> [[song-of-songs-03|← Previous]] | [[song-of-songs-00|TOC]] | [[song-of-songs-05|Next →]] --- # Song of Songs, Chapter 4 ## Chapter 4 ### The Beauty of the Woman 1 M^, How beautiful you are, my friend, ^song-of-songs-04-1 how beautiful you are! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead. 2 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes to be shorn, ^song-of-songs-04-2 that come up from the washing, All of them big with twins, none of them barren. 3 Like a scarlet strand, your lips, ^song-of-songs-04-3 and your mouth—lovely! Like pomegranate halves, your cheeks behind your veil. 4 Like a tower of David, your neck, ^song-of-songs-04-4 built in courses, A thousand shields hanging upon it, all the armor of warriors. 5 Your breasts are like two fawns, ^song-of-songs-04-5 twins of a gazelle feeding among the lilies. 6 Until the day grows cool ^song-of-songs-04-6 and the shadows flee, I shall go to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense. 7 You are beautiful in every way, my friend, ^song-of-songs-04-7 there is no flaw in you! 8 With me from Lebanon, my bride! ^song-of-songs-04-8 With me from Lebanon, come! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, From the lairs of lions, from the leopards’ heights. 9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; ^song-of-songs-04-9 you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one bead of your necklace. 10 How beautiful is your love, ^song-of-songs-04-10 my sister, my bride, How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfumes than any spice! 11 Your lips drip honey, my bride, ^song-of-songs-04-11 honey and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. ### The Lover’s Garden 12 M A garden enclosed, my sister, my bride, ^song-of-songs-04-12 a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed! 13 Your branches are a grove of pomegranates, ^song-of-songs-04-13 with fruits of choicest yield: Henna with spikenard, 14 spikenard and saffron, ^song-of-songs-04-14 Sweet cane and cinnamon, with all kinds of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices; 15 A garden fountain, a well of living water, ^song-of-songs-04-15 streams flowing from Lebanon. 16 Awake, north wind! ^song-of-songs-04-16 Come, south wind! Blow upon my garden that its perfumes may spread abroad. W Let my lover come to his garden and eat its fruits of choicest yield. \* (4:1) This section (vv. [1] – [7]) begins a *wasf*, a traditional poetic form describing the physical attributes of one’s partner in terms of the natural world (cf. [5:10] – [16]; [6:5b] – [7]; [7:1] – [7]). Veil: women of the region customarily veiled their faces for some occasions (cf. [4:3]; [6:7]; [[genesis-24|Gen 24]]:65 – [67]; [38:14] – [19]). \* (4:2) Teeth: praised for whiteness and evenness. \* (4:3) Pomegranate: a fruit with a firm skin and deep red color. The woman’s cheek (or perhaps her brow) is compared, in roundness and tint, to a half-pomegranate. \* (4:4) The ornaments about her neck are compared to the trophies and armaments on the city walls. Cf. [[1-kings-10|1 Kgs 10]]:10; [14:26] – [28]; [Ez 27:10]. \* (4:6) Mountain of myrrh…hill of frankincense: spoken figuratively of the woman; cf. [8:14]. \* (4:7) Cf. the description of the church in [Eph 5:27]. \* (4:8) Amana…Senir and Hermon: these rugged heights symbolize obstacles that would separate the lovers; cf. [2:14]. \* (4:9) Sister: a term of endearment; brother-sister language forms part of the conventional language of love used in this canticle, the Book of Tobit, and elsewhere in poetry from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syro-Palestine. \* (4:11) Honey: sweet words (cf. [Prv 5:3]) or perhaps kisses ([1:2] – [3]). Honey and milk: familiar descriptions for the fertile promised land (([[exodus-03|Ex 3]]:8], [17]; [Lv 20:24]; [Nm 13:27]; [Dt 6:3]). \* (4:12) Garden enclosed…fountain sealed: reserved for the lover alone. Cf. [Prv 5:15] – [19] for similar images used to describe fruitful, committed relationship. \* (4:14) These plants are all known for their sweet fragrance. \* (4:16) Awake: the same verb is used of love in [3:5]. The woman may be the speaker of [16a], as it is she who issues the invitation of [16b]. His garden: the woman herself. a. (4:1] – [3) [Sg 6:5] – [7]. b. (4:1) [Sg 1:15]. c. (4:4) [Sg 7:5]. d. (4:5) [Sg 7:4]. e. (4:6) [Sg 2:17]. f. (4:9) [Sg 6:5]. g. (4:10) [Sg 1:2] – [3]. h. (4:12) [Sg 6:2], [11]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[song-of-songs-03|← Previous]] | [[song-of-songs-00|TOC]] | [[song-of-songs-05|Next →]]