Who Was the Shulamite Woman?

The Shulamite is the woman addressed in Song of Solomon 6:13Song of Solomon 6:13 · King James VersionReturn, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.Song of Solomon 6:13 · King James VersionOpen source: “Return, return, O Shulamite.” The Song gives her no personal name. She is not the great woman of Shunem who hosted Elisha in 2 Kings 4, and she is not Abishag the Shunammite who was brought to David in 1 Kings 1.

Key Points

• Song of Solomon 6:13Song of Solomon 6:13 · King James VersionReturn, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.Song of Solomon 6:13 · King James VersionOpen source is the verse that says “O Shulamite.” The Hebrew word is שׁוּלַמִּית (H7759).
• Song of Solomon 1:5–6Song of Solomon 1:5–6 · King James Version^1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. ^1:6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.Song of Solomon 1:5–6 · King James VersionOpen source says, “I am black, but comely,” and “the sun hath looked upon me.”
• Song of Solomon 1:1Song of Solomon 1:1 · King James VersionThe song of songs, which is Solomon’s.Song of Solomon 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source calls the book “the song of songs, which is Solomon’s.” 1 Kings 11:31 Kings 11:3 · King James VersionAnd he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.1 Kings 11:3 · King James VersionOpen source says he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Those verses do not name a Shulamite wife.
• Strong’s longer line on H7759 calls her “an epithet of Solomon’s queen.” That is the dictionary’s wording. The Song does not print the title queen for her.
• The woman of 2 Kings 4 lives at Shunem (H7766). She feeds Elisha. The prophet in that chapter is Elisha, not Elijah.
• 1 Kings 1:31 Kings 1:3 · King James VersionSo they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.1 Kings 1:3 · King James VersionOpen source names Abishag a Shunammite. She is a third woman, in David’s last days.

Where the Shulamite Woman Is Found

Song of Solomon 6:13Song of Solomon 6:13 · King James VersionReturn, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.Song of Solomon 6:13 · King James VersionOpen source (1): “Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.”

The speakers say “we” and “ye.” The verse does not narrate a wedding day, a father’s house by a map name, or a later history. The Hebrew entry H7759 has the short gloss “Shulamite.” The longer dictionary line is “peaceful (with the article always prefixed, making it a pet name); the Shulammith, an epithet of Solomon’s queen.” What Is Strong’s Concordance? is what that longer line is: Strong’s 1894 wording, printed on the word page, not a sentence the Song adds.

Song of Solomon 1:1Song of Solomon 1:1 · King James VersionThe song of songs, which is Solomon’s.Song of Solomon 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (4): “The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.”

What the Shulamite Woman Looked Like

Song of Solomon 1:5Song of Solomon 1:5 · King James VersionI am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.Song of Solomon 1:5 · King James VersionOpen source (2): “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.” Song of Solomon 1:6Song of Solomon 1:6 · King James VersionLook not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.Song of Solomon 1:6 · King James VersionOpen source (3): “Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.”

Those two verses are the description the Song gives at the start: dark from the sun, comely, compared with the tents of Kedar and the curtains of Solomon, and set to keep vineyards. The book does not add a height or a portrait beyond the comparisons in the poems.

Song of Solomon 6:9Song of Solomon 6:9 · King James VersionMy dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.Song of Solomon 6:9 · King James VersionOpen source (5): “My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.” The sentence calls her one, the choice of her mother, and praised by queens and concubines. It still does not give her a personal name.

Did Solomon Love the Shulamite?

The Song is called Solomon’s, and it is a book of love poems addressed to the Shulamite. It does not contain the sentence “Solomon loved the Shulamite,” and it does not rank her against the wives in the history.

1 Kings 11:31 Kings 11:3 · King James VersionAnd he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.1 Kings 11:3 · King James VersionOpen source (10): “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.” The verse counts the wives. It does not name a Shulamite among them, and it does not name a most loved wife. The historical books do not identify the woman of the Song with one of those princesses.

The Shunammite Woman of 2 Kings 4

2 Kings 4:82 Kings 4:8 · King James VersionAnd it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.2 Kings 4:8 · King James VersionOpen source (6): “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.”

She tells her husband that this is a holy man of God who passes by continually, and she asks for a little chamber on the wall, with a bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick. Elisha says that about that season she will embrace a son. The child dies. Elisha prays, stretches himself upon the child, and the child sneezes seven times and opens his eyes. 2 Kings 4:362 Kings 4:36 · King James VersionAnd he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.2 Kings 4:36 · King James VersionOpen source (7): “And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.”

The place is Shunem. The prophet is Elisha. The woman is called the Shunammite because of the town, not Shulamite. The Hebrew place name is שׁוּנֵם (H7766), a different number from H7759.

Abishag the Shunammite

1 Kings 1:31 Kings 1:3 · King James VersionSo they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.1 Kings 1:3 · King James VersionOpen source (8): “So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.” 1 Kings 1:41 Kings 1:4 · King James VersionAnd the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.1 Kings 1:4 · King James VersionOpen source (9): “And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.”

Abishag has a name, a town, and a place in David’s household. The Song’s Shulamite has the title in Song 6:13 and no personal name. The two are not the same verse.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Bible Verse Tells the Story of Elijah and the Shunammite Woman?

The Shunammite’s chapter is 2 Kings 4, and the prophet there is Elisha. Elijah’s host in the drought is the widow of Zarephath. 1 Kings 17:91 Kings 17:9 · King James VersionArise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.1 Kings 17:9 · King James VersionOpen source (11): “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” That widow is not called a Shunammite.

Who Was Solomon’s Most Loved Wife?

1 Kings 11:31 Kings 11:3 · King James VersionAnd he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.1 Kings 11:3 · King James VersionOpen source gives the number of wives and concubines and says his wives turned away his heart. It does not name a favorite, and it does not name the Shulamite. Song 6:9 says “my dove, my undefiled is but one.” It does not supply the personal name the history omits.

What Does the Text Say About the Woman of Shunem?

Second Kings 4 calls her a great woman. She constrains Elisha to eat bread as often as he passes. She has a chamber built for him. She bears a son, the son dies, and Elisha restores him. The chapter does not call her the Shulamite.

Keep Reading

• Song of Solomon 6
• 2 Kings 4
• 1 Kings 1
• שׁוּלַמִּית (H7759)
• שׁוּנֵם (H7766)
• What Is Strong’s Concordance?