What Old Testament connections can be made with the imagery in Song of Solomon 5:5? Setting the Scene Song of Solomon 5:5: “I rose to open for my beloved, my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt.” The bride moves to receive her beloved; her very touch is saturated with costly fragrance. Each detail echoes earlier Old-Testament moments where myrrh, doors, and anointed hands carried covenant meaning. Key Imagery in Songs 5:5 • The act of rising and opening a door • Hands and fingers covered with “flowing myrrh” • The “handles of the bolt” receiving that same myrrh Myrrh and the Holy Anointing Oil (Exodus 30:22-33) • First ingredient named for the sacred oil: “Take the finest spices—500 shekels of liquid myrrh…” (vv. 23-25). • This oil set apart the tent, the ark, the table, and the priests (vv. 26-30). • The bride’s hands that drip with myrrh mirror priestly hands consecrated for service, hinting that love itself is a holy ministry. Myrrh in Royal Marriage Psalms (Psalm 45:8) • “All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.” • Psalm 45 celebrates the king’s wedding, and the same spice fills the palace. Songs 5:5 borrows the royal atmosphere, underscoring that the Bridegroom of Song is no mere shepherd but the true King. Myrrh in Esther’s Preparation (Esther 2:12) • “For six months with oil of myrrh…” the young women were made ready for the king. • Esther’s story parallels the bride who prepares herself before the door opens. The fragrance announces readiness, dignity, and favor. Fragrant Hands and Priestly Service • Exodus 30:34-35 places myrrh in the temple incense; Revelation later calls prayers “incense,” but the pattern begins here. Hands that carry myrrh suggest hands lifted in fragrant intercession. • Leviticus 8:30 shows Moses sprinkling oil on Aaron’s hands and garments. The Song’s dripping fingers recall that anointing and align marital love with priestly service. Opening the Door—Covenant Invitations • Exodus 12:7, 22—blood on the doorposts marked households under covenant protection. While blood spoke of sacrifice, myrrh here speaks of romance, yet both at the threshold of covenant. • Isaiah 26:20—“Come, my people, enter your rooms… shut your doors behind you.” Israel knew doors as places of safety and intimacy with God. The bride’s action is a loving echo. Tying It All Together • Myrrh links the Song’s bridal love to priestly consecration, royal wedding joy, and covenant readiness. • The door recalls Passover safety and prophetic invitations to intimacy with the Lord. • Hands anointed with myrrh portray a people made holy, fragrant, and willing to open at the slightest knock of their King. In a single verse, the Spirit weaves together temple worship, royal marriage, covenant doorway, and priestly anointing—each strand found earlier in Scripture, now fragrant and flowing from the bride’s own hands. |
    |