What Does Song of Solomon 5:9 Mean in the King James?
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew root for “beloved” also names love itself, so the question is what makes this bond distinctive, not which label wins.
THE MEANING
The question reaches you: what makes your beloved different from another? The poem turns the familiar word “beloved” toward the particular bond that makes this person unmistakable.
THE ROOT
דּוֹדֵךְ
dōdēkh
GROWS FROM
דוד
Beloved; intimate affection.
English can make “beloved” sound like a status placed on someone. The Hebrew root also names love and its expressions, so the question reaches toward the bond itself, not just the person’s label.
ALSO GROWS
dodim: Loves, caresses; “love” in Song of Solomon 1:2.
דּוֹדִים
The same root names the affection between lovers, linking the beloved to the love that makes this bond particular.
David: David; a name carrying the sense “beloved.”
דָּוִד
The name echoes the same root, where being beloved is part of the nature expressed in the name.
THE PATTERN
A beloved becomes recognizable through a particular bond whose quality cannot be captured by the bare label “beloved.”
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.THE THREAD
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.The Hebrew word for “thy love” is דּוֹדִים (dodim, “loves” or “caresses”), from the same root as “thy beloved” here. The repeated root turns the question toward the love that makes this beloved distinct.
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