Song of Solomon 4:5 BSB

Song of Solomon 4:5

Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a roe, Which feed among the lilies.

KJV

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

⋯

Commentary

4 voices

Origen of Alexandria

FRAGMENTS ON LUKE 186 (253)

And in the song of the bride, hair, teeth, lips, cheeks, the neck, and breasts, are praised by the bridegroom. The bride is either the soul of man, which enters into marriage with Christ, or the church. The parts of the body are interpreted figuratively: if they are said of the soul, then they apply to its powers.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins,.... Or, "two fawns, the twins of a doe": Providence, as Plutarch observes (p), has given to women two breasts, that, should they have twins, both might have a fountain of nourishment; and are fitly compared to twins of the doe.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Thy two breasts are like two young roes - I have met with many attempts to support this similitude, or rather to show that there is a similitude; but I judge them unworthy of citation. The poet speaks the language of nature; and in a case of this kind, where the impassioned lover attempts to describe the different perfections of his bride, language often fails him, and his comparisons and similitudes are often without strict correctness. In love songs we have heard ladies’ necks compared to that of the swan, not only for its whiteness, but also for its length!

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

8 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
שְׁנֵ֥י	she.Nei	[the] two	H8147 →
שָׁדַ֛יִךְ	sha.Da.yikh	breasts your	H7699 →
כִּשְׁנֵ֥י	kish.Nei	[are] like two	H8147 →
עֳפָרִ֖ים	'o.fa.Rim	fawns	H6082 →
תְּאוֹמֵ֣י	te.'o.Mei	twins of	H8380 →
צְבִיָּ֑ה	tze.vi.Yah	a gazelle	H6646 →
הָרוֹעִ֖ים	ha.ro.'Im	which graze	H7462 →
בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃	ba.sho.sha.Nim	among the lilies	H7799 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
leads to
- Hebrews 5:12–13
  Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!
- Ephesians 4:15
  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.
- 2 Peter 3:18
  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
- 1 Corinthians 3:1–2
  Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
- Mark 10:15
  Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Through
Song of Solomon 6:3
I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
leads to
- Song of Solomon 7:10
  I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Song of Solomon 2:16
  My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Through
Song of Solomon 2:16
My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
leads to
- Song of Solomon 6:3
  I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Song of Solomon 4

The Wilderness

Open the study →

About Song of Solomon

The Meeting of Isaac and Rebekah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Song of Solomon: the study guide →Read chapter 4 →The featured study →

Continue: Song of Solomon 4 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Song of Solomon

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Song of Solomon