We continue a dialogue of praise between the two lovers.
Song of Songs 2:1, Woman, a rose
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
The woman confidently tells her lover that she is a pretty woman, like a rose.
Song of Songs 2:2, A lily among thorns
Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.
The man agrees. Indeed, in comparison with the other young women, she stands out as a lily among the thorns.
Davidson suggests that the first poem, begun in chapter 1, ends here. If so, we have a second short poem of declarations by the woman. (I think it is reasonable to see one poem running from 1:2 through 2:7, below.)
Song of Songs 2:3-4, The king's banqueting table
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.
The woman expresses her delight for her lover. He is a king who takes her into his banquet hall and declares his love for her. As the term "king" was one of endearment, the banquet hall is a metaphor, a special place of ("shade") of safety and security where she receives the attention of her lover and he looks after her.
The Hebrew word tappuach, tranlated "apple" here is unclear. It is alternately translated as "apricot" or "quince", a fruit more common to the ancient near east. Davidson suggests that the word stands for some citrus fruit; Alter prefers "quince", claiming that the hard fruit was often used in the Mediterranean culture to perfume bedsheets.
Song of Songs 2:5, Faint with love
Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.
In the banquet hall of love, the woman is faint, overwhelmed, dizzy with love. She begs for small treats to refresh her.
Song of Songs 2:6, Left hand under my hand
His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
The man, right handed, puts his left hand under her head and caresses her with his right. (Jan and I are both left-handed, so our embraces are a mirror reflection of this.) This verse appears again in 8:3.
Song of Songs 2:7. Do not arouse love!
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
Both here, and in chapter 8, the statement about their embrace is followed by the same instruction to the Daughters of Jerusalem. This seems to end a poem with a summary statement. Either the woman says "Do not arouse Love", because it is so powerful, so overwhelming, or she is saying, "Now that my lover has fallen asleep, do not awake him."
Throughout this book love and joy is associated with scenes from wild nature. Here the woman recalls the gazelles and does in her admonition to the Daughters.
Song of Songs 2:8-9, My lover is a young stag, racing my way
Listen! My lover! Look!
Here he comes, leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look!
There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
In what is possibly a new poem, the woman is excited by the eager approach of her lover. Davidson suggests that this passage describes the woman's dream.
Song of Songs 2:10-13a, Our spring is here
My lover spoke and said to me,
"Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.
See!
The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Spring is universally a sign of romantic love for humans, as the deer and sheep lay fawns and lambs and the plants bloom and reproduce. The two lovers are "blooming" in the same way, with strong desire for each other. For those who wished to make this poem allegorical, spring was also the time of Passover, celebrating YHWH's embrace of Israel.
Song of Songs 2:13b, Come away!
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one,
come with me."
The man calls his sweetheart to come away with him; he seeks a private place with her alone.
Song of Songs 2:14-15, Show yourself!
My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face, let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
The man describes his lover as a coy dove, hiding, flitting among the rocks. Is she flirting with him, hiding from him after his call to her? As he looks for her, he wants to hear her voice, see her face.
Song of Songs 2:15, Annoying foxes
Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.
The foxes are annoying pests that harm the vineyards. But the couple, in love, have "vineyards in bloom", and they do not want pests to destroy there love. (There is considerable debate as to the meaning of these fox pests.)
Song of Songs 2:16-17, My lover browses
My lover is mine and I am his;
he browses among the lilies.
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee,
turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag on the rugged hills.
The woman enjoys the tight bond of love that wraps the two in their commitment to each other. The chapter began with the woman describing herself as a lily of the valleys and later describing her lover as an energetic young stag. The outer/inner, poetic play with nature suggests that her lover "browses" her body, enjoying the "lilies" (her lips?) until dawn, when he hurries away with the energy of a gazelle or a stag. If one follows the body/nature metaphors it is possible (says Alter) to imagine the stag at home on the "rugged hills", the woman's breasts. If that if interpretation seems fanciful, the metaphor will become more explicit in chapters 4 and 7.
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