Old Testament · Poetry

Song of Solomon 6

Where Has He Gone?

My beloved has gone down to his garden. I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. Reunion after the agony of separation.

Berean Standard Bible BSB KJV

1Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.

2My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.

3I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

4You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.

5Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead.

6Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.

7Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate.

8There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number,

9but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises.

10Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?

11I went down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding or the pomegranates were in bloom.

12Before I realized it, my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people.

13Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim ?

Understand This

Song of Solomon 6, explained

What Song of Solomon 6 is saying

The daughters of Jerusalem ask where the beloved's lover has gone; she answers that he has gone to his garden. The lover responds with renewed praise, comparing her to Tirzah and Jerusalem in beauty, and declaring her 'unique' (achat hi)—one of a kind among queens, concubines, and maidens.

The background behind it

The comparison to Tirzah (the beautiful northern capital before Samaria's construction) and Jerusalem suggests the Song's composition during the early monarchy. The military imagery—'awesome as an army with banners'—portrays the beloved's beauty as overwhelming in its power.

Themes running underneath

The reconciliation after chapter 5's separation shows love's resilience. The beloved is not merely beautiful but singular—'unique' among all women. The military metaphors for beauty suggest that genuine beauty has a force that commands attention and respect.

Why it still matters

The lover's declaration of the beloved's uniqueness speaks to the heart of committed love: seeing one person as irreplaceable, not because others lack beauty but because this one is chosen and cherished.

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Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible — used by permission, Bible Hub.