Song of Solomon 4 · ESV Study Bible

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty

SONG OF SOLOMON 4 [†] Behold, m you are beautiful, my love,

behold, you are beautiful!

n Your eyes are doves

o behind your veil.

p Your hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down q the slopes of Gilead.

2[†] Your r teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes

that have come up from the washing,

all of which bear twins,

and not one among them has lost its young.

3[†] Your lips are like s a scarlet thread,

and your mouth is t lovely.

Your u cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

o behind your veil.

4[†] Your v neck is like the tower of David,

built in w rows of stone; [1]

on it x hang a thousand shields,

all of y them shields of warriors.

5[†] Your z two breasts are like two a fawns,

twins of a gazelle,

that b graze among the lilies.

6[†] c Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

I will go away to the mountain of d myrrh

and the hill of d frankincense.

7[†] e You are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no f flaw in you.

8[†] g Come with me from h Lebanon, my i bride;

come with me from h Lebanon.

Depart [2] from the peak of Amana,

from the peak of j Senir and k Hermon,

from the dens of lions,

from the mountains of leopards.

9[†] You have captivated my heart, my l sister, my bride;

you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one m jewel of your necklace.

10[†] How beautiful is your love, my l sister, my bride!

How much n better is your love than wine,

and o the fragrance of your oils than any spice!

11[†] Your p lips drip nectar, my bride;

q honey and milk are under your tongue;

the fragrance of your garments is r like the fragrance of h Lebanon.

12[†] A garden locked is my l sister, my bride,

a spring locked, s a fountain t sealed.

13[^][†] Your shoots are u an orchard of pomegranates

with all v choicest fruits,

w henna with x nard,

14[†] nard and saffron, y calamus and y cinnamon,

with all trees of z frankincense,

a myrrh and b aloes,

with all y choice spices—

15[†] a garden fountain, a well of c living water,

and flowing streams from h Lebanon.

16[†] Awake, O north wind,

and come, O south wind!

Blow upon my d garden,

let its spices flow.

She

e Let my beloved come to his f garden,

and eat its v choicest fruits.

He

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:10 wine. See note on 1:2.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:15 The garden-fountain metaphor is extended to indicate the refreshing quality of the woman’s sexuality. In Hebrew, living water refers to fresh running water, the best kind available (e.g., Lev. 14:5; Jer. 2:13; cf. John 4:10; 7:38), as opposed to ground water or water stored in a cistern.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:14 Saffron is a kind of crocus with a purple flower, while calamus is a cane. Both can be used to produce a sweet-scented oil. Cinnamon is akin to the present-day aromatic bark, although its use was not limited to cooking (cf. Prov. 7:17, which also identifies aloes as a fragrant wood). On frankincense and myrrh, see notes on Song 1:13 and 3:6.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:2 twins … not one … has lost its young. All her teeth are present (a not-so-common occurrence in the ancient world) and attractively matched within her mouth.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:11 Whereas the woman’s lips and mouth were previously described in terms of beauty (v. 3), here her lips and tongue are described in terms of taste (nectar, honey, and milk, the latter two often being paired together in the Bible, as in the description of the Promised Land in Ex. 3:8). This heightens the sensuality of the man’s continued description of his beautiful bride-to-be.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:6 This verse starts with a phrase similar to that of 2:17, indicating the man’s desire to spend time with the woman. The reference to a mountain and a hill could continue the theme of the previous verse and refer to the woman’s breasts or, alternatively, to the woman as a whole. The point is that being with her is like inhaling an intoxicating fragrance.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:3 Pomegranate is a fruit with an orange-red leathery skin and deep pink succulent fleshy sacks with a subtle taste that is refreshing in the heat of summer. The metaphor is picking up on the beautiful color of either the skin or the flesh of this fruit.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:1 Gilead is the area surrounding the Jabbok River, which flows into the lower half of the Jordan River from the east.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:4 The Tower of David is unmentioned outside of the Song of Solomon and little is known about it. The association with David, however, heightens the sense of dignity already implicit in the image of a tower. Dignity, rather than the physical attributes of the tower, probably provides the point of comparison.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:7 In the man’s eyes, this woman is without physical fault or flaw and is altogether beautiful.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:12 A garden (more like modern parks than flowerbeds) is not only a welcoming place for lovers but is regularly associated with a woman’s sexuality in the ancient Near East. A spring or fountain reflects a similar concept (cf. Prov. 5:15–19). Notice that her garden and spring are locked, indicating that she reserves herself for her lover alone.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:1–7 The first part of v. 1 is repeated in v. 7, creating a literary envelope for a section that describes the woman’s physical beauty, starting at the eyes and working systematically downward. Although the metaphors are vivid, they are somewhat obscure to those who do not share the author’s culture, and one must be careful not to press them too far. Nevertheless, they should still cause an emotional response in the reader.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:5 Fawns (young deer) refers to the youthful appearance of her two breasts. Gazelle probably refers to her appealingly sleek form.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:8 Hermon (for which Senir is a synonym) is a peak in a range that starts in the extreme north of Israel near Dan and extends northward into Lebanon (and includes other peaks, such as Amana). These all represent the thought that the man is calling the woman from desolate places that have perils (cf. the references to lions and leopards). The term my bride (six times in 4:8–5:1 and nowhere else in the Song of Solomon) would seem appropriate only after the wedding; this probably indicates that this scene (4:1–5:1) also takes place in the woman’s dream, as she looks forward to what the wedding day will bring.

SONG OF SOLOMON—NOTE ON 4:13 Her garden contains choicest fruits and spices in great array and abundance. See notes on 1:12 (nard) and 1:14 (henna).