Charles Ellicott Commentary Song Of Solomon 4:3

"Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, And thy mouth is comely. Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil." — Song Of Solomon 4:3 (ASV)

Speech.—Rather, mouth, as the parallelism shows.

Thy temples...—Rather, like a piece of pomegranate thy cheeks behind thy veil. (See Note to Song of Solomon 4:1).

“The pomegranate brings to my mind the blushes of my beloved, when her cheeks are covered with a modest resentment” (Persian Ode, quoted by Ginsburg from Sir William Jones).

For the pomegranate, see Exodus 28:34. It naturally supplied to the Eastern poet the image for which the Western poet goes to the apple.

“Her cheeks like apples which the sun has reddened” (Spenser).