | ...I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ... | Recognizing Christ's incomparable value above all. |
| Col 1:18 | ...so that in everything he might have the supremacy. | Christ's absolute preeminence. |
| 1 Pet 2:7 | Now to you who believe, this stone is precious... | Christ as uniquely precious to believers. |
| Luke 14:26 | "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother... | Demanding singular, total devotion to Christ. |
| Deut 6:5 | You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul... | Command for complete love towards God. |
| Jer 9:23-24 | ...let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me... | Boasting in knowledge of God's uniqueness. |
| John 6:68 | "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." | Recognizing Christ as the sole source of truth. |
| 1 Cor 1:18 | For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing... | World's inability to understand spiritual devotion. |
| John 14:22 | ...Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world? | The world questions divine preference/focus. |
| SoS 5:10-16 | My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand... | The Shulamite's direct answer to this very question. |
| 1 Pet 3:15 | Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you... | Readiness to explain the hope/reason for faith. |
| Psa 9:1 | I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your... | Recounting God's deeds out of fullhearted gratitude. |
| Col 4:6 | Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you... | Wise and prepared speech to answer questions. |
| 2 Cor 3:18 | ...we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord... | Reflecting the unique glory of Christ. |
| Rev 1:14-16 | His head and his hair were white as white wool, as white as snow... | Describing the transcendent, unique glory of Christ. |
Song Of Solomon 5 verses
Song Of Solomon 5 9 meaning
Song of Solomon 5:9 presents a pivotal question from the Daughters of Jerusalem to the Shulamite. Witnessing her distress and hearing her desperate adjuration to find her beloved (v. 8), they are intrigued by such intense devotion. Their query challenges her to articulate why her beloved is uniquely superior to others, thus meriting such an earnest search and charge. The question serves to prompt the Shulamite's eloquent description of her beloved in the subsequent verses.
Song Of Solomon 5 9 Context
This verse is an interlude within the Shulamite's second significant dream/vision sequence (5:2-8). In the preceding verses (5:2-7), the Beloved arrives at her door in the night, seeking entry, but her delay causes him to leave. Overwhelmed by remorse and a surge of love, she embarks on a frantic, nighttime search for him through the city. Her emotional state culminates in her desperate plea to the Daughters of Jerusalem (5:8), charging them, should they find her Beloved, to tell him that she is "sick with love."
Verse 5:9 then records the Daughters' collective response. They have witnessed her profound anguish, her tireless quest, and heard her ardent adjuration. Their question reflects their curiosity and a mild challenge: "What makes your beloved so special, so distinct from other lovers, that you demand such intense, love-sick devotion from us?" It sets the stage for the Shulamite's renowned and detailed encomium of her Beloved that immediately follows in 5:10-16, shifting the focus from her lament to her profound admiration.
Song Of Solomon 5 9 Word analysis
- What is
- An interrogative opening. It initiates a question, inviting comparison and justification.
- Signifies curiosity and a challenge, questioning the intensity of the Shulamite's demand.
- your beloved
- Hebrew: דּוֹדֵךְ (dōwdeḵ), literally "your uncle/friend/lover." In Song of Solomon, consistently refers to the male lover.
- Emphasizes the personal and intimate nature of the relationship, as seen from the Shulamite's perspective.
- more than
- A comparative particle. The core of the question: asking for distinctiveness, superiority.
- Implies that there must be something extraordinary that sets her beloved apart.
- another beloved
- Hebrew: מִדּוֹד (middōwd), "from/than a beloved." Refers to ordinary or other potential lovers.
- Presents a standard baseline; implies other men exist, making the Shulamite's particular affection remarkable to the Daughters.
- O most beautiful
- Hebrew: הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים (ha-yāphâ banāšîm), "the beautiful among women," a superlative form.
- A title of honor and compliment to the Shulamite herself. It elevates her status, implying that she could have any lover she desires, making her choice and singular devotion to this beloved even more intriguing.
- Highlights the paradox: a woman of such beauty and standing expresses such an extraordinary, exclusive love.
- among women?
- Completes the superlative, contextualizing her exceptional beauty relative to others.
- What is your beloved more than another beloved,
- This repeated phrase acts as an insistent, almost incredulous, query. It reinforces the central question and builds rhetorical weight, emphasizing the Daughters' astonishment at her unique love.
- that you thus charge us?
- Hebrew: צוִּיתָֽנוּ (tsū'îtānu), "that you have commanded us/enjoined us/charged us." From root צוה (ṣāwāh) meaning "to command."
- Directly references the Shulamite's adjuration in verse 8: "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved..."
- The Daughters are asking for the reason or justification behind her fervent demand. They seek understanding for the high price she asks of them in her pursuit of her specific beloved.
Song Of Solomon 5 9 Bonus section
The repeated rhetorical question in Song of Solomon 5:9 ("What is your beloved more than another beloved?") underscores the significant impact of the Shulamite's love-sickness and adjuration on the Daughters of Jerusalem. This repetition emphasizes their genuine curiosity and highlights the depth of the spiritual parallel: genuine, wholehearted love for God, particularly for Christ, often appears peculiar, zealous, or even excessive to those who do not share that relationship. Their questioning provides an open door for the Shulamite (and, allegorically, the Church) to give a compelling testimony to the incomparable beauty and worth of the Beloved. It sets up the magnificent portrait of Christ's character, grace, and glory, distinguishing Him from all others.
Song Of Solomon 5 9 Commentary
Song of Solomon 5:9 is a pivotal interrogative that acts as a literary device to transition from the Shulamite's personal anguish to a public declaration of her beloved's unparalleled excellencies. The Daughters of Jerusalem, representing a worldly perspective or simply the collective voice of observers, are struck by the intense, all-consuming nature of her love. They are not merely asking about her beloved's appearance but questioning the cause of such profound and seemingly extravagant devotion that compels her to lay an oath upon them. Their address to her as "most beautiful among women" elevates the perceived discrepancy: a woman of her caliber would, in their view, have many admirers, making her singular focus all the more remarkable. This challenge serves a crucial theological function: just as the world might question the singular devotion of the believer to Christ, asking "What makes your Lord so special?", this verse invites a robust, personal testimony to Christ's unique glory and supremacy, preparing the reader for the sublime portrait of the Beloved in the following verses. It shows that true, passionate love often appears incomprehensible or excessive to those outside of it.