Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Song of Solomon 1:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse praises the beloved's oils, name, and attractiveness to maidens.
Read It With
- Song of Solomon 1:2-4
Read Song of Solomon 1:3 with 1:2-4. This verse praises the beloved's oils, name, and attractiveness to maidens. The complete unit establishes this movement: A feminine-coded voice openly desires the beloved, values his love above wine, delights in his fragrant reputation, and calls for movement toward him while plural voices briefly join the praise.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The collection begins with a woman's expressed desire rather than with a narrator, law, wedding report, or male claim over her body. Within that movement, this verse praises the beloved's oils, name, and attractiveness to maidens.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“thy name is as ointment poured forth”
In plain language: his reputation spreads attractively like fragrant oil
praises the beloved's oils, name, and attractiveness to maidens. Fragrance becomes a metaphor for reputation and appeal that extends beyond appearance.
Why it matters: The wording identifies this verse's distinct contribution to the complete unit.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Fragrance becomes a metaphor for reputation and appeal that extends beyond appearance.
How It Can Shape Life
- Build a trustworthy name rather than using scent, image, or popularity to manipulate attention.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Song of Solomon 1:2-4 — Desire Speaks FirstSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Song of Solomon 1:2-4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Song of Songs
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, speaker-gender signals, wordplay, poetic clauses, and translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Song.xml, 1:2-4
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: The Song of Songs with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level textual, grammatical, literary, historical, and translation alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Song of Songs PDF, printed pp. 1225-1228, translation and notes on 1:2-4
Open source ↗