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Song Page for
Song of Solomon 4 |
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Lyrics
Lover
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.
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.
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.
4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand
bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
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.
7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
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.
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.
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!
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.
12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
15 A fountain of gardens,
a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
Beloved
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.1
Bible
Commentary
1. Thou art fair. Better, "thou art beautiful". The principal speaker thus far
in the song has been the Shulamite maid. Now begins the most
extended speech of the bridegroom. The reminiscent address extols
the beauty of the bride and culminates in a proposal for marriage,
which is accepted.
Thy Locks. Rather, "thy veil". The veil worn by many Eastern women is a
dark cloth that is suspended from the head. The forehead and
the eyes are left uncovered. This veil covers not only all the
face except the forehead and eyes, but also the neck, and hangs
loosely down over the bosom.
A flock of goats. Her hair is black and sleek like the hair of Palestinian goats,
which were mostly black or dark brown in color.
2. Flock of sheep. The teeth are beautifully white, well formed, and evenly paired.
None is missing.
3. Speech. Rather the "mouth" as an instrument of speech.
Temples. Heb. raqqah, from a root meaning "to be thin," "to be weak",
hence the thin parts of the skull on each side of the eyes.
Some suggest that the cheeks are intended.
4. Bucklers.
Bucklers are frequently hung about towers, both as ornaments and
to have at hand in time of emergency.
6. Day break.
This seems to be another refrain, perhaps spoken by the bride in
her modesty and humility, to check the fervour of the bridegroom.
He, however, immediately continues to pour forth his love with new
expressions of affection.
7. Thou art all fair.
You are altogether lovely, you do not have a single defect.
Jesus is represented as saying these words to the church, His bride.
8. Amana.
The Anti-Lebanon Mts.
Shenir.
The Amorite as well as the Ugaritic and Akkadian name for Mt.
Hermon (see Deut. 3:9). The two mountains may stand in
apposition here, or Shenir may be a prominent peak of Hermon.
Solomon wants the Shulamite maiden to leave all the beautiful
mountains of her northern country land.
9. Ravished my heart.
The Hebrew verb is derived from the noun "heart". Solomon
said literally, "you have hearted me". Perhaps what he meant
was, "you have encouraged me".
12. A garden inclosed.
Under the symbolic expression of an enclosed garden King Solomon
proposes marriage, and under the same symbol is accepted by the
Shulamite maiden (v.16). No one has ever entered this garden, no one
has ever tasted this fountain, the seal of this fountain has never
been broken.
15. A well of living waters.
The language of this verse has been used to describe the
ever-refreshing draughts that may be drawn from the Word of God.
16. Come into his garden.
This is the answer of the Shulamite. She invites him into
his garden to eat of his fruits.4
References and notes
1. King James Authorized Version
2. John Wesley's Notes on the Bible - http://eword.gospelcom.net/comments/song/wesley/song4.htm
3. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible - http://eword.gospelcom.net/comments/song/gill/song4.htm
4.
SDA Bible
Commentary - Vol. 3 pgs. 1109, 1115, 1116
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About Canticles 4 |
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Easyfind |
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Music for
Cant. 4 |
 Click
image for hear a song preview of Song
of Solomon
4.
This song features on the 43 minute CD album
Song of Solomon.
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Structure of
Canticles 4 |
Christ commends his church, for her beauty, ver. 1-7.
He calls her to go with him, ver. 8.
Manifests his love and affection for her, ver. 9.
A farther commendation of her, ver. 10-15.
She prays for the effectual operation of his Holy Spirit on
her to make her fruitful, ver. 16.
2
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Synopsis of Canticles 4 |
In this chapter is contained a large commendation of the
church's beauty by Christ; first, more particularly, by an
enumeration of several parts, as her eyes, hair, teeth,
lips, temples, neck, and breasts, (v.1); and more generally,
(v.7); And having observed where he himself was determined
to go, he invites her to go with him; which he enforces,
partly from the danger she was exposed unto where she was
(v.6); and partly from the comeliness of her person and
graces in his esteem; with which he was ravished, and
therefore was extremely desirous of her company, (v.9); And
then enters into some new descriptions of her; as a garden
and orchard, as a spring and fountain, (v.12); all which she
makes to be owing to him, (v.15); And the chapter is closed
with an order from Christ to the winds to blow on his
garden, and cause the spices of it to flow out; and with an
invitation of the church to Christ, to come into his garden,
and relax there, (v.16)3
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