Bible Commentaries

Song of Solomon 4:13 to Song of Solomon 5:1.—The Bride as a Garden.—The charms of the bride are now described under the figure of the fruits of the garden.

Song of Solomon 4:16 gives the gracious invitation of the bride to the lover, who in such enthusiastic terms has praised her beauty.

Song of Solomon 5:1 declares his ready acceptance and his call to friends to enjoy similar delights,

Song of Solomon 5:2-7. Another Dream-Poem.—It is not certain where the division should be made here, but it is possible to treat these verses as a separate poem and regard Song of Solomon 5:8 f. as the introduction to the wasf on the bridegroom (Song of Solomon 5:10 to Song of Solomon 6:3). The originality of Song of Solomon 5:7 has been questioned as an expansion of Song of Solomon 3:3, but it may well be part of a troubled dream. The description is very vivid and beautiful. The voice of the beloved heard at an untimely hour, his plaintive appeal, the delay, natural under the circumstances, the disappointment and adventurous search, the rough usage by the watchmen which brings the crisis; and lo it was a dream with all the excitement of reality.

Song of Solomon 5:2. Note the piling up of epithets: undefiled, lit, as mg., perfect, "my paragon."—dew, the heavy "night-mist" of Palestine.

Song of Solomon 5:3. coat or tunic, the single undergarment, longer in the case of women than men, worn next the skin; at night it was taken off and the somelah (Exodus 22:16) thrown over the body.—washed, etc. cf. Luke 7:44.

Song of Solomon 5:4. hole: probably in the lattice for peeping out rather than one in the door for unfastening the lock.—bowels (mg. and AV) is more literal; in OT psychology the heart is the seat of thought and the bowels of intense feeling (Jeremiah 4:19).—Spake: in this passage there is a bare possibility that the word may mean turned away, or should the line stand before Song of Solomon 5:5 a?

Song of Solomon 5:7. She received the rough treatment due to a suspicious character (2 Samuel 18:24, Isaiah 62:6, Psalms 127:1).

Song of Solomon 5:8 to Song of Solomon 6:3. Descriptive Poem (Wasf): The Strength and Beauty of the Bridegroom.—On this view, Song of Solomon 5:8 f. is taken as an introduction to the praises of "the beloved," and whether there is any real connexion with "the dream poem" is uncertain.

Song of Solomon 5:8. sick: from the disappointment and delays of love.

Song of Solomon 5:9. Or, What kind of a beloved is thy beloved?

Song of Solomon 5:10. dazzling white (Lamentations 4:7) and ruddy (1 Samuel 16:12).—chiefest: the most conspicuous or distinguished.

Song of Solomon 5:11. bushy: the word occurs only here; probably curly or wavy.

Song of Solomon 5:12. Perhaps this should read: "His eyes are like a pair of doves sitting by the water courses; Which are as if bathed in milk and sitting by full streams."

Song of Solomon 5:13. spices: better balsam shrubs (Song of Solomon 6:2).—banks of sweet herbs: towers of perfume (mg.) is the literal rendering, but to follow the versions requires only a slight change in the pronunciation, viz. producing sweet odours (cf. Psalms 133:2).—lilies: scarlet flowers (see Song of Solomon 2:1).

Song of Solomon 5:14. His fingers are cylinders of gold set with topaz (mg.); "his body was as beautiful as a piece of ivory work studded with sapphires."

Song of Solomon 5:15. He is strong, handsome, and attractive in speech.

Song of Solomon 5:16 b, c. surely a full answer to the question of Song of Solomon 5:9.