Male lover
“How fair you are!
How pleasant you are!
O loved one!
Delectable maiden!
You are stately as a palm tree.
Your breasts are like its clusters.
I say
I will climb the palm tree.
I will lay hold of its branches.
O may your breasts be
Like clusters of the vine!
The scent of your breath is like apples.
Your kisses are
Like the best wine
That goes down smoothly.
They glide over my lips and teeth.”
What has been the effect of this female lover on the male lover? We find that he saw her as fair, pleasant, and delectable. She appeared stately as a palm tree. Then he went into an elaborate description of her breasts that were like clusters of a palm tree, not like gazelles or fawns. He wanted to climb this palm tree and grab hold of its branches, her breasts. He wanted her breasts to be like clusters in a vineyard. Then he went on to talk about her apple scented breath. He proclaimed that her kisses were sweeter than wine. They were in fact the best wine that went done smoothly over his lips and teeth. Certainly this was a vivid graphic description of how he perceived his lover.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 