Song of Solomon 4:12

Translations

Modern

My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.

Traditional

A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

Literal

A garden locked up is my sister, my bride—a spring locked up, a fountain sealed.

Latin

Hortus conclusus soror mea, sponsa, hortus conclusus, fons signatus.

Original

Hebrew

English

My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.

Notes

Song of Solomon 4:12

a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed: This statement about her purity and virginity highlights his unique and special status (see Proverbs 5:15 for similar imagery). The images of spring and fountain suggest the most private parts of a woman's body.

Song of Solomon 4:1–5:1

The marriage is now complete.
This poem is the first "descriptive poem" in the book (see also Song of Solomon 5:10–16; 6:4–6; 7:2–8). Scholars often call these poems by the Arabic term wasf (meaning "description"). These poems are similar to songs sung at modern Arabic weddings. They are preludes to sexual intimacy. In describing physical beauty, they often start at the head and move downward.

Theme notes and profiles

Beauty in Nature Human Sexuality

Related verses

Proverbs 5:15–18
Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Isaiah 61:10–11
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
1 Corinthians 6:13
“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
Revelation 7:3
“Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
1 Corinthians 7:34
…and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband.
Genesis 29:3
When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
2 Corinthians 1:22
…placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
Song of Solomon 6:11
I went down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding or the pomegranates were in bloom.
Hosea 6:3
So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Glossary

Beauty Incense Song of Solomon

Topics

Bridegroom: Song of Church: Sister of Christ Church: Spouse of Christ Fence: General Scriptures Concerning Fountains and Springs: (Sealed Up) the Church Gardens: (Enclosed) of the Pleasantness, Fruitfulness, and Security Gardens: Often Enclosed Hedges: Placed Around: Gardens Seals: Security Titles and Names of the Church: Spouse of Christ

Song of Solomon 4:12

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