> [[song-of-songs-01|← Previous]] | [[song-of-songs-00|TOC]] | [[song-of-songs-03|Next →]] --- # Song of Songs, Chapter 2 ## Chapter 2 1 W I am a flower of Sharon, ^song-of-songs-02-1 a lily of the valleys. 2 M Like a lily among thorns, ^song-of-songs-02-2 so is my friend among women. 3 W Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, ^song-of-songs-02-3 so is my lover among men. In his shadow I delight to sit, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. 4 He brought me to the banquet hall ^song-of-songs-02-4 and his glance at me signaled love. 5 Strengthen me with raisin cakes, ^song-of-songs-02-5 refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. 6 His left hand is under my head ^song-of-songs-02-6 and his right arm embraces me. 7 I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem, ^song-of-songs-02-7 by the gazelles and the does of the field, Do not awaken, or stir up love until it is ready. ### Her Lover’s Visit Remembered 8 W The sound of my lover! here he comes ^song-of-songs-02-8 springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. 9 My lover is like a gazelle ^song-of-songs-02-9 or a young stag. See! He is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. 10 My lover speaks and says to me, ^song-of-songs-02-10 M “Arise, my friend, my beautiful one, and come! 11 For see, the winter is past, ^song-of-songs-02-11 the rains are over and gone. 12 The flowers appear on the earth, ^song-of-songs-02-12 the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the turtledove is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree puts forth its figs, ^song-of-songs-02-13 and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my friend, my beautiful one, and come! 14 My dove in the clefts of the rock, ^song-of-songs-02-14 in the secret recesses of the cliff, Let me see your face, let me hear your voice, For your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” 15 W Catch us the foxes, the little foxes ^song-of-songs-02-15 that damage the vineyards; for our vineyards are in bloom! 16 My lover belongs to me and I to him; ^song-of-songs-02-16 he feeds among the lilies. 17 Until the day grows cool and the shadows flee, ^song-of-songs-02-17 roam, my lover, Like a gazelle or a young stag upon the rugged mountains. \* (2:1) Flower of Sharon: probably the narcissus, which grows in the fertile Plain of Sharon lying between Mount Carmel and Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast. Lily: the lotus plant. \* (2:3) Shadow: suggestive of protection (cf. [Jgs 9:15]; [[ezekiel-17|Ez 17]]:23; ([[psalm-17|Ps 17]]:8]; [121:5]) and, here, of the woman’s joy in the presence of her lover. \* (2:4] – [6) The banquet hall: the sweet things of the table, the embrace of the woman and man, express the richness of their affection and the intimacy of their love. \* (2:5) Raisin cakes: perhaps pastries used in the worship of the fertility goddess (cf. [Hos 3:1]; [Jer 7:18]; [44:19]). Apples: this is the common translation of a fruit that cannot be identified (cf. [2:3]; [8:5]); it appears frequently in Sumerian love poetry associated with the worship of the goddess Inanna. Sick: love-sickness is a popular motif in ancient love poetry. \* (2:7) Cf. [3:5]; [5:8]; [8:4]. By the gazelles and the does: perhaps a mitigated invocation of the divinity based on the assonance in Hebrew of the names of these animals with terms for God. \* (2:8] – [13) In this sudden change of scene, the woman describes a rendezvous and pictures her lover hastening toward her dwelling until his voice is heard calling her to him. \* (2:9) Gazelle: a frequent motif in ancient poems from Mesopotamia. \* (2:14) The woman is addressed as though she were a dove in a mountain cleft out of sight and reach. \* (2:15) A snatch of song in answer to the request of [2:14]; cf. [8:13] – [14]. Foxes: they threaten to disturb the security of vineyards. The vineyards are women sought after by young lovers, i.e., foxes. \* (2:17) Grows cool: in the evening when the sun is going down. Cf. [Gn 3:8]. Rugged: Hebrew obscure; some interpret it as a geographical name; others, in the sense of spices (cf. [8:14]); still others, of sacrifice ([[genesis-15|Gen 15]]:10); the image probably refers here to the woman herself. a. (2:4) [Sg 1:4]. b. (2:5) [Sg 5:8]. c. (2:6) [Sg 8:3]. d. (2:7) [Sg 3:5]; [8:4]. e. (2:16) [Sg 6:3]; [7:10]. f. (2:17) [Sg 4:6]; [8:14]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[song-of-songs-01|← Previous]] | [[song-of-songs-00|TOC]] | [[song-of-songs-03|Next →]]