“A garden locked, a spring sealed”
My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed. (Song of Songs 4:12 BSB)
What it sounds like today
Odd images of gardening and plumbing applied to a person.
The cultural key
In a hot, dry land, a walled garden with its own water source was the most precious of private possessions, locked and guarded so that only its owner could enter and enjoy it. A sealed spring or fountain, closed with a stopper bearing the owner's mark, was reserved for his exclusive use. Applied to the bride, these images form a delicate, admiring picture of her chastity and undivided love: she is a garden no one else may enter, a spring kept for her lover alone. It praises her faithfulness and the exclusive intimacy she offers him, not, as the odd English might suggest, horticulture or waterworks. The endearments 'my sister, my bride' are the affectionate language of love poetry across the ancient Near East, not a statement of family relation.
Recovered meaning
A locked garden and a sealed spring were guarded private property for the owner alone; the images honor the bride's chastity and exclusive, faithful love, reserved for her lover only. It is praise of intimacy kept for one, not literal gardening.