Song of Solomon 1

The Song opens with the bride’s longing — “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine” — and her frank, humble self-awareness before the daughters of Jerusalem. She and her beloved exchange the first of many mutual praises, he likening her to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots and she calling him beautiful, their words setting the tone of tender, delighting love that runs through the whole book.