Song of Songs 8:1-4·~1 min
Longing for Her Beloved
The bride wishes the beloved could be to her like a brother so that public affection would not invite reproach. She imagines leading him into her mother's house and giving him spiced wine and the juice of her pomegranates, picturing fully welcomed intimacy and joy.
O1 that you were to me like a brother 2I would lead you and bring you
The bride describes the beloved's embrace with familiar tenderness, then once more adjures the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken love until it pleases. The sequence holds affection and discipline together, preserving the book's insistence on love's right timing.
3His left hand is under my head, 4O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you:
Section summaryThe bride imagines a nearness with the beloved so public and unashamed that she could openly kiss him and lead him into her mother's house, where shared delight would be fully welcomed. The section closes by repeating the familiar caution not to awaken love before its proper time.
Role in the chapterThis section opens the chapter by combining bold longing with the wisdom of restraint.