Song of Solomon 4:9

By the eyes of the bride, the preachers of the holy Church are designated, as has been said; by the hair, the multitude of the people is figured; by the neck, moreover, the joining of the holy head and body is shown, which is understood …

Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse,.... Here another new title is given to the church, "my sister", with the repetition of the former, my "spouse": for one and the same person, with the Hebrews, might be sister and spouse; see 1Co 9:

11 ) of the day of his espousals, and, after that, she is called his spouse, not before. Note, There is a marriage-covenant between Christ and his church, between Christ and every true believer. Christ calls his church his spouse, and his calling her so makes her so.

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My sister - So he calls her to shew the greatness of his love, which cannot sufficiently be expressed by any one relation. With one - With one glance. One chain - With one of those other graces and perfections wherewith thou art adorned.

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 similes employed refer to the graces of adornment, speech, and gesture, as expressions of inward character and sentiment. Son 4:9 With one of thine eyes - Rather, with one look of thine. Son 4:11 Honeycomb - literally, Thy lips distill a dropping (of pure honey). Compare the marginal references.

sister . . . spouse--This title is here first used, as He is soon about to institute the Supper, the pledge of the nuptial union. By the term "sister," carnal ideas are excluded; the ardor of a spouse's love is combined with the purity of a sister's (Isa 54:5; compare Mr 3:35). one--Even one look is enough to secure His love (Zec 12:10;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

Thou hast ravished my heart - לבבתני libbabtini, “Thou hast hearted me,” i.e., taken away my heart; as we say, “He has barked the tree,” i.e., he has stripped it of its bark; “He has fleeced the flock,” i.e., deprived them of their wool. With one of thine eyes - באצד מעיניך beachad meeynayich. This has been thought a harsh expression, and various emendations have been sought. The Masoretes have put באצת beachath, “at once,” in the margin; and this is confirmed by twenty of Kennicott’s MSS. but De Rossi does not notice it. It is scarceiy necessary; the sense to me is clear and good without it. “Even one of thine eyes, or one glance of thine eyes, has been sufficient to deprive me of all power; it has completely overcome me;” for glance may be understood, and such forms of speech are common in all languages, when speaking on such subjects. If even taken literally, the sense is good; for the poet may refer to a side glance, shot in passing by or turning away, where only one eye could be seen. I think this a better sense than that which is obtained from the Masoretic emendation. With one chain of thy neck - Probably referring to the play of the cervical muscles, rather than to necklaces, or ringlets of hair.