Bible Strands
Psalms 45:8
All your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces of ivory the harps make you glad.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — A psalmist addresses a royal bridegroom during a coronation or wedding feast, immediately following a declaration of his anointing and moral character. The audience includes the assembled court and the bride's honored women.
The words — מֹר (mor) translates to myrrh, and שֵׁן (shen) translates to ivory, both denoting the costly materials adorning the king's garments and palace.
The thread — The spice imagery reappears in Song of Solomon 1:3 and John 19:39, while the metaphor of spreading fragrance appears in 2 Corinthians 2:14.
Why it lands — The text declares the king's garments scented with specific resins and his palace built with ivory, establishing his exalted status. The reader must acknowledge this concrete depiction of royal honor and divine favor without adding allegorical layers not present in the declaration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
Cross-references
- Song of Solomon 1:3 The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you.
- John 19:39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
- 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.
- Song of Solomon 4:6 Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
- Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
- Exodus 30:23 “Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane,
- Psalms 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
- Song of Solomon 5:1 I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.
- 1 Kings 22:39 As for the rest of the acts of Ahab, along with all his accomplishments and the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
- Psalms 150:4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.