Old Testament · Poetry

Song of Solomon 7

The Dance

How beautiful your sandaled feet, O noble daughter. The beloved is described from feet to head — admiration without shame.

Berean Standard Bible BSB KJV

1How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of the prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master.

2Your navel is a rounded goblet; it never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by the lilies.

3Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.

4Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus.

5Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple threads; the king is captured in your tresses.

6How fair and pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!

7Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit.

8I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples,

9and your mouth like the finest wine. May it flow smoothly to my beloved, gliding gently over lips and teeth.

10I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.

11Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside; let us spend the night among the wildflowers.

12Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom— there I will give you my love.

13The mandrakes send forth a fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old, that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

Understand This

Song of Solomon 7, explained

What Song of Solomon 7 is saying

Another elaborate wasf describes the beloved from foot to head (reversing the chapter 4 pattern), celebrating her dance and physical beauty with uninhibited imagery. The beloved responds with desire to give herself fully: 'I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.' She invites him to the countryside to share their love.

The background behind it

The Shulammite dance (v. 1) may reference a specific wedding dance tradition. The reversal of the wasf direction (foot to head rather than head to foot) and the increasingly intimate imagery suggest a progression in the relationship toward consummation.

Themes running underneath

Mutual desire and mutual belonging characterize healthy love. The beloved's declaration 'his desire is for me' uses the same Hebrew word (teshuqah) as Genesis 3:16, subtly suggesting that redeemed love restores what the fall distorted. Physical intimacy is celebrated as part of love's fullness.

Why it still matters

The mutuality of desire and the beloved's agency in initiating intimacy provide a biblical model of sexual love as shared gift rather than one-sided possession.

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Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible — used by permission, Bible Hub.