Chapter 5
Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.
Just read this chapter →Scripture
KJV1I 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.
2I 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.
3I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
4My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
5I 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.
6I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7The 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.
8I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
9What 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?
10My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
11His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.
12His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.
13His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
14His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
15His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
16His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
“His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
Overview
The beloved comes to his garden, but when the bride delays in opening the door, he departs. She searches for him in the city and is beaten by the watchmen. The daughters of Jerusalem ask what makes her beloved special, and she responds with an exquisite description of his beauty from head to foot, concluding that he is altogether lovely and the chiefest among ten thousand.
Key Themes
The Pain of Delayed Response
The bride's delay in opening the door leads to the beloved's departure and her painful search, illustrating the consequences of neglecting love.
Altogether Lovely
The bride's lavish description of the beloved — 'altogether lovely' and 'the chiefest among ten thousand' — expresses the superlative worth of the one she loves.
Seeking Through Suffering
The bride's search through the city, where she is beaten by the watchmen, shows that pursuing love sometimes involves pain and vulnerability.
Study Questions
What does the bride's delay in opening the door (vv. 2-3) teach about responsiveness in relationships?
How does the suffering the bride endures in her search (v. 7) reflect the cost of love?
What does the description 'he is altogether lovely' (v. 16) express about the beloved?
How might the bride's catalog of the beloved's beauty model adoration and praise?
What does this chapter teach about the consequences of complacency in love?
Connection to Christ
The description of the beloved as 'altogether lovely' and 'the chiefest among ten thousand' (v. 16) has been cherished by Christians as a portrait of Christ in His beauty. He is the one whose worth surpasses all others and in whom all loveliness is found.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Song of Solomon 5. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?