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He
5 I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,I gathered my myrrh with my spice,
I ate my honeycomb with my honey,
I drank my wine with my milk.
Others
Eat, friends, drink,and be drunk with love!
The Bride Searches for Her Beloved
She
I slept, but my heart was awake.A sound! My beloved is knocking.
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
my locks with the drops of the night.”
I had put off my garment;
how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet;
how could I soil them?
My beloved put his hand to the latch,
and my heart was thrilled within me.
I arose to open to my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
they took away my veil,
those watchmen of the walls.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
I am sick with love.
Others
What is your beloved more than another beloved,O most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus adjure us?
The Bride Praises Her Beloved
She
My beloved is radiant and ruddy,distinguished among ten thousand.
His head is the finest gold;
his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
sitting beside a full pool.
His cheeks are like beds of spices,
mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are lilies,
dripping liquid myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold,
set with jewels.
His body is polished ivory,
bedecked with sapphires.
His legs are alabaster columns,
set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
(ESV)
Song of Solomon 5 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
As with any marriage, there is miscommunication. Hurt and conflict naturally follow. It is hard to understand if verse 2 is describing a dream or a real situation. On one hand, it begins by stating, “I was asleep but my heart was awake.” Many translations have taken this and changed the phrase to a dream. On the other hand, it could have been a situation where she was in the early stages of sleep and heard the man knocking which caused her to wake.
In her own words, she had already washed, removed her robe, and gotten into bed. She simply didn’t want to get out again. If she had just woken from sleep, she may have been groggy. All that said, it would seem like a natural response to alert him that she heard his knocking and would be opening the door soon. But the text does not indicate she spoke at all. She waited. And after she finally decided to get up and answer the door, he had gone.
Situations like this happen all the time in a marriage. From her perspective, his appearance was inconvenient. She was already comfortably in bed. If challenged, she most likely would have defended her actions with this reasoning. From his perspective, she ignored him. She refused to answer the door even with his best efforts to get her attention. And here is where the critical moment occurs. It’s the difference between fighting and forgiveness.
I know many marriages where the woman would apologize for her selfishness and the man would follow suit by apologizing for storming away. I also know many marriages where the woman would accuse the man of ruining her entire night, and the man would accuse her of being selfish. As the rest of the story plays out, we can assume that the woman had some regrets. She leaves to find her lover and is mistreated (literally physically assaulted) by the watchmen. She enlists the women of Jerusalem for help in finding him and goes on to describe how wonderful he is.
I do think we can interpret this story more figuratively. After all, it’s a poem and quite possibly a dream. The situations are a little bizarre, but they teach a lesson. Though small, one selfish decision can destroy a relationship. It can have extended consequences that continue beyond the actual decision. We know that this woman adored her lover, but we also know she did not treat him how she should have. Many of us are in this same boat. For me, this story is a reminder that every moment is precious. Every decision carries with it ramifications and we must never forget that.