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Longing for Her Beloved
…5Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? I roused you under the apple tree; there your mother conceived you; there she travailed and brought you forth.6Set meas a sealoveryour heart,as a sealuponyour arm.Forloveis as strongas death,its jealousyas unrelentingas Sheol.Its sparksare fieryflames,the fiercest blaze of all.7Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.…

Treasury of Scripture

Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which has a most vehement flame.

as a seal

Exodus 28:9-12,21,29,30
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: …

Isaiah 49:16
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms ofmy hands; thy wallsare continually before me.

Jeremiah 22:24
As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

love

Song of Solomon 5:8
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that Iam sick of love.

Psalm 42:1,2
To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God…

Psalm 63:1
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thouart my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

jealousy

Numbers 5:14
And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

Numbers 25:11
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

Deuteronomy 32:21
They have moved me to jealousy withthat which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy withthose which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

cruel

Psalm 120:4
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.

Proverbs 25:22
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.

Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

ArmCoalsCruelDeathFireFlameFlashesGraveHeartJealousyLoveSealSheolStrongThereofUnyieldingVehementArmCoalsCruelDeathFireFlameFlashesGraveHeartJealousyLoveSealSheolStrongThereofUnyieldingVehement1.The love of the church to Christ
6.The vehemence of love
8.The calling of the Gentiles
14.the church prays for Christ's coming

Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm.
In ancient times, seals were used as symbols of ownership and authenticity. A seal over the heart suggests an intimate and personal commitment, while a seal upon the arm indicates a public declaration of belonging. This dual imagery reflects the depth and visibility of love. Biblically, seals are also associated with protection and covenant (e.g.,Revelation 7:3,Ephesians 1:13). The heart and arm together symbolize both internal devotion and external action, paralleling the Shema inDeuteronomy 6:5-8, which calls for love of God with all one's heart, soul, and strength.

For love is as strong as death,
Death is often seen as the ultimate power, inevitable and inescapable. Comparing love to death emphasizes its overwhelming and binding nature. In the biblical context, love's strength is seen in God's covenantal love for His people, which is unwavering and eternal (Jeremiah 31:3). This phrase underscores the idea that true love is enduring and unyielding, much like the certainty of death.

its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol.
Sheol, the Hebrew term for the realm of the dead, is depicted as insatiable and ever-consuming (Proverbs 27:20). Jealousy here is not petty envy but a zealous, protective love that tolerates no rivals, akin to God's jealousy for His people (Exodus 34:14). This reflects the exclusivity and intensity of genuine love, which demands total commitment and fidelity.

Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.
Fire is a common biblical metaphor for passion and purification (Malachi 3:2-3,1 Corinthians 3:13). The imagery of fiery flames suggests love's consuming and transformative power. The fiercest blaze indicates the intensity and purity of love, which can refine and purify like a refiner's fire. This can be seen as a type of Christ's love for the Church, which is passionate, purifying, and sacrificial (Ephesians 5:25-27).

1.The Shulammite Woman
The primary female character in the Song of Solomon, often interpreted as a bride or beloved, representing the church or the soul in love with God.

2.Solomon
Traditionally considered the author and male protagonist, representing the bridegroom or Christ in allegorical interpretations.

3.Seal
A symbol of ownership, authenticity, and protection, often used in ancient times to signify a binding agreement or covenant.

4.Love and Death
Personified concepts in this verse, illustrating the powerful and unyielding nature of true love.

5.Jealousy and the Grave
Metaphors for the intensity and permanence of love, suggesting that love's passion and commitment are as inevitable and consuming as death.The Power of Love
Love is depicted as a force as strong and inevitable as death, highlighting its profound impact on human relationships and spiritual life.

Covenantal Commitment
The imagery of a seal signifies a binding commitment, encouraging believers to view love as a covenant that requires faithfulness and dedication.

Jealousy in Love
Jealousy, when understood as protective zeal, can be a positive force in love, ensuring the exclusivity and purity of the relationship.

Spiritual Passion
The fiery nature of love calls believers to cultivate a passionate and fervent relationship with God, mirroring the intensity of divine love.

Eternal Perspective
Just as love is as unyielding as the grave, believers are reminded of the eternal nature of God's love, which transcends earthly life and death.1.What is the meaning of Song of Solomon 8:6?

2.How does Song of Solomon 8:6 illustrate the strength of true love?

3.What does "a seal over your heart" signify in a Christian marriage?

4.How can we apply "love is as strong as death" in our relationships?

5.Connect Song of Solomon 8:6 with 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 on love's attributes.

6.How can "jealousy is as severe as Sheol" guide us in guarding love?

7.What does "a seal over your heart" symbolize in Song of Solomon 8:6?

8.How does Song of Solomon 8:6 define love's strength and permanence?

9.Why is love compared to death in Song of Solomon 8:6?

10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Song of Solomon 8?

11.How can the poetic language in Song of Solomon 8:6–7 be reconciled with literal, scientific understanding of love’s power over physical death?

12.Song of Solomon 7 (entire) - Why is a passionate love poem with no explicit reference to God included in scripture, and does it clash with broader biblical themes of divine focus?

13.Is Song of Solomon an allegory?

14.What does the Bible say about Christian romance novels?Set me as a seal over your heart

The bride asks to be placed “as a seal” on the very seat of her beloved’s affections. In Scripture, a seal speaks of ownership, authenticity, and permanence (Ephesians 1:13;2 Corinthians 1:22).

• A heart-level seal means the relationship is to be inward, constant, and exclusive—like the law God writes “on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33).

• It echoesDeuteronomy 6:6, where God’s words are to be “upon your heart,” showing that true love is covenantal, not casual.

• Such sealing assures security: “No one can snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).

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as a seal upon your arm

Moving from the inner life to outward action, the arm symbolizes strength and public identification.

• Just as the Israelites bound God’s commands “as a sign on your hand” (Deuteronomy 6:8), the beloved is to display his commitment openly.

• Love that is real in the heart will show itself in deeds (James 2:18).

• God’s own promise mirrors this: “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16).

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For love is as strong as death

Death is final, inescapable, and universally powerful. The inspired writer says true covenant love has equal strength.

• Nothing in creation can separate believers from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:38-39).

• Christ’s sacrificial love conquered death itself (Revelation 1:18), proving love’s ultimate power.

• In marriage, this means lifelong fidelity (Genesis 2:24;Matthew 19:6).

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its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol

Jealousy here is not petty envy but zealous, protective devotion. Sheol (the grave) never releases its claim; likewise love tolerates no rivals.

• God declares, “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5).

• Paul reflects God’s heart when he writes, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

• This verse teaches that exclusive commitment is righteous and necessary within covenant love.

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Its sparks are fiery flames

The imagery shifts to fire—bright, hot, and purifying.

• Jeremiah felt God’s word like “a fire shut up in my bones” (Jeremiah 20:9), showing passion that cannot be contained.

• On the Emmaus road, disciples said, “Were not our hearts burning within us?” (Luke 24:32).

• Love warms, guides, and refines, much as fire both comforts and cleanses (Malachi 3:2-3).

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the fiercest blaze of all

The Hebrew phrase intensifies the picture—literally “a flame of the LORD,” suggesting divine origin.

• God Himself is “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29); true love carries His holy intensity.

• No flood can quench it, and no wealth can buy it (Songs 8:7).

• This blaze points forward to Calvary, where Christ’s love burned brightest (John 15:13;1 John 4:10).

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summary

Song of Solomon 8:6 celebrates covenant love that is:

• inwardly sealed and outwardly displayed,

• indestructible like death,

• fiercely exclusive,

• passionately alive, and

• divinely fueled.

Such love mirrors God’s own steadfast devotion and sets the standard for every marriage and for Christ’s union with His church.

(6)Seal.--SeeJeremiah 22:24;Haggai 2:23, &c. A symbol of something especially dear and precious.

Jealousy.--Strong passion,from a word meaningto 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.sheol.Perhaps, as in the LXX.,Hades,with its figurative gates and bars (Psalm 6:5, Note).

Coals.--Heb.resheph;inPsalm 78:48,hot thunderbolts(comp.Habakkuk 3:5); inJob 5:7,sparks;Marg.,sonsof the burning;Deuteronomy 32:24,burning heatof the burning fever of the plague. . . .

Verses 6, 7. -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 flashes thereof are flashes of fire, a very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, he would be utterly contemned. Is this to be regarded as the reply of the bride to the tender allusion of her husband to their first love; or is it, as some think, only the first words which belong to the bride, while the rest of the two verses are a kind of chorus echoing her loving appeal, and bringing the general action of the poem to a conclusion? It is difficult to decide this, and the meaning is not affected either way. Perhaps, however, it is best to take it as spoken by the bride, who continues her address to the end of the eighth verse. She is full of joy in the return of perfect confidence; she prays that the full tide of affection may never cease to flow, that there be no ebbing of that happy feeling in which she now delights; and then sings the praise of love itself, as though a prelude of praise to a long and eternal peace. The seal is the signet ring,chotham, from a root "to impress" It was sometimes carried by a string on the breast, and would, therefore, be near the heart (seeGenesis 38:18). It was sometimes worn on the hand (seeJeremiah 22:24; and cf.Genesis 41:42;Esther 3:12). It was not worn on the arm like a bracelet (2 Samuel 1:10). Probably it was not the signet ring which is referred to in the second clause: "Set me as a seal on thine heart, and as a bracelet on thine arm." The same simile is not infrequent in the prophets. The desire of Shulamith was to escape all possibility of those declensions of which she had spoken before. "Let me never be out of thy thoughts; let me never go back from my fulness of joy in thy love." The true believer understands well such language. He knows that the maintenance of devout affection is not a matter of mere desire and will. The Lord himself must help us with his blessed gifts, the influence of his gracious Spirit to overcome the feebleness and fickleness of a fallen heart. We want to be close to the heart of the Saviour; we want to be constantly in his eye, and so diligently employed in his service, so closely associated with the work of his mighty arm, that we shall be ever receiving from him the signs and evidences of his approval and affection. The purity and perfection of true love are the theme of every sincere believer. The priceless value of such love is described in the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 6:30), inNumbers 22:18, and1 Corinthians 13:3. It is an unquenchable flame - nothing can resist it. We cannot but recall the rapturous language of one who himself was an example of the highest devotedness to the Saviour, who rejoiced over death and the grave in the consciousness of victory through him from whose love nothing can separate us (Romans 8:38;1 Corinthians 15:54). Certainly the history of the sufferings and trials of the true Church form a most striking commentary upon these words. Floods of persecution have swept over it, but they have not quenched love. The flame has burst forth again and again when it seemed to be extinguished, and it has become a very "flame of the Lord." The bush has been burning, but has not been consumed. By jealousy is intended love in its intensity not bearing arival. The "flame of the Lord" may be compared with "the voice of the Lord," which is described in Hebrew poetry as connected with the fury of the storm. The flame, therefore, would be lightning and the voice thunder. The whole of this passage, which forms a kind of keynote of the poem, is more like a distinct strain introduced to give climax to the succession of songs than the natural expression of the bride's feelings. It has been always regarded as one of the sublimest apostrophes to love to be found anywhere. The enemies of God and of humanity are represented as falling before it, death and the grave. Its vehemence and force of manifestation are brought vividly before us by the comparison of the flash of lightning. It is remarkable that this exaltation of love should be included in the Old Testament, thus proving that the Mosaic Law, with its formal prescriptions, by no means fulfils the whole purpose of God in his revelation to the world. As the New Testament would not have been complete without the message of the beloved disciple, so this Old Testament must have its song of love. Nor is it only the ideal and the heavenly love which is celebrated, but human affection itself is placed very high, because it is associated with that which is Divine. It is a more precious thing than mere wealth or worldly honour, and he that trifles with it deserves the utmost scorn and contempt of his fellows. It is well to remark how consistently the poetic framework is maintained. There is no attempt to leave the lines of human relations even at this point, whets evidently the sentiment rises above them. The love which is apostrophized is not removed from earth in order to be seen apart from all earthly imperfections and impurities. We are invited rather to look through the human to the Divine which embraces it and glorifies it. That. is the method of the Divine revelation throughout. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." We do not need to take Solomon's Song as an allegory. It is a song of human love, but as such it is a symbol of that which is Divine.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Set
שִׂימֵ֨נִי(śî·mê·nî)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 7760:Put -- to put, place, set

me as a seal
כַֽחוֹתָ֜ם(ḵa·ḥō·w·ṯām)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2368:A seal, signet ring

over
עַל־(‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921:Above, over, upon, against

your heart,
לִבֶּ֗ךָ(lib·be·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3820:The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

as a seal
כַּֽחוֹתָם֙(ka·ḥō·w·ṯām)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2368:A seal, signet ring

upon
עַל־(‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921:Above, over, upon, against

your arm.
זְרוֹעֶ֔ךָ(zə·rō·w·‘e·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 2220:The arm, the foreleg, force

For
כִּֽי־(kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588:A relative conjunction

love
אַהֲבָ֔ה(’a·hă·ḇāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 160:Love (noun)

is as strong
עַזָּ֤ה(‘az·zāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 5794:Strong, vehement, harsh

as death,
כַמָּ֙וֶת֙(ḵam·mā·weṯ)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4194:Death, the dead, their place, state, pestilence, ruin

jealousy
קִנְאָ֑ה(qin·’āh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7068:Ardor, zeal, jealousy

as unrelenting
קָשָׁ֥ה(qā·šāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7186:Hard, severe

as Sheol.
כִשְׁא֖וֹל(ḵiš·’ō·wl)
Preposition-k | Noun - common singular
Strong's 7585:Underworld (place to which people descend at death)

Its sparks
רְשָׁפֶ֕יהָ(rə·šā·p̄e·hā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 7565:A live coal, lightning, an arrow, fever

are fiery
אֵ֖שׁ(’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784:A fire

flames,
רִשְׁפֵּ֕י(riš·pê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7565:A live coal, lightning, an arrow, fever

the fiercest blaze of all.
שַׁלְהֶ֥בֶתְיָֽה׃(šal·he·ḇeṯ·yāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7957:A flare of fire


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OT Poetry: Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal on your (Song Songs SS So Can)