Title: 13
Author: Joe G
Last saved by: Matt Lawson
Company: GDC

Clanking Chains		06-02-14.CC02-570 /

Review: Act I: SOS 2:6-3:5: Stairwell Tryst & Attempt to Elope; Brothers Intervene; Betrothal; Act II: Jerusalem: Solomon’s Arrival, Sedan, & Mighty Men, 3:6-8

SOS 2:6 –
SW  	“May his left hand be under my head and may his right hand stimulate me.
2:7 –
SW  	“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you do not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases.
2:8 –
SW  	“Listen!  My beloved!  Behold, he is coming, climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills!
2:9 –
SW  	“My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart.  Behold, he is standing behind our wall, he is looking through the windows, he is peering through the lattice.
2:10 -	
SW 		“My beloved responded and said to me,
SL  	“‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along.
2:11 –
SL 	‘For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
2:12 –
SL  	‘The flowers have already appeared in the land; the time has arrived for pruning the vines, and the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
2:13 –
SL  	‘The fig tree has ripened its figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.  Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!’
2:14 -	
SW  	“O my dove, in the private place of the rock stairwell, in the secrecy of the staircase, let me take a good look at you, let me hear your voice.  Your voice is pleasingly resonant and you are handsome.
2:15 –
SB1&2  	“‘Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom.’
2:16 –
SW 	“My beloved is mine, and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies of Sharon.
2:17 –
SW  	“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, turn—hurry to me, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether \bē' ther\.
SOS 3:1 –
SW  	“On my bed night after night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him.
SOS 3:2 –
SW  	“‘I must arise now and go about the city’s streets and squares.  I must seek him whom my soul loves.’  I sought him but I did not find him.
3:3 –
SW  	“The policemen who patrol the city found me, and I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
3:4 –
SW	“Scarcely had I left the officers when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s estate, and into her private quarters where she conceived me to seek permission for our betrothal.
3:5 –
SW	“I adjure you, O Daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you will not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases.”

Song of Solomon: Act 2 (3:6-11)
	Scene: A gate of entry into Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Guard [JG]; Bystanders (BS1, BS2, BS3, BS4]
Solomon’s chariot and retinue, including the Shulammite and the Daughters of Jerusalem, arrive at a gate entering into the capital city of Jerusalem.  Their approach, arrival, and entry into the city are described by a sentry and four observers.
Song of Solomon 3:6 -		[JG]	“What is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all scented powders of the merchant?”
1.	The guard’s comment draws attention to the approaching entourage of Solomon.  It includes his chariot plus at least a battalion of horse soldiers of which sixty are members of his elite body guards.
2.	The guard calls attention to how fast they are advancing toward the city.  As the king and his party approach columns of dust swirl from the chariot’s wheels and the hooves of the horses.
3.	There was apparently a tailwind because the aroma of all the spices that Solomon had purchased to influence his women were blown into the nostrils of the guard.
4.	Myrrh and frankincense were not indigenous to Israel but were rather products of Arabia and India.  They were used not only for perfumes but also as ingredients of the incense burned on the altar of incense in the Temple.
5.	As he arrived at the gate of the city, Solomon dismounted from his chariot and stepped onto his traveling sedan, what we might describe as a lounge chair but quite elaborate as we shall soon see.
6.	This transfer is described by the first bystander at the gate:
SOS 3:7 -		[BS1]  “Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; sixty mighty men around it, of the mighty men of Israel.”
1.	The “traveling couch” is a portable covered couch for carrying a single person usually borne on poles by two or more men.  The Hebrew word is hF*m! mittah.  This is a general term used for various types of furniture from a simple chair up to a very elaborate mode of transportation for kings.
2.	Solomon makes it clear that the sedan is his by the use of pleonasm, the unnecessary use of additional words.  For example the King James translation reads, “Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s” which is very close to the Hebrew text.
3.	Solomon’s couch was guarded by sixty of the elite soldiers of Israel who served as his body guards.  Solomon was aware of the dangers of political office but for him there was the additional concern of his vast wealth.
4.	For example, this traveling couch would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars today, details provided by one of the bystanders in this passage.
5.	The word for “mighty men” in the Hebrew is <yr!B)G! gibborim and refers to the elite troops of Israel.  These men are of the same category as David’s mighty men whose names are listed in 2 Samuel 23:8-39.  David’s heroes numbered 37 and those of Solomon may have included some of them plus others totaling 60.
6.	The next report we get is from bystander number two who describes these soldiers, their experience, weaponry, and assignment:
SOS 3:8 -	[BS2]  “All of them are wielders of the sword, expert in war; each man has his sword at his side, guarding against the terrors of the night.”
1.	This bystander is one who is an admirer of the military and its weaponry and those who are its leading practitioners.  He knows about their exploits in battle and their present duty to protect the king.

© 2006 by Joe Griffin Media Ministries.  All rights reserved.	www.joegriffin.org