Sixty of Israel’s finest fighting men surround Solomon’s bed armed and ready to protect him from the terrors by night. Nighttime is typically when evil occurs under the cover of darkness.
The irony of this scene is intentional, especially if the scene is Solomon’s bed on his wedding night. Here is Solomon driving around in his pretentious chariot-bed. He is the mighty Solomon, but he needs sixty elite warriors to stand around his chariot
and help him get safely through the night. In truth he cuts a rather pathetic figure, inhabiting a lonely world of materialism and sexual conquest.1
8 all of them wearing swords and expert in war, each with his sword at his thigh, against terror by night.