King James Version

What Does Song of Solomon 8:6 Mean?

“Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. cruel: Heb. hard”

Context

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. that: Heb. why should ye stir up, or, why, etc

Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. cruel: Heb. hard

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

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Topics in This Verse

Love

Commentary

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(6) **Seal.**—See Jeremiah 22:24; Haggai 2:23, &c. A symbol of something especially dear and precious. **Jealousy.**—*Strong passion, *from a word meaning *to be red with flame; *not in a bad sense, as the parallelism shows:— “Strong as death is love, Inexorable as Sheol is ardent passion.” **Grave.**—Heb. *sheôl. *Perhaps, as in the LXX., *Hades, *with its figurative gates and bars (Psalm 6:5, Note). **Coals.**—Heb. *resheph; *in Psalm 78:48, *hot thunderbolts *(comp. Habakkuk 3:5); in Job 5:7, *sparks; *Marg., *sons* *of the burning; *Deuteronomy 32:24, *burning heat *of the burning fever of the plague. **A most vehement flame.**—Literally, *a flame of Jah, *the only place where a sacred name occurs in the book, and here, as in the Authorised Version, adverbially, to express something superlatively great and strong. Southey’s lines are a faint echo of this:— “But love is indestructible, Its holy flame for ever burneth, From heaven it came, to heaven returneth.”

Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905). Public Domain.

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of Song of Solomon. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

Song of Solomon 8:6 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.