Song of Songs 4

KJV · Chapter 4/8

1Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

2Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

3Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

4Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

5Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

6Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

7Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

8Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

9Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

10How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

11Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

12A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

13Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

14Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

15A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

16Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The lover describes the beloved's beauty in detail, from head to foot, using images from nature. He calls her a locked garden and a sealed fountain, symbols of exclusivity and purity in love.

Explanation

This kind of descriptive poem, later called a "wasf" in Arabic tradition, praises each part of the beloved's body through comparisons with familiar things: flocks, towers, pomegranates, mountains. To modern readers these comparisons may sound strange, but to the ancient audience they conveyed abundance, strength, fruitfulness, and perfection. The image of the "locked garden" and "sealed fountain" expresses the exclusivity of married love, reserved only for one's spouse. Application for today: expressing verbal admiration for one's spouse, with creativity and tenderness, strengthens the intimacy of marriage.

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