Song of Solomon 1:2

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

Song of Solomon 1:2, King James Version

Song of Solomon 1:2 in other translations

BSB	Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine.
WEB	Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is better than wine.
ASV	Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better than wine.
YLT	Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth, For better are thy loves than wine.
DARBY	Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better than wine.
BBE	Let him give me the kisses of his mouth: for his love is better than wine.
Webster	Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

What does Song of Solomon 1:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

2. him--abruptly. She names him not, as is natural to one whose heart is full of some much desired friend: so Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre (Joh 20:15), as if everyone must know whom she means, the one chief object of her desire (Psa 73:25; Mt 13:44-46; Php 3:7,8). kiss--the token of peace from the Prince of Peace (Lu 15:20); "our Peace" (Psa 85:10; Col 1:21; Ep 2:14). of his mouth--marking the tenderest affection. For a king to permit his hands, or even garment, to be kissed, was counted a great honor; but that he should himself kiss another with his mouth is the greatest honor. God had in times past spoken by the mouth of His prophets, who had declared the Church's betrothal; the bride now longs for contact with the mouth of the Bridegroom Himself (Job 23:12; Lu 4:22; He 1:1, 2). True of the Church before the first advent, longing for "the hope of Israel," "the desire of all nations"; also the awakened soul longing for the kiss of reconciliation; and further, the kiss that is the token of the marriage contract (Ho 2:19, 20), and of friendship (1Sa 20:41; Joh 14:21; 15:15). thy love--Hebrew, "loves," namely, tokens of love, loving blandishments. wine--which makes glad "the heavy heart" of one ready to perish, so that he "remembers his misery no more" (Pr 31:6, 7). So, in a "better" sense, Christ's love (Ha 3:17, 18). He gives the same praise to the bride's love, with the emphatic addition, "How much" (So 4:10). Wine was created by His first miracle (Joh 2:1-11), and was the pledge given of His love at the last supper. The spiritual wine is His blood and His spirit, the "new" and better wine of the kingdom (Mt 26:29), which we can never drink to "excess," as the other (Ep 5:18; compare Psa 23:5; Is 55:1).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 Let him kiss me, etc. - She speaks of the bridegroom in the third person, to testify her own modesty, and to show him the greater respect. Thy love is better than wine - The versions in general translate דדיך dodeyca, thy breasts; and they are said to represent, spiritually, the Old and New Testaments.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Song of Solomon 1:2-6

The church, or rather the believer, speaks here in the character of the spouse of the King, the Messiah. The kisses of his mouth mean those assurances of pardon with which believers are favoured, filling them with peace and joy in believing, and causing them to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost. Gracious souls take most pleasure in loving Christ, and being loved of him. Christ's love is more valuable and desirable than the best this world can give. The name of Christ is not now like ointment sealed up, but like ointment poured forth; which denotes the freeness and fulness of the setting forth of his grace by the gospel. Those whom he has redeemed and sanctified, are here the virgins that love Jesus Christ, and follow him whithersoever he goes, Rev. 14:4. They entreat him to draw them by the quickening influences of his Spirit. The more clearly we discern Christ's glory, the more sensible shall we be that we are unable to follow him suitably, and at the same time be more desirous of doing it. Observe the speedy answer given to this prayer. Those who wait at Wisdom's gate, shall be led into truth and comfort. And being brought into this chamber, our griefs will vanish. We have no joy but in Christ, and for this we are indebted to him. We will remember to give thanks for thy love; it shall make more lasting impressions upon us than any thing in this world. Nor is any love acceptable to Christ but love in sincerity, Eph. 6:24. The daughters of Jerusalem may mean professors not yet established in the faith. The spouse was black as the tents of the wandering Arabs, but comely as the magnificent curtains in the palaces of Solomon. The believer is black, as being defiled and sinful by nature, but comely, as renewed by Divine grace to the holy image of God. He is still deformed with remains of sin, but comely as accepted in Christ. He is often base and contemptible in the esteem of men, but excellent in the sight of God. The blackness was owing to the hard usage that had been suffered. The children of the church, her mother, but not of God, her Father, were angry with her. They had made her suffer hardships, which caused her to neglect the care of her soul. Thus, under the emblem of a poor female, made the chosen partner of a prince, we are led to consider the circumstances in which the love of Christ is accustomed to find its objects. They were wretched slaves of sin, in toil, or in sorrow, weary and heavy laden, but how great the change when the love of Christ is manifested to their souls!

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Song of Solomon 1:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יִשָּׁקֵ֙נִי֙yi.sha.Ke.nilet him kiss meH5401

מִנְּשִׁיק֣וֹתmi.ne.shi.Kotfrom [the] kisses ofH5390

פִּ֔יהוּPi.humouth hisH6310

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588

טוֹבִ֥יםto.Vim[are] goodH2896

דֹּדֶ֖יךָdo.Dei.khalove<s> yourH1730

מִיָּֽיִן\׃mi.Ya.yinmore than wineH3196

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Song of Solomon 1:2

Song of Solomon 4:10
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
Song of Solomon 1:4
Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
Psalms 36:7
How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Psalms 63:3-5
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
Isaiah 55:1-2
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Song of Solomon 7:9
And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
Luke 15:20
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Matthew 26:26
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Song of Solomon 2:4
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Song of Solomon 7:12
Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.
Isaiah 25:6
And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
Psalms 2:12
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

him.
5:16; 8:1; Ge 27:26,27; 29:11; 45:15; Ps 2:12; Lu 15:20; Ac 21:7
1Pe 5:14
thy love. Heb. thy loves.
4; 2:4; 4:10; 7:6,9,12; 8:2; Ps 36:7; 63:3-5; Isa 25:6; 55:1,2
Mt 26:26

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Song of Solomon 1:1
The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
Song of Solomon 1:2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
Song of Solomon 1:3
Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

Read all of Song of Solomon 1

Song of Solomon 1:2 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	¡Oh si él me besara con ósculos de su boca! porque mejores son tus amores que el vino.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Qu’il m’embrasse des baisers de sa bouche! car tes amours sont meilleures que le vin.
German Elberfelder 1871	Er küsse mich mit den Küssen seines Mundes, denn deine Liebe ist besser als Wein.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	fragrantia unguentis optimis. Oleum effusum nomen tuum; ideo adolescentulæ dilexerunt te.