THE SONG OF SONGS - WHICH IS SOLOMON'S
ACT II
The Shulamite remembers events that led up to her present
situation.
Verses 2:8 - 3:5
Scene 1
The shepherd visits her at home and is rejected by her brothers.
Verses 2:8-17
Act II opens with the Shulamite and the daughters of Jerusalem
gathered in the living quarters -- once again, probably in the recreation
area.
The Shulamite is telling the ladies about a time when
her shepherd lover came "calling" upon her and invites her for
a "walk" in the fields.
(sw)Song 2:8
1. "Listen! My beloved!: Literally, "the sound
(voice) OF my beloved."
Most teachers want to render this as an exclamation, "hear"
or "listen."
But it seems unlikely since the next exclamation (behold),
has him far off in the distance certainly out of ear shot. It is perhaps
a minor point, but I prefer to view this as an introductory remark to the
story she is about to relate.
2. Behold: This is the standard, hinā, and
is a plea that special attention be given to what follows.
3. he is coming, Climbing on the mountains, Leaping on
the hills!
This seems to be an analogy which is further explained
by the simili in verse 9, "gazelle" and "stag." The
shepherd is both zealous in his efforts to visit her as well as quick in
navigating the terrain to reach her home.
(sw)Song 2:9
1. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag: The
simile
is used to communicate the zealousness and agility of the shepherd as he
comes to visit the Shulamite at her home.
2. He is cautious. Perhaps he is already aware that her
brothers already disapprove. Or perhaps this is simply explaining the progress
of his "search" for her as she observes his arrival. She is probably
sitting outside the house as he enters the property.
3. Behold, he is standing behind our wall: he makes a
general survey of the area, looking for the Shulamite but does not see
her.
4. He is looking through the windows: He peeks through
the windows of the house to see if she is inside, but does not see her.
5. He is peering through the lattice: He looks around
outside and finds her sitting "in the yard" perhaps doing chores.
(sw)Song 2:10a
My beloved responded and said to me: The "response"
does not mean that she said anything to him. It is a response to having
found her.
(sh)Song 2:10b
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one And come along: He
speaks affectionately and invites her to leave what she is doing and go
for a walk.
(sh)Song 2:11-13
For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over {and}
gone.
The flowers have {already} appeared in the land; The time
has arrived for pruning {the vines,} And the voice of the turtledove has
been heard in our land.
The fig tree has ripened its figs, And the vines in blossom
have given forth {their} fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!
He verbally paints a picture of the season and the day
and invites her to come along and enjoy it with him for awhile.
(sh)Song 2:14
1. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret
place of the steep pathway, Let me see your form, Let me hear your voice:
He desires her presence. He likes to be with her (see
your form) and he likes to talk with her (hear yoiur voice).
A. The word translated "form," in the NASB (countenance,
in the KJV), is mareh and means sight or appearance. It occurs in the plural
(appearances) and probably refers to every aspect of her physical appearance
as her body and face express the various (plural) characteristics of her
personality.
B. Her appearances are lovely. Lovely is the word we saw
at Song 1:5, and it simply means attractive (nAweh).
C. Her voice is pleasant. The word is Arābh,
which means "pleasant."
The only other place this adjective occurs is at Prov. 20:17, but the verb,
Arabh, occurs 8 times.
2. At this point in relating the incident, the Shulamite
abruptly refers to a "job" that her brothers give to her. Whether
they interrupt the conversation she is having with the shepherd or whether
they are dealing with her after she has gone for the walk, cannot be determined
by our context. But in either case, the story "on the stage"
will be communicating well to the audience. We could perhaps see her returning
from the walk and being confronted by the brothers or we could see the
brothers come on the scene before she leaves for the walk and take her
away from the Shepherd. In either case, she is then removed from the home
and assigned to the task of guarding the vineyards from the foxes; the
task she had already mentioned at verse 1:6.
(bros)Song 2:15, "Catch the foxes for us, The little
foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom."
This then relates the instructions from her brothers.
This interpretation is based on comparing and associating verse 15 with
what the Shulamite said at verse 1:6, "My mother's sons were angry
with me; They made me caretaker of the vineyards."
At verses 16-17, the Shulamite ends her story and resumes
soliloquizing about her shepherd lover.
(sw)Song 2:16
1. My beloved is mine, and I am his: This is the first
of two times that she speaks these words. She is relating her feelings
to the daughters of Jerusalem who are still listening to her. The statement
reaffirms her devotion and love for the shepherd, even though she has been
removed from his presence.
2. He pastures {his flock} among the lilies: She knows
where he is but is unable to get to him. However, she longs for his presence
and speaks out loud the desire of her heart that the shepherd come to her
aid (v. 17).
Song 2:17
"Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee
away, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains
of Bether."
This imagery speaks of the swiftness, elegance and diligence
that the Shulamite desires the shepherd to express as he comes for her.
END SCENE 1
Scene 2 - The Shulamite relates an incident of searching
for the shepherd.
(sw)Verses 3:1-5
In this scene the Shulamite relates her nightly thoughts
of wanting to be with the shepherd and one specific time when she decided
to actually go looking for him.
Song 3:1, "On my bed night after night I sought him
Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him:
Every night she longed to be with the shepherd. She longed
to search for him, but of course, without getting up and physically looking,
she would not find him. All she has been doing is thinking about him and
perhaps this can include her dreams. But one night, which can refer either
to an evening after dark or early morning before dawn, she actually did
get up and go to find him. She knows where to find him whether it be the
evening or morning, she simply lacked the specific motivation or opportunity
to actually go search.
Song 3:2 'I must arise now and go about the city; In the
streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.' I sought
him but did not find him.
She looks at several of the places where it would be expected
to find him, but he was not there.
Song 3:3 "The watchmen who make the rounds in the
city found me, {And I said,} 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?':
The meeting with the watchmen suggests that this is evening
or early morning, since if it were later at night she would have had the
same kind of problem that she had at chapter 5:6-7, where the watchmen
mistook her for a prostitute. But in this case, the watchmen are non hostile
and simply answer her question of inquiry in the negative. The tenor of
the story does not require that specific names be given or that we try
and figure out how the watchmen know about whom she is speaking. It is
enough that a bona fide inquiry is made, the watchmen understand and then
answer. Since they did not know where to find him, she left them, but no
sooner had she parted from the watchmen, then she found the shepherd and
embraced him.
Song 3:4 "Scarcely had I left them When I found him
whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go, Until I
had brought him to my mother's house, And into the room of her who conceived
me."
When she finds him she clings tightly to him and urges
him to come home to be formally presented to her family. The Shulamite
is relating this incident to the daughters in order to emphasize her love
and devotion to the shepherd and her lack of interest in Solomon.
Song 3:5 "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and by the does of the field, that you do not arouse or
awaken the love, until it desires." (BFT)
She again pleads with the daughters to refrain from pushing
her toward someone for whom she has no desire. The meaning of the language
in this plea was explained at verse 2:7.
Scene two and Act two end with the clear message that
the Shulamite wants nothing to do with Solomon's advances.
Continue to Act III
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