GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
SONG OF SOLOMON 6:12
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12 Before I was aware,
my spirit set me among the chariots of Amminadab.
Regrettably, we have to begin this verse with an apology. The translation is doubtful, especially regarding the last word. I have taken it (along with Luther) to be the proper name, Amminadab, although it would be spelled in a poetic way, “Ami-nadib.” There are many other ways of taking the verse, several of which depart completely from the Hebrew text and drift off into the realm of imagination. Among the translations that remain within the bounds of the Hebrew language, these are representative:
1, “the chariots of my noble people” (King James Version, NASB)
2, “the royal chariots of my people” (NIV)
3, “in a chariot beside my prince” (RSV)
4, “on the chariots of my people, as their prince” (Jerusalem Bible)
5, “mid the chariots of Ammi-nadib” (Jewish Bible, America Version)
6, “among the chariots of Amminadab” (Greek Septuagint).
7, “on account of the four-horse chariots of Amminadab” (Latin)
8, “to the royal chariots of my people, a noble one” (Delitszch)
9, “among the chariots of my willing people” (Brug, EHV)
10, “among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince” (ESV)
I have tried to keep as closely to the Hebrew as possible with my translation. We also have the matter of who is speaking. The Jerusalem Bible takes the husband as the speaker, but most commentaries lean toward the wife as the speaker in this case.
How shall we understand this little scene, which along with verse 11 is too short either for a chapter or an episode, but sits as it were on the mantle, more like a snapshot than a whole account? Once again, our interpretation will depend on the context, but it changes with the speaker. We will have to explore the meaning if it is the wife and then again if it is the husband, and notice what the differences are. We will leave the phrase “Before I was aware” until after we’ve looked at the rest of the verse.
If this is the wife speaking, she might well be surprised to find herself suddenly in a chariot or among many chariots. Is she surprised where her love has taken her? She is expressing her joy because she receives a royal welcome. The significance here may well be in the poetic name, “Amminadab.” The only Amminadab to be remembered in Solomon’s time was Amminadab in the time of Moses, the prince of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 1:7). He was the father-in-law of Aaron (and therefore the grandfather of the first priests of Israel, Exodus 6:23) and the ancestor of Boaz, Jesse, and King David (Ruth 4:19-20). He is therefore one of the more ancient names in the line of the Savior, and especially in him we see the convergence of the lines of all the priests and all of the kings of Judah. He stands, then, for the line of the Savior, and the bride is surprised and humbled to find herself in that same line, since she has now evidently married into it.
If this is the husband speaking, he could simply be remarking about what it was like to be brought into the world as Christ, the descendant of David. He finds himself in that royal line, far more royal himself than any of the kings including David or Solomon.
But let us return to the phrase, “Before I was aware.” This could be taken as a simple idiom, like “before I knew it,” or “quick as a wink.” Certainly it cannot be seen as placing any limitation on God. But there is also the matter of the divine power of Christ. When the Bible calls Christ “God” (John 1:1) and also “the Son of God” (Matthew 16:16), it uses these terms in a completely proper and theological way. Since Christ is God, truly and in every sense, he also has the complete will of God. There is no separation or division into various classes for the will of God. It is simply God’s will. When it was God’s holy will to create the universe, he did so out of nothing, when and where only God himself existed. He said, “Let there be,” and there was (Genesis 1:3; 1:6, and so on). Here, the will of God is expressed in terms of his spirit: “my spirit set me.” Therefore, can we equate this with the words of the Creed, “Conceived by the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18, 1:20; Luke 1:35)? If these things are set together correctly, then we could have an illustration here of the incarnation of Christ, whether from the perspective of Mary (typified as the Bride here because she herself carried the infant Jesus) or from the perspective of Christ himself. The Lord Jesus, growing up in the home of a carpenter in Galilee, could well have seen a marvelous delight in being descended from King David and “among the chariots of (David’s ancestor) Amminadab,” although according to his divine nature, this was all a part of his state of humiliation (Philippians 2:8). But in the very next verse, we will have a reference to Galilee with the word “Shulammite.”
I hesitate to say more. The difficulty of the Song is that the more obscure the passage, the more difficult the interpretation becomes. For all of the distress that the more sensual parts of the Song give to some readers, it must be admitted that when the Song remains well within the usual romantic parts of marriage, it is far easier to understand and to apply. But as for this “snapshot on the mantle,” perhaps signifying the Word of God becoming flesh through the body of a human mother, we will only say that God is glorified in all of the things he does. Praise God for entering into our world, “born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Song of Solomon 6:12 The chariots of Amminadab