“Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon”
Your neck is like a tower made of ivory… your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus. (Song of Songs 7:4 BSB)
What it sounds like today
An unintentional insult comparing her nose to a tower.
The cultural key
To a modern reader this is comic or even offensive: who wants a nose likened to a tower? The convention behind it is the wasf, a stylized love song that praises the beloved by comparing body parts to impressive architecture and geography. The comparisons work by association, not appearance. To say her neck is 'a tower of ivory' and her nose 'the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus' is to call her bearing regal, her profile strong and elegant, her whole aspect commanding, as awe-inspiring as a landmark fortress guarding the frontier. It is the same move as calling her neck 'the tower of David, hung with a thousand shields' (Song 4:4): dignity and majesty, not literal shape. The poet is not describing a large nose but praising a face of noble, striking beauty. Once you know the wasf convention, the 'insults' turn into some of the highest compliments the culture could pay.
Recovered meaning
Comparing her nose to 'the tower of Lebanon' is not an insult but a convention of ancient love poetry (the wasf), which praises the beloved through grand landmarks. It calls her bearing regal and her profile strikingly noble, not literally tower-shaped.