“Prepared for the terror of the night”
Behold, it is Solomon's carriage, escorted by sixty of the mightiest men of Israel. All are skilled with the sword, experienced in warfare. Each has his sword at his side prepared for the terror of the night. (Song of Songs 3:7–8 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A random show of armed soldiers around a royal couch.
The cultural key
Sixty swordsmen around a couch reads oddly until you recognize a wedding procession. In the ancient Near East a bride was borne in an ornate litter or 'carriage' in festive procession to her groom, and such a procession was guarded by armed escorts. The threat was concrete, night travel exposed the party to bandits and raiders, so the guards stand ready 'against the terror of the night,' swords at the ready. There is likely a second layer too: 'the terror of the night' was also feared as the danger of hostile spirits or ill omens believed to menace a couple at so vulnerable and important a moment. Either way, the armed escort is a sign of honor and careful protection befitting a royal wedding, not a battle scene. The pageantry, the perfumed smoke, the crown 'his mother bestowed on the day of his wedding' (3:11), all frame a marriage celebration. Knowing the custom turns a puzzling military tableau into the guarded splendor of a bridal procession.
Recovered meaning
The armed escort around Solomon's carriage is a wedding procession's guard, protecting the bridal party during night travel from real dangers like robbers, and from the feared 'terror of the night.' It signals honor and protection, not a battle.