Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

1:2 him . . . your. The movement from the third to second person may seem odd to modern readers, but such a switch of pronouns is recognized as a poetical device in Hebrew. Wine is an obvious analogy for love--both cause exuberance and lightheadedness.

1:3 Name . . . oil is a wordplay (Hb. shem . . . shemen). "Name" refers to his reputation, which is as alluring as spilled perfume. Anointing oils were applied on special occasions. They were made from crushed aromatic blossoms or resins mixed with oil and reduced to an ointment by boiling.

1:4a The king is probably a term of endearment, indicating the woman's high regard for her lover rather than referring to his actual position. (However, many who follow the Shepherd Hypothesis read this as referring to Solomon; see Introduction: Alternative Interpretations.)

1:4b This is the first speech of the "others," who function like a chorus. They join the shepherdess in her praise for the shepherd (you is masculine) by picking up her words from v. 2. They probably refers back to the "virgins" of v. 3, who are presumably the same as the "daughters of Jerusalem" (v. 5).

1:5 dark, but lovely. The shepherd girl has spent her life working in the sun (in the vineyard, v. 6; caring for the flock, v. 8) and is not dainty like some refined young women. daughters of Jerusalem. See note on v. 4b; cf. 2:7; 3:5, 10; 5:8, 16; 8:4. Only the shepherdess addresses them. tents of Kedar. The black goat-hair tents of the nomadic descendants of Ishmael who lived in the east (cf. Gen. 25:13; Jer. 49:28-29). Between the eighth and fourth centuries b.c. they were the most powerful northern Arabian Bedouin tribe. Curtains of Solomon were no doubt luxuriously splendid (2 Chron. 3:14). The effect of these two parallel lines is to create a picture of the woman that engenders awe.

1:6 My own vineyard refers in a poetic image to the woman's physical appearance that has been marred by the sun as she has tended her family's vineyard.

1:7 Noon is the time to rest, providing an opportunity to meet. whom my soul loves. An all-encompassing love that meets all of her desires (not simply sexual; cf. 1 Sam. 20:17). The woman refers to her lover as a shepherd.

1:8 This is the man's first appearance. Here he offers a playful answer to the woman's question of where to find him. She cares for a flock, as he does (v. 7).

1:9 A mare among Pharaoh's chariots would be the best of its kind--noble and well-furnished with ornaments--captivating and exciting those around her.

1:10-11 ornaments. Within the Song of Solomon, the use of jewelry to heighten beauty is seen as natural and good (cf. 4:9). In 1:11, the chorus speaks to the woman (you is feminine), picking up from her comment in v. 10.

1:12 On the title king, see note on v. 4a. Nard was a fragrance extracted from a plant (cf. 4:13-14). For the erotic effect of a "fragrance," cf. 7:13.

1:13 My beloved is the woman's most common term of endearment for the man (31 times). sachet of myrrh. A pouch of aromatic resin that comes from various trees and shrubs.

1:14 White henna blossoms (which produced a red pigment) smell like roses. Engedi is an oasis of abundant water on the dry and desolate western bank of the Dead Sea--a location with obvious appeal.

1:16-17 The couch, house, and rafters are all likened to a lush woodland location and may indicate that the pair are outdoors.

2:1 Sharon is a coastal plain on the western side of Israel, north of present-day Tel-Aviv (Isa. 35:2). As the ESV footnote indicates, the rose of Sharon is "probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus"--similar to the lily of the next line.

2:2 The man responds by elevating the woman's beauty well beyond her self-description, comparing her to others whom he refers to as brambles (prickly, thorny shrubs, or bushes).

2:3 Apple tree refers to a sweet fruit tree, providing pleasant shade and refreshing food; in this way, it is quite distinct from the other trees of the forest. Observe how the woman responds to his comparison from v. 2.

2:4 banqueting house (ESV footnote, "house of wine"). This is the only occurrence of this phrase in the OT (although there are similar expressions in Est. 7:8; Eccles. 7:2; Jer. 16:8). The exact location of this house is not critical. Rather, it is a place where wine is drunk and thus a place of love (see note on Song 1:2). This Hebrew term for banner is used elsewhere in the OT only in Numbers (Num. 2:2), where it is a standard flown at camps and carried into battle. Its use here would thus seem to indicate a public display of the lovers' identity, namely, that they belong to and are committed to each other.

2:5 For the refreshing and celebratory effects of raisins, see 2 Sam. 6:19. sick with love. See note on Song 5:8.

2:6 embraces. Sometimes this term refers to sexual activity (Prov. 5:20), but it can also describe the embrace of affection (e.g., Gen. 29:13; 33:4). Here it is not necessarily sexual, although the context would indicate great intimacy. These lines are repeated almost verbatim in Song 8:3.

2:7 This verse serves as a refrain (cf. 3:5; 8:4; a variation in 5:8). Love is demanding, and in giving of oneself, fatigue is inevitable. As appealing as love is, it should not be forced or rushed, hence the adjuration of the woman to the daughters in this verse. It is clear that the couple is already in love, but they must allow their love to proceed at its proper pace, which includes waiting until the right time to consummate it (in marriage, cf. 8:4; see also Introduction: Literary Features and Structure). Perhaps due to their shyness, gazelles were often associated with love in the ancient Near East (cf. 3:5).

2:8-17 These verses draw out the lovers' desire to be together in the face of various obstacles, with the woman quoting her lover in vv. 10-17. This yearning continues as the topic of the woman's dream in 3:1-5.

2:8 Mountains and hills are probably literary images for obstacles to their love (as in v. 15) that the man overcomes.

2:9 Our wall could refer to the wall of her mother's house (cf. 3:4; 8:2).

2:10 Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away is repeated at the end of v. 13, forming a literary envelope enclosing vv. 11-13.

2:11-13 Springtime is at hand, and with it come fresh, fragrant fruit and flowers, along with the cooing of the turtledove--stimulating all of the lovers' senses. Springtime is often celebrated as a time for lovers.

2:14 my dove. Doves were associated with love, so this endearment used by the man identifies the woman with love; in her, he experiences love. The words occur in mirror form, face . . . voice . . . voice . . . face.

2:15-16 Foxes are pests that wreak havoc in vineyards (e.g., they will eat the grapes). Although the vineyard has been associated with the appearance of the woman (1:6), here it is described as our vineyards and thus refers to their relationship. The foxes represent some hindrances that are threatening to spoil their relationship.

2:17 Presumably the woman desires for her beloved to turn toward her rather than away from her.