Chapter 5 opens with the consummation — the man enters his garden and feasts on its honey, wine, and spices. A mysterious voice urges the lovers to eat and drink deeply. Then the mood shifts dramatically: the woman recounts a nighttime episode where her beloved knocked at her door, but by the time she opened it, he had vanished. She searches the city streets (echoing chapter 3) but this time the watchmen beat and strip her. The Daughters of Jerusalem ask what makes her beloved so special, prompting her to deliver a stunning wasf of the man's body — the only such poem about a male figure in the Hebrew Bible.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The wasf of the man (verses 10-16) is extraordinary. Male beauty is almost never described in ancient literature with this level of physical detail and erotic charge. His head is finest gold, his locks are date clusters, his eyes are doves by water streams, his cheeks are spice beds, his lips drip liquid myrrh, his hands are gold cylinders set with beryl, his torso is polished ivory covered with sapphires, his legs are marble pillars on gold bases, his appearance is like Lebanon, and his mouth is sweetness itself. The woman gazes at the man's body with the same intensity he brought to her body in chapter 4. The Song insists on full mutuality of desire and admiration.
Translation Friction
The watchmen's violence in verse 7 is deeply troubling and deliberately so. The same watchmen who were neutral in 3:3 now beat her and tear her veil. The text offers no explanation or condemnation — it simply reports. This may represent the danger women face when they claim sexual agency in a patriarchal society, or the vulnerability of desire in a hostile world. The Song does not resolve this violence; it stands as an unhealed wound in the poem's otherwise joyful landscape.
Connections
The garden consummation in 5:1 completes the garden metaphor that began in 4:12. The night-search of 5:2-8 parallels 3:1-4 but with a darker outcome, creating a literary diptych: sometimes you find love, sometimes love finds only violence. The wasf of the man parallels and balances the wasf of the woman in chapter 4. The gold, ivory, sapphire, and marble of his description echo the materials of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6-7), suggesting that the beloved's body is itself a sacred space.
I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride.
I have gathered my myrrh with my spices,
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey,
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends!
Drink, and drink deeply, lovers!
KJV I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
דּוֹדִיםdodim
"lovers"—lovers, beloveds; those engaged in lovemaking; acts of love
Dodim here addresses the couple as 'lovers' — the same word that meant 'lovemaking' in 1:2 now names the persons. They are defined by their love: they are what they do.
Translator Notes
The five first-person perfects create a rhythm of completion: gathered, eaten, drunk. Every image from the spice garden of chapter 4 is now consumed. The garden that was locked is now fully entered and enjoyed.
The final imperative ('eat, friends; drink deeply, lovers') is one of the Song's most debated lines. The identity of the speaker is unknown, but the effect is clear: an outside voice sanctions and celebrates the lovers' union.
I was asleep but my heart was awake.
The sound! My beloved knocking!
"Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one —
for my head is drenched with dew,
my locks with the moisture of the night."
KJV I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
תַּמָּתִיtammati
"my perfect one"—my complete one, my innocent one, my perfect one; from tamam ('to be complete, whole, blameless')
Tammah derives from tamam ('to be complete'). It implies not moral perfection but wholeness — she is complete, entire, lacking nothing. It is his most intimate epithet for her.
Translator Notes
Ani yeshenah ve-libbi er ('I was asleep but my heart was awake') — the body sleeps while desire remains alert. She hears him knocking (dofek) and calling through the door with four terms of endearment: sister, darling, dove, perfect one. His appeal is both romantic and pathetic — he stands outside in the night dew, wet-haired, begging entry.
The knocking on the door and the request to 'open' (pitchi li) carries obvious sexual overtones alongside the literal scene.
I have taken off my garment —
how can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet —
how can I soil them?
KJV I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Her hesitation is the chapter's turning point. She has undressed and bathed for sleep; rising to open the door would mean redressing and dirtying her feet. The excuses seem trivial, but they create the fatal delay. By the time she acts, he will be gone. This is the Song's most painful moment of missed connection — desire that hesitates loses.
My beloved thrust his hand through the opening,
and my insides churned for him.
KJV My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
He reaches his hand through the latch-hole (chor) — the opening in the door through which a hand could reach to lift the internal bar. The image is intensely physical and erotically charged: his hand penetrating the opening. Her response is visceral: me'ay hamu alav ('my insides churned/trembled for him') — me'im are the intestines, the gut, the deepest interior of the body. Her desire is not in her mind but in her bowels.
I rose to open for my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
upon the handles of the bolt.
KJV I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
She finally rises — and finds that he has left myrrh on the door handle. Her hands drip with mor over ('liquid myrrh, flowing myrrh') as she touches the bolt (man'ul). The myrrh is his trace, his residue — he was here, he touched this very surface, and his fragrance remains. The image is simultaneously romantic and tragic: the perfume of his presence lingers after his departure.
I opened for my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul went out at his going.
I sought him but did not find him.
I called him but he did not answer.
KJV I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Dodi chamaq avar ('my beloved had turned and gone') — chamaq means 'to slip away, to withdraw.' He came, he waited, he left. Nafshi yats'ah be-dabbero ('my soul went out at his speaking/going') — her nefesh departs, she nearly dies from the pain of his absence. The seeking-and-not-finding language returns from 3:1-2, but now without resolution. She seeks, calls — silence.
The watchmen found me,
those who go about the city.
They beat me, they wounded me,
they stripped my veil from me —
the keepers of the walls.
KJV The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
רְדִידredid
"veil"—veil, shawl, outer garment; a woman's covering
The redid (a large shawl or wrap) was both practical garment and sign of social status. Its removal by the watchmen is an act of shaming and exposure — they strip her of dignity along with cloth.
Translator Notes
The parallel to 3:3 is exact — until it turns violent. The same watchmen, the same city, but now hikkuni petsa'uni ('they beat me, they wounded me'). They also nasa'u et redidi me'alay ('they took my veil from me') — stripping a woman's covering is an act of public shaming (cf. Isaiah 47:2-3). The Song offers no explanation for this violence. The text simply absorbs it and moves forward. A woman seeking love in a dangerous world encounters the world's brutality.
I adjure you, O Daughters of Jerusalem —
if you find my beloved,
tell him this:
that I am sick with love.
KJV I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The adjuration returns but transformed — no longer a warning about love's timing but a desperate message to be relayed. Cholat ahavah ani ('I am sick with love') echoes 2:5 but now the lovesickness has a sharper edge. She is beaten, stripped, alone in the dark, and her message to her absent beloved is simply: I am dying of desire for you.
What is your beloved more than any other beloved,
O most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than any other beloved,
that you so adjure us?
KJV What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Daughters of Jerusalem ask the question that prompts the wasf: mah dodekh mi-dod ('what is your beloved more than a beloved?') — what makes him special? Why should we carry your message? The double question demands an answer, and she will give them one that transforms the entire second half of the chapter.
Song of Solomon 5:10
דּוֹדִ֥י צַח֙ וְאָד֔וֹם דָּג֖וּל מֵרְבָבָֽה׃
My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
distinguished among ten thousand.
KJV My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
דָּגוּלdagul
"distinguished"—bannered, marked out, conspicuous, outstanding; from degel ('banner')
Dagul connects to the banner imagery of 2:4. He is like a standard raised above an army — visible, commanding, unmistakable among thousands.
Translator Notes
Tsach ve-adom ('radiant and ruddy') — tsach means 'dazzling, bright, clear' and adom means 'red, ruddy.' The combination suggests glowing health: bright skin flushed with vitality. Dagul me-revavah ('distinguished/bannered among ten thousand') — like a banner visible above a crowd of ten thousand, he stands out. The wasf begins with the whole before moving to parts.
His head is finest gold,
his locks are wavy clusters,
black as a raven.
KJV His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Ketem paz ('finest gold, pure gold') — his head shines like the highest grade of refined gold. Qevutsotav taltalim ('his locks are clusters/curls') — the hair is thick, wavy, hanging in heavy ringlets. Shechorot ka-orev ('black as a raven') — the contrast between gold head and raven-black hair creates a striking image of brilliance framed by darkness.
His eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
mounted in their settings.
KJV His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The dove metaphor from 1:15 returns, now applied to the man. His eyes are doves beside water (al afiqe mayim — 'beside water channels'), bathed in milk (rochotsot be-chalav — white, glistening), and yoshvot al mille't ('sitting/mounted in their settings,' like gems in a bezel). The image layers: doves by water, washed in white, perfectly set — his eyes are jewels alive with gentle beauty.
His cheeks are like beds of spice,
towers of perfumes.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with liquid myrrh.
KJV His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
His cheeks are arugat ha-bosem ('beds of spice') — the garden metaphor now applies to his face. Migdelot merqachim ('towers of perfumes') — his cheekbones rise like towers from which scent pours. His lips are shoshannim ('lilies') dripping mor over ('liquid myrrh'). When he speaks, when he kisses, myrrh flows. His face is a spice garden; his mouth produces the most precious resin.
His hands are cylinders of gold
set with beryl.
His torso is polished ivory
covered with sapphires.
KJV His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
סַפִּירִיםsappirim
"sapphires"—sapphire, lapis lazuli; a precious blue stone
The Hebrew sappir likely refers to lapis lazuli rather than modern sapphire. Lapis was among the most valued stones in the ancient Near East. Ezekiel 1:26 describes God's throne as sappir. His body shares materials with God's throne-room.
Translator Notes
Yadav gelile zahav ('his hands are gold cylinders') — gelilim are round, cylindrical rods. His fingers are smooth gold tubes set with tarshish (beryl or chrysolite — a yellow-green gem). Me'av eshet shen ('his belly/torso is a plaque of ivory') — his abdomen is smooth, pale, and hard as worked ivory, me'ullefet sappirim ('overlaid with sapphires' — blue lapis lazuli veining beneath the skin). The materials are those of temple furniture and royal vessels.
His legs are marble pillars
set on bases of fine gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
KJV His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Shoqav ammude shesh ('his legs are pillars of marble/alabaster') set on adne paz ('bases of pure gold') — he stands like a temple. Mar'ehu ka-Levanon ('his appearance is like Lebanon') — not a single tree but an entire mountain range: vast, majestic, covered with forests. Bachur ka-arazim ('choice as the cedars') — he is the finest specimen, selected like the best cedar for the temple. His body is architecture, landscape, and forest.
His mouth is sweetness itself,
and all of him is desire.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O Daughters of Jerusalem.
KJV His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
מַחֲמַדִּיםmachamaddim
"desire"—desirable things, precious objects, delights; plural of machmad ('desire, delight')
Machmad is from the root chamad ('to desire, to covet'). The same root appears in the tenth commandment ('you shall not covet'). What the Torah forbids regarding another's possessions, the Song celebrates regarding the beloved: he IS desire, and desiring him is right.
Translator Notes
Chikko mamtaqqim ('his palate/mouth is sweetnesses') — the plural intensifies: not merely sweet but the essence of sweetness. Ve-kullo machamaddim ('and all of him is desires/delights') — machamad is 'that which is desired, a precious thing.' He is not just desirable but the embodiment of desire itself.
The closing declaration zeh dodi ve-zeh re'i ('this is my beloved and this is my friend') answers the daughters' question from verse 9 and reasserts the Song's central insight: the lover is also the friend. Dod (lover) and re'a (friend, companion) are held together. Erotic passion and genuine friendship are not opposed but fused.