16 The woman has now described his body from
head to feet, concluding with the general statement concerning his physical
beauty. However, she is not yet done. She concludes with a comment about his
mouth, indeed, his inner mouth or palette (ḥēk). The reason
appears to be that this anticipates her desired action. The inside of his mouth
is described as sweet (the root is mtq; see also 2:3 and 4:11).
The implicit message is that she wants to taste him. Her comments anticipate a
deep kiss. Of course, she has to find him first.
Again,
she concludes with a general comment, this time with a statement of her intense
desire for him. The word desirable (maḥamaddîm)
derives from the root ḥmd. “All the derivates of hmd refer to
outward appearance. They also emphasize more the attractiveness of an object,
with some emphasis on the value of the object” (NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 168).
The
waṣf ends with a definitive proclamation to the women, the daughters of
Jerusalem, to whom she has been speaking. They asked in 5:9 for a description
of her lover, and she has given it to them. (Tremper Longman III, Song of
Songs [The New International Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Eerdmans, 2001], 173-74)
Further Reading:
Is Muhammad prophesied in Song of Solomon 5:16?
