Reflections on Song of Solomon 2

 Song of Solomon 02 (Contemporary English Version)

1. I am merely a rose from the land of Sharon, a lily from the valley.
   
2. My darling, when compared with other young women, you are a lily among thorns.
   
3. And you, my love, are an apple tree among trees of the forest. Your shade brought me pleasure; your fruit was sweet.
   
4. You led me to your banquet room and showered me with love.
   
5. Refresh and strengthen me with raisins and apples. I am hungry for love!
   
6. Put your left hand under my head and embrace me with your right arm.
   
7. Young women of Jerusalem, promise me by the power of deer and gazelles never to awaken love before it is ready.
   
8. I hear the voice of the one I love, as he comes leaping over mountains and hills
   
9. like a deer or a gazelle. Now he stands outside our wall, looking through the window
   
10. and speaking to me. My darling, I love you! Let's go away together.
    
11. Winter is past, the rain has stopped;
    
12. flowers cover the earth, it's time to sing. The cooing of doves is heard in our land.
    
13. Fig trees are bearing fruit, while blossoms on grapevines fill the air with perfume. My darling, I love you! Let's go away together.
    
14. You are my dove hiding among the rocks on the side of a cliff. Let me see how lovely you are! Let me hear the sound of your melodious voice.
    
15. Our vineyards are in blossom; we must catch the little foxes that destroy the vineyards.
    
16. My darling, I am yours, and you are mine, as you feed your sheep among the lilies.
    
17. Pretend to be a young deer dancing on mountain slopes until daylight comes and shadows fade away.

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The beloved (the woman in this romanic affair) describes herself now in somewhat more attractive terms, calling herself a rose of Sharon. Though describing herself as being common or plain, as a common lily, it is a contrast to her earlier description of herself as being dark and unattractive from being in the sun. The lover (the man) speaks up, though, to say she is not just any lily, but a lily that makes all the other women to be as thorns. She is a lily among thorns.

The beloved reciprocates, speaking of her lover as an apple tree among the trees of the forest, which might be somewhat like his description of her as a lily among thorns. She is lovesick with his attentiveness to her, enjoying his protectiveness, as she sits in his shade, enjoying also that he gives public attention to her by taking her to the banquet hall, and also enjoys the intimacy of their relationship as noted by his being sweet to her taste. The beloved goes on to address the young women of Jerusalem telling them to wait until love comes to them at the appropriate time. Until then, any effort to stir up love might result in stirring up something less than love.

The scene changes from the banquet hall to a country setting. The beloved is at her home and her lover comes bounding to her over the hills like a gazelle or young stag. He stops behind the wall of her home to view her through the lattice. And from behind the wall he calls to her to come with him for a walk in the countryside where spring has sprung. Everything is in bloom and the birds are singing and cooing. Might he also be describing their relationship? It is more than the countryside in bloom that the lover is interested in. It is also the presence of the beloved he wants, to see her face and hear her voice. Either of the two could be speaking in verse 15, calling to give attention to those things that might harm the relationship like foxes in the vineyard that ruin it.

The beloved glows in her relationship with her lover, pointing out that their love is for each other alone, for they have given themselves only to the other. She desires the time when they can spend the night together and he can be like a stag on the divided mountains of her breasts.