Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 8:1
O that you were to me like a brother who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses the beloved, voicing a desire for a familial bond that would legitimize their public affection.
The words — The Hebrew phrase יִתֶּנְךָ כְּאָח יוֹנֵק שְׁדֵי אִמִּי (yi.ten.kha ke.'ach yo.Nek she.Dei 'i.M/i) literally renders "will he give you like a brother a suckling of my mother's breasts."
The thread — The imagery of maternal nurture and spiritual kinship echoes the call to forget one's former house in Psalms 45:10 and the description of the free Jerusalem as mother in Galatians 4:26.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that genuine intimacy requires a shared foundation of upbringing, making public affection a natural consequence rather than a scandal.
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
O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
Cross-references
- Psalms 45:10 Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house,
- Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
- Psalms 102:16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory.
- Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 66:11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you may drink deeply and delight yourselves in her glorious abundance.
- Haggai 2:7 I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.