Song of Solomon 6:9

but one The onehere is numerical in contrast to the 60 and 80: in the second clause of the verse oneis qualitative, unicaor unice delecta. As in ch. 2, he compares her to the women of the hareem, and intimates that she alone is worth them all.

the choice one Heb. bârâhfrom bârar, -to separate," and hence -to purify." LXX, ἐκλεκτή. Here it is the former idea which predominates, the choice one, the darling of her mother, for the relation of mother and daughter is not one to which the idea of -purity" is specially congruous. The only thing against this is that the adj. baris not used in the O.T. in any sense but -pure" or -clean" (see Oxf. Lex.). But in 1 Chronicles 7:40 and elsewhere the verb is used in the sense of -to choose" or -select." As the Song is late, but not so late as Chron. probably, it would not be unnatural that the later meaning should be found alongside the earlier in Song of Solomon 6:9 here.

The daughters saw her, and blessed her Better, daughters, i.e. women, cp. Genesis 30:13 and Proverbs 31:29, saw her and called her happy. Cp. Proverbs 31:28, where the whole of this clause substantially occurs.

the queens and the concubines, and they praised her Cp. ch. Song of Solomon 5:9, "O thou fairest among women." On the hypothesis that the book is a mere collection of wedding songs, this statement that the women of Solomon's hareem had seen and praised the Shulammite would be absurd. On our view, it would be quite natural, and unless the bride be brought in some such way as we suppose into connexion with Solomon's court it is impossible to imagine how this verse could be true. Budde admits the difficulty, but gets over it in a very light-hearted fashion. He admits that a figure of speech which would permit the bridegroom who is called Solomon only because he is a bridegroom, to refer with scorn to the hareem of the actual Solomon, would be bold; but in a somewhat obscure sentence he says it hardly goes beyond what is possible in the circumstances as he supposes them to be. Few, we imagine, will be of that opinion.