Translation
O daughters of ZION,
Go to footnote numbercome out, and look at King SOLOMON
wearing a crown,
Go to footnote numberwith which his mother crowned him
Go to footnote numberon the day of his wedding,
the day his heart rejoiced.
Paraphrase
You products of the GUIDING SIGN, come out and see how the PEACEFUL king is singled out by the identity marker his mother placed on him
On the day of his wedding,
The day his heart rejoiced.
Footnotes
1
“Zion” refers to something that is a guiding sign because it is conspicuous.
2
Usually a crown set someone apart as a king, and the wearing of the crown was a demonstration of kingly authority. However, this appears to be a different situation. According to Unger, the customs of that day required the groom on his wedding day to walk from his home to that of his bride, accompanied by his friends or companions. Then they would escort the bride, along with her friends, back to the house of the groom where they would have a seven day feast. On this trek the groom would wear a special turban on which was placed a wedding wreath which identified him as the groom. It is to that special headdress that the term “crown” is referring in this case. Most commentators agree.
Some scholars think this entire section, starting with verse 6, is a reference to the wedding procession. If that is true, it is an image containing several images, some of which don’t fit the wedding procession very well. I prefer to think that only this verse refers to the wedding procession. The reference to his wedding procession, whether in one verse or several verses, does not mean that everything described in the Song prior to this point, including references to sexual intimacy, happened pre-marriage. The entire song is like a giant mural being painted to show what marriage is like; it is not a story, and it is obviously not in chronological order.
3
The role of a mother in the life of her children is prominent in The Song. The importance given the maternal role fits well with my supposition that the Shulammite was highly involved in the writing of this song, and may have been the initiator of the project which, I believe, was done on behalf of their two daughters.