What Does Song of Solomon 6:9 Mean in the King James?
My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
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
Her singularity becomes public: the women who see her call her flourishing and join in praising her.
THE MEANING
You meet a beloved whose place is singular: she is called a dove, a complete one, and her mother’s only one. The daughters see her and call her flourishing; the queens and concubines add their praise. Her belovedness is recognized across the whole company.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that one woman’s being uniquely cherished must make other women rivals: here, the daughters, queens, and concubines see her and join her praise.
THE ROOT
וַיְאַשְּׁרוּהָ
va-ye’ashruha
GROWS FROM
אשר
ʾ-sh-r
To call happy or flourishing; to pronounce someone flourishing.
“blessed” in this verse is va-ye’ashruha. The women’s verb names the flourishing they see, turning recognition into public speech. The same root appears in ashrei, the language of flourishing, so their words announce the life they perceive in her.
ALSO GROWS
ashrei: Flourishing; how happy
אַשְׁרֵי
It carries the same language of flourishing that the women speak over the beloved.
osher: Happiness, well-being
אֹשֶׁר
It shows the family of words behind the public declaration that she is flourishing.
תָּמָתִי
tamati
GROWS FROM
תמם
t-m-m
To be complete, sound, or whole.
“undefiled” in this verse is tamati. The beloved is called tamati, “my complete one.” The root holds wholeness and integrity within the word, so her distinction is expressed as a fullness the others can recognize.
ALSO GROWS
tamim: Whole, complete, blameless
תָּמִים
It shows the root’s range from completeness to being without defect.
tom: Integrity, wholeness
תֹּם
It keeps the sense of completeness present in the beloved’s description.
וִיהַלְלוּהָ
viyhaleluha
GROWS FROM
הלל
h-l-l
To praise or celebrate.
“praised” in this verse is viyhaleluha. The queens and concubines themselves praise her, making the acclaim shared and audible. The root also forms tehillah, praise or a song of praise, giving this recognition the shape of a voiced celebration.
ALSO GROWS
hallel: Praise
הַלֵּל
It is the same root in a direct form: the women’s action is praise.
tehillah: Praise, song of praise
תְּהִלָּה
It shows how praise from this root can become a voiced declaration.
THE PATTERN
When someone’s flourishing is recognized, the recognition can spread into shared praise.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.THE THREAD
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.Proverbs repeats both key Hebrew roots in Song: “call her blessed” uses אשר (ashar), and “praiseth her” uses הלל (halal). Together, the verses show a woman’s flourishing recognized by those around her and spoken aloud as praise.
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