My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening. My heart pounded for him.
Parallel Translations
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My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening. My heart pounded for him.
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My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
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My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my heart was moved for him.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Song of Solomon 5:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 43:30 Joseph hurried, for his heart yearned over his brother; and he sought a place to weep. He entered into his room, and wept there.
- 1 Kings 3:26 Then the woman whose the living child was spoke to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill him!” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide him.”
- Psalms 110:3 Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Take me away with you. Let’s hurry. The king has brought me into his rooms. We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will praise your love more than wine! They are right to love you.
- Acts 16:14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us. The Lord opened her heart to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.
- 2 Corinthians 8:1-2 Moreover, brothers, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the assemblies of Macedonia, how in much proof of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their generosity.
- 2 Corinthians 8:16 But thanks be to God, who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.
- Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
- Isaiah 26:8-9 Yes, in the way of your judgments, Yahweh, we have waited for you. Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul. With my soul I have desired you in the night. Yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you earnestly; for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
- 1 John 3:16-17 By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, my bowels were moved towards him.
Hebrew, my bowels were moved towards him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Son 5:4 My beloved put in his hand by…
Son 5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole [of the door], and my bowels were moved for him.
Ver. 4. My beloved put in his hand by the hole.] Or, He let fall his hand from the hole, {a} where he was lifting at the latch, or seeking to put by the bar; he took it so unkindly to be so ill answered, that he departed in displeasure, and would be no further troublesome. "Sleep on now," quoth he, {as Mar 14:41} "and take your rest." He that will hear, let him hear, and he that hath a mind to forbear, let him forbear. {Eze 3:27} but at his own peril; the best that can come of it is repentance, that fair and happy daughter of an ugly and odious mother. {b} Delicata res est Spiritus Dei, saith one, The Spirit of God is a delicate thing; and he that grieves that holy thing whereby he is sealed, by giving way to a spirit of sloth and slumber, may lose his joy of faith, and go mourning to his grave. And although with much ado he may get assurance of pardon, yet his conscience will be still trembling, as David’s, {Psa 51:1-19} till God at length speak further peace. Even as the water of the sea after a storm is not presently still, but moves and trembles a good while after the storm is over. Take heed, therefore: Cavebis autem si pavebis Moreover, if you are terrified, you will beware. {Rom 11:21} But to take the words as they are here translated, "My beloved put in his hand by the hole"; that is, he touched mine earthly heart by his Holy Spirit; and notwithstanding my discourteous dealing with him, left a sweet remembrance of himself behind him. As he would not away, but continued still knocking till he had an answer, so, though the answer pleased him not, yet he called not for his lovetokens back again, he cast her not off, as Ahasuerus did Vashti - no, "he hates putting away"; {Mal 2:16} but as the sun with his bright beams follows the passenger that hath turned his back upon it, so deals Christ by his backsliding people. {Jer 3:22} Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, {Psa 23:6} saith David; follow me, though I forsake mine own mercies, saith Jonah. {Jon 2:8} And as the same sunbeams do convey the heat and influence thereof to the earth, thereby calling out the herbs and flowers, and healing those deformities that winter had brought upon it, so doth Christ, that sun of righteousness, arise (to his servants that are benighted with sin and sorrow) "with healing in his wings"; that is, with the gracious influence of his Holy Spirit, conveying the virtues of his blood to their consciences, and causing them, as by a new spring of holy desires and endeavours, to reflourish. {Php 4:10}
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And my bowels were moved for him.] They rumbled, tumultuated, and made a humming noise, as the Hebrew hath it. She means that she had no rest in her spirit, her heart (that chiefest of the bowels, or inwards) did even quake and ache within her; her thoughts afflicted her, she was greatly disquieted, and all "for him," for the unkindness she had offered him, or concerning him, or over him, as those penitentiaries in Zechariah, that "looked upon him whom they had pierced, and" (by an instinct of the spirit of grace poured plentifully upon them) "mourned for him," or over him, till their hearts became a very Hadadrimmon, and fell asunder in their bosoms like drops of water, and all for the indignities and injuries they had done to Christ. This is a sorrow according to God; {c} or, as God would have it, {1Co 7:9} this is a repentance never to be repented of. {Son 5:10} This is that rainbow which, if God see shining in our hearts, he will remember his holy covenant. The Church here, for instance. That she sorrowed after a godly sort appears by those seven signs set down in 2Co 7:11, and here in this chapter exemplified and evidenced. "I sleep"; "there is indignation." But "my heart waketh"; there is "apology," or clearing herself. "I arose to open"; there is "study," or "carelessness," and diligence. "My soul failed when he spake"; there is her "zeal." "I called on him, I sought him"; there is her "vehement desire." "The watchmen found me; they smote me, they unveiled me"; there is her "self-revenge," while she shrank not from any danger, but bearing patiently the Lord’s indignation, because she had sinned against him; she followed him through thick and thin, in the night, among the watch, &c., followed him hot afoot, and would not rest till she had recovered him. Lo, this is the guise of a godly heart; it runs into sin sometimes, but riseth again soon after by repentance; it is at as much unrest, till reconciled to God, as he that hath broke a bone till it be well set again. Whenas a profane Esau can sell his birthright (and with it his title to heaven), and when he hath so done, he can "eat, and drink, and rise up, and go his way," {d} without any the least remorse or regret. {Gen 25:34} Wicked men grow worse and worse, saith the apostle, and take long strides towards hell, as if they feared it would be full ere they come there. Some seek to out sin one another, like unhappy boys, that strive who shall go furthest in the dirt. Noluit solita peccare, He does not wish to make sin a habit, saith Seneca; Et pudet non esse impudentes, And it is not permitted to be shameless, saith Augustine. Sin hath woaded {e} an impudence in their faces; "their spot is not the spot of God’s children." {Deu 32:5}
{a} Dimissit manus a foramine.
{b} εχθρου πατρος φιλτατον τεκνον. - De Pompeio Romano ap. Plutarch.
{c} H κατα θεον λυπη.
{d} Hac congerie impenitentia Esaui describitur. - Piscat.
{e} To dye, colour, or stain with woad, sometimes (in dyeing) as a ground for another colour.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain My Beloved put in his hand by the hole…
My Beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door; he assayed to open the door. When his word would not prevail, his Spirit, which is called the finger of God, Luk 11:20, compared with Mat 12:28, wrought inwardly upon my conscience, and affected mine heart. My bowels were moved for him, with compassion for him and his sufferings, and with affection to him; for both these ways is this phrase off used, as Job 37:1; Phi 2:1,2, &c.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain By the hole - He assayed to open the…
By the hole - He assayed to open the door. When his word would not prevail, his spirit, which is called the finger of God, Luke xi, 20, wrought inwardly upon my conscience. Were moved - With compassion for him and his sufferings, and with affection to him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. My beloved put in his hand] If…
Verse 4. My beloved put in his hand] If it were a real scene, which is mentioned in this and the two following verses, it must refer, from the well-known use of the metaphors, to matrimonial endearments. Or, it may refer to his attempts to open the door, when she hesitated to arise, on the grounds mentioned So 5:3. But this also bears every evidence of a dream.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Son 5:4-5. By the hole — He assayed to…
Son 5:4-5. By the hole — He assayed to open the door. When his word would not prevail, his Spirit, which is called the finger of God, (Luk 11:20,) wrought inwardly upon my conscience. My bowels were moved — With compassion for him and his sufferings, and with affection to him. I rose — I went forth to receive him. My hands dropped with myrrh — With oil or ointment made of myrrh, which dropped from the bridegroom’s hand upon the door in great abundance, when he put it into the hole of the door — And consequently upon her hands and fingers when she touched the door to open it. By which she signifies, that Christ, though he withdrew himself from her, yet left a sweet savour behind him. Upon the handles of the lock — Hebrew, with myrrh passing, or flowing, upon the handles of the lock, which place the bridegroom had touched when he attempted to open it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Put in his hand - Through (literally “from”) the…
Put in his hand - Through (literally “from”) the hole (of the lock), in order to raise the pins by which the bolt was fastened. The Oriental lock is a hollow piece of wood attached to the doorpost, into which a sliding-bolt is made to run. As soon as the bolt has been driven home a number of pins drop into holes prepared in it for their reception. To raise these pins, and so enable the bolt to be withdrawn, is to unfasten the lock. This is commonly done by means of the key (literally “opener”), but may often be accomplished by the fingers if dipped in paste or some other adhesive substance. For such a purpose the beloved inserts his fingers here anointed with the costly unguent, which will presently distil on those of the bride when she rises to open to him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Touch. Of me, (Cassiodorus) or rather of the door…
Touch. Of me, (Cassiodorus) or rather of the door or window. I was grieved that I had made him wait so long. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, "were moved for him." Protestants’ marginal note, "or (as some read) in me." Pagnin prefers this; Septuagint and Montanus the former explanation of halaiv. (Haydock) --- Grace moves us to begin and prosecute good works. (St. Gregory of Nyssa) (Theodoret) --- Christ gives it more abundantly, to make the champions of the Church contend with adversity. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Put in his hand — The Land and…
4. Put in his hand — The Land and the Book tells us that Eastern house-doors usually lock from within only, and a hole in the doorframe is left by which one can reach the keyhole from without. The Beloved will not enter unbidden, from a sense of true delicacy.
By the hole — Hebrew, From the hole; that is, to withdraw the bolt. It is simply astonishing that this language, so expressive of modesty, the more beautiful because found in humble life, has ever been thought to have a character directly opposite. My bowels, etc. — The Hebrew word signifies the upper viscera, and chiefly the heart. It means, figuratively, the sympathies, the anxieties. As soon as the Beloved had departed, her disquiet began.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. by the hole of the door] Lit. from…
4. by the hole of the door] Lit. from the hole, i.e. the hole usually to be found in doors. This was not an opening through which the hand was inserted to unbolt the door, but one through which women could look out upon and speak with men, without being unduly exposed to observation themselves. Through this the Shulammite’s lover puts his hand, either to beckon to her, or as an expression of his longing to be near her.
my bowels were moved for him] R.V. my heart was moved for him. The heart (lçbh) was for the Hebrew the seat of the intellect. The viscera or internal organs (mç‘îm) were regarded as the seat of the affections, and were named where we should say ‘the heart.’ Cp. Psa_40:8, “Thy law is within my mç‘îm,” i.e. within my heart. Budde proposes to add the third clause of Son_5:6 to this verse, because he thinks it out of place there. He would read
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“My love sent forth his hand, And his right hand from the hole.
And my heart was moved for him, My soul went forth when he spake.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) By the hole—i.e., through (Heb. min), as in…
(4) By the hole—i.e., through (Heb. min), as in Son_2:9. The hole is the aperture made in the door above the lock for the insertion of the hand with the key. The ancient lock was probably like the one in use in Palestine now. It consists of a hollow bolt or bar, which passes through a staple fixed to the door and into the door-post. In the staple are a number of movable pins, which drop into corresponding holes in the bolt when it is pushed home, and the door is then locked. To unlock it, the key is slid into the hollow bolt, and the movable pins pushed back by other pins in it, corresponding in size and form, which fill up the holes, and so enable the bolt to be withdrawn. It is said that, in lieu of a proper key, the arm can be inserted into the hollow bolt and the pins be pushed up by the hand, if provided with some soft material, as lard or wax, to fill up the holes, and keep the pins from falling back again till the bolt is withdrawn. This offers one explanation of Son_5:5. Coming to the door and having no key, the lover is supposed to make use of some myrrh, brought as a present, in trying to open the door, and, not succeeding, to go away. The sweet smelling (Marg., passing, or running about) is the myrrh that drops from the tree naturally, before any incision is made in the bark, and is considered specially fine. Others explain Son_5:5 by comparison with the heathen custom alluded to in Lucretius iv. 1173:—
“At lacrimans exclusus amator limina sæpe
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Floribus et sertis operit posteisque superbos
Unguet amaricino, et foribus miser oscula figit.”
(Comp. Tibullus, 1:2-14.) Perhaps Pro_7:17 makes the comparison allowable, but the first explanation is preferable.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain My beloved put in his hand by the hole…
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my heart was moved for him. The door hole is a part of the door pierced through at the upper part of the lock, or door bolt (rwOjhAmi), that is, by the opening from without to within, or through the opening, as if, i.e., to open the door by pressing back the lock or bolt from within. There was some obstacle. He tailed to open it. It had not been left so that he could easily obtain admittance. The metaphor is very apt and beautiful. How much he loved her! How he tried to come to her! As applied to the Saviour, what infinite suggestiveness! He would be with us, and not only knocks at the door, but is impatient to enter; tries the lock, and too often finds it in vain; he is repelled, he is resisted, he is coldly excluded. My heart was moved for him. yme, "my inner being". (cf. Isa_63:15, where the same word is used of God) It is often employed to express sympathy and affection, especially with tender regret. The later authorities, as the older translations, have "to him" (wyl), i.e. over him, or on account of him, in the thought of his wounded heart.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Son_5:4 : My beloved put in his hand by…
Notes
Son_5:4 : My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door. ‘By the hole of the door’ (מִן־הָחוֹר, min ha-khor; literally ‘from the hole’). Through the latticed window. ZÖCKLER. The opening which served for a window. EWALD. At the window or casement. PATRICK. Probably rather a hole in the door. The hole in or near the door. RASHI. Above the lock. HAHN. In the wall. HITZIG. The attempt made to open the lock inside. Oriental houses still made with a hole in the door, or rather door-post, by which the master and domestics open the locks by putting in their hand, while strangers neither dare nor know how to do so, the locks being variously made; at night, additional bolts and bars so fasten the door that it cannot be opened from without. WEISS. When the bolt was too strong for the finger to move, or the hole too small, a key was used: otherwise, the finger inserted into the hole could move the bolt and open the door: at night, a pin was passed before the fore part of the bolt, to prevent its being opened on the outside: the Bridegroom had put in his finger to see if this had been omitted. DEL RIO. A key in the East usually a piece of wood with pegs or pins in it corresponding to small holes in a wooden bolt within, and is inserted through a hole in the door to push back the bolt. FAUSSET. The locks are placed on the inside of the doors of gardens and outer courts, and even on those of inner rooms of some places. To enable the owner to open them, a hole is cut in the door, through which he thrusts his arm and inserts the key. THOMSON, Land and Book. SEPTUAGINT: Withdrew his hand from, &c. So BURROUGHS and GINSBURG. VULGATE, followed by MARTIN. Put his hand. LUTHER, DIODATI, WICKLIFF: Through the hole. GENEVA: Through the hole of the door. PISCATOR and MONTANUS: From the hole. JUNIUS and TREMELLIUS: Had put down his hand from, &c. THEODORET: To awaken the Bride. PISCATOR: To effect an opening. SANCTIUS: To remove the bolt. PATRICK: As if attempting to draw her out of her bed, or threatening to punish her. HITZIG: As if intending to climb in by the window. HENGSTENBERG and WORDSWORTH: Forcibly to break a hole through the wall, like Eze_8:7-8. Allegorically: His hand, the Divine energy. THEODORET. A secret inspiration on the heart. FROMONDI. Something tending to awaken the Church. BRIGHTMAN. To arouse the lingering and fearful. COCCEIUS. His vengeance in the days of Ahaz. RASHI. Efficacious grace. GILL. Historically, the reference to the incarnation. HONORIUS. To the scene in the judgment-hall of Caiaphas. M. STUART, FAUSSET. To the resurrection of Christ. PHILO, To the inward working of His Spirit, as at Antioch (Act_2:19; Act_2:21. AINSWORTH, FAUSSET.
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LOVE’S CONQUEST
Son_5:4
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door,
And my bowels were moved for him.
Shulamite continues her narrative. The Bridegroom, unwilling to take a refusal, employs further means for obtaining admission. Inserts his hand, through the hole made for opening the door in the inside. The sight of his hand gains the desired compliance.
Observe—
1. Christ unwilling to take a refusal on the part of redeemed sinners, and especially of His believing though backslidden people. His patience unwearied, because His love is unchangeable (Hos_11:7-9).
2. A work of Omnipotence needed as well for restoring saints as for converting sinners. The hand to be employed as well as the voice; the power of the Spirit as well as the call of His Word. Preachers successful because the Lord works with them, giving testimony to the Word of His grace, and confirming that Word with signs following. ‘The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord’ (Act_11:21; Act_14:3). The Lord’s hand also often put forth in Providence, when His voice is not hearkened to in His Word. The secret springs of the soul in the Saviour’s hand. ‘He that openeth, and no man shutteth: and shutteth and no man openeth.
3. Christ turns the heart, but employs suitable means and rational motives in doing so. The Bridegroom shewed his hand; but left the Bride to draw back the bolt herself ‘Christ puts no force upon our nature, but upon our ill nature.’—Henry. His people willing in the day of His power. God, in a work of grace, does His part, and leaves us to do ours. Believers to work out their salvation, because God works in them ‘both to will and to do.’ The apostles ‘so spake that many believed.’ The Lord opened Lydia’s heart, that she attended to the things spoken by Paul. The believing connected with the speaking as its result. The Lord opens the heart, but Lydia attends to what is spoken (Act_14:24; Act_16:14). Christ’s voice raised Lazarus from the dead, but the people were to remove the stone from the grave, and then to ‘loose him from his grave-clothes and let him go’ (Joh_11:39-44).
4. Faithful preachers not to despond. If one means or message fails, another may be made successful. ‘In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper.’ ‘If the axe be blunt, he putteth forth more strength.’ Sometimes a providence successful where the preacher has failed.
5. Christ acquainted with the best means of reaching the heart. Sometimes the least likely means the most successful. The Lord’s mere look broke Peter’s heart. The mere sight of the Bridegroom’s hand did more to melt the heart of the Bride than either his repeated knock or his imploring call. A preacher’s loving earnestness often the means of moving the careless more than the words be utters.
6. Inward motions necessary to outward action. ‘My bowels were moved for him’ (or, ‘in me’). The Spirit, in conversion or restoration, acts upon the conscience and feelings. The three thousand at Pentecost pricked in their hearts, and then cried: ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ The moving of Peter’s bowels the turning point of his second conversion.
7. The exhibition of Christ and His love the most effectual way of leading to true repentance. ‘My bowels were moved for, or on account of him.’ ‘They shall look on Him whom they have pierced, and shall mourn because of Him’ (Zec_12:10). Preaching Christ, and Him crucified, the readiest as well as most Scriptural way of moving mens’ hearts.
8. Great and palpable effects on the soul under the Holy Spirit’s operation. ‘The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof.’
9. Believers able to mark and record the operations of the Spirit on their heart, and their inward experience in relation to Christ.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:4-6 My lover tried to unlatch the door, and…
5:4-6 My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled: The man persists in his attempts to arouse the woman, and she eventually responds positively to his overtures. However, by the time she responds, he has given up or become otherwise occupied. This is a powerful poetic picture of the struggles of two lovers to be sexually intimate with each other.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.