Song of Solomon 5:4
in Song of Solomon 5My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, And my heart was moved for him.
KJV
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
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This verse in Song of Solomon 5
Commentary
11 notes on this verseShe is now awakened from sleep by him, although she was keeping watch with her heart so that she might hear his voice at once when he knocked. But while she was rising, she experienced a delay, because she could not match the swiftness of the Word. While she was opening the door, the Word passed by.
This site's exposition
put in his hand by the hole of the door
on Song of Solomon 5:4-6
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him: the gesture itself moves her before any word is spoken, and she rises at last, her hands and fingers dripping myrrh onto the very handles of the lock. She opens too late; my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone, and what the hesitation cost is stated plainly, my soul failed when he spake, I sought him but I could not find him, I called him, but he gave me no answer. Henry and Gill both read the sequence as the poem's own picture of delay in love, a withdrawal met after the moment for opening had passed, without naming it a punishment.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
My beloved put his hand through the opening. My beloved puts his hand through the opening when the Lord secretly and invisibly kindles us with the hidden spur of divine love toward virtuous acts. He puts his hand to us when, seeing us longing to …
A commentator
Robert of TombelaineCommentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 5 · Written in the 11th century.
proposed
The beloved sends his hand to the bride through the opening so that she may arise, when through subtle understanding he makes manifest to her by inspiring how great is the power of divine operation: namely, that he is able to save even amid dangers; …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
By the hole - He assayed to open the door. When his word would not prevail, his spirit, which is called the finger of God, Luke xi, 20, wrought inwardly upon my conscience.
Her compliance with these methods of divine grace at last: My bowels were moved for him. The will was gained by a good work wrought upon the affections: My bowels were moved for him, as those of the two disciples were when Christ made their hearts to burn within them. She was moved with compassion to her beloved, because his head was wet with dew.
) and is often ascribed to God (as Isa. lxiii. 20 ), and so it denotes his tender compassion and affection for his spouse, and the love he has to her even in her desolate and deserted state. This love of his is like bright ivory, finely polished, and richly overlaid with sapphires.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door,.... To remove the bolt or bar which kept him from entering in.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
My 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 Son 5:3. But this also bears every evidence of a dream.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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" (Ps 38:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Put in his hand - Through (literally “from”) the hole (of the lock), in order to raise the pins by which the bolt was fastened. The Oriental lock is a hollow piece of wood attached to the doorpost, into which a sliding-bolt is made to run. As soon as the bolt has been driven home a number of pins drop into holes prepared in it for their reception. To raise these pins, and so enable the bolt to be withdrawn, is to unfasten the lock. This is commonly done by means of the key (literally “opener”), but may often be accomplished by the fingers if dipped in paste or some other adhesive substance. For such a purpose the beloved inserts his fingers here anointed with the costly unguent, which will presently distil on those of the bride when she rises to open to him.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דּוֹדִ֗י | dodi | lover my | H1730 → | 61 times |
| שָׁלַ֤ח | shalach | he sent | H7971 → | |
| יָדוֹ֙ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַחֹ֔ר | hachor | the hole | H2356 → | |
| וּמֵעַ֖י | umeai | and inward parts my | H4578 → | |
| הָמ֥וּ | hamu | they were turbulent | H1993 → | |
| עָלָֽיו׃ | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
דּוֹדִ֗יlover my
dodiH1730 →61 times
שָׁלַ֤חhe sent
shalachH7971 →
יָדוֹ֙hand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַחֹ֔רthe hole
hachorH2356 →
וּמֵעַ֖יand inward parts my
umeaiH4578 →
הָמ֥וּthey were turbulent
hamuH1993 →
עָלָֽיו׃on him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 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
Philippians 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:21
equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Romans 9:16
So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of…
- Hebrews 13:21
Through
Psalms 110:3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
it leads to
- Judges 5:2
“When the princes take the lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, bless the LORD.
- Titus 2:14
He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
- Judges 5:2
Through
1 Kings 3:26Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But…
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
- Isaiah 49:15
About Song of Solomon
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul 6.50-52; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Songs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert of Tombelaine, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Chapter 5.