Song Of Solomon 4:2 - Exposition

Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes that are newly shorn, which are come up from the washing; whereof every one hath twins, and none is bereaved among them. The simile is very apt and beautiful Thy teeth are perfectly smooth, regular, and white; the upper set corresponding exactly to the lower set, like twin births in which there is no break (cf. So Song of Solomon 6:6 ). The moisture of the saliva dentium, heightening the glance of the teeth, is frequently mentioned in love songs. The whiteness of wool is often used as a comparison (see Isaiah 1:18 ; Daniel 7:9 ; Revelation 1:14 ; Book of Enoch 46:1). Some think that קְצוּבוֹת . should not be rendered "newly shorn," but "periodically shorn" (see Ginsburg)—a poetical epithet for וְחֵלֵים . The newly shorn would be washed first, תָּאַם , "to be double,....to be pairs," in the hiph. is "to make double," "to make pairs," "to appear paired." Perhaps the reference is to the sheep being washed in pairs, and going up side by side from the water. This would seem almost more exact than the idea of twin lambs, because the difference in size between the ewe and the lamb would suggest irregularity. The word שַׁכֻּלָּת , "deprived," "bereaved" ( Jeremiah 18:21 ), may point merely to the loneliness of the single sheep going up by itself, suggesting one tooth without its fellow. Ginsburg says, "all of which are paired." Each keeps to its mate as they come up from the pool. This is a decided improvement on the Authorized Version. But the figure is clear with either rendering, and is very striking and suggestive of the pleasant country life to which the bride was accustomed.