Song of Songs 5 is the fifth chapter of the Song of Songs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book is one of the Five Megillot, a collection of short books, together with Book of Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther, within the Ketuvim, the third and the last part of the HebrewBible. Jewish tradition views Solomon as the author of this book, and this attribution influences the acceptance of this book as a canonical text, although this is at present largely disputed. This chapter contains a few parts starting with the man's response to the woman's acceptance of his invitation; the second part is the refusal of the woman to welcome the man into her room at night, and when she changes her mind, he already disappears; in the next part she looks for him in the city and in the last part she describes how fair the man is to the daughters of Jerusalem.
The Vulgate version of the chapter starts with "Veniat dilectus meus...", which is the end of the Woman's text in the in most other versions.
Veniat dilectus meus
The start of the 5th chapter, and the end of the 4th chapter are not in the same verse in all versions of the Bible: the Vulgate version starts with the end of the Woman's text : The phrase, and variant texts such as antiphons based on it, have been set to music, for instance in Gregorian chant, and by composers including Alessandro Grandi and Pietro Torri.
Male and chorus: tasting and enjoy the garden (5:1)
This part contains the man's closure of the dialogue in end of the previous chapter and the call to eat and drink which may imply consummation.
Verse 1
"Spouse" or "bride" together with "sister" are terms of affection.
Female: A second search at night for her dream lover (5:2-8)
In this part, the woman refuses to welcome her lover into her room at night, but when she changes her mind, the man already disappears. She looks for him in the city, then the watchmen found her and beat her up. She appeals for help to the daughters of Jerusalem about her lovesick condition.
Verse 2
"My love" a specific term of endearment used by the man for the woman that is used 9 times in the book. The masculine form of the same root word to call the man is used in a parallel construction with "my beloved" in Song 5:16. The repetition of "my, my, my, my is thought to enact the "knocking" of the beloved.
"Locks": "curls" or "hair"
Chorus: Challenge to compare the male lover (5:9)
The "daughters of Jerusalem" want to know what the male lover looks like.
Female: descriptive poem for the male (5:10-16)
The woman describes her lover from head to toe in a waṣf or descriptive poem, using the imagery of fauna and flora for his head, then metals and precious stones for the rest of his body. This waṣf and the other ones |4:1-8; ; 7:2-10a ) theologically demonstrate the heart of the Song that values the body as not evil but good even worthy of praise, and respects the body with an appreciative focus. Hess notes that this reflects 'the fundamental value of God's creation as good and the human body as a key part of that creation, whether at the beginning or redeemed in the resurrection '.
Verse 16
"Sweet": refers to a drink in .
"My friend" : is a specific term of endearment used by the woman for the man that is only used here in the whole book, in a parallel construction with "my beloved". The feminine form of the same root word to call the woman is used 9 times in the book.
