6:4–10 The word “beautiful” occurs sixteen times in the Song of Solomon, including four times in the beloved’s descriptions of his bride’s body in 6:4–8:4 (6:4, 10; 7:1, 6). The opening lines of both waṣfs summarize the sight: “You are beautiful” (6:4) and “How beautiful” (7:1). In the first affectionate inventory, his emphasis is on her awesome and unique beauty. She is unique among women, as comparison with the “virgins without number” (i.e., every girl in the kingdom!), “sixty queens,” and “eighty concubines” makes clear (6:8–9). She is not only his “dove” and “perfect one” but also the “only one” (v. 9), both literally (she is her mother’s only daughter) and symbolically (there is no daughter of Jerusalem like her). Her uniqueness is so obvious that even all women call her “blessed” (v. 9; cf. Prov. 31:28). This Shulammite’s beauty is unique.32

Her beauty is also awesome. It is as awe-inspiring as Israel’s grandest capital cities (“Tirzah” and “Jerusalem”; Song 6:4), as lovely as the heavens’ greatest lights (the “moon” and “sun”; v. 10), and as spectacular as a sunrise (“looks down like the dawn”; v. 10). Her beauty is terrifically beautiful. She is “awesome as an army with banners,”33 that is, a mighty militia (or God’s heavenly hosts; cf. Dan. 8:10) in battle formation, poised to attack.

In fact, she is too amazing to look at! This is where he starts, speaking of her “eyes” overwhelming and unsettling him (Song 6:5). From there he turns to three facial features—her hair, teeth, and cheeks. And he does so by repeating in verses 5b–7 nearly verbatim what he had said in 4:1b–3b. This is not because he cannot think of anything new to say; rather, it is because her beauty has not diminished. Her face is as lovely as ever. Her long, black, wavy hair; perfect white teeth; and rouged, round cheeks have captured his imagination and captivated his heart.

6:11–13a The purpose of the beloved’s compliments appears to be to propose a romantic romp. He would love it if his lover would give him her love (7:12). However, at first (and once again; 5:3) she is hesitant. She wants to be sure that the time is ripe for lovemaking (as it was in 2:8–17). This is the sense of the imagery here, as she travels to the “nut orchard” to see if spring is in flower again (“Whether the vines had budded . . . the pomegranates were in bloom”; 6:11). The answer to her investigation is hinted at in 6:12, as suddenly she is overcome with “desire” for her “prince,”34 and it is answered clearly in 7:9b–8:4. For the bride and groom the time is right (7:9b–8:3), but the daughters of Jerusalem must wait for marriage (8:4). Here in 6:13, however, they help her smell the roses. As they await their wisdom admonition to wait for sexual intimacy, the “others” impatiently call out on behalf of the groom (or at least with his complete support), expressing his very thoughts: “Return, return . . . that we may look upon you” (v. 13a).

6:13b–7:9a These verses pick up on the call to “look upon” the bride (6:13a), comparing the power of her visual draw to that of women dancing after a military victory (“as upon a dance before two armies”; cf. Ex. 15:20). All eyes are on her, including the beloved’s stare. He looks upon her again, offering his second words of wooing. This time the imagery moves beyond the face, starting with her feet (Song 7:1), journeying up to her head (v. 5), moving down again to her breasts (vv. 7–8), and ending with her mouth (v. 9). While he does not cover every imaginable body part, he does give a full-body view. The inventory is utterly intimate!

We might blush at his candid, but never crude, descriptions of her perfectly proportioned thighs (7:1; the top of her legs—i.e., her rear end—are perhaps in view), shapely and sweet stomach (v. 2), and slim waist (v. 2). Then, as he works his way up, we see the full hourglass figure taking shape. Her perfect lower half matches the top. Her breasts are again “like two fawns” (cf. 4:5), her neck is “like an ivory tower” (she stands upright and with dignity before her husband, unashamed of her nudity), her eyes “are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim” (her beauty quenches his thirst), and her nose is “like a tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus” (she is indestructible and fearless; 7:4–5). Finally and climactically, after listing seven body parts, he exults that her “head crowns [her] like Carmel” (v. 5). Like the mountain range of Mount Carmel, which sits above the plains and juts out into the Mediterranean Sea, making it strikingly beautiful (cf. Amos 1:2; 9:3), her majestic beauty and grace distinguish her above the rest. And such beauty is captivating, with her “king” being “held captive” in her dangling, purple-black hair (Song 7:5).

In verse 6 the action and intimacy advances. The beloved moves from seeing to touching (and smelling and tasting!) her body. Now his sights are on enjoying her lovemaking (“How beautiful . . . are . . . your delights”; v. 6). He tells her about his rugged desire and determination to climb her (as her “stature is like a palm tree”; v. 7), touch her breasts (“lay hold of its fruit”; v. 8), and smell and taste her “mouth,” which he describes like a glass of vintage Bordeaux (“like the best wine”).

7:9b–8:4 She takes the words about her mouth right out of his mouth! As if interrupting him, she adds to his mouth metaphor her own, saying that the wine he speaks of “goes down smoothly . . . gliding over lips and teeth.” The idea is that his kisses “flow from his lips to mine” (MESSAGE). As throughout the Song, the language here is erotic but tasteful and reserved. From their unified lips, she turns to their unified lives (“I am my beloved’s”) and longing for lovemaking (“His desire is for me”; 7:10; cf. 6:12 for her “desire”). The word used for “desire” in 7:10 is used only three times in the OT, the first time at Genesis 3:16. After God curses the woman with pain in childbearing, he says to her, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” The sadly ironic picture is that she will have an “unhealthy, clinging, and controlling” desire for her husband, yet her husband will rule over her as a cold, oppressive ruler.35 But here in the Song, where Edenic love is on display, the curse has been lifted. There is no judgment, just joy. Here we find marital love set within a garden of delights.

In Song of Solomon 7:8–9a the groom invited her to intimacy, and now she invites him. She has moved far from wondering “whether the vines had budded” (6:11) and has returned to her opening passion, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine” (1:2). She wants to be intimate with the right person (her beloved) at the right time (early in the morning) and in the right place (the secluded private fields). There she vows to give him her love (7:12–13), a variety of sexual experiences (“grape blooms,” “pomegranates,” and “mandrakes”) from their wedding night (“old”) and their last or next liaison (“new”).

In 8:1–3, as the intensity of intimate imagery increases, she wants what has been private and outside (7:11–13) to be public and move inside. (And, based on 8:3, it seems as though it does.) Her first desire is for him to have always been with her, like a twin brother, and that like siblings they could kiss in public without anyone rolling their eyes (v. 1). Her second desire is to bring him to the family home, and there to give him more fruit juice to drink (i.e., to enjoy the sexual delights of her body). In contrast to “the woman Folly” (Prov. 9:13), who claims that “stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (Prov. 9:17), here the wise woman gives her beloved “spiced wine” and the “juice of [her] pomegranate” (Song 8:2) in her mother’s house, hoping all the world knows. There is no shameful secrecy to pure passion. She wants to be alone for intimacy, but she wants everyone to know that they are alone and intimate. The couple does not lose themselves in themselves. Rather, they see themselves within God’s creation and within the God-ordained restraints of society.