Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 1:12
While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker declares her perfume's fragrance while the king is seated at his table. This moment occurs between the promise of golden ornaments and the metaphor of a myrrh sachet resting on her chest.
The words — The Hebrew נרדי (nardi) translates to "my nard," and נתן (natan) means "it gave forth" or "released." Combined with ריח (re'ach, "odor"), the phrase literally describes the nard actively emitting its scent.
The thread — The use of expensive nard at a meal appears in Mark 14:3 and John 12:3, where a woman anoints Jesus with the same spice. The motif of dining together also echoes Revelation 3:20, which promises fellowship over a meal.
Why it lands — The text records a physical fragrance filling a royal dining space, demanding recognition of tangible devotion. It requires the reader to observe how material offerings function as declarations of presence and honor.
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
While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
Cross-references
- John 12:3 Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
- Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
- Mark 14:3 While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
- Psalms 45:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies.” A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses to the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
- Song of Solomon 4:13 Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates with the choicest of fruits, with henna and nard,
- Song of Solomon 7:5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple threads; the king is captured in your tresses.
- Matthew 22:4 Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
- Matthew 22:11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes.
- Matthew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
- Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”