Song of Solomon / Chapter 7

Song of Solomon 7

14 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Chapter 7 (following Hebrew versification, beginning at 7:2 in English Bibles) contains the final and most daring wasf — a foot-to-head praise of the woman's body as she dances. The man describes her feet, thighs, navel, belly, breasts, neck, eyes, nose, and head with increasingly bold imagery. The chapter climaxes with the woman's triumphant declaration: 'I am my beloved's and his desire is upon me' — the final evolution of the mutual-possession formula. She invites him to the countryside, the vineyards, and the fields where she will give him her love.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This wasf reverses the direction of chapter 4: there he began with her head and moved down; here he begins with her feet and moves up. The reversal suggests she is dancing — the observers' eyes naturally move upward from her sandaled feet. The metaphors are also bolder: her navel is a round goblet that never lacks mixed wine, her belly is a heap of wheat fringed with lilies, her breasts are like clusters of grapes he desires to grasp. The woman's declaration in verse 11 (Hebrew) is the Song's theological summit: ani le-dodi ve-alay teshuqato ('I am my beloved's and his desire is upon me'). The word teshuqah ('desire') appears only three times in the Hebrew Bible — here, in Genesis 3:16 (the woman's desire for her husband after the fall), and Genesis 4:7 (sin's desire for Cain). The Song reverses Genesis 3: there, desire was linked to domination; here, desire is mutual and free.

Translation Friction

The boldness of the body imagery has always made commentators uncomfortable. The navel-as-wine-goblet and belly-as-wheat-heap are the Song's most explicitly physical descriptions, and attempts to allegorize them reveal the discomfort more than they resolve it. The Hebrew in verse 1 describes her dancing thighs and the 'curves of her thighs' (chammuqe yerekayikh), which is frank anatomical description. We preserve the text's directness.

Connections

The teshuqah ('desire') in verse 11 explicitly reverses Genesis 3:16, where the same word describes the woman's desire bound to her husband's rule. Here the same desire operates without domination — the fall's distortion of eros is undone. The vineyard and field imagery of verses 12-14 return to the Song's opening themes (1:6, 2:15) and anticipate the final vineyard declaration in 8:12. The mandrakes (duda'im) in verse 14 echo Genesis 30:14-16, where Rachel and Leah negotiate with mandrakes for access to Jacob — an aphrodisiac plant linked to fertility and desire.

Song of Solomon 7:1

מַה־יָּפ֧וּ פְעָמַ֛יִךְ בַּנְּעָלִ֖ים בַּת־נָדִ֑יב חַמּוּקֵ֣י יְרֵכַ֔יִךְ כְּמ֣וֹ חֲלָאִ֔ים מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה יְדֵ֥י אָמָּֽן׃

How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of nobles! The curves of your thighs are like ornaments, the work of a master craftsman.

KJV How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חַמּוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ chammuqe yerekayikh
"curves of your thighs" — curves, roundings, turnings of the thighs/hips; the smooth contours of the upper leg

Chammuqim (from chamaq, 'to turn, to curve') describes the flowing lines of her thighs. The same root appears in 5:6 where the beloved 'turns away.' Here the turning is physical beauty — the curves of a dancing body.

Translator Notes

  1. The wasf begins at the bottom — pe'amayikh ba-ne'alim ('your feet in sandals'). She is dancing, and the observers' eyes start at her moving feet. Bat nadiv ('daughter of a noble/prince') gives her aristocratic status. Chammuqe yerekayikh ('the curves of your thighs') is frank anatomical praise — the smooth, rounded contours of her upper legs are like chala'im ('ornaments'), as finely wrought as a master artisan's work.
Song of Solomon 7:2

שָׁרְרֵךְ֙ אַגַּ֣ן הַסַּ֔הַר אַל־יֶחְסַ֖ר הַמָּ֑זֶג בִּטְנֵךְ֙ עֲרֵמַ֣ת חִטִּ֔ים סוּגָ֖ה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃

Your navel is a rounded goblet — may it never lack mixed wine! Your belly is a mound of wheat fringed with lilies.

KJV Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Shorrerekh aggan ha-sahar ('your navel is a round/crescent goblet') — the comparison to a wine goblet that never runs dry is unmistakably sensual. Bitnekh ('your belly, your womb') is a heap of wheat (the golden-tan color of her skin) surrounded by lilies (shoshannim). The images are of abundance: wine that never empties, grain heaped high, flowers framing everything.
Song of Solomon 7:3

שְׁנֵ֥י שָׁדַ֛יִךְ כִּשְׁנֵ֥י עֳפָרִ֖ים תָּאֳמֵ֥י צְבִיָּֽה׃

Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.

KJV Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Repeated from 4:5 with slight variation — the 'grazing among the lilies' clause is omitted here, focusing purely on the twin fawns. The repetition underscores the permanence of his admiration.
Song of Solomon 7:4

צַוָּארֵ֖ךְ כְּמִגְדַּ֣ל הַשֵּׁ֑ן עֵינַ֗יִךְ בְּרֵכוֹת֙ בְּחֶשְׁבּ֔וֹן עַל־שַׁ֖עַר בַּת־רַבִּ֑ים אַפֵּ֕ךְ כְּמִגְדַּ֥ל הַלְּבָנ֖וֹן צוֹפֶ֥ה פְּנֵ֥י דַמָּֽשֶׂק׃

Your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon beside the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon facing toward Damascus.

KJV Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

בְּרֵכוֹת berekhot
"pools" — pools, reservoirs, fishponds; calm collected water

The pools of Heshbon were famous in antiquity. Comparing her eyes to still, deep pools emphasizes depth, clarity, and calm beauty — water you can see into and lose yourself in.

Translator Notes

  1. The neck moves from 'Tower of David' (4:4) to 'tower of ivory' (migdal ha-shen) — smooth, pale, and precious. Her eyes are berechot be-Cheshbon ('pools in Heshbon') — the still, deep pools near an ancient Transjordanian city. Her nose is ka-migdal ha-Levanon ('like the tower of Lebanon facing Damascus') — a watchtower on the heights, commanding and dignified.
Song of Solomon 7:5

רֹאשֵׁ֤ךְ עָלַ֙יִךְ֙ כַּכַּרְמֶ֔ל וְדַלַּ֥ת רֹאשֵׁ֖ךְ כָּאַרְגָּמָ֑ן מֶ֖לֶךְ אָס֥וּר בָּרְהָטִֽים׃

Your head crowns you like Carmel, and the flowing hair of your head is like purple — a king is held captive in the tresses!

KJV Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Her head is like Carmel — the great headland jutting into the Mediterranean, majestic and commanding. Her flowing hair (dallat roshekh) is like argaman ('purple') — the royal color. Then the astonishing conclusion: melekh asur ba-rehatim ('a king is captured/bound in the tresses'). Her hair is a trap that snares kings. His whole wasf concludes with his own captivity — he, the king, is a prisoner of her beauty.
Song of Solomon 7:6

מַה־יָּפִ֖ית וּמַה־נָּעַ֑מְתְּ אַהֲבָ֖ה בַּתַּעֲנוּגֽוֹת׃

How beautiful you are, how delightful — O love, among pleasures!

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Mah yafit u-mah na'amt ('how beautiful you are and how pleasant') — the superlatives overflow. Ahavah ba-ta'anugot ('love among delights/pleasures') addresses her not by name but as ahavah itself — she IS love, embodied.
Song of Solomon 7:7

זֹ֤את קוֹמָתֵךְ֙ דָּֽמְתָ֣ה לְתָמָ֔ר וְשָׁדַ֖יִךְ לְאַשְׁכֹּלֽוֹת׃

Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts like clusters of fruit.

KJV This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Qomatekh damtah le-tamar ('your height is like a palm tree') — the date palm is tall, straight, graceful, and fruitful. Her breasts are now compared to eshkolot ('clusters') — date clusters or grape clusters hanging from the palm. The shift from fawns to fruit clusters prepares for his intention in the next verse.
Song of Solomon 7:8

אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ אֶעֱלֶ֣ה בְתָמָ֔ר אֹֽחֲזָ֖ה בְּסַנְסִנָּ֑יו וְיִֽהְיוּ־נָ֤א שָׁדַ֙יִךְ֙ כְּאֶשְׁכְּל֣וֹת הַגֶּ֔פֶן וְרֵ֥יחַ אַפֵּ֖ךְ כַּתַּפּוּחִֽים׃

I said: 'I will climb the palm tree, I will seize its branches!' Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples,

KJV I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Amarti e'eleh ve-tamar ('I said, I will climb the palm tree') — he will ascend her body as one climbs a date palm to harvest fruit. Ochazah be-sansinnav ('I will seize its branches/fronds') — achaz ('to seize') is the same verb the woman used in 3:4 when she seized her beloved. Now he seizes her. The climbing and grasping are explicitly sexual.
Song of Solomon 7:9

וְחִכֵּ֕ךְ כְּיֵ֥ין הַטּ֛וֹב הוֹלֵ֥ךְ לְדוֹדִ֖י לְמֵישָׁרִ֑ים דּוֹבֵ֖ב שִׂפְתֵ֥י יְשֵׁנִֽים׃

and your mouth like the finest wine — flowing smoothly for my beloved, gliding over the lips of sleepers.

KJV And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Ve-chikkekh ke-yen ha-tov ('and your palate/mouth like the best wine') — her kisses intoxicate like the choicest vintage. The wine 'goes for my beloved smoothly' (holekh le-dodi le-mesharim) — the woman takes over mid-verse, speaking of 'my beloved.' The final image — dovev siftey yeshenim ('causing the lips of sleepers to murmur') — suggests wine so potent it makes even sleeping people speak, or kisses that penetrate even sleep.
Song of Solomon 7:10

אֲנִ֣י לְדוֹדִ֔י וְעָלַ֖י תְּשׁוּקָתֽוֹ׃

I belong to my beloved, and his desire is toward me.

KJV I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

תְּשׁוּקָה teshuqah
"desire" — desire, longing, craving; an overwhelming pull toward another

Teshuqah appears only in Genesis 3:16, 4:7, and here. Its rarity makes each occurrence significant. In Genesis, desire is entangled with sin and domination. In the Song, desire is liberated — it flows freely between lovers without power distortion.

Translator Notes

  1. The teshuqah wordplay with Genesis 3:16 is almost certainly deliberate. The Song presents itself as Eden restored — a garden where desire operates without shame, domination, or curse. His desire is upon her as gravity is upon the earth: natural, constant, joyful.
Song of Solomon 7:11

לְכָ֤ה דוֹדִי֙ נֵצֵ֣א הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה נָלִ֖ינָה בַּכְּפָרִֽים׃

Come, my beloved, let us go out to the field, let us spend the night among the henna blossoms.

KJV Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. She takes the initiative: lekhah dodi ('come, my beloved'). She invites him out of the city, into the sadeh ('field, countryside'). Nalinah ba-kefarim can mean 'let us lodge in the villages' or 'let us spend the night among the henna blossoms' (kofer/kefer). The henna reading connects to 1:14 and the Song's fragrance imagery.
Song of Solomon 7:12

נַשְׁכִּ֙ימָה֙ לַכְּרָמִ֔ים נִרְאֶ֞ה אִם פָּרְחָ֤ה הַגֶּ֙פֶן֙ פִּתַּ֣ח הַסְּמָדַ֔ר הֵנֵ֖צוּ הָרִמּוֹנִ֑ים שָׁ֛ם אֶתֵּ֥ן אֶת־דֹּדַ֖י לָֽךְ׃

Let us rise early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine has blossomed, if the grape blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in flower. There I will give you my love.

KJV Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The vineyard inspection from 6:11 returns, but now with an explicit purpose: sham etten et doday lakh ('there I will give you my lovemaking'). The vineyard that was 'mine' in 1:6 — the one she had not tended — is now the site of deliberate, chosen lovegiving. She will give him her dodim in the place where love and nature merge.
Song of Solomon 7:13

הַדּוּדָאִ֣ים נָֽתְנוּ־רֵ֗יחַ וְעַל־פְּתָחֵ֙ינוּ֙ כָּל־מְגָדִ֔ים חֲדָשִׁ֖ים גַּם־יְשָׁנִ֑ים דּוֹדִ֖י צָפַ֥נְתִּי לָֽךְ׃

The mandrakes give off their fragrance, and at our doors are all choice fruits, new and old — my beloved, I have stored them up for you.

KJV The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

דּוּדָאִים duda'im
"mandrakes" — mandrake plant (Mandragora officinarum); an aphrodisiac and fertility aid

Duda'im shares a root with dodim ('lovemaking') and dod ('beloved'). The plant was widely believed to promote fertility and desire. Its appearance here saturates the scene with erotic intention.

Translator Notes

  1. Duda'im ('mandrakes') are an aphrodisiac plant with a long history in love magic (Genesis 30:14-16). Their fragrance announces sexual readiness. At 'our doors' (petachenu) — the shared threshold — are kol megadim ('all choice fruits'), both new and old. She has been saving pleasures for him: chadashim gam yeshanim ('new and also old') — fresh experiences and familiar delights.
Song of Solomon 7:14

מִ֤י יִתֶּנְךָ֙ כְּאָ֣ח לִ֔י יוֹנֵ֖ק שְׁדֵ֣י אִמִּ֑י אֶֽמְצָאֲךָ֤ בַחוּץ֙ אֶשָּׁ֣קְךָ֔ גַּ֖ם לֹא־יָב֥וּזוּ לִֽי׃

If only you were like a brother to me, one who nursed at my mother's breasts! If I found you outside I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.

KJV O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Mi yitenkha ke-ach li ('who would make you like a brother to me') — she wishes for the social freedom that siblings enjoy. In the ancient Near East, a sister could kiss her brother publicly without scandal. She wants to express her love openly, without social punishment. The verse exposes the constraint she lives under: their love, though right and mutual, is judged by the world outside.
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