Sometimes it’s all a matter of taste. This chapter is by far the most risqué language in the Bible, but it’s obscured by euphemisms and symbolic references.
The groom describes his bride, starting from her feet. Some of the references are less than obvious to us these many centuries and miles removed. Peasants typically went barefoot, so the mere presence of sandals is more typical of nobility. It kept them from appearing dirty and calloused; she’s refined and high-class despite her rural background. Her legs are very well formed by his standards. Then he offers a euphemism for her vagina and refers to the delights of cunnilingus as lapping up wine. While it’s true that the feminine ideal was a bit less slender than today, the image of her abdomen as a wheat mound has more to do with satisfying him sexually — feeding his hunger — than anything else.
The reference to breasts are obvious to us today; men have always obsessed over them. He describes them in terms of graceful animals associated with sex. A long elegant neck would be opposed to something short and muscular, as seen on men. The whole point is radiant femininity. He refers to an architectural wonder unknown today except for this reference alone. The City of Heshbon was the gateway to conquest of the Promised Land. The commonly accepted archaeological site does feature the remains of deep fish pools, but we have no other evidence of a tower of ivory at the gates. Still, that would be quite a sight. The Tower of Lebanon is widely considered a reference to Mount Hermon, a truly majestic height that does allow one to see almost forever. This would be an aristocratic nose much favored in that part of the world.
Her luxurious, wavy hair was likened to royal tapestries, the extravagant hand-woven wall hangings in Solomon’s palace. Even the king could get lost in hair like that. Having described her from the bottom up, he then speaks of the joy of making that climb with his own hands. It would be hard to make a more obvious reference to sex.
The bride is, of course, delighted with his delight in her. Any sane wife revels in her husband’s attention. She offers her own mix of images and euphemisms for sex, romping in the open country where she’s from, in hedged and private vineyards, and so forth. The reference to mandrakes notes the very ancient idea that these plants had aphrodisiac qualities. In essence, she’s been saving herself for him alone.
