Thou that dwellest in the gardens - This is supposed to refer to the bridegroom asking permission of his spouse early in the morning to retire, as was his usual custom. He intimates the companions were waiting to hear, and he wished to hear it in the way of permission to depart. read more
Part V. CONCLUSION . THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE IN THE SCENE OF THEIR FIRST LOVE . read more
Entire union of wedded love. I. COMMUNION OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE . 1 . Approach of the bride. "Who is this?" The question is asked for the third time (see So Song of Solomon 3:6 ; Song of Solomon 6:10 ). In So Song of Solomon 3:6 the chorus of youths asks the question as the bride is borne in royal state to meet the king in the city of his kingdom; it occurs again in So Song of Solomon 6:10 , when the maidens of the chorus are struck with admiration of... read more
Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken for thy voice; cause me to hear it . There cannot be much doubt that these are the words of the bridegroom. They are addressed to the bride. She is the dweller in the gardens; that is, one who is at home in the gardens, whose beauty blends with the rural loveliness around her. The king wishes his bride to understand that she is only acceptable in his sight, and that all that she asks shall be granted. It is delightful to him to hear... read more
The longed for voice. "The companions hearken for thy voice: cause me to hear it." Such is the closing utterance of the royal spouse, who thus invites the bride to give expression to the feelings that animate her breast. May we not believe that the King of kings, who is yet the Lover and the Friend of his Church, in similar language asks for the free communication of the Church's purest thoughts and best desires? Welcome to the Saviour is the outpouring of his people's hearts. Never can... read more
The last appeal. These verses are spoken not by but to the beloved. Literalists say that it is the beloved who speaks, and asks his betrothed to sing to him, and that she complies, and sings to him her song, which we have in So Song of Solomon 2:17 . But we prefer to understand the whole as her appeal to him. Note, therefore— I. THE TITLE SHE GIVES HIM . "O thou that dwellest in the gardens" ( Song of Solomon 2:13 ). The gardens are the souls of his loving people. Rightly... read more
Sacred fellowship. The love of Christ to men amazes us by its generosity; it amazes us also by its constancy and its condescension. He, who delighted in human companionship when on earth, delights in it still. In his irrepressible longing to do us good, he encourages us to speak freely, to tell out our desires, and to ask largely. Our requests for his gifts are never too large; they are invariably too small. If he can increase our faith in him and draw forth our love, he has done us... read more
The poem having opened with the song of a chorus in praise of the king Song of Solomon 1:2-4, concludes with a versicle recited by the bride, repeating the last words of her former strain Song of Solomon 2:17, with one significant change. She no longer thinks of the possibility of separation. The “Mountains of Bether” (division) of Song of Solomon 2:17, are now “Mountains of Besamim” (spices). His haunts and hers are henceforth the same (compare Song of Solomon 4:6). read more
Song of Solomon 8:13. Thou that dwellest The word היושׁבת thus rendered, is in the feminine gender, which plainly shows that Christ speaks here to his spouse, being about to depart from her for a season, as the next verse shows; in the gardens Not in the wilderness of the world, for believers are called out of the world, (John 15:19,) but in the church, the garden of God, which God hath fenced and appropriated to himself. He saith, gardens, because of the many particular congregations... read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Song of Solomon 8:13
Thou that dwellest in the gardens ,.... These are the words of Christ to the church, describing her by her habitation, and may be rendered, "O thou, inhabitress of the gardens" F9 היושבת "quae habitas", V. L. Pagninus, Brightman, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Michaelis; "quae sedes", Cocceius. ; the word used being in the feminine gender, which determines the sense of it, as belonging to the church: but the Septuagint version renders it by a word in the masculine... read more