1. Song of Solomon 6:4 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does the man compare the young woman to Tirzah and Jerusalem?

Song of Solomon 6:4 (ESV)

4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.

The young man speaks again in this poem of admiration for his wife (Song of Solomon 6:4–10). He confirms that the reconciliation that the young woman has spoken of in Song of Solomon 6:2–3 is in fact real.1

The young man compares the beauty of his wife to the cities of Tirzah and Jerusalem. The cities are viewed from a distance, and it is the physical attraction of the cities that is relevant.2 Tirzah and Jerusalem were the two greatest cities of the early monarchy. The meaning of the comparison is that she inspires awe and wonder in him.3