Song of Solomon 6:7 — Word Study
WLCכְּפֶ֤לַח הָרִמּוֹן֙ רַקָּתֵ֔ךְ מִבַּ֖עַד לְצַמָּתֵֽךְ׃
BSAYour browraqqâh [temple area, above the ear] behindbᵉʻad your veiltsammâh [head covering, a sign of modesty] is like a slicepelach [resembling, comparable to, piece, half] of pomegranaterimmôwn [a fruit]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| כְּפֶ֤לַח | [is] like [the] slice of | Preposition, noun common feminine singular construct |
| הָרִמּוֹן֙ | pomegranate | Particle, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| רַקָּתֵ֔ךְ | temple your | Noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
| מִבַּ֖עַד | from behind | Preposition |
| לְצַמָּתֵֽךְ׃ | to veil your | Preposition, noun common feminine singular construct, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate. |
| KJV | As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. |
| ASV | Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil. |
| YLT | As the work of the pomegranate [is] thy temple behind thy veil. |
| WEB | Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil. |
| BBE | Like pomegranate fruit are the sides of your head under your veil. |
Where they part company is כְּפֶ֤לַח — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence has a main clause with two prepositional phrases providing additional detail about the subject and the comparison.
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Song of Solomon 6:7
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Beauty of the Belovedgenerated
Song of Solomon 6:7 presents a vivid metaphor comparing the beloved's brow to a slice of pomegranate, emphasizing her beauty while also suggesting the modesty of her veil. This verse is part of a larger poetic section that celebrates the beloved's physical attributes, illustrating the deep affection and admiration the speaker has for her. The surrounding verses also highlight other aspects of her beauty, creating a rich tapestry of imagery that conveys love and desire.
The Key Word — כְּפֶ֤לַח, ke.Fe.lachgenerated
The word כְּפֶ֤לַח (ke.Fe.lach) means 'like a slice of' and is derived from the noun פֶּלַח (pelach), which refers to a slice or piece. This term is often associated with cutting or cleaving, and in this context, it emphasizes the beauty of the beloved's brow by comparing it to a slice of pomegranate, a fruit known for its rich color and sweetness.
In this verse, the use of כְּפֶ֤לַח highlights the delicate and appealing nature of the beloved's features, suggesting that they are as delightful as the fruit itself. The choice of this word adds to the overall imagery of beauty and allure present in the Song of Solomon.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause of the verse is centered around the comparison introduced by the preposition כְּ (ke), meaning 'like'. This sets up the metaphorical relationship between the beloved's brow and the slice of pomegranate.
The structure of the sentence emphasizes the beloved's features, with the prepositional phrase מִבַּ֖עַד (mi.Ba.'ad) indicating the location of her brow in relation to her veil, enhancing the imagery of modesty and beauty.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates כְּפֶ֤לַח as λέπυρον (lepyrón), which also means 'slice' or 'piece'. This choice reflects a direct correspondence to the Hebrew term while maintaining the metaphorical quality of the comparison.
The translation of הָרִמּוֹן֙ as ῥόας (rhos) retains the reference to the pomegranate, ensuring that the imagery of beauty and richness is preserved in the Greek text.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Song of Solomon 6:7 compares the beloved's brow to a slice of pomegranate, highlighting her beauty while she is modestly veiled. This verse is part of a poetic celebration of the beloved's features, emphasizing love and admiration.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The comparison suggests beauty, richness, and allure, as pomegranates are known for their vibrant color and sweetness.
The veil indicates modesty and serves to enhance the beauty of the beloved's features by creating a contrast.
The reference to the temple area highlights the delicate and beautiful aspects of the beloved, suggesting a sacred quality to her beauty.
This verse contributes to the overarching theme of love and admiration between the speaker and the beloved, using rich imagery to express deep affection.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What qualities do I admire in others that reflect beauty and modesty, similar to the beloved's description?
- How can I appreciate the beauty in those around me while also valuing their modesty?
- In what ways do metaphors enhance our understanding of beauty in literature and life?
- How does the imagery in this verse inspire my view of love and admiration?
The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate.
Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.
Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate.
Like a slice of pomegranate is your forehead behind your veil.
Tyndale line
As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil.
Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind thy veil.
As a piece of pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
There are threescore Queenes and fourescore concubines and of the damsels without nober.
Strictly literal
As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples Behind thy veil.
As the work of the pomegranate [is] thy temple behind thy veil.
As the work of the pomegranate [is] your temple behind your veil.
Like the half of the pomegranate is the upper part of thy cheek behind thy vail.
Your cheeks are like pomegranate halves behind your veil.
From the Latin
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and young maidens without number.
Simplified
Your cheeks are the blushing color of pomegranates behind your veil.
Like pomegranate fruit are the sides of your head under your veil.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text of Song of Solomon 6:7 reads, "כְּפֶ֤לַח הָרִמּוֹן֙ רַקָּתֵ֔ךְ מִבַּ֖עַד לְצַמָּתֵֽךְ׃" which translates to "Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate." The Septuagint agrees with the Masoretic Text in terms of the overall meaning and the words used, as all five words match in translation, although the Greek may have a different word order. There are no significant differences in this verse among the ancient witnesses, indicating a strong consistency in the text across these sources.
כְּפֶ֤לַח הָרִמּוֹן֙ רַקָּתֵ֔ךְ מִבַּ֖עַד לְצַמָּתֵֽךְ׃
5 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Song of Solomon 6:7
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
פֶּ֫לַח (pelach) refers to a slice or piece, often associated with a millstone. The word is built from a root meaning to cut or cleave, and it encompasses meanings related to cleavage and slicing. The entries consistently emphasize its connection to millstones and parts that are cut off.
פֶּ֫לַח n.f. cleavage, mill-stone
base
H6400 פֶּ֫לַח
6400 pelach peh'-lakh
from 6398; a slice:--piece.
see HEBREW for 06398
פֶּ֫לַח (pe.lach) — millstone.
1) cleavage, mill-stone, cut, slice, part cut off
1a) mill-stone
1b) cleavage, slice
Prep | N-fs — Preposition · noun common feminine singular constructHR/Ncfsc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
רִמּוֹן (rimmon) refers to a pomegranate, encompassing both the fruit and the tree, as well as pomegranate-shaped ornaments used in the temple. The word's origin is uncertain, and it is noted as a foreign term. It is linked to the root word in Strong's H7426.
רִמּוֹן n.m. pomegranate (foreign word of doubtful origin)
base
H7416 רִמּוֹן pomegranate (doubtful word of foreign origin)
7416 rimmown rim-mone'
or rimmon {rim-mone'}; from 7426; a pomegranate, the tree
(from its upright growth) or the fruit (also an artificial
ornament):--pomegranate.
see HEBREW for 07426
רִמּוֹן (rim.mon) — pomegranate.
1) pomegranate
1a) as tree
1b) as fruit
1c) as pomegranate shaped ornaments in temple
Art | N-ms — Particle · noun common masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ncmsa
pom'-gran-at, pom-gran'-at, pum'-gran-at (rimmon (tree and fruit); the Hebrew name is similar to the Arabic, Aramaic and Ethiopic; rhoa):
1. A Tree Characteristic of Palestine: One of the most attractive and most characteristic of the fruit trees of Syria, probably indigenous to Persia, Afghanistan and the neighborhood of the Caucasus, but introduced to Palestine in very ancient times. The spies brought specimens of figs and pomegranates, along with grapes, from the Vale of Eshcol (Nu 13:23). Vines, figs and pomegranates are mentioned (Nu 20:5) as fruits the Israelites missed in the wilderness; the promised land was to be one "of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates" (De 8:8), a promise renewed in
Pomegranate
I.e., “grained apple” (pomum granatum), Heb. rimmon. Common in Egypt (Num. 20:5) and Palestine (13:23; Deut. 8:8). The Romans called it Punicum malum, i.e., Carthaginian apple, because they received it from Carthage. It belongs to the myrtle family of trees. The withering of the pomegranate tree is mentioned among the judgments of God (Joel 1:12). It is frequently mentioned in the Song of Solomon (Cant. 4:3, 13, etc.). The skirt of the high priest’s blue robe and ephod was adorned with the representation of pomegranates, alternating with golden bells (Ex. 28:33,34), as also were the “chapiters upon the two…
The pomegranate tree, Punicu granatum , derives its name from the Latin pomum granatum , "grained apple." The Romans gave it the name of Punica, as the tree was introduced from Carthage. It belongs to the natural order Myrtaceae (Myrtle), being, however, rather a tall bush than a tree, The foliage is dark green, the flowers are crimson, the fruit, which is about the size of art orange, is red when which in Palestine is about the middle of October. It contains a quantity of juice. Mention is made in (Solomon 8:2) of spiced wine of the juice of the pomegranate. The rind is used in the manufacture of morocco leather, and together with the bark is sometimes used medicinally. Mr. Royle (Kitto’s Cyc., art "Rimmon") states that this tree is a native of Asia and is to be traced from Syria through Persia, even to the mountains of northern India. The pomegranate was early cultivated in Egypt…
Grained apple, the Punica Granatum of Linnaeus; called also Malum Granatum, in French pomme granate, whence its English name. The tree grows wild in Persia and Syria, as generally in the south of Europe and north of Africa. It is low, with a straight stem, reddish bark, many and spreading branches, dark green lancet-formed leaves, and large and beautiful crimson blossoms. The fruit is of the size of an orange, of a tawny brown, with a thick astringent coat, containing an abundance of seeds, each enveloped in a distinct, very juicy, pink coat, whose flavor, in a wild state, is a pure and very strong acid; but in the cultivated plant, sweet and highly agreeable. The ripe pulp was eaten by itself or with a sprinkling of sugar; or its juice was made into a sherbet. The value of the fruit and the beauty of the flower made the pomegranate welcome in gardens,
רַקָּה (raqqah) refers to the temple, specifically the side of the head. It is a feminine noun derived from the root meaning thinness. The entries consistently identify it as relating to the anatomical feature of the head.
רַקָּה n.f. the temple (of the head)
base
H7541 רַקָּה
7541 raqqah rak-kaw'
feminine of 7534; properly, thinness, i.e. the side of the
head:--temple.
see HEBREW for 07534
רַקָּה (raq.qah) — temple.
temple, the temple (of the head)
N-fs | Suff — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHNcfsc/Sp2fs
בַּ֫עַד (ba'ad) is a Hebrew word that functions as a preposition and noun, indicating separation or position, such as 'away from,' 'behind,' 'about,' or 'on behalf of.' It is derived from a root meaning to separate and covers a range of spatial and metaphorical uses. The lexicons agree on its meanings, with variations in emphasis on specific usages.
בַּ֫עַד subst. prop. separation, with a gen., in separation from, in usage a prep. away from, behind, about, on behalf of
base
H1157 בַּ֫עַד subst. prop. separation, with a gen., in separation from, in usage a prep. away from, behind, about, on behalf of
1157 b`ad beh-ad'
from 5704 with prepositional prefix; in up to or over
against; generally at, beside, among, behind, for,
etc.:--about, at by (means of), for, over, through, up (-on),
within.
see HEBREW for 05704
בַּ֫עַד (be.ad) — about/through/for.
1) behind, through, round about, on behalf of, away from, about
1a) through (of action)
1b) behind (with verbs of shutting)
1c) about (with verbs of fencing)
1d) on behalf of (metaph. especially with Hithpael)
Prep | Prep — PrepositionHR/Acbsa
The Hebrew word צַמָּה (tsammah) refers specifically to a woman's veil. It is derived from an unused root meaning to fasten on, suggesting a connection to the act of securing or covering. The entries consistently emphasize its meaning as a veil.
צַמָּה n.f. woman’s veil
base
H6777 צַמָּה woman’s veil
6777 tsammah tsam-maw'
from an unused root meaning to fasten on; a veil:--locks.
צַמָּה (tsam.mah) — veil.
veil, woman's veil
Prep | N-fs | Suff — Preposition · noun common feminine singular construct · suffixHR/Ncfsc/Sp2fs