Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 1:9
I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses his beloved in the middle of a poetic sequence, immediately after instructing her to follow the flock and before describing the ornaments on her cheeks and neck.
The words — The Hebrew סֻסָתִי (sūsātî) literally means "my mare," paired with רִכְבֵי פַרְעֹה (rikbê parʿōh), "chariots of Pharaoh," to establish the visual comparison.
The thread — The call to leave ordinary surroundings and follow a beloved appears in Song 2:10 and Song 2:13, while John 15:14 links intimate favor to obedience.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept a deliberate shift from pastoral imagery to royal power, recognizing that the speaker defines the beloved’s value through regal association rather than natural setting.
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
I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
Cross-references
- Song of Solomon 2:10 My beloved calls to me, “Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one.
- Song of Solomon 2:13 The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come away, my darling; come away with me, my beautiful one.”
- John 15:14 You are My friends if you do what I command you.
- Song of Solomon 1:15 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.
- Song of Solomon 2:2 Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens.
- Song of Solomon 4:7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw.
- Song of Solomon 5:2 I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”
- Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- 1 Kings 10:28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
- 2 Chronicles 1:14 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.