Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:1-7

Bird's-eye view

In this portion of the Song, we have moved from the courtship to the consummation. This is Solomon's praise of his bride, a detailed and poetic description of her beauty. But this is not simply a man cataloging the physical attributes of his wife. This is sanctified desire. This is a husband delighting in the wife of his youth, and doing so in a way that is both intensely personal and profoundly theological. The language is earthy, as it should be, but it is also elevated. It is grounded in the created order, doves, goats, sheep, pomegranates, but it points beyond itself.

The central point here is the goodness of marital love and the objective beauty that God has woven into His creation, particularly in the covenant of marriage. This passage is a frontal assault on two errors: the gnostic error that despises the body, and the modern error that makes all beauty subjective. Solomon is not praising a "feeling" he has; he is praising his bride. He is declaring her to be objectively beautiful, and he uses the glory of the created world to make his case. This is a picture of Christ and the Church. Christ does not love a vague, ethereal idea of the Church; He loves His bride, and He sees her as altogether beautiful, without spot or blemish.

Outline

Context In Song of Solomon

This chapter marks a significant transition in the Song. The earlier chapters have built the romantic tension and anticipation. Now, the wedding has occurred, and the couple is alone. The language shifts to a more direct and intimate praise of the bride's physical beauty. This is not out of place; it is the God-ordained fulfillment of the love that has been growing throughout the poem. We should interpret this book on multiple levels. It is, first and foremost, a celebration of erotic love within marriage. To skip over this in a rush to allegorize is to do violence to the text. God is not embarrassed by this. But second, it is also a type, a picture, of the love between Christ and His Church. The two interpretations are not at odds; they reinforce one another. A high view of marriage helps us understand Christ's love for us, and a high view of Christ's love for us elevates our understanding of marriage.

Key Issues

Commentary

1 “Behold, you are beautiful, my darling, Behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have leapt down from Mount Gilead.

Solomon begins with an emphatic declaration, repeated for emphasis. "Behold!" This is a command to pay attention. He is not just murmuring sweet nothings; he is making a public proclamation, at least to her. He is testifying to her beauty. And this beauty is not a vague, modern sentiment. It is objective. He says, "you are beautiful." He doesn't say, "you are beautiful to me." Our modern therapeutic age has trained us to qualify everything, lest we impose our standards on others. But the Bible operates in a world of objective realities. She is beautiful, full stop. The repetition, "Behold, you are beautiful," drives the point home. This is not flattery; it is a statement of fact from the one whose opinion matters most.

Her eyes are like doves. Doves are gentle, peaceful, and devoted. There is a purity and a singleness of focus in her gaze. It is not a predatory or a flighty look. Her eyes are fixed on him. And they are "behind your veil." The veil signifies modesty and submission, but it also creates a sense of mystery and anticipation. Her beauty is not for public consumption; it is reserved for her husband. He alone has the right to look behind the veil.

Her hair is like a flock of goats. Now, to the modern ear, this sounds like a backhanded compliment at best. But we have to shed our twenty-first-century sensibilities. Imagine a flock of black goats moving together down the side of a sunlit mountain like Gilead. It would be a picture of shimmering, cascading, living movement. He is praising the dark, rich, flowing abundance of her hair. It is not static; it is alive.

2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young.

Again, the imagery is agricultural, and it is potent. Her teeth are not just white, like newly washed sheep. They are also perfectly matched and complete. The ewes are "newly shorn," which speaks of uniformity and cleanness. They have come "up from their washing," emphasizing their brightness and purity. And they are all there, a full set. "All of which bear twins" means they are perfectly matched, top and bottom. "Not one among them has lost her young" means there are no gaps. This is a picture of health, completeness, and perfection. It is a far more robust and meaningful compliment than simply saying, "you have nice teeth." It speaks of her total well-being, her fruitfulness, her completeness.

3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil.

A scarlet thread is thin, well-defined, and vividly colored. This is a picture of delicate and beautiful lips. Her mouth, or her speech that comes from it, is "lovely." Beauty here is not just about the physical form, but also about what it produces. Her words are gracious. The temples, glimpsed behind her veil, are like a pomegranate. When you slice a pomegranate, you see the rich, red, jewel-like seeds within. He is catching a glimpse of the blush of her skin, a hint of the life and vibrancy just beneath the surface. Again, the veil heightens the effect. Her full beauty is hinted at, not fully displayed, which makes it all the more alluring to her husband.

4 Your neck is like the tower of David, Built with rows of stones On which are hung one thousand shields, All the small shields of the mighty men.

Here the imagery shifts from pastoral to military, which might seem jarring. But it is a picture of strength, dignity, and regal bearing. Her neck is not weak or slumped. It is strong, upright, like a well-built tower. The tower of David was a symbol of the strength and security of the nation. Her posture is one of confidence and grace. The shields hanging on it could be a reference to jewelry, necklaces that adorn her. They are the shields of mighty men, indicating her immense value. She is a prize, a treasure to be defended. This is not the fragile, wilting beauty of our age. This is a robust, strong, noble beauty. She is a queen.

5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle Which feed among the lilies.

The imagery returns to the pastoral, and it is tender and gentle. Fawns are soft, gentle, and full of life. They are twins, indicating symmetry and harmony. They are feeding among the lilies, which is a picture of beauty, purity, and delight. This is not crude or leering. It is a husband's tender and appreciative praise of his wife's body. He sees her as part of the beautiful, untainted created order. This is Edenic language. This is love in a world unfallen, or at least, in a moment where the Fall's curse has been pushed back by the glory of covenantal love.

6 Until the day breathes And the shadows flee, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense.

This verse is the bridegroom's response to the beauty he has just described. "Until the day breathes" refers to the morning, when the cool breezes of dawn arrive. "And the shadows flee" means until the night is over. So, for the entire night, he resolves to go to her. The "mountain of myrrh" and the "hill of frankincense" are poetic descriptions of his bride's body. Myrrh and frankincense were precious, aromatic spices used in perfume and incense. He is saying that he will spend the night enjoying the fragrant delights of his wife. This is a clear and beautiful statement of his intention to consummate their marriage, to enter into the fullness of the one-flesh union.

7 “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish in you.

This is the summation of it all. After cataloging her specific beauties, he pulls it all together in one grand, sweeping declaration. She is not just beautiful in parts; she is "altogether beautiful." And there is "no blemish in you." In his eyes, she is perfect. This is the language of sacrifice; the animals brought to the Lord were to be without blemish. This is also the language Christ uses for His bride, the Church. Through His atoning work, He presents her to Himself "in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). A husband's love for his wife is to be a picture of this. He receives her as a gift from God and declares her to be perfect in his sight. This is not a denial of the reality of sin, but it is a covenantal declaration that in the context of their union, she is accepted, cherished, and seen as flawless.

Application

First, husbands ought to learn to praise their wives. And not with the flimsy, generic compliments of the world. Learn to see the particular glories God has given your wife and learn to articulate them. Your words have the power to build her up, to make her secure in your love, to help her see herself as God sees her. Solomon was a student of his bride, and husbands should be students of theirs.

Second, we must recover a biblical understanding of beauty. The world alternates between worshiping a false, airbrushed standard of beauty and denying that beauty exists at all. The Bible shows us that beauty is objective, robust, and tied to God's created order. It is found in strength and dignity as much as in softness and delicacy. True beauty is covenantal; it is the glory of a woman who is loved and cherished by her husband.

Finally, we must always see the reflection of the gospel in this. This is how Christ loves His church. He does not see her flaws; He sees the righteousness He has clothed her in. He declares her to be "altogether beautiful," with "no blemish." When we feel our own sin and unworthiness, we must remember that the Bridegroom looks at us and says this. His love is not based on our performance, but on His finished work. He delights in us, and He is preparing us for that final wedding feast, where we will see Him face to face. The love celebrated in this chapter is a foretaste of that eternal joy.