Song of Solomon 8:6

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Set	שִׂימֵ֨נִי si.Me.ni	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
seal	כַֽחוֹתָ֜ם kha.cho.Tam	H2368	a signature-ring · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
heart	לִבֶּ֗ךָ li.Be.kha	H3820	the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
seal	כַּֽחוֹתָם֙ ka.cho.Tam	H2368	a signature-ring · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
arm	זְרוֹעֶ֔ךָ ze.ro.'E.kha	H2220	the arm (as stretched out) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
love	אַהֲבָ֔ה 'a.ha.Vah	H160	affection (in a good or a bad sense) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
strong	עַזָּ֤ה 'a.Zah	H5794	strong · adjective, feminine singular absolute
death	כַמָּ֙וֶת֙ kha.Ma.vet	H4194	death (natural or violent) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
jealousy	קִנְאָ֑ה kin.'Ah	H7068	jealousy or envy · noun, common feminine singular absolute
cruel	קָשָׁ֥ה ka.Shah	H7186	severe (in various applications) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
grave	כִשְׁא֖וֹל khish.'ol	H7585	Hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean re… · preposition + noun, common both genders singular absolute
coals	רְשָׁפֶ֕יהָ re.sha.Fei.ha	H7565	a live coal · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
coals	רִשְׁפֵּ֕י rish.Pei	H7565	a live coal · noun, common masculine plural construct
fire	אֵ֖שׁ 'esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
flame	שַׁלְהֶ֥בֶתְיָֽה shal.He.vet.Yah	H7957	a flare of fire · noun, common feminine singular construct + proper noun, a title

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Philippians 1:20-23 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Chri…
Numbers 5:14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and…
Proverbs 6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Song of Solomon 5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
Jeremiah 22:24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thenc…
Haggai 2:23 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee a…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Song of Solomon 8:6

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm,.... These are still the words of the church, speaking to Christ as she walked along with him, as the affixes in the Hebrew text show; in which she desires to have a fixed abiding place in his heart; to continue firmly in his love, and to have further manifestations of it; to be always remembered and supported by him; to be ever on his mind, and constantly under his care and protection; and to have a full assurance of interest in his love, and in his power, which is the sealing work of his Spirit, Ephesians 1:13. The allusion seems to be to the high: priest, a type of Christ, who had the names of the children of Israel engraved on p…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Song of Solomon 8:6

seal over your heart . . . on your arm: In ancient Israel a seal was used for identification or to show ownership by pressing the face of a ring into soft wax. The wife wants her husband to mark her with his identity, privately upon her heart, and publicly upon her arm as well. • love is as strong as death: Though death is inevitable, the bond of love is resolute, unshakable, and broken only in death. • The energy of jealousy moves to protect an exclusive relationship such as that of husband and wife or between God and his people (Nah 1:2; Zech 1:14-17). • as the grave: Hebrew as Sheol. In the Old Testament, Sheol is the abode of the dead. It is not necessarily associated with punishment.

Rashi on Song of Solomon 8:6

Set me as a seal. For the sake of that love, seal me upon Your heart,6In the same manner that a seal is affixed on one’s hand and is not removed, so too, set me as a seal upon Your heart. (Metzudas Dovid) so that You do not forget me, and You will see. For love is as strong as death. The extent of my love that I loved You is to me equal to my death, for I am killed for Your sake.7My love to You is so strong that I would choose death before relinquishing my love for You. (Metzudas Dovid) Jealousy is as harsh as the grave. The quarrel that the nations were jealous and quarreled with me because of You. “קִנְאָה” every place [in Scripture] means enprenment in O.F., an expression of conveying f…

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The Church Fathers

Let the love of God be stronger than death in you. If death releases you from the desire for everything, how much more appropriate is it that the love of God should release you from the desire for everything.
— John the Solitary, LETTER 45, TO HESYCHIUS

Concerning the love of which it is rightly said through Solomon: Love is strong as death, because indeed just as death kills the body, so the love of eternal life slays attachment to bodily things. For whomever it has perfectly absorbed, it renders outwardly insensible to earthly desires.
— Gregory the Dialogist, 40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 11

That we may fully know that this is true you have in the Canticles to the soul, now fully perfect, what I wish the Lord Jesus may say to you, "Put me as a seal upon your arm." May peace glow in your heart, Christ in your works, and may there be formed in you wisdom and justice and redemption.
— Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 80, TO LAYMEN

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Jealousy — Suspicion of a wife’s purity, one of the strongest passions (Num. 5:14; Prov. 6:34; Cant. 8:6); also an intense interest for another’s honour or prosperity (Ps. 79:5; 1 Cor. 10:22; Zech. 1:14).
Seal — Commonly a ring engraved with some device (Gen. 38:18, 25). Jezebel “wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal” (1 Kings 21:8). Seals are frequently mentioned in Jewish history…
Envy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Fire · Things connected with: Flame — Things connected with: Flame
Hell · “Sheol” is translated “grave” in A. V. in — “Sheol” is translated “grave” in A. V. in
High Priest, The · Typified Christ in: Bearing the names of Israel upon his heart — Typified Christ in: Bearing the names of Israel upon his heart
Jealousy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Love To Christ · Should be: Ardent — Should be: Ardent
Seals · Illustrative of: What is dear or valued — Illustrative of: What is dear or valued

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).