Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 5:4
My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker, the Shulamite woman, addresses her beloved while lying in bed after washing her feet and removing her robe. She speaks at the precise moment he reaches for the door latch and she hesitates to rise.
The words — The text highlights שָׁלַח (sha.Lach, "he sent") regarding his hand reaching toward the door latch, and הָמוּ (ha.Mu, "they were turbulent") describing her inward parts reacting to him.
The thread — This physical stirring mirrors the visceral reactions recorded in Genesis 43:30 and 1 Kings 3:26, where emotional overwhelm produces tangible bodily responses.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that physical hesitation does not preclude deep internal longing, requiring the reader to examine where bodily reluctance masks genuine desire.
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
King James Version
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
Cross-references
- Genesis 43:30 Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.
- 1 Kings 3:26 Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”
- Psalms 110:3 Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.
- Acts 16:14 Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
- 2 Corinthians 8:1 Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.
- 2 Corinthians 8:16 But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.
- Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- Isaiah 26:8 Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
- 1 John 3:16 By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.