Hebrew Word Study – Lily – Shosh – Shin Vav Shin
Song of Solomon 2:1: “I am the rose of Sharon, [and] the lily of the valleys.”
Luke 12:27: “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
I grew up hearing Luke 12:27 quoted and being reminded that we need not worry about being clothed as God will take care of that like the lilies of the valley. Just as we need not worry about what to eat because if He feeds the birds, He will feed us. Yet, I question the context as this is in the middle of a chapter where Jesus is not really talking about how God will take care of us. His theme is being worried about what people think about us and how we appear in public and trying to put on airs of holiness. He is telling us that our priorities should be in seeking the kingdom of God and not worrying about what we will eat or wear. No doubt Jesus is assuring us that He will provide food and clothing for us but I think He is telling us much more than that.
So, let’s consider these lilies for a moment. The word lily in the Song of Solomon is the word shoshan from the root word shush. In the Aramaic it is the word shoshanatha from the root word shosh. Nobody really knows for sure what the Shulamite woman meant when she said she was the lily of the valleys. In fact, no one is really sure what a shush is, it is mainly a guess that we are talking about a lily. It is a very ornamental flower that grows wild.
The Shulamite woman also claims to be the Rose of Sharon. The word for rose in Hebrew is chabatseleth which doesn’t mean a rose at all, well it might. Again, we are not sure. People in those days did not have botanist who categorized all the flowers with some long unpronounceable name. What we do know for sure is that the chabatseleth is a wild flower, possible reddish in color.
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
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Another thing that bothers me about Song of Solomon 2:1 is if the Rose of Sharon and lily of the valley was meant to express great beauty, should it not be Solomon calling her this than the Shulamite calling herself these beautiful things? I don’t think the Shulamite woman is talking anymore of her beauty than Jesus was referring to His caring for us in Luke 12. Don’t get me wrong I do not question that God will clothe us and feed us, but I don’t believe that is what Jesus is referencing here.
What a chabatseleth and shsoshan have in common is that they are wild flowers, beautiful yes, but not beautiful because of some human effort. These are flowers that are not hybrids, nor part of a plan by some human gardener who carefully grew them in a way to accent their beauty. You see this Shulamite woman was not bragging on herself nor was she belittling herself. She was saying, “I am a natural woman. I do not wear makeup, eye shadow, spend hours in a beauty salon getting the full treatment. What you see is what you get buddy.” But, low and behold this king, the king who could have the most beautifully painted women in the land, women who can bath in myrrh, be treated by an army of servants to fix their hair and clothe them in the latest fashion has chosen to fall in love with a mere peasant woman, who skin is tanned from working in the sun and who does not have time nor the resources to do her nails.”
I think Jesus is following the same line of thinking in Luke 12. He is saying: “You people are so worried about wearing the latest fashions to impress everyone with how you look and eating all the junk food that is 90% chemicals created by man and 10% natural that I created, at best, when look at the birds, they eat natural food provided by the Father and the lilies of the field are beautiful in just their natural setting. If you seek my kingdom first, you will not worry about the type of food you eat or the latest fashions.”
Ok, Ok, I know they did not designer have clothes in those days, but they did have expensive clothes and the clothes you wore clearly showed you rank in society. They did import silk and other fabrics and there were those who created fine clothes for the rich. No, they did not have GMO’s and sugary and high fat tasty foods, but they did import exotic foods that people would impress others with a dinner invitation.
Keep in mind that Jesus is this Rose of Sharon or wild flower of the fields of Sharon and He is the Lily of the valley. Point is, don’t try to dress Him up as hip, cool and up to date. He doesn’t need for us to put fancy clothes on Him, He is beautiful in Himself. Once more He is interested in what the Father created, not what man creates. He is not interested in your good works, your holy appearance, and pious prayers, He is only interested in the real you, not the show you put on for others.
I believe the message in Luke is that there is a natural beauty. In a Jewish wedding the bridegroom will cover his bride’s face with a veil to make a statement. By covering his bride’s face with a veil he is saying, “You are beautiful, but that is not why I am marrying you. Beauty will fade as we age but there is an inner beauty that I have fallen in love with and that will never fade.”
I remember my first year at Bible College before I transferred to a larger and better known Bible College. We had a chapel service where one of the founders of the school spoke. He was well in his 90’s, his voice shook, he needed support to stand and then on top of it all he decided to sing a song at the end of his message. It was what we expected but then did not expect. Yes, his voice cracked, he was off key most of the time and he never took a breath in the right place, but when he finished there was not a dry eye in the audience. My roommate, who was a rather cynical type person, surprised me when he leaned over and said; “Boy, you know where that song came from.” As we all stood and gave a standing ovation, he did not have to say; “Give it all to God.” We knew who was to get the glory and it was not our 90 year old founder, it was the God who shined through him. Our founder was truly a lily of the valley and wild flower (rose) in the field of Sharon.
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Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!
While there are multiple layers to the meaning of my name, I have always pictured the Lilly as a white (purity) DOMESTIC flower. As a prophetic intercessor, no one would describe me as “domestic”! “Wild” makes so much more sense! Thank you for that!
Shoshana.
Beautiful teaching.
Brother,
Are you trying to make me fall more in love with Jesus than I already am? Well it worked! Thank you…
The Lord speaks keenly knows our hearts…that the Meditations of our hearts are LOUDER in Heaven, than our voices here on earth…. Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah…may we shine brightly, that those around us see only Jesus, and not us!
Thank You for your Inspired Ministry!
You bless me, and enable me to grow in my relationship with Adonai Eloheinu. May The Lord bless you in Abundance. In The Magnificent Name of Yeshua. Amein v Amein
Beautifully anointed
This couldn’t have come at a better time to me. approaching our 50th wedding anniversary and to say the least I no longer feel like a bride or beautiful. Grey hair and wrinkles but I know it is my own perception of beauty warped by externals because God has developed more inner beauty than ever, in my inner court I have come to see HIM better. So I pray to this end, that when people look at me, they see the kindness and love of the Lord day by day.
Your word Livabethini was life changing for me. I am currently reading your Psalm 23 as led by the Holy Spirit. Here in India it’s a good day for me to start the week with this word. Inner beauty. As I am in a season of being restore. Thank you
These word studies are always a bright spot in my day and more than a few times the Holy Spirit has really spoken to me through them I feel.
A big thank you to the entire team for what you do
I knew I would be blessed by this word study! I still didn’t contemplate how much, Blessings
I believe you are right on target. I had written a comment once and the author of the article I was commenting on wrote back to tell me what a beautiful name Shoshanna was. Now I understand that our names are meaningful and should reflect God’s character. Beauty is from within. My goodness, Sarah was 65 when the Pharoah saw her beauty. Some of that beauty HAD to be God’s beauty reflected.
Everything really comes down to this: ‘it was the God who shined through him’. Such is the Will of God for us: that we become the vehicle thorough which God is expressed.
I love this. It’s about keeping it real. Not getting lost in the smoke and mirrors and flashiness of the world. It’s about focusing on the things that matter, and that starts with Jesus. Thank you 🙏🏻
Amen.
Get rid of the religious hang over
I really appreciate your endurance and steadfastness through every season. I see you brother/sister. Not forgotten and my prayers go out to yous.
Oh Chaim, this really is the truth. Truth= Reality of who we are. I’ve read that second chapter of the Song this very night and considered what we ‘come away’ from when we ‘arise’: all that is not real, all that does not really matter, all that is for show.
The typo above might’ve been a divine interception, so I’m going to leave it as is.
That’s why I love your words they’re not only spoken they are put in the most beautiful setting, so that the reader can understand from all the aspects that you have approached it.
And I agree with what you’re saying absolutely you showed us context you gave us examples you brought in perspective, both heavenly and earthly. Thank you so much for all you do and who you are I really do love you because one time I had a dream about you well I’ve had a couple, but one time in particular, the Lord told me, he grabbed my hand. He reached for my hand I should say, and I reached up and he ran leading me up a Sandy Hill actually on a beach and he told me we were he was taking me to where the kings eat. It looked like a restaurant, and when we got inside it was all these bottles of oil That had Hebrew letters on them and they had been beautifully prepared perfectly prepared the type of foods you’re talking about the exotic food from Egypt could not compare with where the kings really eat at the kings table, and they had been prepared by you. I am Bora Clyde, mint who I’ve known before From your daily word, I’ll visit you in heaven and you’ll be amazed at what your work on earth has done. You will have no regrets they’re gonna be washed away, but not only that your dowry with your king is full and he’s making sure of it. God bless you and thank you .