Song of Solomon 7:11 — the refrain that changes on its third turn
11I am for my beloved, and his turning is to me.
The third version of a refrain that runs through the book, and this time it changes. Our primary English edition says his turning is to me, where other Bibles speak of desire.
Short answer
This verse is the woman declaring that she belongs to her beloved and that his turning is toward her. It is the third appearance of a refrain heard twice before in the book, and this time the second half changes: instead of mutual possession, it speaks of his movement toward her.
- Written by
- Maria Luisa Navarro Schmitt
- Reviewed by
- Raphael Navarro Schmitt
- Published on
- Reading time
- 2 min read
It is a short line in a book that barely mentions God and speaks a great deal about the body. And it is the point where a repeated sentence gains a new word.
Where this verse appears
The Song is a collection of love poems between two voices, and the woman speaks most. There is no linear plot: there are scenes, searches, meetings and refrains that return with small variations.
This is one of them. In chapter 2 the line says the beloved is hers and she is his; in chapter 6 the order reverses. Here the second half stops speaking of belonging and speaks instead of his movement toward her.
A note on the number. Our primary English text, the Catholic Public Domain Version, prints this sentence as 7:11, one verse later than the Portuguese and Spanish editions, which have it at 7:10.
What it says
The progression of the refrain is the argument. Twice the sentence establishes mutual possession; on the third pass, the woman declares whose she is and then states what he does toward her. This is not insecurity asking for reassurance. It is assertion.
The wording here deserves attention. Where many English Bibles read "his desire is toward me", this edition reads "his turning is to me". Turning is a word of orientation rather than of appetite: it describes where someone faces, which is arguably the harder thing to secure and the more reassuring thing to be able to say.
On how to read the book as a whole, traditions have differed for centuries: allegorical readings take it as a figure of the love between God and his people, and literal readings take it as human love poetry judged worthy of a place in Scripture. Both have defenders in Catholic and Protestant churches, and neither cancels the other.
What to do with it today
For couples, what the line models is rare: saying out loud whom you belong to, and acknowledging without embarrassment that someone is turned toward you. Both usually stay implicit, and implicit ages badly.
And for anyone reading outside a relationship, the value is in the existence of the book itself. The Bible keeps an entire poem about attraction and affection between two people, and does not apologize for it.
A prayer to carry with you
Lord, thank you for leaving room in Scripture for love spoken this plainly. Teach me to love with that frankness, and to receive affection without suspicion. Amen.