Song of Solomon 7:1

7:1-9 The similitudes here are different from what they were before, and in the original refer to glorious and splendid clothing. Such honour have all his saints; and having put on Christ, they are distinguished by their beautiful and glorious apparel. They adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things. Consistent believers honour Christ, recommend the gospel, and convince and awaken sinners. The church resembles the stately and spreading palm; while her love for Christ, and the obedience resulting therefrom, are precious fruit of the true Vine. The King is held in the galleries. Christ takes delight in the assemblies and ordinances of his people; and admires the fruit of his grace in them. When applied to the church and to each faithful Christian, all this denotes that beauty of holiness, in which they shall be presented to their heavenly Bridegroom.

Song of Solomon 7:1 . How beautiful are thy feet, &c. — The bridegroom, who spake the last words, here continues his speech, and breaks forth into a particular description and commendation of the spouse, partly from the parts of her body, and partly from her ornaments. With respect to which the same thing is to be observed which was remarked concerning her description of the bridegroom, namely, that there is no necessity of a distinct application of every particular article of it, the design being only this, to describe the beauty and glory of the church, under the representation of a beautiful and noble woman. This also is observable, that in the description of Christ, she begins at the head, and so goeth downward, ( Song of Solomon 5:11 , &c.,) but Christ, in the description of the spouse, proceeds from the feet upward. With shoes — Shoes were anciently evidences of a free and comfortable state, whereas slaves and mourners used to go barefoot.

VII. (1) How beautiful . . .—Literally, How beautiful are thy feet (or thy steps) in the sandals. This description of the beauty of the bride— “From the delicate Arab arch of her feet To the grace that, bright and light as the crest Of a peacock, sits on her shining head”— is plainly connected with the dance mentioned in the last verse, and possibly proceeds in this order, instead of from the head downwards, because the feet of a dancer would first attract attention. See end of Excursus III. O prince’s daughter!—Heb. Bath-nadib (the LXX. keep Ναδαβ)—evidently again suggested by Amminadib, in Song of Solomon 6:12. But as the allusion there cannot be recovered, nothing relating to the rank of the heroine can be deduced from the recurrence of nadib (= noble) here. The reference may be to character rather than descent, just as in the opposite expression, “daughter of Belial” (1Samuel 1:16). Joints.—Heb. chamûk, from chamah—went away, probably refers to the rapid movements in dancing, and the image is suggested by the graceful curves formed by a chain or pendulous ornament when in motion. Or the reference may be to the contour of the person.

Thy feet with shoes - Or, thy steps in the sandals: the bride's feet are seen in motion in the dance. "Joints" might be rendered circling movements. Prince's daughter - Or, daughter of a noble; the bride is of honorable though not of kingly birth. Like jewels - The image suggested is that of large well-formed pearls or other jewels skillfully strung or linked together.

CHAPTER 7 So 7:1-13. 1. thy feet—rather, "thy goings" (Ps 17:5). Evident allusion to Isa 52:7: "How beautiful … are the feet of him … that publisheth peace" (Shulamite, So 6:13). shoes—Sandals are richly jewelled in the East (Lu 15:22; Eph 6:15). She is evidently "on the mountains," whither she was wafted (So 6:12), above the daughters of Jerusalem, who therefore portray her feet first. daughter—of God the Father, with whom Jesus Christ is one (Mt 5:9), "children of (the) God" (of peace), equivalent to Shulamite (Ps 45:10-15; 2Co 6:18), as well as bride of Jesus Christ. prince's—therefore princely herself, freely giving the word of life to others, not sparing her "feet," as in So 5:3; Ex 12:11. To act on the offensive is defensive to ourselves. joints—rather, "the rounding"; the full graceful curve of the hips in the female figure; like the rounding of a necklace (as the Hebrew for "jewels" means). Compare with the English Version, Eph 4:13-16; Col 2:19. Or, applying it to the girdle binding together the robes round the hips (Eph 6:14). cunning workman—(Ps 139:14-16; Eph 2:10, 22; 5:29, 30, 32).A further description of the church’ s graces, Song of Solomon 7:1-7. This design to visit the church, with the blessed effect thereof, Song of Solomon 7:8,9. She professeth her faith and desire, Song of Solomon 7:10. She inviteth him to communion with her, Song of Solomon 7:11. The end thereof, Song of Solomon 7:12,13.

The Bridegroom, who spake the last words, here continueth his speech, and breaks forth into an elegant and particular description and commendation of the spouse, partly from the parts of her body, and partly from her ornaments; in which the same thing is to be observed which was noted concerning her description of the Bridegroom, that there is no necessity of a distinct application of every parcel of it, the design being only this, to describe the beauty and glory of the church under the representation of a beautiful and noble woman. This also is observable, that in the description of Christ she begins at the head, and so goeth downward, Song of Solomon 5:11, &c., but Christ in the description of the spouse proceedeth from the feet upwards. Feet being the chief instrument of our motion from place to place, is oft used metonymically for the motion itself, and so may here signify either the inward motions, the workings of the affections, or the outward motions, the steps or actions of the life, both which are right and amiable in believers. Shoes were anciently evidences of a free and comfortable state, whereas slaves and mourners use to go barefoot, 2 Samuel 15:30 Isaiah 20:4, which also in women of high quality were adorned with gold and other ornaments; of which see Isaiah 3:18. These may also signify that the feet of believers should be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Ephesians 6:15.

1 . thy feet with shoes ] Lit. thy steps in sandals . Budde emphasises the fact that the feet are not spoken of here, but the steps, i.e. in his view the dancing movements of the feet in the sword dance. Oettli on the other hand emphasises the shoes, pointing out that the country maiden had probably not worn them before, but the ladies say how well she walks, and how well they become her. The latter is the sense which accords best with the view of the poem which we have taken. O prince’s daughter ] This does not mean that the bride was actually of a noble family. Even if Budde’s interpretation of the poem were accepted, it would be a strange thing to call the bride a nobleman’s daughter, for it would be ridiculous to call a peasant bride, who was a queen only as a bride, a prince’s daughter, and even if Abishag were referred to she was not that either. Nor can the phrase be a substitute for queen, for strictly speaking Solomon’s queens were not noblemen’s but kings’ daughters. On the dramatic view, bath nâdhîbh must mean ‘a born lady’ as we say, i.e. one who would adorn any station. Siegfried thinks that the words arise from a confusion with the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8 , who is called ‘a great woman,’ i.e. a woman of good position. Cheyne would read here, as in Song of Solomon 6:12 , daughter of delights . That would suit our view admirably, but there seems to be no sufficient support for it.

The joints of thy thighs are like jewels ] Probably this should be rendered as in the R.V. margin, Thy rounded thighs are like jewels, except that the diminutive force which the word ‘jewels’ has is rather inappropriate here, where some large ornament must be meant. The graceful curves of the hips are for beauty of form like ornaments. Some with less probability explain the word to mean the rhythmical movements of the dance. a cunning workman ] Cunning , of course, is used here in the old sense of ‘skilful,’ and probably ’ommân is equivalent to ’âmôn , a skilled artisan. Stade, Gramm . p. 12, gives it as a word of the Northern dialect. Chap. Song of Solomon 7:1-6 . The Praises of the Ladies of the Hareem This song or section contains the praises of the Shulammite by the ladies of the hareem; but the circumstances under which the words are spoken are in no way indicated. Some, as Oettli, would make it part of the previous scene. But we can hardly suppose that her dress in the presence of Solomon would be such as to suggest the kind of references to her person here made. It would rather seem to us that they were made in the privacy of the women’s apartments, when the Shulammite was being dressed by the women of the court to receive Solomon. In that case it would stand by itself as a separate picture. The object of this fulsome flattery would be to induce her to accept the king’s addresses.

Verse 1. - How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. To the ladies who are looking on the bride appears simply noble and royal. The word naudhib which is used, translated "prince's daughter," means "noble in disposition," and so in birth and rank, as in 1 Samuel 2:8 ; Psalm 113:8 ; so in Song of Solomon 6:12 , "the princely people." The description, which is perfectly chaste, is intended to bring before the eye the lithe and beautiful movements of an elegant dancer; the bendings of the body, full of activity and grace, are compared to the swinging to and fro of jewelled ornaments made in chains. The cunning workman or artist is one who is master of that which abides beautiful. אָמָּן , like, יָמִין , "whose truthful work can be trusted." The description passes from the thighs or loins to the middle part of the body, because in the mode of dancing prevailing in the East the breast and the body, are raised, and the outlines of the form appear through the clothing, which is of a light texture. We must not expect to find a symbolical meaning for all the details of such a description. The general intention is to set forth the beauty and glory of the bride.