Song of Solomon 7:13 Explained in Context

Selected verse

Verse 13. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse adds mandrake fragrance and new and old fruits stored for the beloved.

She is the one who says come, and she names the fields

This verse is one part of that explanation in Song of Solomon 7:11-13. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

Song of Solomon 7:11-13

Read Song of Solomon 7:13 with 7:11-13. This verse adds mandrake fragrance and new and old fruits stored for the beloved. The complete unit establishes this movement: The woman invites the beloved into field, village, and vineyard, names when and where she will give her love, and presents fragrant fruit she has kept for him.

Why This Verse Appears Here

The lyric answers the man's stated desire with the woman's own concrete invitation and conditions, strengthening the collection's portrayal of mutual agency. Within that movement, this verse adds mandrake fragrance and new and old fruits stored for the beloved.

Follow the Context

She asks the beloved to go out with her.
She proposes lodging in villages or among henna plants.
She chooses early vineyard inspection as the next movement.
There, she says, she will give her loves.
Mandrakes and stored fruits close the invitation with scent and abundance.

Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation

“new and old, which I have laid up for thee”

In plain language: stored abundance intentionally prepared for the beloved

adds mandrake fragrance and new and old fruits stored for the beloved. Preparation and abundance are offered as a chosen gift, not as reproductive obligation.

Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk requiring the complete unit and stated limits.

How certain? probable

What This Verse Is Not Saying

Mandrakes do not make conception, childbirth, or fertility treatment the purpose of every intimate relationship.

What Remains True

Preparation and abundance are offered as a chosen gift, not as reproductive obligation.

How It Can Shape Life

Appreciate preparation without demanding fertility, novelty, or performance.

Teach It Back

Explain how Song of Solomon 7:13 contributes to Song of Solomon 7:11-13. Include what the surrounding lines add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.

Explain the verse in context

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Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read Song of Solomon 7:11-13 — Her Invitation to the Fields and Vineyards

Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? probable

Where care is needed

Mandrake symbolism can include scent, fertility, desire, or wordplay with love.

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 7:11-13, 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, 7:11-13

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. 1256-1257, translation and notes on 7:11-13

Open source ↗

Open the complete thought-unit research record