Song of Songs 4

This is the fourth chapter of the Song of Songs. It follows Song of Songs 3, which celebrates Solomon's litter procession and his wedding day. Here the man praises the beauty of the woman he loves, feature by feature. The song continues into the response in Song of Songs 5:1.

Structure

• Verses 1–5: The man praises the woman's eyes, hair, teeth, lips, temples, neck, and breasts, comparing them to doves, a flock of goats on the slopes of Mount Gilead, shorn ewes, a pomegranate, the tower of David, and twin young roes.
• Verses 6–7: He says that as the day declines he will go to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense, and he sings that there is "no spot" in her.
• Verse 8: For the first time he calls the woman "bride" (KJV "spouse") and invites her to come with him from Lebanon and from the tops of Amana, Shenir, and Hermon.
• Verses 9–11: Calling her "my sister, my spouse," he says that her love is better than wine and the smell of her ointments better than all spices.
• Verses 12–15: He compares the woman to a garden enclosed, a spring shut up, and a fountain sealed. He also describes her as a garden full of pomegranates and many spices, and as streams flowing from Lebanon.
• Verse 16: The north wind and the south wind are summoned to spread the fragrance of the garden, and the beloved is invited to enter the garden and eat its fruit. This verse is commonly read as the woman's response, though some interpreters take its first part as the man's words.

Key Verses

• Song of Songs 4:7: "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." This verse sums up the preceding praise in a single sentence.
• Song of Songs 4:12: "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." This image is frequently cited as a depiction of the bride's chastity.
• Song of Songs 4:16: "Let my beloved come into his garden." This is a response to the praise and leads into 5:1.

People and Places

• The bridegroom: The speaker of verses 1–15. In light of the preceding chapter he is associated with Solomon, but no name appears in chapter 4.
• The bride: The woman who receives the praise; she is called "bride" for the first time in this chapter.
• David: His name appears in verse 4 in the phrase "the tower of David." The actual location of this tower is unknown.
• Mount Gilead: A highland region east of the Jordan River, known as pastureland.
• Lebanon: A mountainous region north of Israel, famed for its cedars and its fragrance.
• Amana, Shenir, and Hermon: High mountains in the region of Lebanon. Shenir is the name the Amorites used for Mount Hermon (Deuteronomy 3:9).

Considerations for Reading

• Jewish tradition has read the Song of Songs as depicting the love between God and Israel. From the patristic era onward, Christian tradition read it as portraying the relationship between Christ and the church, or between Christ and the soul of the believer. Since the modern period, readings of the book as poetry celebrating love and marriage between a man and a woman have become widespread, and some readers hold both interpretations together.
• The form of describing the body part by part, as in verses 1–7, is found in ancient Near Eastern love poetry. Rather than depicting outward appearance literally, the comparisons draw on pastoral and military imagery to convey beauty and dignity.
• "My sister" is generally understood not as referring to a literal sibling but as a term of endearment for a beloved.
• The New Testament does not quote the Song of Songs directly. There is, however, a tradition of reading the "no spot" of verse 7 alongside Ephesians 5:27, and the bridal imagery alongside Ephesians 5:31–32 and Revelation 21:2.