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Texts -- The Song of Songs 5:1-5 (NET)

Context
5:1 The Lover to His Beloved: I have entered my garden , O my sister , my bride ; I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice . I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey ; I have drunk my wine and my milk ! The Poet to the Couple: Eat , friends , and drink ! Drink freely , O lovers !
The Trials of Love: The Beloved’s Dream of Losing Her Lover
5:2 The Beloved about Her Lover: I was asleep , but my mind was dreaming . Listen ! My lover is knocking at the door! The Lover to His Beloved: “Open for me, my sister , my darling , my dove , my flawless one! My head is drenched with dew , my hair with the dampness of the night .” 5:3 The Beloved to Her Lover: “I have already taken off my robe – must I put it on again? I have already washed my feet – must I soil them again?” 5:4 My lover thrust his hand through the hole , and my feelings were stirred for him. 5:5 I arose to open for my beloved ; my hands dripped with myrrh – my fingers flowed with myrrh on the handles of the lock .

Pericope

NET
  • Sos 5:2-7 -- The Trials of Love: The Beloved's Dream of Losing Her Lover

Bible Dictionary

  • WASHING OF FEET

    [isbe] WASHING OF FEET - The Old Testament references (Gen 18:4; 19:2: 24:32; 43:24; Jdg 19:21; 1 Sam 25:41; 2 Sam 11:8; Song 5:3; Ps 58:10) show that the washing of the feet was the first act on entering the tent or house after a ...

  • Song

    [nave] SONG Sung at the passover, Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26. Didactic, Deut. 32. See: Psalms, Didactic. Impersonation of the church, Song 1-8. Of Moses and the Lamb, Rev. 15:3, 4. New, Psa. 33:3; 40:3. Prophetic, See: Psalms, P...

  • SPICE, SPICES

    [smith] Heb. basam, besem or bosem . In (Solomon 5:1) "I have gathered my myrrh with my spice," the word points apparently to some definite substance. In the other places, with the exception perhaps of (Solomon 1:13; 6:2) the words ...

  • Personification

    [nave] PERSONIFICATION Of wisdom, Prov. 1; 2:1-9; 8; 9. possibly of the Church or Israel, Song 1-8.

  • PALESTINE, 2

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 2 - III. Palestine in the Historic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Joshua: Joshua is the great geographical book of the Old Testament; and the large majority of the 600 names of places, rivers and mountains...

  • Lovers

    [nave] LOVERS. Instances of Isaac for Rebekah, Gen. 24:67. Jacob for Rachel, Gen. 29:20, 30. Shechem for Dinah, Gen. 34:3, 12. Boaz for Ruth, Ruth 2-4. of romance, mistresses, paramours Song 1:13, 14, 16; 2:3, 8, 9, 10, 16, 1...

  • LOCKS

    [isbe] LOCKS - loks ((1) tsitsith, (2) pera'; (3) machlaphah, (4) qewutstsah): See in general the article on HAIR. (1) The first word, tsitsith, means really a tassel, such as is worn by the Jews on the four corners of the prayer-s...

  • HOUSE

    [isbe] HOUSE - hous (bayith; oikos, in classical Greek generally "an estate," oikia, oikema (literally, "habitation"), in Acts 12:1, "prison"): I. CAVE DWELLINGS II. STONE-BUILT AND MUD/BRICK-BUILT HOUSES 1. Details of Plan and Con...

  • HONEY

    [isbe] HONEY - hun'-i (debhash; meli): One familiar with life in Palestine will recognize in debhash the Arabic dibs, which is the usual term for a sweet syrup made by boiling down the juice of grapes, raisins, carob beans, or date...

  • HANDLE

    [isbe] HANDLE - han'-d'-l (kaph): The noun occurs once in Song 5:5, "handles of the bolt" (the King James Version "lock"). The verb "handle" represents several Hebrew ('achaz, mashakh, taphas, etc.) and Greek (thiggano, Col 2:21; p...

  • GARDEN

    [isbe] GARDEN - gar'-d'-n (gan, gannah, ginnah; kepos): The Arabic jannah (diminutive, jannainah), like the Hebrew gannah, literally, "a covered or hidden place," denotes in the mind of the dweller in the East something more than t...

  • Fellowship

    [nave] FELLOWSHIP. Eccl. 4:9-12; Amos 3:3 See: Fraternity; Fellowship. With God Gen. 5:22, 24; Gen. 6:9; Ex. 29:45; Ex. 33:14-17; Lev. 26:12; Isa. 57:15; Zech. 2:10; Mark 9:37; John 14:23; John 17:21, 23; 2 Cor. 6:16; 2 Cor. 13:...

  • DROP, DROPPING

    [isbe] DROP, DROPPING - "To drop" expresses a "distilling" or "dripping" of a fluid (Jdg 5:4; Prov 3:20; Song 5:5,13; Joel 3:18; Am 9:13; compare 1 Sam 14:26, "the honey dropped" (margin "a stream of honey")); Job 29:22 and Isa 45:...

  • DRESS

    [isbe] DRESS - In the Hebrew and Greek there is a wonderful wealth of terminology having to do with the general subject of dress among the ancient Orientals. This is reflected in the numerous synonyms for "dress" to be found in Eng...
    [smith] This subject includes the following particulars: Materials; Color and decoration; Name, form, and mode of wearing the various articles; Special usages relating thereto. Materials .--After the first "apron" of fig leaves, (Ge...

  • DEW

    [isbe] DEW - du (Tal; drosos). 1. Formation of Dew: Two things are necessary for the formation of dew, moisture and cold. In moist countries there is less dew because the change in temperature between day and night is too small. In...

  • DEFILE; DEFILEMENT

    [isbe] DEFILE; DEFILEMENT - de-fil', de-fil'-ment (Anglo-Saxon, afylau, etc.; Middle English, defoulen, "make foul," "pollute," render (the King James Version) 9 Hebrew roots (the Revised Version (British and American) six): ga`al,...

  • BOLT

    [isbe] BOLT - bolt (na`al, "to bind up"): The ancient Hebrews had fastenings of wood or iron for the doors of houses (2 Sam 13:17,18; Song 5:5), city gates (Neh 3:3,6,13-15), prison doors, etc. (Isa 45:2), which were in the form of...

  • BEARD

    [isbe] BEARD - berd: (1) Western Semites in general, according to the monuments, wore full round beards, to which they evidently devoted great care. The nomads of the desert, in distinction from the settled Semites, wore a clipped ...

  • BATH; BATHING

    [isbe] BATH; BATHING - bath, bath'-ing. 1. Ordinary Bathing: Bathing in the ordinary, non-religious sense, public or private, is rarely met with in the Scriptures. We find, however, three exceptional and interesting cases: (1) that...

  • BALSAM

    [isbe] BALSAM - bol'-sam (basam, besem; hedusmata; thumiamata): Is usually "spices" but in the Revised Version, margin (Song 5:1,13; 6:2) is rendered as "balsam." It was an ingredient in the anointing oil of the priests (Ex 25:6; 3...

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 4:16 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. ...
  • 6:4-10 Solomon's first words to his beloved were praises. Verse 4c probably means Solomon felt weak-kneed as a result of gazing on his wife's beauty, as he would have felt facing a mighty opposing army. Her eyes too unnerved ...
  • The Shulammite exulted in her complete abandonment to her husband and in his complete satisfaction with her (cf. 2:16; 6:3). These joys increase through the years of a healthy marriage."Far from being the objectionable condit...
  • The Shulammite's desire for her husband's love continued to increase throughout their marriage (vv. 1-3).8:1 Ancient Near Easterners frowned on public displays of intimate affection unless closest blood relatives exchanged th...
  • These verses summarize the theme of the book.8:5a Evidently these are the words of the daughters of Jerusalem. The couple is coming up out of the wilderness. The "wilderness"connoted Israel's 40 years of trials to the Jewish ...
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