Song of Songs
Chapter 2
VII. Roses and Apple Trees
I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley.
As a lily among thorns, so is my love among women.
She 3As an apple tree in a forest, so is my lover among men. I sought his shade, there I sat; his fruit is sweet to my taste.
VIII. The Wounded Woman
He has taken me to the wine-store; his banner over me reads: “Love.”
Oh, strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for love makes me sick!
His left hand is under my head; his right arm embraces me.
He 7I beg you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and hinds of the field, not to arouse or stir up love before her time has come.
IX. Spring
The voice of my lover! Behold he comes, springing across the mountains, jumping over the hills,
like a gazelle or a young stag.Now he stands behind our wall,looking through the windows,peering through the lattice.
My lover speaks to me,“Arise, my love, my beautiful one!
Come, the winter is gone,the rains are over.
Flowers have appeared on earth;the season of singing has come;the cooing of doves is heard.
The fig tree forms its early fruit,the vines in blossom are fragrant.Arise, my beautiful one,come with me, my love, come.
O my dove in the rocky cleft,in the secret places of the cliff,let me see your face,let me hear your voice.Your face—how lovely!Your voice—how sweet!”
Capture the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards,our vineyards in flower.
My lover is mine and I am his;he shepherds his flock among the lilies.
Before the dusk blows and shadows flee,return, my lover, be like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged hills.
Commentaries
Roses and Apple Trees.
We continue in the rural setting. The girl feels enchanting, like a narcissus or a rose, and free in the valley’s shade. The boy confirms what the young woman has just said: for him, she is the most beautiful woman in existence. Two young people intervene in this scene: the lover who appeared at the beginning of the book and her interlocutor. Once again, it is she who takes the initiative.
The Wounded Woman.
There is a change of scene in this new epigram. We are now inside the hall of “a banquet.” An unexpected warrior crashes into this hall: Love. (In Hebrew, there is no article, and we must understand that this is a personification.) The woman suddenly gets wounded and screams for help. The wound is so deep that it can only be healed by the presence and figure of her beloved. He has vanished as quickly as he appeared, leaving the woman injured. If her companions do not want to go through such a harrowing experience, they should not wake or reveal love (now with an article, meaning “love”) until he chooses. The battlefield prompts us to consider the third female character introduced in the book’s prologue: the prostitute.
Spring.
This is the first idyll in the Song. The verbs of movement and the voice provide unity to the composition. The protagonist of the idyll is the “fascinating” girl (14), who was introduced in the book’s prologue (1.5). She has endured a winter of absence. Now, spring has arrived. The flowers in the field, the budding fig trees, the swelling vines, the season of singing, and the cooing of the turtledove all invite us to celebrate and enjoy love. The attentive listener perceives the presence of the beloved, even if only “a rumor…” From then on, she imagines him approaching quickly, like a deer or fawn, peeking through the window and fence. She hears his voice, or she herself puts words in her beloved’s mouth: “Get up… Come.” But the girl resists. She turns her house into a dovecote, even though she longs for her beloved’s presence more than anything. The game of love can sometimes be too cruel (Song 8:6). The boy would be content just to see the “fascinating” girl and hear her “sweet voice.” After the spell against the foxes that threaten the vineyard, which was previously unguarded, the girl solemnly declares: “My beloved is mine, and I am his; he delights among the roses!” While the night lasts, it is time for the deer or fawn to roam the narrow hills. The language is allusive and subtle. Although both the girl and the boy have voices in this beautiful idyll, it may only be a fantasy of the girl, who dreams of total devotion and possession.