the cheek (from its fleshiness) · noun, common masculine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
comely
נָאו֤וּna.Vu
H4998
properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person common plural
rows
בַּתֹּרִ֔יםba.to.Rim
H8447
a succession · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
neck
צַוָּארֵ֖ךְtza.va.Rekh
H6677
the back of the neck (as that on which burdens are boun… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
chains
בַּחֲרוּזִֽיםba.cha.ru.Zim
H2737
properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 16:11-13 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
1 Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the s…
Genesis 24:47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put…
Song of Solomon 5:13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
Genesis 24:22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her…
Genesis 41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain…
Numbers 31:50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, a…
Proverbs 1:9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
John Gill on Song of Solomon 1:10
Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels,.... Or "beautiful as turtledoves", as the Septuagint; or it may be rendered "with turtles", since the word "jewels" is not in the text; not with images of turtles on the bridles of the horses before mentioned, as Aben Ezra; but rather some ornaments of women having such images on them may be meant, called "turtles", or "turturellas"; they seem to me to be the same with the earrings, which being fastened to a thin plate of gold or silver, which went across the forehead, or to a ribbon bound on it, as Aben Ezra on Genesis 24:22; observes, hung down by the ears in rows on both sides of the cheeks, and made but one ornament; as they did when another jew…
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Song of Solomon 1:10-11
The woman’s beauty is enhanced by her jewelry. This beauty deserves to be even further ornamented, so the man says that even more jewelry will be provided for her (cp. Matt 13:12).
Rashi on Song of Solomon 1:10
Your cheeks are comely with rows of gems. Rows of earrings and a golden forehead plate.44Alternatively, ornaments in the shape of turtledoves [=תורים] (Ibn Ezra)
Your neck with [pearl] necklaces. Golden necklaces and pearls strung on golden threads of the bounty of the [Reed] Sea.
When the naturally beautiful neck is endowed with the adornment of jewels, such industry undoubtedly increases happiness and, as though they were worthy, the honor of necklaces and the loveliness of necks as well. This is also true with you, therefore, whose generosity is constituted by doctrine, so that discipline would perfect the virtues which nature began.
Your cheeks are as those of a turtledove. He praises her face, and is kindled by the blush of her cheeks. For the beauty of women is said to be greatest in the cheeks. So let us too understand the beauty of the soul to be in its cheeks. But her lips and her tongue let us proclaim to be her understanding. Your neck is as a necklace. As an ornament which is wont to hang from the necks of virgins, and is called ὄρμισκος (a little necklace), so, even without this adornment, your neck itself is an ornament.
"How beautifully made your cheeks, like those of a turtledove." Zoologists claim that the turtledove not only likes solitude but is also not promiscuous, the male mating with one female, and the female associating with one male, and at the death of its mate it refrains from mating with another bird. Appropriately, then, he says the church in its relationship to Christ is like her, shunning relations with others, and reluctant after his death to abandon him, awaiting instead the resurrection and looking forward to his second coming. He also says her neck is like a necklace; this is a choker, a kind of ornament beautifying the neck. He is commending her for nicely carrying the yoke of religion, of which the bridegroom says in the Gospels, "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden light."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Chain — (1.) A part of the insignia of office. A chain of gold was placed about Joseph’s neck (Gen. 41:42); and one was promised to Daniel (5:7). It is used as a symbol of sovereignty (Ezek. 16:11). The…
Graving — (1.) Heb. hatsabh. Job 19:24, rendered “graven,” but generally means hewn stone or wood, in quarry or forest. (2.) Heb. harush. Jer. 17:1, rendered “graven,” and indicates generally artistic work in…
Gold · .Into ornaments — .Into ornaments
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
