Song of Songs 4:2

Song of Songs 4:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.
• New International Version (NIV)Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost its young.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep Which have come up from the washing, Every one of which bears twins, And none is barren among them.

Context of Song of Songs 4:2

1“How fair and beautiful you are, my darling, How very beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like those of a dove; Your hair is like [the shimmering black fleece of] a flock of [Arabian] goats That have descended from Mount Gilead [beyond the Jordan]. Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes Which have come up from washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young. 3Your lips are like a ribbon of scarlet, And your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a slice of the pomegranate Behind your veil. 4Your neck is like the tower of David, Built with rows of [glistening] stones, Whereon hang a thousand shields, All of them shields of warriors.

Song of Songs 4:2 word by word

שִׁנַּ֙יִךְ֙ כְּעֵ֣דֶר הַקְּצוּב֔וֹת שֶׁעָל֖וּ מִן־הָרַחְצָ֑ה שֶׁכֻּלָּם֙ מַתְאִימ֔וֹת וְשַׁכֻּלָ֖ה אֵ֥ין בָּהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thy teethשֵׁןshên · toothH8127
• like a flockעֵ֫דֶר‛êder · flockH5739
• shornקָצַבqâtsab · to shearH7094
• which came upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• from the washingרַחְצָהrachtsâh · washingH7367
• whereof every one bear twinsתָּאַםtâ'am · be doubleH8382
• barrenשַׁכּוּלshakkûl shakkûl · childlessH7909

Commentaries on Song of Songs 4:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Thy teeth are like a flock - This comparison appears to be founded on the evenness, neatness, and whiteness of the newly shorn and newly washed sheep.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2each has its twin, and not one of them is lost: Her teeth are complete and symmetrical. In a time when dental care was not advanced, a woman with all her teeth was very special!Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. even shorn--the Hebrew is translated (1Ki 6:25), "of one size"; so the point of comparison to teeth is their symmetry of form; as in "came up from the washing," the spotless whiteness; and in "twins," the exact correspondence of the upper and lower teeth: and in "none barren," none wanting, none without its fellow. Faith is the tooth with which we eat the living bread (Joh 6:35, 54). Contrast the teeth of sinners (Psa 57:4; Pr 30:14); also their end…Read the comment
• Rashi on Tanakh · v. 2Your teeth are like a flock of uniformly shaped [ewes] This praise too is in terms of a woman’s beauty.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Barren; Barrenness
• Ethics of Jesus
• Pair

Commentaries on Song of Songs 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary