Song of Solomon 4
16 verses
The beloved praises the maiden with sustained, exquisite imagery: her eyes are doves behind her veil, her hair like a flock of goats, her teeth like newly shorn ewes, her lips like a scarlet thread, her temples like a pomegranate. He compares her to a garden locked and sealed, a spring shut up—suggesting mystery, exclusivity, and hidden depths. He invites her to awaken with him as north and south winds blow across the garden, causing spices to flow. The maiden invites her beloved into the garden to eat its choice fruits. This chapter constitutes the Song's most sustained erotic imagery, yet employs metaphor rather than explicit description. The comparison to a locked garden establishes her as his exclusive beloved, her intimacy reserved for him alone. The progression from visual admiration to invitation into the garden moves from contemplation to anticipated consummation. Literarily, the extended metaphorical language transforms physical passion into poetic beauty without pornographic reduction. Theologically, the garden metaphor—evoking Eden—suggests that erotic love can embody humanity's original dignity and paradise; the exclusivity and mutual desire reflect covenantal fidelity. The beloved's admiration for what is hidden and mysterious affirms that love encompasses not merely surface attraction but appreciation of the beloved's full personhood, including dimensions visible only to the lover.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
1
Behold, 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.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. ...
2
Thy 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.
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3
Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.
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Their context of persecution gives these words a weight we often miss.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. I think ...
4
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
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5
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. Reading the Psalms alongside this gives a fuller picture of what the author was ...
6
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
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7
Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
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8
Come 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.
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9
Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
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10
How 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!
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11
Thy 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.
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12
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
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I notice the repetition here is deliberate — the author wants us to feel the emphasis, to let the truth sink deep into o...
13
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
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God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The thread of covenant runs through ever...
14
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
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15
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
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16
Awake, 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.
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COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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