Song of Solomon · chapter 7 of 8
Updated on
Song of Solomon 7 contains the man's last great praise of his beloved, running from her feet to her head with images of jewels, pools, towers and palm trees. She answers that she is her beloved's and that his desire is for her, and she invites him to go out to the fields, to spend the night in the villages and to see the vineyards, where she will give him her love.
Song of Solomon 7 follows the dialogue of chapter 6. In the numbering used in most English Bibles, verses 1 to 9 are a description of the woman's body, which begins at the feet and ends at the head, the reverse of chapter 4. Then she answers, and the poem moves from the palace to open country, where her initiative invites mutual self-giving.
The man praises the Shulammite from feet to head. How beautiful are her feet in sandals, O noble daughter; her rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand (v. 1). Her navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine, her belly a heap of wheat encircled with lilies (v. 2). Her breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle (v. 3). Her neck is like an ivory tower, her eyes like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim, her nose like a tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus (v. 4). Her head crowns her like Carmel, and her flowing locks are like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses (v. 5).
The man says how beautiful and pleasant she is, O loved one, with all her delights (v. 6). Her stature is like a palm tree, and her breasts are like its clusters (v. 7). He says he will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit; her breasts will be like clusters of the vine, the scent of her breath like apples and her mouth like the best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding over lips and teeth (vv. 8-9).
The woman answers, breaking in: I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me (v. 10). She invites him: come, my beloved, let us go out into the fields and lodge in the villages (v. 11). Let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the blossom has opened and whether the pomegranates are in bloom; there I will give you my love (v. 12). The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and beside our doors are all choice fruits, new as well as old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved (v. 13).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The woman's head crowns her like Carmel, and a king is held captive in the tresses of her hair. The image shows the woman's dignity: love makes her powerful in the eyes of the one who admires her.
How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights. The man sums up his admiration in an exclamation; the word delight accompanies this scene and shows that the poem sees the pleasure of love as a good gift.
I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me. It is the third declaration of belonging in the poem, and this time the woman adds that he desires her, a phrase that may contrast with the curse of Genesis 3:16 and show a love restored.
The woman invites her beloved to go out to the fields, to lodge in the villages and to go to the vineyards, where she will give him her love. Now she takes the initiative, and love is lived in freedom and in the midst of creation.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Noble daughter, or daughter of a prince. — Song of Solomon 7:1
Answer: The pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. — Song of Solomon 7:4
Answer: Mount Carmel. — Song of Solomon 7:5
Answer: A palm tree. — Song of Solomon 7:7
Answer: That she is her beloved's and his desire is for her. — Song of Solomon 7:10
Answer: To the fields, to lodge in the villages and to go early to the vineyards. — Song of Solomon 7:11-12
Song of Solomon 7 celebrates the delight of love within marriage with words that do not shame. In a group of married couples you can talk about how to keep affection and admiration alive over the years, and how the church can teach young people to see the body and love as a gift and not a taboo or a tool.
The woman also takes the initiative and expresses her desire freely. The poem shows a relationship of mutual self-giving, without one dominating the other, and that is valuable guidance for men and women.
Song of Solomon 7 closes with the woman's invitation to the fields and vineyards, where they give themselves to each other. Chapter 8 concludes the poem with love as strong as death, the seal on the heart and the woman's last invitation.
In the Hebrew Bible the verse that is 6:13 in many translations appears as 7:1, so the numbering shifts by one verse in chapter 7. This page follows the numbering of English versions, and the contents are the same.
They are ancient love poetry, using images of landscape, architecture and fruit to express admiration and delight. They are best read as the language of affection within marriage, not as a literal description. Jewish and Christian tradition has treated the text with respect, without avoiding its character as a song of human love.