Song of Solomon 5
5:1 a I have entered my garden ... myrrh with my spices ... honeycomb with my honey ... wine with my milk: In penetrating the garden, the man finds that there is no limit to what he can enjoy. They are ecstatic over finally unlocking the vast enjoyment of intercourse.• drink deeply of your love! The young women of Jerusalem encourage the couple to enjoy their sexual union to the fullest; there can be no guilt or shame in the deepest pleasure between husband and wife.
Summary for Song 5:2-6:3: 5:2–6:3 b One verse earlier, the couple are fully enjoying their intimate union. Now the woman feels the torment of separation. In the dramatic interpretation, the woman has been separated from the man twice before and has searched for him (1:4-7 c; 3:1-4 d). This last time, the separation takes place in her dreams—it is only a nightmare. Her dream seems to extend to 6:3 e, given the natural flow of questions and answers between the woman and the young women of Jerusalem.
• If the Song is an anthology, these poems explore love rather than giving accounts of actual events. This poem reminds us that an intimate relationship is not always easy or perfectly satisfying. 5:2 f I slept, but my heart was awake: This is an apt definition of a dream; she was physically asleep, but emotionally and psychologically awake.
• my lover knocking ... “Open to me”: Opening doors is a metaphor for sexual activity in the ancient Near East (see also 8:9 g). By describing the man as knocking at the door and requesting entry, the poem suggests that the man is requesting sexual union. He awaits permission; he does not presume.
Summary for Song 5:4-6: 5:4-6 h My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled: The man persists in his attempts to arouse the woman, and she eventually responds positively to his overtures. However, by the time she responds, he has given up or become otherwise occupied. This is a powerful poetic picture of the struggles of two lovers to be sexually intimate with each other.
5:7 i The night watchmen ... beat and bruised me: The watchmen who were protectors in 3:3 j now become demonized characters in her dream (5:2 k). What they do describes how she feels—pummeled and wounded.
• stripped off my veil: She feels that she has lost her dignity.
Summary for Song 5:8-9: 5:8-9 l The woman enlists the young women of Jerusalem to help her find her lover. They ask her to describe him, and this leads into the second descriptive poem (wasf) of the Song (see study note on 4:1–5:1). 5:8 m I am weak with love: The woman’s trauma is an image for her lovesickness (cp. 2:5 n).
Summary for Song 5:10-16: 5:10-16 o This extended portrayal of the lover in the Song emphasizes his worth to the woman. 5:10 p dark and dazzling: He is radiantly healthy and deeply tanned. This description is not meant as an allusion to race; it likely reflects radiant health and exposure to the sun.
Summary for Song 5:11-15: 5:11-15 q The woman describes the man as a statue made of gold, ivory, lapis lazuli, and marble pillars, suggesting that he is god-like in appearance, since statues of deities were composed of such precious metals in antiquity (Exod 32:1-4 r; 1 Kgs 12:28 s; Dan 2:32-33 t; 3:1 u).
5:13 v His cheeks are like gardens of spices because they were covered by the full beard that was worn by all men of that culture. This beard would have been perfumed.
5:14 w The man’s body is portrayed as beautiful and precious.
• Beryl is an olive-green gem.
• Lapis lazuli is a blue gem.
5:15 x Lebanon was to the north of Israel and contained legendary cedar trees that were large, stately, and pleasantly fragrant.
5:16 y The woman ends her description with an indication of her desire to kiss him.
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