Maidens

The word “maiden” is used twice in the Song, first in 1:3, where the Bride says that the maidens love her Lover, and then in 6:8, where the maidens join with the queens and concubines in praising the bride.

At the beginning, the maidens love the lover, but by the end of the Song they also express their admiration for the bride. She has been exalted in their regard, after being despised at the beginning. The Bride comes to share the respect given to her lover. She shares in his “merits.”