Song of Solomon 7:5

Son 7:5 Thine head upon thee [is] like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king [is] held in the galleries.

Ver. 5. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel.] This head is Christ himself, for he is the sole head of his Church: "God hath put all things under his feet" - hence he is here compared to Carmel, because he is high over all - "and given him to be head over all things" - that is, over all persons - "to the Church." {Eph 1:18; Eph 1:22} Angels are under Christ as a head of government, of influence, of confirmation, not of redemption, as the saints are. The angels are great friends to the Church, but not members of it. {Heb 2:16} The Church Christ sanctified and washed with his blood. {Eph 5:26} Not so the angels. He was but a poor patron of the Pope’s headship that said - and, as he thought, very wisely too - that he had read in some vocabulary that Cephas signified a head, therefore Peter was head of the Church. But if that should have been granted him, yet it would not follow that the Pope is therefore so too; for Bellarmine, {a} a better scholar by far, is forced to say, Forte non est de iure divino Rom. pontificem Petro succedere, perhaps it is not by any divine right that the Pope succeedeth Peter. And again, Rom. pontificem Petro succedere non habetur expresse in Scripturis, it is not expressly set down in the Scriptures that the Pope succeedeth Peter.

And the hair of thine head like purple.] Which was the colour of kings and princes. The saints - called here the hair of the Church’s head for their number or multitude - are "princes in all lands"; {Psa 45:16} yea, they are kings in righteousness, as Melchisedec was a king, but somewhat obscure. Compare Mat 13:17 Luk 10:24. "Many righteous," saith one, "Many kings," saith the other, "have desired to see those things that ye see," &c.

The king is held in the gallaries,] i.e., There is no king in the world wo great and glorious but might find in his heart to be tied to these walks, and to be held prisoner in the sight of thee and thy bravery; like as King James, coming first into the public library at Oxford, and viewing the little chains wherewith each book there is tied to its place, wished that if ever it were his destiny to be a prisoner, that library might be his prison, those books his fellow prisoners, those chains his fetters. {Psa 138:4-5; Psa 119:72} {b} The Psalmist shows by prophesying that even kings, coming to taste the excellence of the comforts of godliness, and to feel the power of God’s Word, should sing for joy of heart, and greatly acknowledge the excelling glory of Christ’s spouse the Church. See David’s desire. {Psa 27:4 Psa 84:1-12} Constantine and Valentinian, two emperors, called themselves Vasallos Christi, as Socrates reports, the vassals of Christ. And Theodosius, another emperor, professed that it was more honour and comfort to him to be membrum ecclesiae, quam caput imperii, a member of the Church, than head of the empire. Nay, Numa, second king of Rome, though but a heathen, held it a higher honour to serve God than to reign over men. {c} Some interpreters by the king here understand Christ, coveting the Church’s beauty, {Psa 45:11} and held fast bound unto her in the bands of pure affection, of spiritual wedlock.

{a} De Rom. Pontif., lib. ii. cap. 12.

{b} Rex Platon., page 123.

{c} Tου Yεου υπηροσιαν βασιλευειν ενομεζεν - Plutarch.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Son_7:5

The King is held in the galleries.

The King is held in the galleries

Christ, the blessed King of Zion, condescends sometimes to be held and detained by His people in the galleries of Gospel-ordinances.

I. I will give some account of this royal King.

1. That he is a King appears from these particulars.

(1) From the Fathers designation and ordination.

(2) From the prophecies that went of Him before His actual manifestation in our nature (Gen_49:10; Luk_1:32-33; Psa_132:11; Isa_9:6).

(3) From the types and shadows that prefigured Him. He was typified by Melchizedek, who is called the King of righteousness and the King of peace; by David; and by Solomon.

(4) From the princely titles that are given Him in Scripture. He is called the Prince of peace, the King of righteousness, and the King of kings and Lord of lords; and it is God the Fathers will that every one should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord.

(5) From the princely prerogatives and royalties that are assigned Him by His Father (Psa_89:20).

2. As He is a King, so He is the King by way of eminency and excellency.

(1) He is the King eternal (1Ti_1:17; Isa_9:6).

(2) He is called the King immortal (1Ti_1:17).

(3) He is the King invisible (1Ti_6:16).

(4) He is the only blessed and happy King (1Ti_6:15).

(5) He is the absolute and universal King. His kingdom is universal in respect of all persons, places, times.

II. The galleries wherein this royal King trysts and keeps company with His people.

1. I will only mention these few galleries.

(1) There is the secret gallery of meditation, wherein David found God s lovingkindness to be better than life, and had his soul satisfied as with marrow and fatness.

(2) There is the gallery of prayer, wherein Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Covenant, and, like a prince, prevailed for the blessing.

(3) There is a gallery of reading of the Scriptures, wherein the Ethiopian eunuch got such a discovery of the promised Messiah as made him go on his way rejoicing.

(4) There is a gallery of Christian converse anent soul-matters; wherein the disciples going to Emmaus had such a meeting with Christ as made their hearts burn within them.

(5) There is the gallery of preaching, or of hearing of the Word preached; by, the foolishness of which God sayeth them that believed. Here it was that Lydia s heart was opened.

(6) The Sacraments of the New Testament, baptism and the Lords Supper, are galleries wherein Zion s King displays His glory before His people.

2. Why are these ordinances compared to galleries?

(1) Galleries are magnificent apartments of royal and stately buildings. So there is a Divine magnificence in the ordinances of the Gospel when countenanced with the presence of the great Master of assemblies.

(2) Galleries are lightsome and pleasant apartments. O how pleasant and lightsome are ordinances to a gracious soul!

(3) Galleries are places of walk and converse, as is plain from. Eze_41:15. So it is in Gospel-ordinances that Christ doth walk and converse with His people.

(4) Galleries are places of public feasting and entertainment of friends. So it is in the mount of Gospel-ordinances that the Lord has provided for His people a feast of fat things, etc.

III. The holding of the King in the galleries.

1. What does it suppose and imply on the believers part?

(1) It necessarily supposes a meeting with Christ in the galleries; for no person can hold that which they never had.

(2) It supposes a high esteem of Christ, a love to, and liking of, His company.

(3) On the believer s part, this holding of Christ supposes a fear of losing Him or of being deprived of His company.

(4) It supposes a seeming willingness in Christ to withdraw from His people after their sweetest enjoyments.

(5) It implies a holy solicitude, and earnest desire of soul, to have His presence continued.

(6) It implies an ardent breathing of soul after more and more nearness to Christ, and further discoveries of Him.

(7) It implies a firm resolution not to part with His company.

(8) It implies a cleaving or adhering to Christ with the whole strength and vigour of the soul. How, or wherein does the soul put forth its strength in cleaving to Christ? I answer, it does it by these three especially.

(i.) By the lively exercise of faith. Hence faith is called an apprehending of Christ, and a cleaving to Him.

(ii.) The soul binds or holds Christ in the galleries by sincere and ardent love.

(iii.) The soul cleaves to Christ by fervent and ardent prayer.

2. What does it imply on Christs part?

(1) It implies amazing grace and condescendency toward the work of His own hands.

(2) It implies Christs great delight in the society of His people.

(3) It implies that there are certain cords which have a constraining power to stay Him in His peoples company: and sure they must be strong cords indeed wherewith Omnipotency is bound.

(i.) He is bound by the cord of His own faithfulness, which He has laid in pawn in the promise.

(ii.) He is bound in the galleries by the cord of His own love.

(iii.) He is bound to them by the bond of marriage.

IV. The application of the doctrine.

1. The first use is of information. Is it so that Zions King is sometimes held in the galleries of Gospel-ordinances? Then,

(1) See hence the happiness and dignity of the saints of God beyond the rest of the world.

(2) See hence why the saints put such a value and estimate on Gospel-ordinances.

2. By way of trial and examination. You have been in the galleries of the King of Zion; but that is not enough: and therefore let me ask, Have you been in the galleries with the King? and have you been holding the King in the galleries?

(1) What did you hear in the galleries? what said the King unto you?

(2) What did you see in the galleries? Many sights are to be seen in the galleries of ordinances, and particularly in that of the Lords Supper. Here the Lamb of God is to be seen, which taketh away the sin of the world, and in a crucified Christ, who is evidently set forth in that ordinance, all the Divine attributes and perfections shine with a greater lustre than in the large volume of the creation.

(3) What have you tasted in the galleries? for galleries are for feasting and entertainment of friends. Now, did the King say to you, or is He yet saying it, Eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved? Did He make you to eat of the fatness of His house, and to drink of the rivers of His pleasures?

3. Use third may be in a short word directed to two or three sorts of persons.

(1) To you who know nothing of this doctrine, never met with the King in the galleries.

(2) To you who have had a comfortable meeting with Him.

(3) To those who perhaps are complaining, I sought Him, but I found Him not. (E. Erskine.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Son 7:5-6. Thy head is like Carmel — Eminent and pleasant to the eye, and fruitful as mount Carmel was: which may denote that her mind was replenished with knowledge, and other excellent gifts of the Holy Ghost. The hair of thy head like purple — Which colour was anciently much esteemed. The king is held in the galleries — In which he walks, and, having once espied thee, is unable to take off his eyes from thee. How fair, &c., for delights — For those various and lovely features which are in thee.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:5-6 Mount Carmel is a high mountain range on the Mediterranean coast. • your hair radiates royalty (literally your hair is as purple threads): Purple was an expensive color to produce, so it was the exclusive property of royalty.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He delighteth to come near thee, and to be in thy company.

Or, galleries.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 5. Thine head - like Carmel] Rising majestically upon thy neck, and above thy shoulders, as Mount Carmel does in its district. Carmel was the name of the mountain where Elijah had his contest with the prophets of Baal. See 1Kg 18:19, &c.

The hair of thine head like purple] Ornamented with ribbons and jewellery of this tint.

The king is held in the galleries.] Or is detained in the antechamber. His heart is captivated by thy person and conduct. Some understand the ringlets of the bride's hair.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(5) Carmel.—Marg., crimson, from reading charmîl, which preserves the parallelism with the next clause better. But the whole passage deals in the author’s favourite figures from localities; and certainly the comparison of a finely-set head to a mountain is at least as apt as that in the preceding verse, of the nose to a “tower in Lebanon.” Besides, there may be a play on words, which in turn may have suggested the allusion to purple in the next clause, or possibly the vicinity of Carmel to Tyre may have led to the thought of its famous dyes.

Hair.—Heb. dallath, most probably = flowing tresses. For comparison—

“Carmine purpurea est Nisi coma.”

“Et pro purpureo dat pœnas Scylla capillo.

(Comp. πορφύρεος πλόκαμος in Lucian., and πορφυρᾶι χᾶιται in Anacreon.) So Collins:—

“The youths whose locks divinely spreading,

Like vernal hyacinths in sullen hue.”

Ode to Liberty.

The king is held (Marg., bound) in the galleries.—For galleries, see Note on Son_1:17. Translate “A king caught and bound by thy tresses,” i.e., they are so beautiful that a monarch would be caught by them.

(Comp.—

“When I lie tangled in her hair

And fettered in her eye.”)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel] Mount Carmel, looked at from the North especially, is the crown of the country, towering over sea and land in solitary majesty; hence the comparison to a head proudly held. The A.V. margin, following some Jewish authorities, renders ‘crimson,’ regarding karmel as equivalent to karmîl, and Ginsburg, adopting this explanation, thinks that the words mean that her hair was arranged in the form of a murex shell.

the hair of thine head] The word translated ‘hair,’ which occurs nowhere else in the O.T., appears to mean flowing tresses.

like purple] Apparently the text means to indicate that the bride’s hair was of that intense black which is sometimes called blue black. For argâmân see note on Son_3:10.

the king is held in the galleries] Better (cp. R.V.), a king is held captive in the tresses thereof. The word translated ‘tresses’ occurs in the O.T. three times only, Gen_30:38; Gen_30:41, and Exo_2:16, where it means ‘water troughs.’ The connexion between these and a woman’s hair is not obvious, unless it be that it flows down like water from a water trough. That is hardly satisfactory, but that tresses is intended seems certain. The idea of a lover being held captive in the hair of his lady is common in the love poetry of all lands. Cp. Lovelace’s poem To Althea from Prison:

“When I lie tangled in her hair,

And fettered to her eye,

The birds that wanton in the air

Know no such liberty.”

Budde and Siegfried take the ‘king’ here to mean as usual the young husband of the king’s week. But in that case it would more naturally be the king.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Compare and contrast with Son 5:15. The rendering in the margin takes “Carmel” as the name of a color, equivalent to “carmine” (rendered “crimson” in 2Ch 2:7, 2Ch 2:14; 2Ch 3:14). This interpretation is favored by the parallelism with “purple,” but removes a beautiful image.

Purple - A deep violet black.

The king ... - Rather, “A king is bound in the tresses or windings of thy hair.” These last words indicate the king’s approach.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Carmel. Shaded with trees. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, "purple," which colour was sometimes given to the hair. (Propertius ii. 18.) --- Channels. Of the dyers. Hebrew, "to beams." (Calmet) --- Protestants, "the king is held in the galleries" to view thee. (Haydock) --- Christ was all charity, and the faithful are twice dyed, with the love of God, and of their neighbour. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thine head, which may signify the church’s mind or understanding, which is seated in the head,

upon thee, which is upon thee, or above the rest of thy body,

is like Carmel, eminent and pleasant to the eye, and fruitful as Mount Carmel was, as hath been formerly noted; which may note that her mind was adorned and replenished with knowledge and other excellent gifts of the Holy Ghost. Or, as others render it, like crimson or purple, which is called Carmel, 2Ch 2:7; 3:14, because those fishes out of which they had their purple were taken in the sea bordering upon Mount Carmel. And so the same thing is repeated in the next clause in other words.

Like purple; which colour was anciently much esteemed and commended, as by sacred, so also by profane writers.

The king is held in the galleries; in which he walketh, and having once espied thee, is captivated by thee, and unable or unwilling either to depart or to take off his eyes from thee, as if he were fast bound and chained to thee. The galleries may note either the ordinances, or rather the churches, in which Christ walketh, Rev 2:1, in which Christ and believers converse together.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. Like Carmel — This beautiful promontory, jutting boldly into the sea, seems to have received its name from “the crimson fringes of the evening” lingering so long upon its summit. The fish found near it, which yields colouring matter, may take its name from the mountain.

Like purple — Pliny says, that the ancient purple was glossy, and inclining to black. The curious linguist will find in all ancient tongues — the Greek as well as the Hebrew — a singular poverty and obscurity of words to express colours, and here “Carmel” may mean “purple,” which the following clause only makes more emphatic. The king, etc. — Hebrew, The king is charmed with thy flowing ringlets.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held captive in the tresses thereof. Carmel is called the "Nose of the mountain range" (Arf-ef-jebel). It is a promontory. The meaning, no doubt, is the exquisite fitness of the head upon the neck, which is one of the most lovely traits of personal beauty. Some, however, think that the reference is to colour Carmel being derived from the Persian, and meaning "crimson." This is rejected by Delitzsch, as the Persian would be carmile, not carmel. The transition is natural from the position and shape of the head and neck to the hair. The purple shellfish is found near Carmel (cf. Lucian"s porfureov plokamov and Anacreon"s porfurai caitai , and similar expressions in Virgil"s "Georgics," 1:405, and Tibullus, 1:4, 63). The locks of hair are a glistening purple colour, i.e. their black is purple as they catch the lights. Hengstenberg, however, thinks that the reference is to the temples, and not to the hair itself; but the use of the term in classical poets is decisive. The lovely head shaking the locks as the body moves gracefully in the dance fills the king with delight and admiration. He is quite captivated, and the ladies, having finished their description of the bride, look at the bridegroom, and behold him quite lost in the fascination captive in the tresses." Delitzsch quotes a similar expression from Goethe, in the "West Ostliche Divan," "There are more than fifty hooks in each lock of thy hair." The idea of taking captive is frequent in Hebrew poetry. (cf. Pro_6:25 RAPC Sir 9:3, 4) Thus ends the song of the ladies in praise of the bride. We must suppose that the king, who is probably present, then takes up the word, and pours out his heart.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Carmel - Eminent and pleasant to the eye, and fruitful as mount Carmel was. Which may denote that her mind was replenished with knowledge, and other excellent gifts of the Holy Ghost. Purple - Which colour was anciently much esteemed. Is held - In which he walks, and having once espied thee, is unable to take off his eyes from thee.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

The man continues to describe the woman.

Your head is on you like Carmel

Mount Carmel is higher than everything else around it. The man wants to look at the woman's head more than at anything else. AT: "Your head is on you like a crown, higher than anything else" (See: Simile)

dark purple

Other possible translations are 1) "dark black" or 2) "dark red."

The king is held captive by its tresses

This can be translated in active form. AT: "Your hair that hangs down is so beautiful that the king is not able to stop admiring it" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

tresses

clusters of hair that hang down from a woman's head

my love, with delights!

"my love. You delight me!"

translationWords

Carmel

purple

king

captive

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Your neck the Temple and the altar, which are erect and tall, and the Chamber of Hewn Stone, which is also there, made for strength and for a shield, like an ivory tower.

your eyes are like pools (בְּרֵכוֹת) in Heshbon, through which water flows. So are your eyes by the gate of the multitudes. Your sages, when they sit in the gates of Jerusalem, the city of multitudes, and engage in the computation (חֶשְּׁבּוֹן) of the seasons and the signs of the zodiac—their wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples flow like pools of water. Alternatively, we can explain בְּרֵכוֹת בְּחֶשְּׁבּוֹן to mean doves, and this is a Mishnaic usage: If one buys the doves of a dovecote, he must let the first brood (בְּרִיכָה) fly away; covedes in Old French, covey, brood.

your face is as the tower of Lebanon Heb. אַפֵּךְ. I cannot explain this to mean a nose, either in reference to its simple meaning or in reference to its allegorical meaning, for what praise of beauty is there in a nose that is large and erect as a tower? I say, therefore, that אַפֵּךְ means a face. Now the reason he uses the singular and does not say אַפַּיִךְ, is that he speaks of the forehead, which is the main recognizable feature of the face, as it is said (Isa. 3:9): “The recognition of their faces testified against them.” And you should know, for he progressively praises them from bottom to top”—Your eyes are [like] pools in Heshbon,” and after them the forehead, and so do the nations praise (Ezek. 3:8): “and your forehead is strong against” the forehead of all who come to harm you and entice you.

as the tower of Lebanon, facing towards Damascus I saw [the following] in the Midrash (Zuta): This is the house of the Lebanon forest, which King Solomon made. Whoever stood on it could look and count how many houses there were in Damascus. Another explanation: Your face looks towards Damascus; looks forward to the coming of the gates of Jerusalem until Damascus, for it is destined to expand as far as Damascus.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.