Song of Solomon 6:8 — Word Study
WLCשִׁשִּׁ֥ים הֵ֙מָּה֙ מְּלָכ֔וֹת וּשְׁמֹנִ֖ים פִּֽילַגְשִׁ֑ים וַעֲלָמ֖וֹת אֵ֥ין מִסְפָּֽר׃
BSATherehêm are sixtyshishshîym [threescore, a large quantity] queensmalkâh [female rulers, women of royal status] and eightyshᵉmônîym [fourscore, a multitude] concubinespîylegesh [slave wives, women in a subordinate relationship] and maidensʻalmâh [young, unmarried women, virgins] withoutʼayin numbermiçpâr [countless, innumerable]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁשִּׁ֥ים | [are] sixty | Adj |
| הֵ֙מָּה֙ | they | Pronoun |
| מְּלָכ֔וֹת | queens | Noun common, feminine plural absolute |
| וּשְׁמֹנִ֖ים | and eighty | Conjunction |
| פִּֽילַגְשִׁ֑ים | concubines | Noun common, masculine plural absolute |
| וַעֲלָמ֖וֹת | and young women | Conjunction, noun common feminine plural absolute |
| אֵ֥ין | there not | Noun common, masculine singular construct |
| מִסְפָּֽר׃ | [is] a number | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number, |
| KJV | There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. |
| ASV | There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number. |
| YLT | Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, And virgins without number. |
| WEB | There are sixty queens, eighty concubines, and virgins without number. |
| BBE | There are sixty queens, and eighty servant-wives, and young girls without number. |
The translations agree on the meaning of the verse, presenting a consistent depiction of the number of queens and concubines.
The sentence structure presents a main clause followed by two additional phrases, emphasizing the abundance of women in the royal court.
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 6:8
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 Celebration of Lovegenerated
Song of Solomon 6:8 lists the impressive number of queens and concubines, illustrating the splendor of the beloved's surroundings. This verse emphasizes the beloved's unique beauty amidst the multitude, contrasting her with the many women in the royal court. The context reveals a poetic exploration of love, beauty, and admiration, typical of the Song of Solomon's themes.
The Key Word — מְּלָכ֔וֹת, me.la.Khotgenerated
The word מְּלָכ֔וֹת (me.la.Khot) means 'queens' and is the feminine plural form of the word for king. It signifies women with royal authority and is used in the Bible to describe female rulers, such as the Queen of Sheba.
This term highlights the status and power of these women, indicating that they hold significant positions within the kingdom. The use of the plural form suggests a large number of queens, contributing to the overall sense of abundance in the verse.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations agree that there are sixty queens and eighty concubines, conveying the same meaning across versions.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb in this verse is implied, with the subjects being the pronoun הֵ֙מָּה֙ (hemmah) and the predicate אֵ֥ין ('ein), indicating absence. The structure lists three noun phrases: the queens, the concubines, and the maidens, all contributing to the overall theme of abundance.
The Hebrew word order places emphasis on the subjects, leading with the number of queens and concubines before introducing the maidens, which highlights the multitude present in the royal court.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates מְּלָכ֔וֹת as βασίλισσαι, which also means 'queens.' This choice aligns closely with the Hebrew meaning, maintaining the emphasis on royal status.
The translation reflects the same grandeur found in the Hebrew text, indicating a consistent interpretation of the royal court's abundance.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Song of Solomon 6:8 describes a grand number of sixty queens and eighty concubines, along with countless maidens. This verse emphasizes the abundance of women in the royal court, yet highlights the unique beauty of the beloved among them.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The large numbers emphasize the splendor and opulence of the royal court, showcasing the beloved's unique status among them.
The phrase 'without number' suggests an overwhelming abundance, indicating that the beloved stands out even among countless young women.
This verse contributes to the overarching theme of love and admiration, portraying the beloved as unique and exceptional amidst a backdrop of abundance.
The term 'concubines' refers to women in a subordinate relationship, highlighting the dynamics of love and power within the royal court.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What qualities make the beloved stand out among the many women described in this verse?
- How does the abundance of queens and concubines enhance the portrayal of love in the Song of Solomon?
- In what ways can we appreciate the unique beauty of individuals in our own lives, despite the abundance around us?
- How does understanding the roles of queens and concubines in this verse help us grasp the cultural context of the time?
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
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number,
There are sixty queens, eighty concubines, and virgins without number.
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number,
There may be sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and young women without number.
Tyndale line
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number.
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and virgins without number.
But my doue is alone, and my vndefiled, she is the onely daughter of her mother, and shee is deare to her that bare her: the daughters haue seene her and counted her blessed: euen the Queenes and the concubines, and they haue praised her.
Strictly literal
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number:
Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, And virgins without number.
Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, || And virgins without number.
Sixty are the queens, and eighty the concubines, and the young women without number;
There are sixty queens, eighty concubines, and young women without number.
From the Latin
One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and concubines, and they praised her.
Simplified
There may be sixty queens and eighty concubines, and countless more women,
There are sixty queens, and eighty servant-wives, and young girls without number.
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 and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with all eight words matched in the Hebrew and Greek texts. This correspondence indicates a strong consistency in the transmission of this passage.
שִׁשִּׁ֥ים הֵ֙מָּה֙ מְּלָכ֔וֹת וּשְׁמֹנִ֖ים פִּֽילַגְשִׁ֑ים וַעֲלָמ֖וֹת אֵ֥ין מִסְפָּֽר׃
8 of the 8 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 6:8
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.
שִׁשִּׁים (shishshiym) means 'sixty' in Hebrew. It is a numeral derived from the root associated with the number 8337. The term is used in various contexts in the Old Testament to denote the quantity of sixty, also referred to as 'three score.' There is an Aramaic equivalent, שִׁתִּין (shit.tin), which also means sixty.
שִׁשִּׁים 59 n.indecl. sixty
base
H8346 שִׁשִּׁים sixty
8346 shishshiym shish-sheem'
multiple of 8337; sixty:--sixty, three score.
see HEBREW for 08337
שִׁשִּׁים (shish.shim) — sixty.
sixty, three score
Aramaic equivalent: shit.tin (שִׁתִּין "sixty" H8361)
Adj — AdjHAcmpa
siks'-ti (shishshim; hexekonta).
See NUMBER.
הֵ֫מָּה (hemmah) is a masculine plural pronoun meaning 'they.' The entries indicate that it can also mean 'these,' 'the same,' or refer to people in an emphatic context. There is no significant disagreement among the lexicons regarding its usage.
הֵ֫מָּה and הֵם (without appreciable distinction in usage, except prob. in so far as the longer or shorter form was better adapted to the rhythm of particular sentences) pron. 3 pl. masc. they
base
H1992 הֵ֫מָּה, הֵם (without appreciable distinction in usage, except prob. in so far as the longer or shorter form was better adapted to the rhythm of particular sentences) they
1992 hem haym
or (prolonged) hemmah {haym'-maw}; masculine plural from
1981; they (only used when emphatic):--it, like, X (how, so)
many (soever, more as) they (be), (the) same, X so, X such,
their, them, these, they, those, which, who, whom, withal, ye.
see HEBREW for 01981
הֵ֫מָּה (hem.mah) — they(masc.).
they, these, the same, who
Pron — PronounHPp3mp
מַלְכָּה (malkah) means 'queen' and is a feminine form of the word for king. It specifically refers to a queen, such as the Queen of Sheba mentioned in 1 Kings 10:1. The term is also noted to have an Aramaic equivalent.
מַלְכָּה 35 n.f. queen
base
H4436 מַלְכָּה
4436 malkah mal-kaw'
feminine of 4428; a queen:--queen.
see HEBREW for 04428
מַלְכָּה (mal.kah) — Queen (of Sheba).
A queen of the country Sheba (H7614J) living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ki.10.1
Combined with she.va (שְׁבָא " of Sheba" H7614J)
§ queen
מַלְכָּה (mal.kah) — queen.
queen
Aramaic equivalent: mal.kah (מַלְכָּה "queen" H4433)
N-fp — Noun common · feminine plural absoluteHNcfpa
שְׁמֹנִים (shmoniym) means eighty, derived from the root for eight. It serves as both a cardinal number (eighty) and an ordinal number (eightieth), and can also combine with other numbers. The entries confirm its usage in contexts related to counting.
שְׁמֹנִים 38 n.pl.indecl. an eighty
base
H8084 שְׁמֹנִים an eighty
8084 shmoniym shem-o-neem'
or shmowniym {shem-o-neem'}; mult. from 8083; eighty, also
eightieth:--eighty(-ieth), fourscore.
see HEBREW for 08083
שְׁמֹנִים (she.mo.nim) — eighty.
1) eighty, fourscore
1a) eighty (as cardinal number)
1b) eightieth (as ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
Conj | Adj — ConjunctionHC/Acmpa
פִּלֶ֫גֶשׁ (piylegesh) means 'concubine' or 'paramour.' The word is derived from an uncertain origin and is consistently defined across lexicons as referring to a female partner in a relationship that is not a formal marriage. It appears in contexts related to concubinage.
פִּלֶ֫גֶשׁ, פִּילֶ֫גֶשׁ 37 n.f. concubine
concubine
either = paramour, or < concubinage
base
H6370 פִּלֶ֫גֶשׁ, פִּילֶ֫גֶשׁ concubine
6370 piylegesh pee-leh'-ghesh
or pilegesh {pee-leh'-ghesh}; of uncertain derivation; a
concubine; also (masculine) a paramour:--concubine,
paramour.
פִּלֶ֫גֶשׁ (pi.le.gesh) — concubine.
1) concubine, paramour
1a) concubine
1b) paramour
N-fp — Noun common · masculine plural absoluteHNcmpa
עַלְמָה (almah) refers to a young woman, specifically one who is a virgin or of marriageable age. The term suggests a sense of privacy or modesty, often associated with a maid or newly married woman. Both Brown-Driver-Briggs and Strong's highlight its sexual maturity, while the Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon emphasizes its meaning as 'maiden'.
עַלְמָה n.f. young woman (ripe sexually; maid or newly married)
base
H5959 עַלְמָה young woman (ripe sexually; maid or newly married)
5959 `almah al-maw'
feminine of 5958; a lass (as veiled or private):--damsel,
maid, virgin.
see HEBREW for 05958
עַלְמָה (al.mah) — maiden.
1) virgin, young woman
1a) of marriageable age
1b) maid or newly married
Conj | N-fp — Conjunction · noun common feminine plural absoluteHC/Ncfpa
The position of women in the Hebrew commonwealth contrasts favorably with that which in the present day is assigned to them generally in eastern countries. The most salient point of contrast in the usages of ancient as compared with modern Oriental society was the large amount of liberty enjoyed by women. Instead of being immured in a harem, or appearing in public with the face covered. The wives and maidens of ancient times mingled freely and openly with the other sex in the duties and amenities of ordinary life. Rebekah travelled on a camel with her face unveiled until she came into the presence of her affianced. (Genesis 24:64,65) Jacob saluted Rachel with a kiss in the presence of the shepherds. (Genesis 29:11) Women played no inconsiderable part in public celebrations (
אַ֫יִן (ayin) primarily means 'nothing' or 'nought' and serves as a negative particle indicating absence or negation, such as 'is not' or 'there is not.' It can also express lack of possession or existence. The word is derived from a root meaning to be non-existent, and it appears frequently in various grammatical constructions.
אַ֫יִן, אָ֑֫יִן cstr. אֵין subst. prop. nothing, nought
to nothing, as nothing
cstr. אֵין, very freq. as particle of negation, is not, are not, was not, were not
אֵין לְ׳, with subst., or pron., there is (was) not to … = … have, has, had, etc. not
in circumst. clauses
with inf. and ל׳, it is not to …
with prefixes
base
H369 אַ֫יִן, אָ֑֫יִן cstr. אֵין subst. prop. nothing, nought . to nothing, as nothing
. cstr. אֵין, very freq. as particle of negation, is not, are not, was not, were not
. אֵין לְ׳, with subst., or pron., there is (was) not to … = … have, has, had, etc. not
. in circumst. clauses
. with inf. and ל׳, it is not to …
. with prefixes
369 'ayin ah'-yin
as if from a primitive root meaning to be nothing or not
exist; a non-entity; generally used as a negative
particle:--else, except, fail, (father-)less, be gone,
in(-curable), neither, never, no (where), none, nor, (any,
thing), not, nothing, to nought, past, un(-searchable),
well-nigh, without. Compare 370.
see HEBREW for 0370
אַ֫יִן (a.yin) — nothing.
1) nothing, not, nought n
1a) nothing, nought neg
1b) not
1c) to have not (of possession) adv
1d) without w/prep
1e) for lack of
Part — Noun common · masculine singular constructHNcmsc
מִסְפָּר (mispar) means 'number' or 'tale.' It can refer to definite or indefinite quantities, ranging from large to small. The word also encompasses concepts of narration and recounting. The entries consistently highlight its numerical and narrative aspects without significant disagreement.
מִסְפָּר 133 n.m. number, tale
base
H4557 מִסְפָּר number, tale
4557 micpar mis-pawr'
from 5608; a number, definite (arithmetical) or indefinite
(large, innumerable; small, a few); also (abstractly)
narration:--+ abundance, account, X all, X few, (in-)finite,
(certain) number(-ed), tale, telling, + time.
see HEBREW for 05608
מִסְפָּר (mis.par) — number.
1) number, tale
1a) number
1a1) number
1a2) innumerable (with negative)
1a3) few, numerable (alone)
1a4) by count, in number, according to number (with prep)
1b) recounting, relation
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
num'-ber:
I. NUMBER AND ARITHMETIC
II. NOTATION OF NUMBERS
1. By Words
2. By Signs
3. By Letters
III. NUMBERS IN OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY
IV. ROUND NUMBERS
V. SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS
1. Seven and Its Multiples
(1) Ritual Use of Seven
(2) Historical Use of Seven
(3) Didactic or Literary Use of Seven
(4) Apocalyptic Use of Seven
2. The Number Three
3. The Number Four
4. The Number Ten
5. The Number Twelve
6. Other Significant Numbers
VI. GEMATRIA
LITERATURE
I. Number and Arithmetic.
The system of counting followed by the Hebrews and the Semites generally was the decimal system, which seems to have been suggested by the use of the ten fingers. Hebrew had separate words only for the first nine units and for ten and its multiples. Of the sexagesimal system, which seems to have been introduced into Babylonia by the Sumerians and which, through its development there, has influenced the measurement of time and space in the…
Like most Oriental nations, it is probable that the Hebrews in their written calculations made use of the letters of the alphabet. That they did so in post-Babylonian times we have conclusive evidence in the Maccabaean coins; and it is highly probable that this was the ease also in earlier times. But though, on the one hand, it is certain that in all existing MSS of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament the numerical expressions are written at length, yet, on the other, the variations in the several versions between themselves and from the Hebrew text, added to the evident inconsistencies in numerical statement between certain passages of that text itself seems to prove that some shorter mode of writing was originally in vogue, liable to be misunderstood, and in fact misunderstood by copyists and translators. These variations appear to have proceeded from the alphabetic method of writing…
Isa 65:11. See GAD 3.