The Song of Songs 7:4

7:4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory. ¹ 

Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon

by the gate of Bath-Rabbim. ² 

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon

overlooking Damascus.

The Song of Songs 8:7

8:7 Surging waters cannot quench love;

floodwaters ³  cannot overflow it.

If someone were to offer all his possessions ⁴  to buy love, ⁵ 

the offer ⁶  would be utterly despised. ⁷ 

[7:4]  ¹ tn Alternately, “the ivory tower.” The noun הַשֵּׁן (hashshen, “ivory”) is a genitive of composition, that is, a tower made out of ivory. Solomon had previously compared her neck to a tower (Song 4:4). In both cases the most obvious point of comparison has to do with size and shape, that is, her neck was long and symmetrical. Archaeology has never found a tower overlaid with ivory in the ancient Near East and it is doubtful that there ever was such a tower. The point of comparison might simply be that the shape of her neck looks like a tower, while the color and smoothness of her neck was like ivory. Solomon is mixing metaphors: her neck was long and symmetrical like a tower; but also elegant, smooth, and beautiful as ivory. The beauty, elegance, and smoothness of a woman’s neck is commonly compared to ivory in ancient love literature. For example, in a piece of Greek love literature, Anacron compared the beauty of the neck of his beloved Bathyllus to ivory (Ode xxxix 28-29).

[7:4]  ² sn It is impossible at the present time to determine the exact significance of the comparison of her eyes to the “gate of Bath-Rabbim” because this site has not yet been identified by archaeologists.

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “rivers.”

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the wealth of his house.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for love.” The preposition בְּ (bÿ) on בָּאַהֲבָה (ba’ahavah, “for love”) indicates the price or exchange in trading (HALOT 105 s.v. בְּ 17), e.g., “Give me your vineyard in exchange for silver [בְּכֶסֶף, bÿkhesef]” (1 Kgs 21:6).

[8:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “he/it.” The referent (the offer of possessions) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English versions take the referent to be the man himself (ASV “He would utterly be condemned”; NAB “he would be roundly mocked”). Others take the offer as the referent (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “it”).

[8:7]  ⁷ tn The root בּוּז (buz, “to despise”) is repeated for emphasis: בּוֹז יָבוּזּוּ (boz yavuzu). The infinitive absolute frequently is used with the imperfect of the same root for emphasis. The point is simply that love cannot be purchased; it is infinitely more valuable than any and all wealth. Love such as this is priceless; no price tag can be put on love.