Song of Solomon 6:13

6:11-13 In retirement and in meditation the Christian character is formed and perfected. But not in the retirement of the idle, the self-indulgent, or the trifler. When the Christian is released from the discharge of his duties in life, the world has no attractions for him. His prayer is, that all things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow within him, and around him. Such are the interesting cares and employments of him whom the world wrongly deems unhappy, and lost to his true interests. In humility and self-abasement, the humble Christian would turn away from the sight of all; but the Lord delights to honour him. Chiefly, however, may the reference be to the ministering angels who shall be sent for the soul of the Christian. Their approach may startle, but the departing soul shall find the Lord its strength and its portion for ever. The church is called the Shulamite: the word signifies perfection and peace; not in herself, but in Christ, in whom she is complete, through his righteousness; and has peace, which he made for her through his blood, and gives unto her by his Spirit.

Song of Solomon 6:13 . Return — Christ recalls his spouse, who, as when Christ was gone, she pursued after him, so now, when Christ was coming to her, she was ready to wander from him. Return — This word is repeated four times, to signify both Christ’s passionate love to her, and her backwardness. O Shulamite — This title signifies the wife of Solomon, thus called after her husband’s name; see Isaiah 4:1 ; and as Christ is called by the name of Solomon, ( Song of Solomon 3:7 ,) so the church is fitly described by the title of Solomon’s wife. That we may look upon thee — That I and my companions may contemplate thy beauty. What will you see — But what do you, my friends, expect to discover in her? Christ proposes the question, that they might take special notice of this as a very remarkable thing in her. The company — Whereby he intimates, that this one spouse was made up of the whole multitude of believers; of two armies — Confederate together, and so this may signify the union of Jews and Gentiles, and the safety and strength of the church, which is compared to a numerous host, distributed into two armies.

Return, return - About to withdraw, the bride is recalled by the chorus, desiring yet a little longer to contemplate a grace and beauty which has won all hearts. Shulamite - Probably the same as "Shunamite," i. e., a native of the town or district of Shunem, situated in the territory of Issachar Joshua 19:18, on the slopes of the Little Hermon, overlooking the plain of Jezreel. It is now called Salem. See - Look or gaze at. The bride's modest reply, taking up their words, and wondering at their request. The chorus answer with a further petition. As it were the company of two armies - Or, rather, the dance of Mahanaim (see the margin), a well-known sacred dance, taking its name from the locality in which it originated Genesis 32:2; Joshua 21:38. Some, taking "Mahanaim" to be an ordinary designation for "the Angels" or "Angelic Hosts," render here "a dance as it were of angel-choirs," i. e., one of special grace and beauty. The former of these interpretations is to be preferred.

Return: Christ recalls his spouse, who as when Christ was gone she pursued after him, so now when Christ was coming or come to her, she was ready to wander and go astray from him, according to the common and corrupt disposition and custom of mankind; and therefore he seeks to stop or to reclaim her, and to oblige her to return to her first love, and to repent more thoroughly than she had yet done. Return : this word is here repeated four times, to signify both Christ’s passionate love to her, and earnest desire of her return, and her backwardness to it, which made so many calls necessary. Shulamite: this title signifies either, 1. One born in or belonging to Jerusalem, called also Salem, Psalm 76:2 . Or, 2. The wife of Solomon, thus called after her husband’s name: see Isaiah 4:1 . And as Christ is called by the name of Solomon, Song of Solomon 3:7,9,11 , so the church is fitly described by the title of Solomon’s wife. That we may look upon thee; that I and my companions and friends may contemplate thy beauty. What will ye see? but what do you my friends expect to discover in her? Christ proposeth the question, that he may give the following answer, and that they should take special notice of this as a very remarkable thing in her. The company, whereby he intimates that this one and only spouse was made up of the whole multitude of believers, of two armies; either, 1.

Opposite one against the other; and so this may note the conflict between the flesh and Spirit which is in all the faithful in this life. Or, 2. Confederate together; and so this may signify either, 1. The re-collection and union of Jews and Gentiles which shall one day be under Christ as their common Head, Ephesians 2:15 . Or, 2. The safety and strength of the church, which is compared to an army with banners, above, Song of Solomon 6:4,10 , and here to a numerous host distributed into two armies; wherein also there may be an allusion to that story, Genesis 32:1 , where this very word, here rendered two armies, is used.

13. Entreaty of the daughters of Jerusalem to her, in her chariot-like flight from them (compare 2Ki 2:12; 2Sa 19:14). Shulamite—new name applied to her now for the first time. Feminine of Solomon, Prince of Peace; His bride, daughter of peace, accepting and proclaiming it (Isa 52:7; Joh 14:27; Ro 5:1; Eph 2:17). Historically, this name answers to the time when, not without a divine design in it, the young Church met in Solomon's porch (Ac 3:11; 5:12). The entreaty, "Return, O Shulamite," answers to the people's desire to keep Peter and John, after the lame man was healed, when they were about to enter the temple. Their reply attributing the glory not to themselves, but to Jesus Christ, answers to the bride's reply here, "What will ye see" in me? "As it were," &c. She accepts the name Shulamite, as truly describing her. But adds, that though "one" (So 6:9), she is nevertheless "two." Her glories are her Lord's, beaming through her (Eph 5:31, 32). The two armies are the family of Jesus Christ in heaven, and that on earth, joined and one with Him; the one militant, the other triumphant. Or Jesus Christ and His ministering angels are one army, the Church the other, both being one (Joh 17:21, 22). Allusion is made to Mahanaim (meaning two hosts), the scene of Jacob's victorious conflict by prayer (Ge 32:2, 9, 22-30).

Though she is peace, yet she has warfare here, between flesh and spirit within and foes without; her strength, as Jacob's at Mahanaim, is Jesus Christ and His host enlisted on her side by prayer; whence she obtains those graces which raise the admiration of the daughters of Jerusalem.

13 . It is not clear at once who the speaker in this verse is. There must be either more than one person concerned in it, or quotation, for there is an evident interchange of question and answer. Probably we should, with Oettli, assign the verse to the bride. She is rehearsing all that happened on the eventful day when Solomon came upon her. When she found herself among the royal chariots she turned to flee, and the ladies called to her to return. Hearing the call, she stopped to ask, ‘Why would ye gaze at the Shulammite as upon the dance of Mahanaim’? See below. O Shulammite ] This name for the bride occurs here only, and cannot be a proper name, otherwise even in the vocative there would be no article, as there is here. It must, therefore, mean ‘maiden of Shulam’ (cp. the Shunammite, 1 Kings 1:3 ). Not knowing her name, the courtiers call her by the name of the village near which they were when they saw her. This village was doubtless Shunem, in the plains of Esdraelon, which belonged to the tribe of Issachar. It has been identified by Robinson ( Researches , 11. 325) with the modern Solam , a village in the neighbourhood of Jezreel on the southern slope of the east end of Little Hermon, as Nain is upon its northern slope.

From the fact that the modern name has l for n , it is probable that Shulam is a later form than Shunem. that we may look upon thee ] The Heb. verb with the construction it has here means generally ‘to look upon with pleasure,’ but also simply ‘to gaze at’ (cp. Isaiah 47:13 ). In the first clause here we have the first meaning, in the second the other according to many expositors. In this latter case, “What will ye see” should be What would ye gaze at ? But it is better to keep the same meaning and translate, Why would ye look upon the Shulammite? As it were the company of two armies ] The R.V. gives As upon the dance of Mahanaim? and probably this is the right translation. As she endeavours to escape, the Shulammite asks, would they stare at her as at a public spectacle. Some have thought that there is a reference here to the angel hosts from which Jacob is said to have named the place ( Genesis 32:2 ). But there is no hint that there was anything resembling a dance in their movements. The probability, therefore, is that after Jacob’s vision Mahanaim became a holy place, if it was not one before, and that God was there praised in the dance (cp. Jdg 21:21 ), and that these dances had become famous either for their gracefulness or for their splendour.