Translation
I rose up to open for my Love, and my hands dripped
Go to footnote numberwith myrrh, my fingers
Go to footnote numberoverflowed
Go to footnote numberwith myrrh, on the handles of the lock.
Paraphrase
I finally took action, I made up my mind to grant him access;
such action held promise for healing and uplifting me, every detail of this course of action overflowed with a sense of healing and the potential to lift me up, as I prepared to overcome the barriers and grant him access to me.
Footnotes
1
The name Taphath comes from this verb. I am confident it was the name of the Shulammite’s oldest daughter.
2
Fingers were another reference to agency (the means to accomplish something), the finger of a ruler to issue commands, or the finger of a simple person to accomplish a simple task.
3
“Overflowed” is the closest to the original language, but “covered” would communicate the idea best in English. However, I chose to stick with “overflowed” in order to retain the power of the Hebrew. How can fingers overflow if they are not cupped? This is symbolism, so don’t analyze it that way. The point of this choice of words is to show the abundance of the substance that covered the fingers, in this case Myrrh.