of the Canticle 495 hnvwv she is ready to show outdoors the same sign of love which according to the customs of ancient society would be hardly acceptable. Yet, it seems to be assumed that everybody around would understand that this is the most sublime and the most honest expression of her real love. The two may not be despised. All in all, there is no doubt that the kiss still remains a fundamental expression of love and the lips play a fundamental role between the two affectionate hearts. So his lips remain for her a symbol of the kiss, of the gesture of love for which she longs from the beginning. The lips are a symbol of attraction which she desires too (cf. 1,4). His lips are µynvwv. As her self- presentation hnvwv was attractive for him (2,1-2), now his lips are equated with µynvwv, attractive for her, 5,13. What an extraordinary thing the flower of hnvwv/µynvwv must be when it deserves such a high appreciation in such an important and life-giving matter as love! I believe that the power of the expression “his lips are µynvwv” does not rest either in colour or in scent only and even less in form. The use of µynvwv conveys first and foremost the unmistakable attraction of the lovers. This understanding may be confirmed by the triple repetition of the formula of reciprocal ownership, 2,16; 6,3; 7,11. It is striking that on the third occasion the usual phrase “feeds among µynvwv” does not appear but rather the decisive statement comes in the single monocolon, 7,11 (84). All three times it comes from her mouth. Of course, for she never grows tired of emphasising the importance of their mutual relationship. But here “his desire” wtqwvt does not pervert the relationship as it was the case in Gen 3,16 when her desire (˚tqwvt) towards him turned to be an occasion for him to rule over her (85). According to Cant 7,11 he experiences the same desire and yearning towards her which turns out to be an expression of reciprocal attraction. Consequently, what is expressed in 7,11 is a climax of what was expressed in 2,16 and 6,3 by the recurring phraseology. 2,16 6,3 7,11 wl ynaw yl ydwd yl ydwdw ydwdl yna wtqwvt yl[w ydwdl yna - µynvwvb h[rh µynvwvb h[rh (84) W.G.E. Watson classifies this monocolon as containing the inner parallelism like 2,10a; 2,10b; 7,4; 7,5a; 7,9b; cf. “Verse patterns”, 112. (85) Cf. I.J. CAINION, “An Analogy of the Song of Songs and Genesis”, SJOT 4 (2000) 219-259.