Texts in Conversation
In Revelation, the woman clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, and crowned with stars uses language similar to Song of Solomon's bride, praised as fair as the moon and bright as the sun.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Song of Solomon 6:10
Song of Songs
Hebrew Bible
9 But she is unique, my dove, my perfect one! She is the special daughter of her mother; she is the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and complimented her; the queens and concubines praised her: 10 “Who is this who appears like the dawn? Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as the stars in procession?” 11 The Lover to His Beloved: I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, to look for the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines had budded or if the pomegranates were in bloom.
Revelation 12:1
New Testament
1 Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth.
Search:
Notes and References
... John sees "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." She is the first in a series of powerful female figures who dominate the later chapters of the Apocalypse: the Great Whore in Revelation 17 (the antithesis of the woman here) and the bride of the Lamb in Revelation 21 (who is in some ways the woman's double). The woman in our passage is resplendent. Her attire distantly recalls the description of the Shulamite maiden in the Song of Songs: "Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?" (Song of Songs 6:10). Albrecht Durer depicts the woman as a pretty German Madonna, standing demurely with her hands clasped in prayer. ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.