New English Translation
Song of Songs 4:1
11Oh, you are beautiful, my darling! Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves. Your hair is like a flock of female goats descending from Mount Gilead.
Song of Songs 4:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.
- New International Version (NIV)How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead.
Context of Song of Songs 4:1
Oh, you are beautiful, my darling! Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves. Your hair is like a flock of female goats descending from Mount Gilead. 2Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep coming up from the washing place; each of them has a twin, and not one of them is missing. 3Your lips are like a scarlet thread; your mouth is lovely. Your forehead behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate.
Read all of Song of Songs 4Song of Songs 4:1 word by word
הִנָּ֨ךְ יָפָ֤ה רַעְיָתִי֙ הִנָּ֣ךְ יָפָ֔ה עֵינַ֣יִךְ יוֹנִ֔ים מִבַּ֖עַד לְצַמָּתֵ֑ךְ שַׂעְרֵךְ֙ כְּעֵ֣דֶר הָֽעִזִּ֔ים שֶׁגָּלְשׁ֖וּ מֵהַ֥ר גִּלְעָֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- fairיָפֶהyâpheh · beautifulH3303
- my loveרַעְיָהra‛yâh · darlingH7474
- doves’יוֹנָהyônâh · doveH3123
- eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- withinבַּ֫עַדbe‛ad · about/through/forH1157
- thy locksצַמָּהtsammâh · veilH6777
- thy hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
- as a flockעֵ֫דֶר‛êder · flockH5739
- of goatsעֵז‛êz · goatH5795
- that appearגָּלַשׁgâlash · to step downH1570
- from mountהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
- Gileadגִּלְעָדgil‛âd · GileadH1568
Commentaries on Song of Songs 4:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks - Perhaps this refers rather to a sort of veil worn by many of the Eastern women, but especially in Egypt. It is a species of black cloth made of the hair of some animal, probably the black goat; is suspended from the head by silken cords, one of which comes from the crown of the head, down the forehead, to the upper part of the nose, just under the eyes, at which place the veil begins; for the forehead and the eyes…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Christ sets forth the graces of the church. (Song 4:1-7) Christ's love to the church. (Song 4:8-15) The church desires further influences of Divine grace. (Song 4:16) Verses 1-7 If each of these comparisons has a meaning applicable to the graces of the church, or of the faithful Christian, they are not clearly known; and great mistakes are made by fanciful guesses. The mountain of myrrh appears to mean the mountain Moriah, on which the temple was built…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1my darling (literally companion): The man is about to express his love with someone who is both his friend and lover (see also Song of Solomon 4:7). like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead: Middle Eastern goats are very dark, often black. The woman's hair flows over and down her lighter veil.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-16So 4:1-16. 1. Contrast with the bride's state by nature (Is 1:6) her state by grace (So 4:1-7), "perfect through His comeliness put upon her" (Eze 16:14; Joh 15:3). The praise of Jesus Christ, unlike that of the world, hurts not, but edifies; as His, not ours, is the glory (Joh 5:44; Re 4:10, 11). Seven features of beauty are specified (So 4:1-5) ("lips" and "speech" are but one feature, So 4:3), the number for perfection. To each of these is attached a…Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 1Behold, you are fair, my beloved He praised them and appeased them, and their sacrifices pleased Him.Read the comment
Topics related to Song of Songs 4:1
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Song of Songs 4:1 Song 4:1-7 is often compared to ancient Near Eastern wasfs songs sung by the groom to his new bride, praising her beauty from head to foot. Examples have been found in Egyptian, Syrian, Sumerian, and Arabic love literature. The wasfs song is a poetic celebration by the groom of his bride’s physical beauty. The typical form has three parts: (1) introductory words by the wedding guests, (2) invitation by the bride to the groom to celebrate her physical beauty, and (3) the groom’s poetic comparative praise of his bride’s beauty from head to foot – comprising the bulk of the song. The groom’s praise typically is characterized by three movements: (1) introductory summary praise of his bride’s beauty, (2) lengthy and detailed figurative description of her physical beauty, and (3) concluding summary praise which reiterates the introductory words of the song. Although the introductory words of the wedding guests and the invitation by the bride are absent, the form of the Lover’s praise of his bride is identical, as are the types of comparative praise. His song falls into the same three movements: (1) introductory summary praise of his bride’s beauty in 4:1a, (2) lengthy and detailed figurative description of her beauty in 4:1b-6, and (3) concluding summary praise in 4:7. See K&D 18:174-76; S. Krauss, “The Archaeological Background of Some Passages in the Song of Songs,” JQR 32 (1941-42): 125. ↩
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries