Heavy dew falls, especially during spring and in the second half of the night. The Spanish poet whom Longfellow translated had in his mind our passage and Revelation 3:20 :
'Lord, what am I, that, with unceasing care,
Thou didst seek after me,—that thou didst wait,
Wet with unhealthy dews before my gate,
And pass the gloomy nights of winter there?
How oft my guardian angel gently cried,
“Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see
How he persists to knock and wait for thee.”'
And our Lord's parable (Luke 11:5-8) presents a parallel to Song of Solomon 5:3. The tunic had been put off (Exodus 22:26; Deuteronomy 24:18). The feet, shod only with sandals, needed washing each night.
Her teeth are white, regular, a perfect set. Her cheek resembles the rich colours of the pomegranate. She has a swan's neck, a graceful, slender tower, hung round with ornaments, as the tower of David—whatever that may have been—was hung with shields (1 Kings 10:16-17; 2 Kings 11:10; Ezekiel 27:11; Ezekiel 1Ma 4:57). For sweetness she may be compared to mountains on which odoriferous shrubs abound.