Song of Songs 5:4

Song of Songs 5:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
• New International Version (NIV)My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me.
• New King James Version (NKJV)My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him.

Context of Song of Songs 5:4

2I slept but my mind was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking on my door! He said, ‘Open the door for me, my dear friend. You are my sister, the perfect one that I love. To me you are like a beautiful dove. Dew from the night air covers my head. My hair is very wet.’ 3I said, ‘I have taken off my day clothes. I do not want to dress myself again. I have washed my feet. I do not want them to get dirty again.’ My lover pushed his hand through the hole in the door. My heart began to beat faster because he was near. 5I got up to open the door for my lover. My hands were wet with myrrh. Myrrh dropped from my fingers onto the handle of the door. 6I opened the door for my lover. But he had already turned away. He had gone! I was very upset that he had gone away. I looked for him but I did not find him. I called to him but he did not answer me.

Song of Songs 5:4 word by word

דּוֹדִ֗י שָׁלַ֤ח יָדוֹ֙ מִן־הַחֹ֔ר וּמֵעַ֖י הָמ֥וּ עָלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• My belovedדּוֹדdôd dôd · belovedH1730
• put inשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: reachH7971
• his handיָדyâd · handH3027
• byמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• the holeחֹרchôr chôr · holeH2356
• and my bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
• were movedהָמָהhâmâh · to roarH1993

Commentaries on Song of Songs 5:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4My beloved put in his hand - If it were a real scene, which is mentioned in this and the two following verses, it must refer, from the well-known use of the metaphors, to matrimonial endearments. Or, it may refer to his attempts to open the door, when she hesitated to arise, on the grounds mentioned Song of Solomon 5:3. But this also bears every evidence of a dream.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2-8Verses 2-8 Churches and believers, by carelessness and security, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to notice our spiritual slumbers and distempers. Christ knocks to awaken us, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our consciences; thus, Rev. 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, still he thinks of us. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most self-denying instances; and we only can be gainers by it. Careless…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-6My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him: The man keeps trying to excite the woman, and she eventually responds positively. However, by the time she responds, he has either given up or become busy with something else. This is a strong poetic image of the challenges two lovers face in becoming intimate with each other.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. A key in the East is usually a piece of wood with pegs in it corresponding to small holes in a wooden bolt within, and is put through a hole in the door, and thus draws the bolt. So Jesus Christ "puts forth His hand (namely, His Spirit, Eze 3:14), by (Hebrew, 'from,' so in So 2:9) the hole"; in "chastening" (Psa 38:2; Re 3:14-22, singularly similar to this passage), and other unexpected ways letting Himself in (Lu 22:61, 62). bowels ... moved for…Read the comment
• Rashi on Tanakh · v. 4My beloved stretched forth his hand from the hole which is beside the door, and I saw his hand, and the stirring of my insides turned within me to return to his love and to open for him.Read the comment

Topics related to Song of Songs 5:4

• Bowels

In the dictionaries

• Answer

Commentaries on Song of Songs 5

• 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