the cheek (from its fleshiness) · noun, common masculine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
bed
כַּעֲרוּגַ֣תka.'a.ru.Gat
H6170
something piled up (as if (figuratively) raised by ment… · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
spices
הַבֹּ֔שֶׂםha.Bo.sem
H1314
fragrance · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sweet
מֶרְקָחִ֑יםmer.ka.Chim
H4840
a spicy herb · noun, common masculine plural absolute
flowers
מִגְדְּל֖וֹתmig.de.Lot
H4026
a tower (from its size or height) · noun, common feminine plural construct
lips
שִׂפְתוֹתָיו֙sif.to.Tav
H8193
the lip (as a natural boundary) · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
lilies
שֽׁוֹשַׁנִּ֔יםsho.sha.Nim
H7799
a lily (from its whiteness) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
dropping
נֹטְפ֖וֹתno.te.Fot
H5197
to ooze · verb, qal active participle, feminine plural absolute
smelling
עֹבֵֽר'o.Ver
H5674
to cross over · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
myrrh
מ֥וֹרMor
H4753
myrrh (as distilling in drops · noun, common masculine singular 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
Song of Solomon 1:10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
Song of Solomon 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
Psalms 4:6-7 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold t…
Psalms 45:2 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
Psalms 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
Song of Solomon 3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
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 5:13
His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers,.... Which may intend the presence of Christ with his people in his word and ordinances; often called his "face", which he shows, and they seek after, than which nothing is more desirable; walking in the light of his countenance is preferable to walking among spicy beds, where fragrant plants and odoriferous flowers grow: or the cheeks, being the seat of modesty and blushing, may denote the great humility of Christ, seen in his assumption of our nature, throughout the whole course of his life, and especially at his death, and which renders him very delightful to his people; how lovely does the meek and lowly Jesus look! how beautiful are th…
His cheeks are like gardens of spices because they were covered by the full beard that was worn by all men of that culture. This beard would have been perfumed.
Rashi on Song of Solomon 5:13
His cheeks are like a bed of spice. Wherein those beds are growths of perfume.
Like towers of perfumes. Aromatic plants, growths מִגְדָּלוֹת of spices מֶרְקָחִים. which are compounded with the art of an apothecary.45And processed into perfume.
His cheeks are like beds of spices, etc. Just as the words on the lips of the Lord expressed what He spoke, so in His cheeks the modest piety and sternness of His countenance are simultaneously expressed. For if it could rightly be said of a mere man, the wisdom of a man shines in his face, how much more in the face of that man who is the power of God and the wisdom of God, would the highest virtue and wisdom shine forth to those who consider well? His cheeks, he said, are like beds of spices planted by perfumers. For as beds of spices decently and orderly arranged grant great pleasure both to those who see and smell them, so He, appearing in man the mediator of God and men, by the sweetness of either His virtues or His doctrine enlightened those present and attracted those who were absent by His fame. By perfumers, by whom these beds are planted, understand the prophets and apostles, who in complete harmony inserted not only His words but also His manners into the sacred pages; these foretold the future mysteries of His incarnation, those narrated the deeds done. I think it is to the appearance of His cheeks that it is to be referred, that He exulted in the spirit, rejoicing in the faith of the little ones, that He grieved over the hardness of the hearts of the unbelievers, that He rejoiced for the disciples when He was about to raise Lazarus so that they might believe, that He looked upon the weeping sisters or friends of Lazarus and wept and troubled Himself, that at the approach of His passion He began to be sorrowful and mournful, that He did not give any time to laughter or vain words, that He did not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor did He rebuke by the hearing of His ears, that like a lamb He was led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth (Isa. LIII, 7). But His lips, lilies distilling pure myrrh: lilies, because they promise the brightness of the heavenly kingdom; distilling pure myrrh, because they preach that this is to be reached by the contempt of present pleasures. From thence, He said, Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. IV). Again, His lips are like lilies, because He commands us to shine with the brightness of sanctity; distilling pure myrrh, because He commands us to endure bravely whatever adversity may occur for the preservation of…
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
Balm — Contracted from Bal’sam, a general name for many oily or resinous substances which flow or trickle from certain trees or plants when an incision is made through the bark. (1.) This word occurs in the…
Lily — The Hebrew name shushan or shoshan, i.e., “whiteness”, was used as the general name of several plants common to Syria, such as the tulip, iris, anemone, gladiolus, ranunculus, etc. Some interpret it,…
Flowers · Described as: Sweet — Described as: Sweet
Lily · .Of the lips of the beloved — .Of the lips of the beloved
Love To Christ · His personal excellence is deserving of — His personal excellence is deserving of
Myrrh · Used as a perfume — Used as a perfume
Preciousness Of Christ · Illustrated — Illustrated
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).
