Read & explore together
Solomon Arrives on His Wedding Day
This poem invites listeners to look at a royal wedding scene. The words use rich images of fragrance, strength, costly materials and joy, so we should read it as poetry that highlights honour, beauty and celebration.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
In Song of Solomon 3:6–11, the speaker asks who is coming from the wilderness and then points to Solomon’s carriage. The passage describes guards, fine materials and a crown given on a wedding day. It ends by calling the daughters of Zion to look at the king on a glad day.
Song of Solomon 3:6–11Main takeaway
This poetic passage presents a wedding day with images of honour, protection, splendour and gladness.
Explore the poem and its images
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01A striking arrivalThe poem opens with a question: “Who is this?” The figure comes “from the wilderness” like “pillars of smoke”, surrounded by the scent of myrrh, frankincense and merchant spices.
Explanation
The poem opens with a question: “Who is this?” The figure comes “from the wilderness” like “pillars of smoke”, surrounded by the scent of myrrh, frankincense and merchant spices. These are poetic images, giving a sense of notice, richness and beauty rather than reporting ordinary travel details.
02Solomon’s carriage and its guardsThe answer points to “Solomon’s carriage”. Around it are sixty mighty men of Israel. They carry swords and are skilled in war, with swords ready because of “fear in the night”.
Explanation
The answer points to “Solomon’s carriage”. Around it are sixty mighty men of Israel. They carry swords and are skilled in war, with swords ready because of “fear in the night”. The passage does not describe a battle. It emphasises strong protection surrounding the carriage.
03Made with costly materialsThe poem next describes the carriage itself. Solomon made it from the wood of Lebanon. Its pillars are silver, its bottom gold and its seat purple.
Explanation
The poem next describes the carriage itself. Solomon made it from the wood of Lebanon. Its pillars are silver, its bottom gold and its seat purple. These details stress preciousness and royal splendour. The middle is “paved with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem”, adding a warm, celebratory note.
04A public call to lookThe final verse calls the daughters of Zion to go out and see King Solomon. He wears a crown placed on him by his mother.
Explanation
The final verse calls the daughters of Zion to go out and see King Solomon. He wears a crown placed on him by his mother. The setting is “the day of his weddings” and “the gladness of his heart”. The ending centres on seeing and sharing in this joyful occasion.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What images in verse 6 make the arrival feel impressive?
Look for the comparison to pillars of smoke and the list of fragrances, and describe how the poem uses them.
02Why does the poem mention sixty mighty men with swords?
Base your answer on the text’s own reason, which says they are armed because of fear in the night.
03How does the last verse show that this is a joyful wedding scene?
Notice the invitation to go out and see, the crown, the wedding day and the gladness of his heart.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Song of Solomon 3:6–11
6Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all spices of the merchant?
7Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage! Sixty mighty men are around it, of the mighty men of Israel.
8They all handle the sword, and are expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh, because of fear in the night.
9King Solomon made himself a carriage of the wood of Lebanon.
10He made its pillars of silver, its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, the middle of it being paved with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem.
11Go out, you daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother has crowned him, in the day of his weddings, in the day of the gladness of his heart.