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Wednesday 4/15/26
Thru the Bible: Song of Solomon Chapter 7
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Captivating
As we close out this book of Song of Solomon tonight we are closing back in on the reverse image of the beginning of the book. I think you will see the chiastic structure in these last two chapters since even though it shows marital familiarity with each other, there are suggested shout backs to the beginning of their courtship especially as we reach the end of chapter 8.
I would have to entitle this last segment of the Song of Solomon – Captivating. Solomon and the Shulamite are clearly and completely enamored with each other.
We begin with yet another wasf. Solomon, this time beginning at her feet and working upward, describes the beauty of the Shulamite in imagery which, in true Hebrew poetic fashion, is more illustrative than literal.
I will admit that without help, I was at a bit of a loss for grasping the nuanced meanings of these descriptions, but I put some effort into searching out several different sources to see if I could find a common thread for each upon which most people of knowledge agreed. And that is what I am setting before you tonight as the correct interpretation of these descriptive images.
Again I will encourage you to maintain an awareness of the fact that God inspired the composition of this Song and as is true of all scripture, it reveals Christ. In this case, it reveals Him in relation to His bride which is you and I. Don’t for a second lose sight of that!
Song of Solomon 7:1-13,
“(1) The Lover to His Beloved:
How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O nobleman’s daughter!”
In my adulthood I have come to realize that different people tend to favor various parts of the body. While this can take on a concerning and even warped fixation which can boarder on the profane – there is nothing in and of itself which is wrong with preferences.
For example – some people are feet people.
I for one had gone my entire life without ever having once paid the slightest attention to a woman’s feet or footwear unless they were ridiculously flashy, bulky, stiletto-ee (to coin a word) or otherwise ugly.
However, I will say, that while not a primary feature in my view – I was surprised to find that my wife’s feet possess a very dainty and feminine grace to them. They are to me, quite beautiful and no one was more surprised by this than I, since, as I said, I’ve never given feet very much thought at all.
This only goes to illustrate that there can be beauty in the most ordinary of things and one not see it. But within the context of love between two people even the ordinary can be extraordinary.
The greater point here however, is that God doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. He spared no grace or creative brilliance on the craftsmanship of our bodies and everything about them is wonderful and part of His thoughtful design.
The differences in the genders and their formation, also speak to His design and intentions. Jesus, being true to Who He is, revealed in our creation all He is personally and what He admires from among the godhead. In short, we are His poems made with actual flesh and bone. So it should not strike us as odd, that these same bodies should have been the source of inspiration for many lyrical poems and songs throughout human history. And so long as we can admire and appreciate His craftsmanship without replacing the Creator with it, there is nothing wrong with such admiration.
There is something inherent in man and woman. Man delights in woman and woman delights in his delighting in her. This does not mean she does not delight in her man, but the greatest expression of that delight is in being his delight… and so it is with us and Christ.
As I told you on our first night in Song of Solomon, this entire book is written from the bride’s perspective. Therefore, they signify those aspects of the relationship which actively catch her attention.
Notice that this wasf will be the third in the book describing her beauty in the eye of her beloved. That is important! Her beauty to her beloved was an assurance to her and such is backed into womanhood – especially in the marital relationship. In counter-distinction, the bride only describes the physical handsomeness of her lover once and that to others – not to him.
Again I cannot help but see parallels between this and our relationship with God. He lavishes His love upon us and assures us of our delightfulness to Him at every turn. We worship Him for all His benefits to His face. But when we speak of Him to others, we follow the pattern of the Shulamite. We speak in endearing terms of familiarity, beauty and majesty. Our testimony of Him is that He is wonderful, beautiful, magnificent and more than heart could wish. I think this is worthy of reflection.
We desire Him and deeply admire Him. He is all our hearts could wish for, but our ultimate fulfillment, satisfaction and delight is found when we bring Him pleasure.
All of this is beautifully captured in these ending phrases to this epic Love Song.
“The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a master craftsman.”
Thighs often represented physical strength, procreative power and the seat of solemn oaths. It served as a euphemism for reproductive organs and was a marker for covenants. The symbolism seems to point to rarity, value, and the craftsmanship of a “skilled artisan” (God), emphasizing the body as a precious and most beautiful creation.
“(2) Your navel is a round mixing bowl – may it never lack mixed wine! Your belly is a mound of wheat, encircled by lilies.”
The navel is said to symbolize the center of life, vitality, and sustenance. It was seen as a vital connection point, used in metaphorical descriptions of health & beauty. Some even saw it as possessing a connection to the soul. This is generally interpreted as a celebration of fertility, nourishment, and abundance. The mixture of wheat and wine signifies a wonderful feast, suggesting her body is a source of joy and sustenance to her husband.
“(3) Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.”
Repeated from earlier chapters, this emphasizes symmetry, innocence, and attractiveness. As I said in chapter 4, this description seems to point out that their proportions were identical. The imagery of fawns might indicate her youth, the fact that she had not yet nursed children and most probably that they were petite which was not generally preferred in the ancient near east.
Their petite proportions are later pointed out by her brothers in chapter 8. Though they clearly developed from the flat wall they describe, she describes them herself to Solomon in terms which maintain petiteness. The imagery of “feeding among the lilies” may be a poetic symbol of beauty, love, and purity.
Breasts were, of course, a symbol of femininity, nourishment and fertility.
“(4) Your neck is like a tower made of ivory.”
The neck held significant and multifaceted symbolism in the ancient Near East. We can see both in biblical and greater Mesopotamian literature that the neck represented the human will, submission to authority, strength and in some contexts even social status. The Israelites were often called “stiff-necked” by God due to their hardened and rebellious ways. They lacked submission to authority! [See – Exodus 32:9, Exodus 33:3-5, Deuteronomy 9:6-13, and Deuteronomy 31:27]
Regarding the Shulamite, this description is almost certainly descriptive of the way she carries herself. It symbolizes strength, dignity, and poised beauty and even royalty rather than some anatomical description. Royalty in the context of being the wife of the king would also by extension include the notion of her loving submission and devotion to Solomon since he alone was her connection to royalty.
“Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath–Rabbim.”
As noted in earlier chapters, the eyes were viewed even as they are rather universally now, as the window to the soul.
This description is of deep, calm and tranquil pools of water and are very likely referencing actual, large reservoirs in that region. They are believed to be massive, deep, rectangular reservoirs built to catch and store water in an otherwise arid area.
Excavations at Tell Hesban (the modern site of ancient Heshbon) have uncovered large water cisterns and reservoirs from ancient times that fit this description.
While the King James Version calls them “fish pools,” many modern scholars and the Revised Version translate this simply as “pools” or “reservoirs”. However, if they were pools for fish, they were very likely well-maintained, containing clear water that was likely stocked with fish.
This comparison indicates that the water was renowned for its profound clarity, tranquility, and depth, appearing almost as a “mirror” in the ancient Near Eastern landscape.
This could very easily indicate the symbolism was revealing that the heart of the Shulamite was so completely his, that when looking into her calm and beautiful eyes, all he could see was himself reflected back.
“Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.”
I could not locate anything I found credible regarding this reference. There is no Lebanon having any specific tower though it would be strange if it did not since Damascus was controlled by Solomon, to have a watchtower on the mountains of Lebanon overlooking it would not have been unusual. Many scholars believe this to be a poetic way of describing a well known natural feature of the mountains of Lebanon rather than a literal tower.
Most comments on this therefore, saw this as a reference to the fairness or the Shulamite’s skin, her nose being almost pale. Yet, that seems unlikely given her earlier description as very tanned. Nevertheless, her tan from former chapters was due to her labor in the vineyard so by this time, her skin may have returned to its former condition which very well may have been fair.
This description may have a symbolic meaning like that of her neck. The idea possibly being one depicting a noble presence, but this is a mere guess.
“(5) Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
The locks of your hair are like royal tapestries – the king is held captive in its tresses!”
The use of her head crowning her like “Mount Carmel” was to say that her head had crowned her or honored her with beauty. It was her Glory. In Solomon’s day, Mount Carmel was primarily significant as a lush, fertile symbol of majesty, beauty, and abundant agricultural blessing, often contrasted with the surrounding wilderness. Its high rainfall and rich, forested slopes made it a prominent, sacred landmark which drew the eye to its splendor in comparison to its surroundings.
In former descriptions her hair was likened to goats descending a mountain side which was to depict hair that was flowing, almost like water. The root meaning of the word “tresses” is to run or flow, so that the picture Solomon is painting here is of possessing hair which almost has the appearance of running, rippling water.
1 Corinthians 11 tells us that the glory of the woman is her hair. Now this is no doubt a continual step down – God’s glory is man, man’s glory is woman, woman’s glory is her hair. But it is true nonetheless. I will say from a man’s perspective, what a woman can do with her hair seems nothing less than miraculous. A woman can dye, cut and arrange her hair in ways that literally make her appear as an entirely different woman each time. It really is astounding. The text in 1 Corinthians 11 is particularly focused upon the hair being long. So far as I know there is no specific mandate in scripture demanding a woman to keep her hair long, but it is no contest that the greatest number of men in the world prefer their wife’s hair long as opposed to worn up or cut short. That is not to say that the same men might not like hair styled short, but their default preference is overwhelmingly that it be long and that is in part what Solomon is here praising his wife regarding.
“(6) How beautiful you are! How lovely, O love, with your delights!”
The term תַּעֲנוּג (taʿanug), meaning luxury, daintiness, exquisite delight is used in reference to:
(1) tender love (Micah 1:16)
(2) the object of pleasure (Micah 2:9);
(3) erotic pleasures (Ecclesiastes 2:8)
(4) luxury befitting a king (Proverbs 19:10).
The term may have sexual connotations, as when it is used in reference to a harem of women who are described as “the delights” of the heart of a man in Ecc. 2:8.
Since the following is a continuation of this wasf, but which seems to revisit some of Solomon’s favorite attributes of his wife, this does in fact appear to carry a clear and not so subtle sexual reference.
“(7) The Lover to His Beloved:
Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like clusters of grapes.
(8) I want to climb the palm tree, and take hold of its fruit stalks.
May your breasts be like the clusters of grapes, and may the fragrance of your breath be like apples!
“(9) May your mouth be like the best wine, flowing smoothly for my beloved, gliding gently over our lips as we sleep together.”
This is a scene which is clearly from their love making.
The mention of her breath is significant in that the breath of a lover has long had symbolic meaning across many cultures nearly world-wide.
Historically, the breath of a lover has been described as possessing an almost life-giving energy, a spiritual connection and represents intense intimacy.
It is portrayed as a perfumed, intoxicating force embodying sincerity and life – even spiritual in nature. It represents a “breath of love” that unites, reconciles, and symbolizes the very spirit of life.
In literature, particularly in Shakespearean sonnets, a mistress’s breath is often conventionally described as sweet, surpassing perfumes, used as a romantic metaphor to exalt the beloved.
It also has a connection with our Creator from our animation through His breath of life, making us living beings. As such, taking in the breath of a lover is often seen as taking them into yourself and reveling in the sweetness of their life entering your lungs. Though itself, somewhat symbolic of sexual union, there are ways in which this is seen by many as even more intimate and connecting.
This description morphs into the delights and intimacy of a lover’s kiss which essentially takes all that was just said in description of her breath and places a few exclamation points behind it through its climax in kisses as the fall to sleep in each other’s embrace.
As to her physical description – Solomon clearly finds her figure to be slim and stately which only accentuates her upper figure.
In Solomon’s day, palm trees symbolized, among other things, paradise – serving as a key decorative motif in his Temple to represent the divine presence and Eden-like beauty. So Solomon’s bride was slender but stately, possessing an ample feminine figure which seemed to center in on her breasts – at least to Solomon, which is not at all unusual for a man.
In all of the uproar in modern society regarding human sexuality and genders, there has already been a resurgence of women desiring to return to their feminine roots and men to their masculine ones. There is nothing like the devil trying to push mankind away from their design to make them value that design all the more.
In this resurgence, many questions have resurfaced and show up in ever popular discussion panels regarding the differences in the genders.
One question that seems timeless is men’s fixation with women’s breasts. This is the design of God and can only be understood from that vantage point. God designed the chest of human beings to be a center of attention and affection, but this is experienced differently between the genders.
Women tend to view a well-developed chest as a sign of fitness, protection and even safety. This accounts at least partially for the chest being cited by surveys among women as a place of intimate closeness often serving as a desirable place to rest their head while cuddling or sleeping.
A 2017 study found that 24% of women consider the chest to be a man’s most attractive quality expressing their enjoyment of its appearance through its strength.1
Men on the other hand are attracted to breasts almost entirely for sexual reasons, though comfort and general beauty also play a part in that attraction.
“(10) The Beloved about Her Lover:
I am my beloved’s, and he desires me!
Notice the response to all of this by the Shulamite, Solomon’s wife. She delights in his delighting in her! This inspires her to suggest a romantic getaway to a small, quaint agricultural village where in the setting of a countryside blossoming with fruit and life, she promises to give herself to him in lovemaking.
The description of fruitfulness and particularly of the pomegranates and the mandrakes indicate her desire that this be the romantic setting where they would conceive their first child together.
You may remember that in Genesis 30, Rachel trades a night with her husband Jacob to Leah for some mandrakes, believing the plant would cure her infertility.
The Hebrew word dudaimis closely linked to dodim(“lovemaking“). The plant’s yellowish berries were considered an aphrodisiac, and their aromatic, fragrant scent is here linked to romance.
The unusual shape of the mandrake’s large forked roots resembles the human body with extended arms and legs. This similarity gave rise to the popular superstition that the mandrake could induce conception and it was therefore used as a fertility drug. It was so thoroughly associated with erotic love that its name is derived from the Hebrew root דּוֹד (dod, “love”), that is, דּוּדָאִים (dudaʾim) denotes “love-apples.”
“(11) The Beloved to Her Lover:
Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside; let us spend the night in the villages.
(12) Let us rise early to go to the vineyards, to see if the vines have budded, to see if their blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom – there I will give you my love.
(13) The mandrakes send out their fragrance; over our door is every delicacy, both new and old, which I have stored up for you, my lover.”
1. Survey conducted by the British healthcare company Dr. Felix. This survey was published alongside a separate, unrelated 2017 study from Griffith University (published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B) that found a man’s upper-body strength is the primary driver of physical attractiveness, explaining 70% of the variance in attractiveness ratings.
Blessings!
Blessings!
