Song of Solomon 4:11
in Song of Solomon 4Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness like the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the aroma of Lebanon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy lips, O my bride, drop as the honeycomb: Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
KJV
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 4
Commentary
19 notes on this verseThy lips - drop as the honey-comb - Thy words are as delicious to my heart as the first droppings of the honey-comb are to the palate. Honey and milk are under thy tongue - Eloquence and persuasive speech were compared among the ancients to honey and milk. Thus Homer, Iliad, lib. i., ver. 247: - Τοισι δε Νεστωρ Ηδυεπης ανορουσε, λιγυς Πυλιων αγορητης. Του και απο γλωσσης μελιτος γλυκιων ῥεεν αυδη. Experienced Nestor, in persuasion skill’d, Words sweet as honey from his lips distill’d. But the figure is common to all writers and languages.
This site's exposition
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride
on Song of Solomon 4:9-11
The double name "my sister, my bride" joins the lasting bond of kin to the chosen bond of marriage. One glance and one ornament are enough: "you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck". He returns her praise of 1:2.
This site's exposition
honey and milk are under your tongue
Adam Clarke read the honey as her speech, since the ancients compared persuasive words to honey and milk. Homer described Nestor's words the same way. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown noted that garments were often perfumed in the East, as Psalm 45:8 shows.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"Your lips distill a honeycomb, bride; honey and milk are under your tongue." Here it refers to the teachers of the church, offering religious teaching and, as it were, carrying honeycomb of bees on its lips, and distilling drops of honey, containing not only honey …
"Fragrance of your garments like the fragrance of frankincense." We said before that the bridegroom himself became her garment, and blessed Paul confirms it in the words, "All of you who were baptized into Christ put on Christ." Now, the bridegroom is both God eternal …
Christ, then, feeds his church with these sacraments, by means of which the substance of the soul is strengthened, and seeing the continual progress of her grace, he rightly says to her, "How comely are your breasts, my sister, my spouse, how comely they are made by wine, and the smell of your garments is above all spices. A dropping honeycomb are your lips, my spouse, honey and milk are under your tongue, and the smell of your garments is as the smell of Lebanon. A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed."
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Sacred Scripture is a tongue, hence: "Sweetmeats and milk are under your tongue." This tongue enjoys the taste of food, wherefore these same Scriptures are compared to loaves of bread that nourish and are pleasant to the taste.
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 4 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
The preachers of the Church are rightly said to be the lips of the bride, because through them she speaks to the peoples, and through them the little ones are instructed in the faith, since through them the hidden things of divine Scripture, as if …
11 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church4 voices
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 4 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
To whom it is well said: "And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of frankincense." What is designated by these garments, if not holy works, by which the shame of preceding evils is covered, lest it be seen? For hence it is …
Honey and milk are under your tongue. In milk is the instruction of the little ones, in honey the doctrine suited for those who are more advanced is signified. The Apostle teaches about milk, when, reproaching some who had fallen from the faith, he says: …
A dripping honeycomb, your lips, bride. A honeycomb is honey in the wax; but honey in the wax is the spiritual sense of divine words in the letter, which is rightly called a dripping honeycomb: for a honeycomb drips when it has more honey than …
And the scent of your garments, etc. The garments of the Church are its works, as attested by John, who speaking of her future blessedness, says: "The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready, and it was granted to …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
10 ), what we say to him in prayer and praise shall also be pleasing to him: Sweet is thy voice. And if out of a good treasure in the heart we bring forth good things, if our speech be always with grace, if our lips use knowledge aright, if they disperse knowledge, they then, in Christ's account, even drop the honeycomb, out-drop it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Thy lips - Thy speeches both to me in prayer and praises, and to men for their edification, are highly acceptable to me. Milk - Words more sweet and comfortable than honey or milk. Garments - Of that righteousness wherewith I have adorned thee.
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb,....
She ascribes all she had that was valuable in her to him, and depends upon the continued influence of his grace to make her more and more acceptable to him,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Contrast Mt 27:44 with Lu 23:39, &c. It was literally with "one" eye, a sidelong glance of love "better than wine," that he refreshed Jesus Christ (So 4:9, 10). "To-day shalt thou be with Me (compare So 4:8) in Paradise" (So 4:12), is the only joyous sentence of His seven utterances on the cross. smell of . . . garments--which are often perfumed in the East (Ps 45:8).
I SHALL NOT, this evening, attempt to prove that the Song of Solomon has a spiritual meaning. I am sure it has. It has been frequently said, and, I believe, has commonly been thought, that this song was originally written by Solomon upon his marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter. Now I am as sure as I am of my own existence, that this is one of the grossest mistakes that ever was committed. There is nothing about Pharaoh’s daughter in it.
I SHALL NOT, this evening, attempt to prove that the Song of Solomon has a spiritual meaning. I am sure it has. It has been frequently said, and, I believe, has commonly been thought, that this song was originally written by Solomon upon his marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter. Now I am as sure as I am of my own existence, that this is one of the grossest mistakes that ever was committed. There is nothing about Pharaoh’s daughter in it. It is, first of all, improbable that it was written of her; and in the next place I will go further, and affirm that it is impossible that it could have been written by Solomon in honor of her. If you look all through the song you will find that this is so; in the first beginning she is compared to a shepherdess. Now all shepherds are abominations to the Egyptians; do you think, therefore, that Solomon would compare an Egyptian princess to the very thing which she abominated. In the next place, all the scenery is in the land of Canaan, none of it in Egypt; and besides that, all the places that Solomon speaks of, such as Engedi, Lebanon, Amana, and Damascus, were all out of the way; not one of them would have been passed in coming out of Egypt into Jerusalem, and very probably the Egyptian princess did not even know there were such places at all, so that if Solomon had wished to praise her he would not have compared her eyes to the fish-ponds of Heshbon, but would have spoken of the sweet waters of the Nile. Besides, it could not have been Pharaoh’s daughter. Did Pharaoh’s daughter ever keep sheep?—and yet the person who is represented here did. Did the watchman ever follow her about the streets, and try to take away her veil from her? Solomon would have shown them something if they had; therefore, that is impossible. In one place, Solomon compares her to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariot.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
How beautiful is your love. Every place where you showed me affection is beautiful in My eyes; Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov, Givon, and the eternal Temple.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
A locked garden. This refers to the modesty of the daughters of Yisroel, who are not of loose morals. 60 Alternatively, ‘גן’ refers to the Pentateuch which has fifty-three sidros, the numerical value of ‘גן’. (Gra)
“How beautiful to Me is your love, My sister, Assembly of Israel (who are comparable to a chaste bride).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֹ֛פֶת | nofet | honey | H5317 → | |
| תִּטֹּ֥פְנָה | titofenah | they drip | H5197 → | 18 times |
| שִׂפְתוֹתַ֖יִךְ | siftotayikh | lips your | H8193 → | 176 times |
| כַּלָּ֑ה | kalah | O bride | H3618 → | 34 times |
| דְּבַ֤שׁ | devash | honey | H1706 → | |
| וְחָלָב֙ | vechalav | and milk | H2461 → | 44 times |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | [are] under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| לְשׁוֹנֵ֔ךְ | leshonekh | tongue your | H3956 → | |
| וְרֵ֥יחַ | vereiach | and [the] odor of | H7381 → | 58 times |
| שַׂלְמֹתַ֖יִךְ | salmotayikh | garments your | H8008 → | |
| כְּרֵ֥יחַ | kereiach | [is] like [the] odor of | H7381 → | 58 times |
| לְבָנֽוֹן׃ ס | levanon | Lebanon | H3844 → | 71 times |
נֹ֛פֶתhoney
nofetH5317 →
תִּטֹּ֥פְנָהthey drip
titofenahH5197 →18 times
שִׂפְתוֹתַ֖יִךְlips your
siftotayikhH8193 →176 times
כַּלָּ֑הO bride
kalahH3618 →34 times
דְּבַ֤שׁhoney
devashH1706 →
וְחָלָב֙and milk
vechalavH2461 →44 times
תַּ֣חַת[are] under
tachatH8478 →505 times
לְשׁוֹנֵ֔ךְtongue your
leshonekhH3956 →
וְרֵ֥יחַand [the] odor of
vereiachH7381 →58 times
שַׂלְמֹתַ֖יִךְgarments your
salmotayikhH8008 →
כְּרֵ֥יחַ[is] like [the] odor of
kereiachH7381 →58 times
לְבָנֽוֹן׃ סLebanon
levanonH3844 →71 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Song of Solomon 5:1I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk.…
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 6:2
My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Song of Solomon 4:16
Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind. Breathe on my garden and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choicest fruits.
- Song of Solomon 4:9–14
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck.
- Song of Solomon 6:2
Through
Genesis 27:27So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has…
it leads to
- Hebrews 6:7
For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God.
- Psalms 65:10
You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth.
- Genesis 26:12
Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,
- Hebrews 11:20
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.
- Hosea 14:6–7
His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
- Hebrews 6:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Mysteries 9:55; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12; Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 282: “Christ's Estimate of His People” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Robert of Tombelaine, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 4 and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 4.