Because of the savour of thy good ointments; thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
Exodus 30:23-25
Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
The ointment imagery that opens the Song invokes the Exodus 30 holy anointing oil statute. The Mosaic sanctuary required a specific compound ointment — myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia, olive oil — that was the designated medium of divine consecration for the tabernacle, its vessels, and the priests. The Song's beloved whose name is 'as ointment poured forth' deploys this sacred anointing language to describe the one who consecrates and draws the beloved. The ointment that sanctifies the covenant sanctuary is the typological register for the love that consecrates the covenant relationship.