Song of Solomon 1:16-17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Song of Solomon 1:12-17

Here the conference is carried on between Christ and his spouse, and endearments are mutually exchanged. I. Believers take a great complacency in Christ, and in communion with him. To you that believe he is precious, above any thing in this world, 1 Pet. 2:7. Observe, 1. The humble reverence believers have for Christ as their Sovereign, Song 1:12. He is a King in respect both of dignity and dominion; he wears the crown of honour, he bears the sceptre of power, both which are the unspeakable... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Song of Solomon 1:16

Behold, thou art fair, my beloved ,.... These are the words of the church, giving back to Christ his commendation of her, and much in the same words, as more properly belonging to him than her; he calls her "my love", she calls him "my beloved": he says that she was "fair"; the same she says of him, with a like note of wonder, attention, and asseveration, he had prefixed to the commendation of her; suggesting, that his fairness and beauty were essential, original, and underived, but hers... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Song of Solomon 1:17

The beams of our house are cedar ,.... Or "houses" F11 בתינו "domorum nostrarum", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c.; "aedium nostrarum", Marckius. ; where their bed was, and where they had fellowship and communion together. By which may be meant particular congregations or churches, in which houses Christ has a property, being of his building and beautifying; where he takes up his rest and residence, and where he feeds and feasts with his people, and to the privileges of which all... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Song of Solomon 1:16

Also our bed is green - ערס eres , from its use in several places of the Hebrew Bible, generally signifies a mattress; and here probably a green bank is meant, on which they sat down, being now on a walk in the country. Or it may mean a bower in a garden, or the nuptial bed. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Song of Solomon 1:17

The beams of our house are cedar - Perhaps it was under a cedar tree whose vast limbs were interwoven with the ברות beroth , a tree of the cypress kind, where they now sat. And this natural bower recommended itself to the poet's attention by its strength, loftiness, and its affording them a shady cover and cool retreat. How natural to break out into the praise of a bower, by whose branches and foliage we are shielded from the intense heat of the sun! Even the shelter of a great rock to a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Song of Solomon 1:9-17

The communion of the bridegroom and the bride. I. THE APPROACH OF THE BRIDEGROOM . 1 . His address. He compares the bride to a beautiful mare of his own in the chariots of Pharaoh. The words come fitly from the lips of the speaker. He was the first king of Israel who took delight in horses and chariots, and he imported them from Egypt. The words are thought to have suggested a similar comparison in Theocritus ('Idyll,' 18.30); they indicate the stateliness of the bride's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Song of Solomon 1:12-17

Reciprocal esteem. Love, manifested and known, will always beget love. As every plant has in its womb seed of its own kind, so, too, love has within itself generative power. If any human heart does not love our Immanuel, it is because that heart is ignorant of him, its eyesight is blurred, its vision is obscured. No sooner is Jesus known as a true and substantial Friend, than love in some form springs up. In the form of gratitude it first appears; then in the form of admiration; then in... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Song of Solomon 1:16-17

Song of Solomon 1:16-17 . Behold, thou art fair The church here again speaks, and retorts Christ’s words; thou, and thou only, art fair indeed; yea, pleasant As thou art beautiful in thyself, so thou art amiable and pleasant in thy condescension to me. Also, our bed This seems to denote the place where the church enjoys sweet fellowship with Christ, by his Spirit accompanying his ordinances; is green Is pleasant, as that colour to the eye. The beams of our house are cedar Not only... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Song of Solomon 1:8-17

The lovers talk together (1:8-2:7)In reply to the girl’s longing, the man invites her to come and join him in the fields (8). He praises her beauty and promises to give her the finest jewellery (9-11). The girl responds that her greatest joy is just to be in his presence and let her love flow out to him (12-14). After the man further praises the girl’s beauty (15), she expresses her desire to be with him in the fields again, where they can lie down together in the shade of the trees (16-17).The... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Song of Solomon 1:16

my beloved. Here it is Masculine. The Shulamite speaks again. bed = couch. green = verdant. read more