Bible Strands

Song of Solomon 5:2

I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The speaker describes physical sleep contrasted with an alert heart, interrupted by the sound of her beloved knocking. He addresses her with specific titles and notes his own disheveled condition from the night.

The words — The text records דּוֹפֵק (do.Fek) as the active sound of knocking and פִּתְחִי (pit.chi-) as the direct imperative to open the door. These terms anchor the scene in a concrete physical exchange.

The thread — The motif of a figure standing at a door and knocking appears in Revelation 3:20. Intimate address patterns like "my sister, my dove" recur in Song of Solomon 2:14 and 6:9.

Why it lands — The text presents a direct choice between maintaining physical comfort and answering a specific request. It requires the reader to observe the tension between stated reluctance and the expectation of response.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

אֲנִ֥י'a.NiIיְשֵׁנָ֖הye.she.Nah[was] sleepingוְלִבִּ֣יve./li.B/iand/ heart/ myעֵ֑ר'Er[was] awakeק֣וֹל׀Kol[the] sound ofדּוֹדִ֣יdo.D/ilover/ myדוֹפֵ֗קdo.Fekknockingפִּתְחִי־pit.chi-openלִ֞יl/ito/ meאֲחֹתִ֤י'a.cho.T/iO sister/ myרַעְיָתִי֙ra'.ya.T/ifriend/ myיוֹנָתִ֣יyo.na.T/idove/ myתַמָּתִ֔יta.ma.T/iperfect [one]/ myשֶׁרֹּאשִׁי֙she./ro.Sh/ithat/ head/ myנִמְלָא־nim.la'-[is] filledטָ֔לTaldewקְוֻּצּוֹתַ֖יke.vu.tzo.Ta/ilocks/ myרְסִ֥יסֵיre.Si.seidewdrops ofלָֽיְלָה׃La.ye.lahnight

King James Version

I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

Cross-references