Song of Solomon 7:1

THE KING RENEWS HIS FLATTERING APPEAL

Song of Solomon 7:1-9

"How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince's daughter!

Thy rounded thighs are like jewels,

The work of the hands of a skillful workman.

Thy body is like a round goblet,

Wherein no mingled wine is wanting:

Thy waist is like a heap of wheat

Set about with lilies.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns, that are twins of a roe.

Thy neck is like the tower of ivory;

Thine eyes as the pools in Heshbon,

By the gate of Bath-rabbim:

Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon

Which looketh toward Damascus.

Thy head upon thee is like Carmel,

And the hair of thy head like purple;

The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.

How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

This thy stature is like a palm tree,

And thy breasts to its clusters.

I said, I will climb up into the palm tree,

I will take hold of the branches thereof:

Let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine,

And the smell of thy breath like apples,

And thy mouth like the best wine,

(That goeth down smoothly for my beloved,

Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep)".[1]

(As in RSV) And your kisses like the best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding over lips and teeth."

Once more we have Solomon's flattery, but there can be little wonder why the maiden rejected it. As plainly evident in what he said, he looked upon her, as he looked upon every woman, as something to be eaten or consumed, simply a means of satisfying his appetite (lust). He saw her body as a goblet of mixed wine (Song of Solomon 7:2), her breasts as clusters of dates in the palm tree (Song of Solomon 7:7), like clusters of grapes (Song of Solomon 7:7). Her breath smelled like apples (Song of Solomon 7:7), and her kisses were like wine. All of this says in tones of thunder: "You look delicious, and I'm ready to eat you!"

Delitzsch and other scholars attribute the first part of this paragraph (Song of Solomon 7:1-5) to the women of the king's harem who are praising the maiden's beauty. This theory is based upon the alleged mutual love and admiration among the women of the harem; and we reject it, because it is contrary to human nature and is absolutely unsupported by anything in the Bible. The attitude which is characteristic of women involved in a polygamous situation is represented by the hatred of Sarah for Hagar, and that of Penninah toward Hannah (1 Samuel 1:1-6).

"The king is held captive in the tresses (of her hair)" (Song of Solomon 7:5). The use of the third person here is not a denial that the king is the speaker. Monarchs frequently spoke of themselves in the third person.

Whatever may be correct regarding the first five verses here, Song of Solomon 7:6-9 were very probably the words of the king, making his last attempt to win over the Shulamite; but it was of no avail."[2]