French tapestry with the text of Song 8:6 in Latin: "Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum" (English: "Set me as a seal upon thine heart"). Palais du Tau, Reims, Hauteville, Aisne (17th century).
Song of Songs 8 (abbreviated as Song 8) is the eighth (and the final) chapter of the Song of Songs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the ChristianBible.[1][2] This book is one of the Five Megillot, a collection of short books, together with Book of Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther, within the Ketuvim, the third and the last part of the Hebrew Bible.[3] Jewish tradition views Solomon as the author of this book, and this attribution influences the acceptance of this book as a canonical text, although this is at present largely disputed.[3] This chapter contains dialogues between the woman and the daughters of Jerusalem, the woman and her brothers, then finally, the woman and the man.[4]
This female passage is the last part of a long section concerning the desire and love in the country which starts in chapter 6 until 8:4.[8] It consists probably or possibly of more than a single song, describing the woman's wish that her lover to be her brother, so that they can be together in her 'mother's house' (verses 1-2; cf. 3:4); they embrace (verse 3; cf. 2:6) and another appeal to the daughters of Jerusalem (verse 4).[4]
The names of God are apparently substituted with similar sounding phrases depicting 'female gazelles' (צְבָא֔וֹת, tseḇā’ōṯ) for [God of] hosts (צבאותtseḇā’ōṯ), and 'does of the field'/'wild does/female deer' (אילות השדה, ’ay-lōṯ ha-śā-ḏeh) for God Almighty (אל שדי, ’êlshaddai).[12]
Chorus: Search for the couple (8:5a)
Verse 5 opens the last section or epilogue of the book, speaking about the power of love which continues to verse 14 (the end of the book).[8]
"Who is that coming up from the wilderness": a reprise of Song 3:6.[14]
"Your mother": this is the only time the man's mother is mentioned, whereas the woman's mother is mentioned in five places (Song 1:6; 3:4, 6:9; 8:1,2), and one mention of Solomon's mother (Song 3:11).[15][16]
Female: The power of love (8:5b-7)
There are two fragments of the female voice in this part (verse 5; cf. 3:6–12, 2:3) and verses 6-7 containing her declaration of love which 'might have constituted a suitable end for the whole book'.[4]
"A most intense flame": lit. "a flame of Yah", poetic form of "YHWH", "the Lord".[21] from Hebrew: שלהבתיה, shal-he-ḇeṯ-yāh.[19]
Brothers: Their younger sister (8:8-9)
These two verses form a part describing how the woman's maternal brothers decide to keep their sister's virginity, when necessary. [4] However, they do that in disparaging way, which recalls their maligning attitude in chapter 1.[22]
Female: Her defense; Solomon's vineyard (8:10–12)
As a response, the woman answers her brothers mockingly.[4] When in Song 1:5–6 she "ineffectually complained" about her brothers' antagonism towards her, here she can stand up for herself and has found her peace.[22]
Verse 12
My vineyard, my very own, is before me;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.
"Solomon": one of the seven times this name is mentioned in the whole book (in Song 1:1, 3, 3 times in 3:6–11 and 2 times in this chapter 8:10–12).[23]
Male: Listening (8:13)
No doubt that this part contains the words of the man addressing the bride that 'it is delightful to him to hear her voice'.[24]
The man (or the bridegroom) calls upon his bride (the Shulammite) to let his companions, that is 'his friends who may have come to congratulate him on his bride's safe return', hear her voice.[26]
In the community of Sephardic and Oriental Jews, the congregation in traditional synagoges goes back and recites verse 13 after reciting verse 14 to avoid ending a reading in a negative note.[b][27]
Female: Departure (8:14)
The very last verse: the woman's voice calls to her male lover to run, like a gazelle or deer, to “the distant nevernever land of the perfume hills”. With that, ‘the love's game can begin afresh, suspended in timelessness and moving cyclically’.[4]
This verse is almost identical to Song 2:17 and just like in the situation of the earlier verse, it implies another meeting and prolongs "indefinitely the moment of young and love".[29]
"Make haste": "hurry", lit. "flee",[30] from Hebrew: ברח, bə-rakh,[31]
^Since 1947 the current text of Aleppo Codex is missing Song of Songs 3:11, after the word ציון ("Zion"), to the end.[6]
^This is similar to the custom of ending the reading of the book of Lamentations on the Fast of Ab, by repeating verse 5:21 after reading the last verse of the book, 5:22.[27]
References
^Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962.
^Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Song of Solomon 8". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
Bergant, Dianne (2001). Cotter, David W.; Walsh, Jerome T.; Franke, Chris (eds.). The Songs of Songs. Berit Olam (The Everlasting Covenant): Studies In Hebrew Narrative And Poetry. Liturgical Press. ISBN9780814650691.
Brenner, Athalya (2007). "21. The Song of Solomon". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 429–433. ISBN978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
Longman, Tremper (2001). Songs of Songs. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Vol. Volume 26. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN9780802825438. ((cite book)): |volume= has extra text (help)