The women of Jerusalem ask the young yearning lover-woman what’s so special about her lover, and she answers with a listing of his attributes:
\nHere’s what she likes — and these might not be what women today like most about their lovers or what men like to be loved for, but they are hers and it is her delights that concern us in this post. And what maybe will surprise is how her delights are shaped by his physical body. There is nothing here about how smart he is, or how much money he can bring home, or how much reputation he brings to the family and to her, or how he makes her feel — instead, she loves his body. The little rumor that ancient Jewish women kept to themselves, kept quiet, and kept their feelings to themselves is blown out of the water by this woman’s aesthetic but clearly erotic description of how she just is love-drunk over her lover’s body.
\nFrom head to legs, and then back to his speech, she scans her man’s body. And she does so publicly — for the women of Jerusalem.
\nHis skin glows:
\n5:10 My beloved is all radiant and ruddy,
\ndistinguished among ten thousand.
\nHis head is elegant:
\n11 \tHis head is the finest gold;
\nhis locks are wavy,
\nblack as a raven.
\nHis eyes are firm:
\n12 \tHis eyes are like doves
\nbeside springs of water,
\nbathed in milk,
\nfitly set.
\nHis cheeks are fragrant:
\n13 \tHis cheeks are like beds of spices,
\nyielding fragrance.
\nHis lips are sensually moist:
\nHis lips are lilies,
\ndistilling liquid myrrh.
\nHis arms are muscular:
\n14 \tHis arms are rounded gold,
\nset with jewels.
\nHis body is chiseled:
\nHis body is ivory work,
\nencrusted with sapphires.
\nHis legs are solid:
\n15 \tHis legs are alabaster columns,
\nset upon bases of gold.
\nHis entire appearance is regal:
\nHis appearance is like Lebanon,
\nchoice as the cedars.
\nHis kiss is sweet:
\n16 \tHis speech [mouth, in the sense of kissing probably] is most sweet,
\nOverall, he’s desirable:
\nand he is altogether desirable.
\n“You ask me why I love him? That’s the sum of it. And he’s mine.”
\nThis is my beloved and this is my friend,
\nO daughters of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The women of Jerusalem ask the young yearning lover-woman what’s so special about her lover, and she answers with a listing of his attributes:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-love-and-marriage"],"yoast_head":"\n