Daily Verse Daily Verse of Faithlife | Songs of Solomon 3:1
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3:1 my heart This phrase is used throughout Song 3:1–5. The Hebrew word used here, nephesh (often rendered as “soul” or “life”), can carry the sense of “appetite” (compare Eccl 6:9). Here, it indicates the woman’s desire for her beloved; she loves him with her entire being.
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (So 3:1). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Old Testament Anthropology
In the ot, humans are consistently portrayed as the fusion of an immaterial life force and a body of flesh. Neither part on its own constitutes a living person—only the whole. There are two main terms used to describe the immaterial part of humans: “soul” (nephesh) and “spirit” (ruach). However, the various meanings of the terms can make interpretation difficult.
The ot terms for “soul” (nephesh) and “spirit” (ruach) are consistently used to identify either the life force—the fact that the body is living—or attributes dependent on brain function, such as emotions, intelligence, and conscience. The terms are used interchangeably. Genesis introduces another term that refers to the life force: nishmath. It is used in the only description of the origin of the soul, in which God animates the first human—Adam—by breathing into him the “breath (nishmath) of life” (Gen 2:7; compare Josh 11:11). While animals are not said to be animated in the same way, they are described as having the nephesh (Gen 1:21, 24) and ruach (Eccl 3:21).
However, nishmath is used interchangeably with nephesh and ruach, which eliminates it as a unique term. The usage of these terms also overlaps with “heart” (leb/lebab) (for a table comparing the usage of these terms in the ot, see the table link below).
However, nishmath is used interchangeably with nephesh and ruach, which eliminates it as a unique term. The usage of these terms also overlaps with “heart” (leb/lebab) (for a table comparing the usage of these terms in the ot, see the table link below).
Heiser, M. S. (2012, 2016). Old Testament Anthropology. In Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
1. By night—literally, “By nights.” Continuation of the longing for the dawn of the Messiah (So 2:17; Ps 130:6; Mal 4:2). The spiritual desertion here (So 2:17; 3:5) is not due to indifference, as in So 5:2–8. “As nights and dews are better for flowers than a continual sun, so Christ’s absence (at times) giveth sap to humility, and putteth an edge on hunger, and furnisheth a fair field to faith to put forth itself” [Rutherford]. Contrast So 1:13; Ps 30:6, 7.
on … bed—the secret of her failure (Is 64:7; Je 29:13; Am 6:1, 4; Ho 7:14).
loveth—no want of sincerity, but of diligence, which she now makes up for by leaving her bed to seek Him (Ps 22:2; 63:8; Is 26:9; Jn 20:17). Four times (So 3:1–4) she calls Jesus Christ, “Him whom my soul loveth,” designating Him as absent; language of desire: “He loved me,” would be language of present fruition (Rev 1:5). In questioning the watchmen (So 3:3), she does not even name Him, so full is her heart of Him. Having found Him at dawn (for throughout He is the morning), she charges the daughters not to abridge by intrusion the period of His stay. Compare as to the thoughtful seeking for Jesus Christ in the time of John the Baptist, in vain at first, but presently after successful (Lu 3:15–22; Jn 1:19–34).
found him not—Oh, for such honest dealings with ourselves (Pr 25:14; Jud 1:12)!
Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 420). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.