Song of Solomon 6: 13 Commentary

1. Women love romance
a. And they all know
b. Among the OTHER ladies
c. Who is “in love”
d. And who is NOT
2. The other women are happy for her
a. And take joy in her joy
b. Because SHE is in love
c. And it SHOWS
3. The bride is so happy
a. That she begins to DANCE
4. Various Bible versions record thus:
a. Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? (NLT)
b. Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance before two armies? (ESV)
c. Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim? (NIV)
5. At Shiloh, as the girls danced, the husband made their picks
a. When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife! (Judges 21:21 NLT)
6. Solomon’s wife begins
a. To dance SEDUCTIVELY before him
7. It is truly SAD that many FUNDAMENTALISTS
a. Have robbed this BIBLICAL pleasure
b. From lawfully wedded couples
c. By declaring that dancing is a SIN
8. But we are NOT talking about SINGLES
a. Grinding away at the nightclubs
9. We ARE talking about a MARRIED couple
a. Who are enjoying each other’s company

By Tractorman (wrote 3584 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/21/2011 12:30 pm

Notice the many interpretations of this verse.

Called “The dance of Mahanaim” - NIV or “company of two armies” KJV.

Henry’s commentary : “The church is called the Shulamite: the word signifies perfection and peace; not in herself, but in Christ, in whom she is complete, through his righteousness; and has peace, which he made for her through his blood, and gives unto her by his Spirit.”

Where Henry gets that from? I have no idea.

wici-pedia (Mahanaim) “According to the Biblical narrative it had been the southern boundary of Bashan until the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites (Josh. 13:26, 30), and after the conquest, it became the boundary between Machir (the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh) and Gilead (later known as Gad).

However, according to some critical scholars, the conquest never happened [1], and the Israelites were simply Canaanites who had undergone a smooth cultural evolution; here the implication being that Machir was simply the newer name of Bashan, and the reason for the border between Machir and Gilead being placed there being that that was where it had always been.”

The conquest never happened? Hmmm, Do you think the Bible overstates Jewish nationalistic facts?

I have seen where this verse used to denounce porn. It mentions the “dance of Mahanaim.”- NIV version.

What it means? Your guess is a good as mine!

By James Richter (wrote 536 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 1/24/2011 22:51 pm