Song of Solomon · chapter 5 of 8
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Song of Solomon 5 begins with the man's answer to the invitation of the previous chapter: he has come to his garden. The woman then tells of a night scene: he knocks at the door, she delays opening and he has gone; she searches the city and the watchmen mistreat her. The daughters of Jerusalem ask what is special about her beloved, and she describes him with pride.
Song of Solomon 5 joins the fullness of love with its fragility. After the garden of chapter 4, the poem shows a moment of carelessness and distance: the woman, half asleep, is slow to answer his call. What follows teaches that love requires attention, and that longing and searching are part of the relationship.
The man answers the woman's invitation: he has come to his garden, my sister, my bride; he has gathered his myrrh with his spice, eaten his honeycomb with his honey and drunk his wine with his milk (v. 1). A voice says: eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love. Some attribute this invitation to the poet and others to the friends at the wedding.
The woman tells that she was sleeping, but her heart was awake. She heard the voice of her beloved knocking: open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is wet with dew (v. 2). She answered with excuses: she had put off her garment and washed her feet (v. 3). The man put his hand through the latch opening, and her heart was thrilled within her (v. 4). She rose to open to him, and her hands dripped with myrrh on the handles of the bolt (v. 5). But her beloved had turned and gone; her soul failed when he spoke, she sought him and did not find him, she called him and he gave no answer (v. 6). The watchmen found her as they went about the city, they beat her, they bruised her and they took away her veil (v. 7). She charges the daughters of Jerusalem that, if they find her beloved, they tell him she is sick with love (v. 8).
The daughters of Jerusalem ask what her beloved is more than another beloved, that she should charge them so (v. 9). She describes him: radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand (v. 10); his head is the finest gold, his eyes like doves beside streams of water, his cheeks like beds of spices, his lips like lilies dripping liquid myrrh, his arms rods of gold, his body polished ivory and his legs alabaster columns (vv. 11-15). His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem (v. 16).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The woman was sleeping, but her heart was awake, and she heard her beloved knocking at the door. The scene speaks of a love that stays awake even in tiredness, and of an invitation repeated with tenderness.
She opened to her beloved, but he had turned and gone, and she sought him without finding him. The poem acknowledges that there are moments of delay and distance, and that a late answer has its cost.
If they find her beloved, they are to tell him she is sick with love. Her request is simple and sincere, and shows that her desire to be together again is stronger than her pride or her pain.
This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. After describing him, the woman sums him up in two words, beloved and friend, because the love of the poem joins passion with friendship.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: She was sleeping, but her heart was awake. — Song of Solomon 5:2
Answer: That she had put off her garment and washed her feet. — Song of Solomon 5:3
Answer: Her beloved had turned and gone. — Song of Solomon 5:6
Answer: They beat her, bruised her and took away her veil. — Song of Solomon 5:7
Answer: That she is sick with love. — Song of Solomon 5:8
Answer: This is my beloved and this is my friend. — Song of Solomon 5:16
Song of Solomon 5 reminds us that relationships need attention in small moments. The woman is slow to answer and pays the cost of the delay. In a group of married couples you can talk about when we have put off an important response for the sake of comfort, and how to repair it.
It also shows searching as part of a relationship. Those who feel distance from God or from someone dear can search honestly, without hiding the pain. And the closing description teaches us to say with gratitude what we value in the person we love.
Song of Solomon 5 shows the fragility of love and also the woman's pride in her beloved. Chapter 6 continues with the answer to the daughters of Jerusalem's question: he has gone down to his garden.
The scene is hard: the watchmen beat her and take her veil. The text does not explain why, and so many think it is a dream or a poetic scene. Its function is to show how far the woman's search goes and the cost of distance.
The text does not identify them. They may be the wedding guests or a chorus celebrating the couple's love. The invitation to eat and drink expresses shared joy; some readers see here a voice that crowns the garden scene, and others a call from God to enjoy love within marriage.