The Beloved's Bridal Ode: A Detailed Praise
Song 4:1-16
Son.4.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הנך: PRON,2,m,sg
- יפה: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- רעיתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1
- הנך: PRON,2,m,sg
- יפה: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- עיניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2ms
- יונים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מבעד: PREP
- לצמתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss2f
- שערך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss2f
- כעדר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העזים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- שגלשו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מהר: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- גלעד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 1:15 (verbal): Repeats the formulaic praise 'Behold, you are beautiful' and the simile 'your eyes are doves'—a near-verbal parallel to 4:1's opening.
- Song of Solomon 4:2-5 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same descriptive catalogue (hair like a flock of goats, teeth, lips, temples, neck) — the same speech expanded across these verses.
- Song of Solomon 5:10-16 (thematic): Another extended love-poem catalogue of the beloved's physical features using similar sensual and pastoral imagery; parallels in genre and vocabulary.
- Ezekiel 16:10-14 (thematic): Uses bridal/adornment imagery to praise and depict beauty (jewels, fine garments) — a related biblical use of erotic/celebratory language to commend a woman's attractiveness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved; behold, you are beautiful—your eyes are doves behind your veil; your hair is like a flock of goats that have come down from Mount Gilead.
- Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved; behold, you are beautiful—your eyes are doves within your braids; your hair is like a flock of goats that have come down from Mount Gilead.
Son.4.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שניך: NOUN,f,du,abs
- כעדר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הקצובות: ADJ,f,pl,def
- שעלו: REL+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מן: PREP
- הרחצה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- שכלם: REL+PRON,3,pl
- מתאימות: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,f,pl
- ושכלה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 4:1-5 (structural): Immediate literary parallel: the preceding verse (4:1) begins the same catalog of the beloved’s physical features; 4:2 continues that descriptive, praise-driven portrait of feminine beauty within the same poem.
- Song of Solomon 5:10-16 (structural): Counterpart description: a similar catalogue of physical attributes applied to the male beloved (a parallel structure in the poem that balances the woman’s portrayal with a detailed praise of the man).
- Song of Solomon 6:4-7 (thematic): Commendation by others: another passage in the book where the beloved’s beauty is praised in a series of vivid images, echoing the poetic technique of enumerating attractive parts and using animal/nature similes.
- Psalm 45:11-14 (thematic): Royal bridal language: a wedding/bridal context that, like Song 4:2, celebrates the bride’s beauty and adornment in poetic, ceremonial terms (the Psalter’s nuptial imagery parallels the Song’s praise-poetry).
- Ezekiel 16:10-13 (thematic): Adornment motif: prophetic depiction of beautifying (clothing, jewelry, care) used to describe a beloved or city—parallels the Song’s focus on beautification and the presentation of the beloved as splendid and desirable.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing; all of them are paired, and not one is barren.
- Your teeth are like a flock of ewes newly shorn, that have come up from the washing; every one of them has its mate, and not one is bereaved.
Son.4.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כחוט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- שפתתיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:2ms
- ומדבריך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2ms
- נאוה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- כפלח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרמון: NOUN,m,sg,def
- רקתך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:2ms
- מבעד: PREP
- לצמתך: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:2ms
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 4:2 (verbal): Same stanza of erotic portraiture—nearby verses use similar body‑part similes (e.g., teeth, neck, cheeks), continuing the laudatory, pictorial style that includes the lips/speech image.
- Song of Solomon 4:13 (verbal): Pomegranate imagery recurs in the chapter (plants/fruit and garden motif), linking the temple/pomegranate simile here with the garden/fruit symbolism of the beloved.
- Song of Solomon 7:6–7 (thematic): Parallel praise of the beloved’s beauty and charm using sensual, figurative language—comparing physical form and appearance and declaring the beloved pleasant/beautiful.
- Exodus 28:33–34 (allusion): Pomegranates used decoratively on priestly garments (and later on temple pillars) in Israelite art—cultural background for the pomegranate as a symbol of beauty, fertility, and ornamentation in the simile.
- Proverbs 31:26 (thematic): Praise of a woman’s speech (‘she opens her mouth in wisdom’) parallels the commendation of the beloved’s words as pleasing/beautiful (מדבריך נאוה), linking beauty and graceful speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your lips are like a scarlet thread; your mouth is comely like a slice of pomegranate; your temples behind your veil.
- As a thread of scarlet are your lips, and your speech is graceful; your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your braids.
Son.4.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כמגדל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צוארך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms_suff
- בנוי: ADJ,m,sg
- לתלפיות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אלף: NUM,m,sg
- המגן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- תלוי: ADJ,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- שלטי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- הגבורים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 18:8–11 (cf. 2 Samuel 8:8–11) (allusion): David's victory yields many shields and other war‑booty that are brought to Jerusalem and set aside — echoes the image of a ‘tower of David’ hung with a thousand shields (Song’s military/royal accouterments tied to Davidic Jerusalem).
- Psalm 48:12–14 (Heb. 48:13–15) (thematic): A call to 'walk about Zion, tell the towers' and to consider Jerusalem’s fortifications — parallels the tower/fortress imagery (the ‘tower of David’) as a symbol of the city's strength and glory.
- Zechariah 12:7–8 (thematic): God’s protection of Jerusalem and the exaltation of the house of David evoke the Davidic stronghold motif; the Song’s ‘tower of David’ draws on the same tradition of Davidic/Jerusalemic security and prestige.
- Psalm 18:30 (Heb. 18:31) / Psalm 3:3 (verbal): Frequent biblical use of magen (‘shield’) as God’s protection and as a martial image — the Song’s list of shields (‘magen’/shields of the mighty) echoes this widespread shield‑imagery and language.
- Ezekiel 16:11–13 (thematic): God adorns Jerusalem like a bride with ornaments; similarly Song personifies the beloved’s body (neck) as a decorated stronghold — both texts use adornment language to celebrate beauty, status, and public display.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your neck is like the tower of David, built for battlements—a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the shields of the warriors.
- Your neck is like the tower of David, built with rows of shields; a thousand bucklers hang thereon, all the shields of the mighty.
Son.4.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שני: NUM,m,pl,construct
- שדיך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- כשני: PREP+NUM,m,dual
- עפרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תאומי: NOUN,m,sg,suf
- צביה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הרועים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- בשושנים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Son.7.3 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel/repetition — the same simile: 'your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.'
- Son.2.9 (thematic): Uses the gazelle/young stag motif to describe the beloved's beauty and attractiveness (him as a gazelle), a recurring animal image for pastoral grace and desirability.
- Son.8.14 (thematic): Invokes the gazelle/doe motif ('be like a gazelle or a young stag'), echoing the book's use of deer imagery to convey swiftness, grace, and erotic longing.
- Prov.5.19 (thematic): Uses deer/doe imagery in a marital/erotic context (the wife's charms likened to a beloved deer), paralleling the Song's use of deer/fawn images to praise breasts and sexual beauty.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies.
- Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies.
Son.4.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- שיפוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ונסו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- הצללים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אלך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אל: NEG
- הר: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- המור: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- גבעת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- הלבונה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 2:17 (verbal): Repeats the phrase 'until the day breaks and the shadows flee' (Heb. עד שיפוח היום ונסו הצללים), creating a recurring dawn motif and temporal framing in the Song's love-poetry.
- Song of Solomon 6:2 (thematic): Speaks of the beloved going into his garden 'to the beds of spices,' resonating with the imagery of 'mountain of myrrh' and 'hill of frankincense' that links beloved, fragrance, and erotic/vegetative space.
- Exodus 30:34–36 (allusion): Lists frankincense and other aromatic spices used for sacred incense; the Song's 'myrrh' and 'frankincense' evoke cultic and anointing language that heightens the beloved's sacred/pleasant aroma.
- Psalm 45:8 (thematic): Describes garments perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia—royal/spousal fragrance imagery similar to the Song's use of myrrh and frankincense to signify beauty, desirability, and ceremonial scent.
Alternative generated candidates
- Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
- Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the hill of myrrh and to the mount of frankincense.
Son.4.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כלך: PRON,quant,2,f,sg
- יפה: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- רעיתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1
- ומום: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Song of Songs 1:15 (verbal): Same refrain of direct address praising the beloved’s beauty—’Behold, you are beautiful, my love’—echoes the declaration of flawless beauty.
- Song of Songs 4:1 (structural): Immediate context: the stanza lists the beloved’s features and opens with ‘Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved,’ leading to the summary claim of being ‘altogether beautiful.’
- Song of Songs 5:16 (verbal): Uses the related formula ‘he is altogether lovely/kulo’ (כֻּלוֹ), a parallel technical expression of total beauty applied to the beloved.
- Song of Songs 6:4 (thematic): Another direct encomium—‘You are beautiful as Tirzah…’—that repeats the theme of the beloved’s unrivaled beauty and public/comparative imagery.
- Psalm 45:2 (thematic): A royal love/beauty-poem language—praising the beloved/king’s surpassing beauty and grace—parallels the exalted, idealized depiction of the beloved in Song 4:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- You are altogether beautiful, my beloved; there is no blemish in you.
- All of you are beautiful, my beloved; there is no flaw in you.
Son.4.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- מלבנון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כלה: ADV
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- מלבנון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תבואי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- תשורי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- מראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמנה: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- מראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שניר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחרמון: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ממענות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אריות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מהררי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- נמרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Song of Songs 2:8-9 (verbal): Both passages depict the beloved’s arrival across mountainous terrain—'behold, he comes'/'leaping upon the mountains'—echoing the call to 'come... from Lebanon' and the imagery of movement on hills and mountains.
- Song of Songs 2:17 (thematic): Like 4:8, 2:17 summons the beloved to move across the mountains ('turn, my beloved... be like a gazelle on the mountains'), employing mountain imagery to describe approach and union.
- Song of Songs 8:5 (structural): 8:5 asks 'Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?'—a parallel scena of approach/arrival that structurally mirrors the invitation in 4:8 for the bride to come down from the heights.
- Psalm 133:3 (allusion): Psalm 133 likens blessing to 'the dew of Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion.' The explicit mention of Hermon in 4:8 links the bride’s origin with the positive, life-giving symbolism associated with Hermon in the Psalms.
- Isaiah 35:2 (allusion): Isaiah’s portrayal of Lebanon’s glory ('the glory of Lebanon...') as part of a scene of renewal and beauty resonates with 4:8’s invocation of Lebanon (Amana, Senir, Hermon) as a source region for the radiant bride.
Alternative generated candidates
- Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. From the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lion's dens and the mountain of leopards.
- Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come away with me from Lebanon. Look from the heights of Amana, from the heights of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.
Son.4.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- לבבתני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אחתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- כלה: ADV
- לבבתיני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- באחת: PREP
- מעיניך: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+2fs
- באחד: PREP
- ענק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מצורניך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+2fs
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 4:10 (thematic): Immediate continuation: repeats and develops the theme of being 'ravished' by the beloved, celebrating the effect of her beauty and love on the lover's heart.
- Song of Solomon 4:4 (verbal): Shared imagery: earlier verse praises her eyes and neck—'one look' and 'one chain/necklace' in 4:9 echo the physical features celebrated in 4:4.
- Song of Solomon 2:16 (thematic): Mutual possession language: 'My beloved is mine, and I am his' parallels the intimate address 'my sister, my bride' and the sense of mutual enthrallment expressed in 4:9.
- Song of Solomon 5:16 (structural): Closely related closing/formulaic language: the recurrent affirmation of 'this is my beloved' and similar endearing titles underscores the lover's identification and enthrallment found in 4:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride—you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one link of your necklace.
- You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one link of your necklace.
Son.4.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- יפו: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- דדיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,sg
- אחתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- כלה: ADV
- מה: PRON,int
- טבו: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- דדיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,sg
- מיין: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- וריח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמניך: NOUN,m,pl,poss2m
- מכל: PREP
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Song of Songs 1:2 (verbal): Both verses explicitly state that the beloved's love is better than wine (Hebrew: טבו דדיך מיין), a key verbal refrain praising love over wine.
- Song of Songs 5:1 (structural): Shared banquet/erotic imagery of eating, drinking, oils and love—5:1 links wine, honey and intoxication with love, echoing 4:10’s contrast of love and wine and its sensual anointing imagery.
- Song of Songs 7:9 (verbal): Both passages offer direct, sensual praise of the beloved’s body (7:9 praises the breasts like young gazelles), echoing 4:10’s opening address 'How beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my bride.'
- Psalm 45:8 (allusion): A royal/wedding-song parallel: Psalm 45 praises the king’s garments with myrrh, aloes and cassia—resonant imagery with 4:10’s valuation of the beloved’s oils and fragrances above all spices.
Alternative generated candidates
- How fair are your breasts, my sister, my bride; how delightful are your breasts, better than wine, and the scent of your oils than all spices.
- How fair is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than all spices!
Son.4.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- נפת: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- תטפנה: VERB,qal,imperf,3,f,sg
- שפתותיך: NOUN,f,pl,cons,2,m
- כלה: ADV
- דבש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחלב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחת: PREP
- לשונך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- וריח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלמתיך: NOUN,f,pl,cons,2,m
- כריח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבנון: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:3-4 (verbal): Uses honey as a metaphor for enticing/seductive speech—'her lips drip honey' parallels the image of lips/tongue as sweet.
- Psalm 119:103 (verbal): Speaks of God's words being 'sweeter than honey'—similar taste imagery linking speech/words with honey's sweetness.
- Exodus 3:8 (thematic): The phrase 'land flowing with milk and honey' provides the broader cultural motif of milk-and-honey as abundance and delight echoed in 'honey and milk under your tongue.'
- Psalm 45:8 (thematic): Royal/bridal perfume imagery ('all your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia') parallels the Song's emphasis on fragrance and fragrant oils.
- Song of Solomon 4:13 (structural): Immediate parallel in the same scene—continues the bouquet of spices, plants, and scents, reinforcing the lover's sensual imagery of aroma and sweetness.
Alternative generated candidates
- May your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments like the fragrance of Lebanon.
- May the openings of your mouth drip with honey, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.
Son.4.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- גן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נעול: ADJ,m,sg
- אחתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- כלה: ADV
- גל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נעול: ADJ,m,sg
- מעין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חתום: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,sg
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 4:15 (verbal): Same garden/spring imagery—4:12's 'garden enclosed... a fountain sealed' is echoed and expanded in 4:15 ('a spring of gardens, a well of living water'), linking bride-language to sources of life and delight.
- Proverbs 5:15-20 (thematic): Uses cistern/well imagery to urge marital fidelity ('drink water from your own cistern'); Song 4:12 similarly portrays the beloved as an enclosed, sealed source—symbols of exclusive sexual purity and devoted love.
- Ezekiel 44:2 (allusion): Ezekiel's closed gate after Yahweh enters ('this gate shall be shut') employs the motif of closure/setting apart to signify holiness; Song 4:12's 'enclosed garden' and 'sealed fountain' use similar language of consecration and protected purity.
- Genesis 2:8-10 (thematic): The Garden of Eden, planted and watered by a river, provides an archetype of garden-and-water imagery; Song 4:12's enclosed garden and sealed spring evoke an Edenic ideal of untouched beauty, fruitfulness, and divine blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- A garden locked is my sister, my bride—a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
- A garden locked is my sister, my bride— a spring shut and a fountain sealed.
Son.4.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שלחיך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss,2,ms
- פרדס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רמונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עם: PREP
- פרי: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- מגדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כפרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עם: PREP
- נרדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 4:12 (structural): Immediate context: the bride is described as a garden/locked spring—continues the garden metaphor that 4:13 develops (plants/orchard imagery).
- Song of Solomon 4:14 (verbal): Directly adjacent verse listing aromatic plants (cedar, cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh); continues the catalogue of pleasant scents and spices begun in 4:13 (henna, nard).
- Song of Solomon 6:11-12 (thematic): Describes going down into an orchard/nutgrove and surveying valley plants; repeats orchard/plant imagery that frames the lovers’ exchange in 4:13.
- Song of Solomon 7:12-13 (thematic): Invites the beloved to vineyards and mentions mandrakes and choice fruits kept for the beloved—parallel emphasis on fruit, fragrance, and sensual garden imagery.
- Exodus 28:33-34 (allusion): Pomegranates are a prominent decorative motif on the priestly robe; this reflects the cultural and symbolic use of pomegranates (fertility, abundance) echoed in the Song’s pomegranate imagery.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits—henna and nard.
- Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, henna with nard.
Son.4.14 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- נרד: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,m,pl
- וכרכם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- וקנמון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עם: PREP
- כל: DET
- עצי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- לבונה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואהלות: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- עם: PREP
- כל: DET
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Song of Songs 4:13 (structural): Immediate context: the preceding verse continues the garden/plant imagery (pomegranates, henna, nard), forming a contiguous catalogue of aromatic plants that Song 4:14 extends.
- Song of Songs 1:12–13 (verbal): Uses the same perfume imagery and specific spices (nard, myrrh) to express sensual fragrance and intimate affection, paralleling the spice vocabulary of 4:14.
- Song of Songs 6:2 (thematic): Echoes the 'garden/bed of spices' motif and the beloved entering a spice-garden, thematically linked to the sensual, hortus-conclusus imagery of 4:14.
- Exodus 30:23–25 (verbal): Priestly recipe for the holy anointing oil lists many of the same ingredients (myrrh, cinnamon, calamus/ aromatic cane), directly paralleling the spice list language of 4:14.
- Psalm 45:8 (MT 45:9) (verbal): Describes garments perfumed with myrrh, aloes and cassia/cinnamon—sharing the olfactory/spice vocabulary and royal/celebratory fragrance imagery found in 4:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.
- Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon— with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.
Son.4.15 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מעין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גנים: NOUN,prop,m,pl,abs
- באר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ונזלים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מן: PREP
- לבנון: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Song of Songs 4:12 (structural): Immediate internal parallel: earlier image of the beloved as a 'garden enclosed' and a 'spring shut up, a fountain sealed' contrasts with 4:15's open 'spring...well of living waters,' showing movement from containment to flowing abundance.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (verbal): Uses the exact language 'fountain of living waters' (Hebrew חַיֵּי מַיִם); both texts employ the phrase to denote a life-giving source, though Jeremiah applies it to Yahweh and censures Israel's turning to cisterns.
- John 4:10–14 (thematic): Jesus' discourse about 'living water' that gives eternal life echoes the Song's life-giving water motif—water as spiritual/vital sustenance and transformative plenitude.
- Zechariah 14:8 (allusion): Speaks of 'living waters' flowing out from Jerusalem (and the hill of the Lord) to bring life; parallels the Song's image of streams issuing from Lebanon that refresh and fertilize the land.
- Ezekiel 47:1–12 (thematic): Ezekiel's vision of water flowing from the temple, making rivers that bring life, fish, and trees on the banks, resonates with the Song's hydrological imagery linking flowing water to vitality, growth, and blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- A spring of gardens, a well of living water, streams flowing down from Lebanon.
- A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
Son.4.16 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עורי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- צפון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובואי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- תימן: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- הפיחי: VERB,hiph,imp,2,f,sg
- גני: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1
- יזלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בשמיו: PREP
- יבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דודי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- לגנו: PREP
- ויאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- פרי: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- מגדיו: PREP
Parallels
- Song of Songs 4:12-15 (verbal): Immediate literary context: the bride describes a 'garden enclosed,' 'fountain,' and streams—same garden/flow imagery continued in 4:16 (calling winds to breathe on the garden so its spices flow).
- Song of Songs 2:3 (verbal): Uses the image of enjoying the beloved's fruit ('his fruit was sweet to my taste'), paralleling 4:16's invitation for the beloved to 'eat his pleasant fruits' (shared erotic/food imagery).
- Song of Songs 7:12-13 (thematic): Another love-invitation set in a cultivated setting ('let us go early to the vineyards... there will I give thee my loves'), echoing 4:16's summons to the garden and erotic communion amid fruit/foliage.
- Song of Songs 8:13-14 (structural): Parallel call/urgency to the beloved ('make haste, my beloved'), and reference to dwelling in gardens/spice-scented heights—reiterates the garden-as-locus-of-love motif of 4:16.
- Genesis 2:8-10 (allusion): Edenic garden imagery (planted garden, rivers, abundance of trees/fruit) provides background for Song's cultivated-garden motif—invoked here as an idealized, fruitful space for intimate union.
Alternative generated candidates
- Awake, north wind, and come, south; blow upon my garden, let its fragrance flow forth—let my beloved come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits.
- Awake, O north wind, and come, O south; blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow forth. Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits.
Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved; behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil; your hair is like a flock of goats that have come down from Mount Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes shorn, that have come up from the washing; each one of them pairs with its mate, and not one is bereft.
Your lips are like a thread of scarlet; your speech is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like a slice of pomegranate.
Your neck is like the tower of David, built as an armoury; a thousand shields hang upon it, all the shields of the mighty.
Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies.
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
You are altogether beautiful, my beloved; there is no blemish in you.
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one link of your necklace.
How beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my bride! How much better are your breasts than wine, and the scent of your oils than all spices.
May your lips drip honey, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the aroma of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride; a sealed spring, a locked fountain.
Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, henna and nard.
Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams flowing from Lebanon.
Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow forth. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat its choicest fruits.