Song of Songs 8


Song of Songs 8 is the eighth chapter of the Song of Songs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book is one of the Five Megillot, a collection of short books, together with Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther, within the Ketuvim, the third and the last part of the Hebrew Bible. Jewish tradition views Solomon as the author of this book, and this attribution influences the acceptance of this book as a canonical text.
This chapter contains dialogues between the woman and the daughters of Jerusalem, the woman and her brothers, then finally, the woman and the man, the "bride" and the "bridegroom".

Text

The original text is written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 14 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus.

Structure

The Modern English Version identifies the speakers in this chapter as:
  • = The Woman
  • a = Friends of the Woman
  • = The Woman
  • = Brothers of the Woman
  • = The Woman
  • = The Man
  • = The Woman
Kugler and Hartin treat verses 5 onwards as an appendix. The Jerusalem Bible treats verse 7b onwards as "appendices".

Female: Springtime and love (8:1–4)

This female passage is the last part of a long section concerning the desire and love in the country which runs from chapter 6 until [|verse 4] here. 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' ; they embrace and another appeal to the daughters of Jerusalem.

Verse 1

For "like my brother", or "as my brother" in the King James Version, the International Standard Version notes that the Hebrew text lacks the preposition "like". Andrew Harper argues that the word 'as' "should probably be omitted, as the accidental repetition of the last letter of the preceding word".

Verse 4

The names of God are apparently substituted with similar sounding phrases depicting 'female gazelles' for hosts, and 'does of the field'/'wild does/female deer' for God Almighty.

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.

Verse 5

  • "Who is that coming up from the wilderness": a reprise of.
  • "Your mother": this is the only time the man's mother is mentioned, whereas the woman's mother is mentioned in five places, and one mention of Solomon's mother.

    Female: The power of love (8:5b-7)

There are two fragments of the female voice in this part and verses 6-7 containing her declaration of love which 'might have constituted a suitable end for the whole book'.

Verse 6

  • "Fierce": "cruel", "severe", lit. "hard". from Hebrew: קָשָׁ֥ה, '.
  • "The grave": or "Sheol".
  • "A most intense flame": lit. "a flame of Yah", poetic form of "YHWH", "the Lord". from Hebrew: שלהבתיה, '.

    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. However, they do that in disparaging way, which recalls their maligning attitude in chapter 1.

Female: Her defense; Solomon's vineyard (8:10–12)

As a response, the woman answers her brothers mockingly. 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.

Verse 12

  • "My vineyard": the emphatic Hebrew expression כרמי, kar-mî, as the first word of this verse, is to provide contrast to Solomon’s large possession and yet beyond his reach.
  • "Solomon": one of the seven times this name is mentioned in the whole book.

    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'.

Verse 13

The man calls upon his bride to let his companions, that is 'his friends who may have come to congratulate him on his bride's safe return', hear her voice.
In the community of Sephardic and Oriental Jews, the congregation in traditional synagogues goes back and recites verse 13 after reciting verse 14 to avoid ending a reading in a negative note.

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’.

Verse 14

This verse is almost identical to and just like in the situation of the earlier verse, it implies another meeting and prolongs "indefinitely the moment of young and love".
  • "Make haste": "hurry", lit. "flee", from Hebrew: ברח, ,