Song of Songs 3

Many Bible scholars guess this is the story of a dream the lady in love had one night.

This is a repeat of her request in 2:7. What she’s asking of the ladies in Jerusalem isn’t all that clear. Some say she’s advising them not to rush into falling in love, but rather to wait until the time is right. Others say she’s giving them a “Do Not Disturb” sign, and telling them not to rattle the pans to wake this lover up and end her wonderful night. That could make more sense to some than the idea that the love-aggressive lady is telling others not to be so aggressive. From the sounds of this poem so far, the lady has been nothing but aggressive.

The poem simply says, more literally, “columns of smoke perfumed with myrrh and frankincense and all scents from merchants.” From a distance, you can see a cloud of smoke, but you can’t smell it—even downwind.

Myrrh and frankincense were two of the most exotic and expensive fragrances available. They were made from sap of small trees and shrubs growing in what are now Saudi Arabia, northern Africa, and India. People would grind up the dried sap and put it in perfumes. They also burned it as a woody fragrance, and a sweet-smelling incense. They burned the incense in religious services. They also burned incense in homes as air fresheners in the days before soap and deodorants.

Scholars describe it as a palanquin, which is a covered litter. It’s built around a large box, then set between two horizontal poles that rest on the shoulders of usually four to six royal bearers. A king’s litter likely would have been decked out in elegant drapes and colorful designs.

Cedar from Lebanon was considered some of the best and most durable wood around. Rot-resistant, shipbuilders preferred it. Solomon imported this wood to build the Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 5).

This is a guess. The meaning of the Hebrew word is unclear. Many Bibles guess the word means “back.”