Description of the male lover (Song 5:10-5:16)

Female lover

“My beloved is all radiant.

He is ruddy.

He is distinguished among ten thousand.

His head is the finest gold.

His locks are wavy.

His locks are black as a raven.

His eyes are like doves,

Beside springs of water,

Bathed in milk,

Fitly set.

His cheeks are like beds of spices,

Yielding fragrance.

His lips are lilies,

Distilling liquid myrrh.

His arms are rounded gold,

Set with jewels.

His body is an ivory work,

Encrusted with sapphires.

His legs are alabaster columns,

Set upon bases of gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon,

Choice as the cedars.

His speech is most sweet.

He is altogether desirable.

This is my beloved.

This is my friend.

O daughters of Jerusalem!”

This female lover responded to the daughters of Jerusalem. She explains why her male lover is so special with a long description of him. First of all, he is radiant and ruddy. What does that mean? He is a glowing happy guy with a healthy reddish complexion. He is one in 10,000. He has a golden head with black wavy hair. His eyes are like clean white doves perfectly set in his head. His cheeks are like fragrant spices. His lips are like lilies spreading liquid myrrh. His arms are like rounded gold with jewels set in them. His body is like ivory with sapphires. His legs are like alabaster columns with golden bases as feet. He appears to be like a Lebanon cedar tree. His speech is sweet. He is quite a guy, altogether desirable. He is her beloved and her friend. That is some great description of the perfect man.

Spring visit (Song 2:8-2:9)

Female lover

“The voice of my beloved!

Look!

He comes

Leaping upon the mountains,

Bounding over the hills.

My beloved is

Like a gazelle,

Like a young stag.

Look!

There he stands

Behind our wall,

Gazing in at the windows,

Looking through the lattice.”

This female lover cries out that her beloved has come leaping over the mountains and bounding over hills, like a super hero. Her beloved is like a gazelle or antelope. He is like a young deer, a young stag. Suddenly he is behind the wall, gazing in at her window through the lattice, like our venetian blinds. This young stud has come to pay a visit, but stands outside peeking in, like a peeping Tom.