The next four items described by the young man—thighs, navel, belly, and breasts—are linked together by rounded shape and associated with sex and fertility. Indeed, since the sandals are the only item of clothing mentioned in this poem, the impression is given that the other items of clothing are completely absent.1 Again, if not literally, then at least in the mind of the young man she is dancing almost naked.
The jewels
(Hebrew yerekayim) are ornaments of some kind which we presume to have a rounded quality. Her thighs are rounded, then, like these ornaments—the work of a master hand.2 The Hebrew word here for master hand
is omman, which invites comparison with Proverbs 8:30, where wisdom is the master craftsman (amon) at work alongside God in creation, hinting that God himself is ultimately the craftsman whose splendid work the woman displays.3
2 Que tes pieds sont beaux dans tes chaussures, fille de prince! Les contours de ta hanche sont comme des colliers, Œuvre des mains d'un artiste.