Song of Solomon 7:1-9

How does the poem’s bodily praise communicate delight rather than a standard of human worth?

Berean Standard Bible

1 How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of the prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master. 2 Your navel is a rounded goblet; it never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by the lilies. 3 Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. 4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus. 5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple threads; the king is captured in your tresses. 6 How fair and pleasant you are, O love, with your delights! 7 Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit. 8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, 9 and your mouth like the finest wine. May it flow smoothly to my beloved, gliding gently over lips and teeth.

What is the context?

The praise begins at sandaled feet and moves upward through thighs, navel, waist, breasts, neck, eyes, nose, head, and hair. Jewels, food, pools, towers, and Carmel supply its comparisons.

The king captured in her tresses reverses the expectation of royal control: her beauty holds his attention. The imagery conveys admiration rather than a literal restraint.

The palm and fruit language makes the desire unmistakably bodily. The final wine comparison leads into the woman’s answering speech.

The poem’s frank delight need not be hidden, nor should its images become a universal measurement of women’s bodies. The next words affirm her own desire and initiative.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley reads the bride’s excellence through the church’s gifts and speaks of the beloved’s delight. His older final line has sleeping lips brought to speech, whereas the BSB has wine gliding over lips and teeth. The difference belongs to the printed reading rather than a physiological claim about wine.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

No deeper study linked yet.

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