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 off until the wedding night (cf. Gen. 24:65; 29:19-25). From a distance a flock of black goats descending from the mountains at dusk was very attractive and reminded Solomon of his beloved's long black locks rippling and tumbling freely.
4:2-3 Her teeth were white and evenly matched. Her mouth had a beautiful color and shape. Her temples were rosy with robust health, like the outside of a pomegranate.64
4:4 A long neck, which gives a stately appearance, may have been a mark of beauty in the ancient world.65On the other hand, this may be a figurative description designed to compliment. It was customary for soldiers to hang their shields on the towers belonging to the lords to whom they pledged allegiance.66What tower of David this was we do not know. It was not David's citadel that now stands on the west side of old Jerusalem because that tower did not exist at this time. The idea is that many of the best people loved and stood by the bride. She enjoyed popular acceptance by Solomon's subjects.
4:5-6 Fawns are soft and lovable. The "mountain"and "hill"are also metaphors for the girl's breasts. Myrrh and frankincense were expensive perfumes, so Solomon may have meant his wife's breasts were precious to him as well as attractive.
4:7 Perhaps she was not really as perfect as Solomon claimed here (cf. 1:5-6). "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."She was perfect to him.
Probably Solomon drew comparisons between his bride and things common in pastoral settings because rural life was her background and was dominant in Israel. She would have understood his meaning easily.
