How handsome you are
This phrase is an expression of admiration and affection. In the Hebrew text, the word for "handsome" is "נָאוֶה" (na'weh), which conveys beauty and pleasantness. This reflects the deep appreciation and attraction the Shulammite woman has for her beloved. In the context of the Song of Solomon, which is a poetic dialogue celebrating love, this phrase underscores the mutual admiration and physical attraction between the lovers. Historically, beauty was often associated with divine favor, and this expression can be seen as acknowledging the beloved's God-given attributes.

my beloved
The term "beloved" is translated from the Hebrew word "דּוֹדִי" (dodi), which is a term of endearment and intimacy. It signifies a deep, personal connection and is used throughout the Song of Solomon to denote the special relationship between the lovers. This word emphasizes the exclusivity and commitment inherent in their relationship, reflecting the covenantal love that mirrors the relationship between God and His people.

Oh, how charming!
The word "charming" in Hebrew is "נָעִים" (na'im), which means delightful or pleasant. This phrase further emphasizes the beloved's allure and the joy he brings to the speaker. In the cultural and historical context of ancient Israel, charm and grace were highly valued traits, often associated with wisdom and favor. This expression of delight highlights the emotional and spiritual connection that complements the physical attraction.

And our bed is verdant
The word "verdant" is translated from the Hebrew "רַעֲנָנָה" (ra'ananah), meaning green or flourishing. This imagery suggests vitality, fertility, and life. In the context of the Song of Solomon, the "bed" symbolizes the intimate space shared by the lovers, and its verdant nature implies a relationship that is thriving and full of life. This can be seen as an allegory for the blessings and fruitfulness that come from a God-centered union. The verdant bed also evokes the imagery of the Garden of Eden, suggesting a return to the purity and joy of the original creation, where love and harmony reigned.

(16) Our bed is green.--The heroine replies in similar terms of admiration, and recalls "the happy woodland places" in which they were wont to meet.

Verse 16-ch. 2:1. - Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant; also our couch is green. The beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters are firs. I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley. We take these three verses together as being, in all probability, the address of the bride to her royal husband. This was the view taken by the Masoretic editors and preserved in our present pointing of the Hebrew, as we see in the masculine form of the first word, הִגֶּך, which replies to the feminine form in ver. 15, הִגָּך. The seventeenth verse is apparently abrupt. Why should the bride pass so suddenly from the general address of affection, "Thou art fair, thou art pleasant," to a particular description of a rural scene? The explanation suggested by some of the critics is not farfetched, that Solomon whispers to her that she shall go back with him to her country life if she pleases, or she reminds him of his promise made at some other time. Undoubtedly the point of Shulamith's response lies in ch. 2:1, "I am not at ease in this palatial splendour; I am by nature a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley. Take me to the green couch, and let me lie under the cedars and the firs." The couch is the divan (cf. Amos 6:4), from a root "to cover over" (like "canopy" in Greek, κωνωπεῖοおみくろんνにゅー, so called from its protecting the person under it from the κかっぱώνεπες, or "gnats). It is not that the nuptial bed is particularly intended, or even the bridal bower, but the home itself as a bowery resting place. "Our home is a sweet country home; take me, there, beloved one." The word "green" is very suggestive in the Hebrew. It is said to "combine in itself the ideas of softness and juicy freshness, perhaps of bending and elasticity, of looseness and thus of overhanging ramification, like weeping willow." Beams, from a root "to meet," "to lay crosswise," "to hold together." But the meaning depends upon the idea of the whole description. Some would render "fretted ceilings," or "galleries;" but Dr. Ginsburg gives it, "our bower is of cedar arches," which excludes the idea of a formal structure made of cedar beams. The same meaning is conveyed in the last clause, "our rafters are firs." The word rendered "rafters" (יָחִיט) literally signifies "a place upon which one runs" (like שׁוּק, a "street"), i.e. a charming or pleasant spot. The beroth is the cypress tree, an Aramaic word, or one used in the north of Palestine. The meaning is, "our pleasant retreat is cypresses" - is beautiful and fragrant with the cypress tree. Delitzsch, however, and others would take it differently as describing the panels or hollows of a wainscoted ceiling, like φふぁいαあるふぁτたうνにゅーαあるふぁί, lacunae, lacunaria, and the LXX., φατνωμάτたうαあるふぁ: Symmachus, φατνωσεῖς: Jerome, laquearii (cf. Isaiah 60:13). But the concluding words would then be unfitting. The bride is not describing a splendid palace, but a country home. "I am a tender maiden," she says, "who has been brought up in retirement; take me to a forest palace and to the green, fragrant surroundings, where the meadow flower, the valley lily will be happy." We are so accustomed to the rendering of Song of Solomon 2:1, which our Revised Version has adopted from the Authorized, that it would be wrong to destroy the effect which it borrows from long familiarity unless it were absolutely necessary. The word chavatseleth, however, has been differently translated; it is literally any wild flower - rose, saffron crocus (Colchieum autumnale), tulip, narcissus, lily. The crocus is, perhaps, nearest . to the meaning, as the name is probably derived from a root "to form bulbs" or bulbous knolls. It occurs only once again, in Isaiah 35:1, where it is rendered "rose" in the Authorized Version; LXX., ἄνθος: Vulgate, flos. Some derive it from the root chavaz, "to be bright," with ל as termination. Sharon may be here a general denomination of the open field or plain, from יָרַשׁ, "to be straight, plain." There was a district called Sharon on the coast from Joppa to Caesarea. There was another Sharon beyond the Jordan (see 1 Chronicles 5:16). According to Eusebius and Jerome, there was yet another, between Tabor and Tiberias, and this, as being in the north, may be referred to. Aquila renders "a rosebud of Sharon." The lily (shoshannah) is only found as here in the feminine form in the Apocrypha. The red and white lily were both known. Some would derive the word from the numeral (shesh) "six," because the liliaceae are six-leaved, while the rosaceae are five-leaved; but it is probably akin to shesh, "byssus," shayish, "white marbles" (cf. Hosea 14:5, "He shall bloom as a lily"). Our Lord's reference to "the lilies of the field" reminds us that they were in Palestine both very beautiful and very abundant. Zockler thinks it is not the strongly scented white lily (Lilium candidam) to which reference is made, but the red lily (Lilium rubens); but either will convey the same idea of a flower of the field which is meant. "My beauty is the beauty of nature - artless and pure."

Parallel Commentaries ...

How
הִנְּךָ֨ (hin·nə·ḵā)
Interjection | second person masculine singular
Strong's 2005: Lo! behold!

handsome [you are],
יָפֶ֤ה (yā·p̄eh)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 3303: Fair, beautiful

my beloved!
דוֹדִי֙ (ḏō·w·ḏî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1730: To love, a love-token, lover, friend, an uncle

Oh, how
אַ֣ף (’ap̄)
Conjunction
Strong's 637: Meaning accession, yea, adversatively though

delightful!
נָעִ֔ים (nā·‘îm)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 5273: Pleasant, delightful

The soft grass
רַעֲנָנָֽה׃ (ra·‘ă·nā·nāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7488: Verdant, new, prosperous

[is] our bed.
עַרְשֵׂ֖נוּ (‘ar·śê·nū)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 6210: A couch, divan


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OT Poetry: Song of Solomon 1:16 Behold you are beautiful my beloved yes (Song Songs SS So Can)