The young woman's rivals for her man's affection, mentioned in a different order than in Song of Solomon 6:8—young women, queens, and concubines—actually acknowledge her superiority by praising her.1 The sophisticated and successful royal set, whose scorn she feared at the beginning of the Song because of her humble beginnings (Song of Solomon 1:5–7), here join the man in declaring her praise.2
9 My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her. The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.