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Texts -- The Song of Songs 4:1-13 (NET)

Context
The Wedding Night: Praise of the Bride
4:1 The Lover to His Beloved: Oh , you are beautiful , my darling ! Oh , you are beautiful ! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves . Your hair is like a flock of female goats descending from Mount Gilead . 4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep coming up from the washing place; each of them has a twin , and not one of them is missing . 4:3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread ; your mouth is lovely . Your forehead behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate . 4:4 Your neck is like the tower of David built with courses of stones ; one thousand shields are hung on it– all shields of valiant warriors . 4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns , twins of the gazelle grazing among the lilies . 4:6 Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee , I will go up to the mountain of myrrh , and to the hill of frankincense . 4:7 You are altogether beautiful , my darling ! There is no blemish in you!
The Wedding Night: Beautiful as Lebanon
4:8 Come with me from Lebanon , my bride , come with me from Lebanon . Descend from the crest of Amana , from the top of Senir , the summit of Hermon , from the lions ’ dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards . 4:9 You have stolen my heart , my sister , my bride ! You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes , with one jewel of your necklace . 4:10 How delightful is your love , my sister , my bride ! How much better is your love than wine ; the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice ! 4:11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb , my bride , honey and milk are under your tongue . The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon .
The Wedding Night: The Delightful Garden
4:12 The Lover to His Beloved: You are a locked garden , my sister , my bride ; you are an enclosed spring , a sealed-up fountain . 4:13 Your shoots are a royal garden full of pomegranates with choice fruits : henna with nard ,

Pericope

NET
  • Sos 4:1-7 -- The Wedding Night: Praise of the Bride
  • Sos 4:8-11 -- The Wedding Night: Beautiful as Lebanon
  • Sos 4:12--5:1 -- The Wedding Night: The Delightful Garden

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Many references to Solomon throughout the book confirm the claim of 1:1 that Solomon wrote this book (cf. 1:4-5, 12; 3:7, 9, 11; 6:12; 7:5; 8:11-12; 1 Kings 4:33). He reigned between 971 and 931 B.C.How could Solomon, who had...
  • I. The superscription 1:1II. The courtship 1:2-3:5A. The beginning of love 1:2-111. Longing for the boyfriend 1:2-42. The girl's insecurity 1:5-83. Solomon's praise 1:9-11B. The growth of love 1:12-3:51. Mutual admiration 1:1...
  • Perhaps the outstanding characteristic of this first major section of the book is the sexual restraint that is evident during the courtship. This restraint contrasts with the sexual intimacy that characterizes the lovers afte...
  • Whereas the setting so far had been Israel, it now shifts to the Shulammite's home that was evidently in Lebanon (cf. 4:8, 15).2:8-9 The girl described her young lover coming for a visit in these verses. He was obviously eage...
  • Weddings in Israel took place before the local town elders rather than before the priests (e.g., Ruth 4:10-11). They transpired in homes rather than in the tabernacle or temple (or synagogue later). They were civil rather tha...
  • His bride's beauty ravished Solomon. His praise in verses 1 and 7 frames his description of her in verses 1-6.4:1 Women in Solomon's culture did not always wear a veil. Before their wedding they put one on and did not take it...
  • In these verses Solomon evidently praised his bride for giving herself wholly to him as he had asked.4:9 "Sister"was evidently an affectionate term for wife (cf. vv. 10, 12; 5:1-2; Tobit 7:16; 8:4, 7).4:10 Again the word tran...
  • 4:12 Solomon praised his bride's virginity also. She had kept herself a virgin for the man she would marry.4:13-14 She was like a garden full of beautiful and pleasing plants that was now open to Solomon.68These spices, fruit...
  • 4:16 The Shulammite invited Solomon to take her completely. She called on the winds to carry the scents to which Solomon had referred so he would find full satisfaction (cf. vv. 13-14).5:1 Solomon exulted in the joy that unio...
  • 5:2 Again the woman dreamed (cf. 3:1-4). In her dream her husband came to her having been out of doors in the evening. His mind appears to have been on making love in view of what follows.5:3-4 However she had lost interest. ...
  • This section that provides a window into the intimate relationship of Solomon and his wife shows how their love had matured since their wedding (cf. 4:1-11).
  • 14:4 When Israel repented, the Lord promised to heal the apostasy of the Israelites that had become a fatal sickness for them (cf. 6:1). He also promised to bestow His love on them generously because then He would no longer b...
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