His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

SONG OF SOLOMON 5:13KJV
Know the Bible

Song of Solomon 5:13 (KJV)

What does Song of Solomon 5:13 mean?

Song of Solomon 5:13 uses rich, poetic language to describe the beloved’s physical beauty, comparing his cheeks to beds of spices and sweet flowers, and his lips to lilies dripping with fragrant myrrh. The verse paints a vivid picture of attraction and delight, focusing on the sensory experience of seeing and being near the beloved.

In this verse, the woman is speaking about her beloved, expressing her admiration for him in intimate and sensory terms. The setting is a poetic exchange between lovers, where she describes his features using images from nature and luxury, emphasizing both his attractiveness and the pleasure she finds in his presence.

The Hebrew behind Song of Solomon 5:13

  • "Bed" (עֲרוּגָה, arugah) refers to a cultivated garden bed, often used for growing spices or flowers. This image suggests care, richness, and something tended with affection.
  • "Spices" (בֶּשֶׂם, besem) and "sweet" (מֶגֶד, meged) both point to pleasant, costly fragrances, highlighting the beloved’s desirability and the sense of delight he brings.
  • "Lips" (שָׂפָה, saphah) and "lilies" (שׁוּשַׁן, shushan) connect the beloved’s words or kisses to purity and beauty, while "dropping" (נָטַף, nataph) and "myrrh" (מֹר, mor) evoke the idea of something precious and aromatic flowing freely, adding to the sense of abundance and allure.

Why Song of Solomon 5:13 matters

  • This verse shows that the Song of Solomon is not just about physical beauty, but about the deep delight and value found in love, using sensory details to express emotional connection.
  • The language connects the beloved to images of cultivated gardens and rare spices, themes that run throughout the book, emphasizing both intimacy and the idea of love as something precious and carefully tended.
  • Understanding the poetic comparisons helps clear up the idea that these are not literal descriptions, but rather expressions of admiration and longing, using the most beautiful and valuable things known to the ancient world.

Where else these words appear

“bed” Hebrew H6170 · used in 4 verses

  • 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.
  • Ezekiel 17:7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.
  • Ezekiel 17:10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

“myrrh” Hebrew H4753 · used in 11 verses

  • Exodus 30:23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
  • Proverbs 7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
  • Song of Solomon 4:6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

“dropping” Hebrew H5197 · used in 14 verses

  • Judges 5:4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
  • Song of Solomon 4:11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
  • Joel 3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

“lilies” Hebrew H7799 · used in 15 verses

  • 1 Kings 7:19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.
  • Psalms 45:1 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
  • Song of Solomon 4:5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.