Song of Songs 2

The second chapter of the Song of Songs continues the love song between the two lovers that began in Song of Songs 1. The first part is a dialogue in which the lovers compare each other to flowers and trees. The second part is a song in which the man calls the woman to come away with him at the arrival of spring.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 The woman calls herself "the rose of Sharon" and "the lily of the valleys," and the man compares her to a lily among thorns. The woman in turn compares the man to an apple tree among the trees of the wood.
• Verses 4–6 The woman sings that he has brought her to the banqueting house and says that she is sick with love.
• Verse 7 The woman charges the daughters of Jerusalem not to stir up or awaken love until it pleases. This charge is repeated in 3:5 and 8:4.
• Verses 8–13 The woman hears the voice of her beloved coming over the mountains. He calls to her, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away," for the winter and the rain are past, the flowers have appeared, and spring has come with ripening figs and vines.
• Verses 14–15 The man asks to see the face and hear the voice of the woman, who is like a dove hidden in the clefts of the rock. A command follows to catch the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, though it is unclear who is speaking.
• Verses 16–17 The woman declares that they belong to each other and asks her beloved to return like a roe upon the mountains of Bether when the day draws to a close.

Key Verses

• Song of Songs 2:1 "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." This verse has been widely used in Christian devotional language and hymnody.
• Song of Songs 2:15 "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines." This verse is frequently cited as a figure for small threats that harm love.
• Song of Songs 2:16 "My beloved is mine, and I am his." Because it expresses the two lovers' mutual belonging, this verse is regarded as a summary of the book's theme.

Characters and Places

• The woman The speaker in most of this chapter.
• My beloved The man whom the woman loves. Because of the book's title he is sometimes associated with Solomon, but no name appears in this chapter.
• The daughters of Jerusalem The group to whom the woman addresses her charge; the phrase refers to the women of Jerusalem.
• Sharon A plain along the Mediterranean coast.
• The mountains of Bether The mountains mentioned in verse 17. Their location is uncertain, and some translations render the phrase as "cleft mountains."

Points for Reflection

Jewish tradition has read the Song of Songs as an expression of the love between God and Israel. In Christian tradition, an allegorical interpretation that reads it as the relationship between Christ and the church, or between Christ and the believer's soul, has a long history. This reading is often connected with Ephesians 5:31–32. In recent times, an interpretation that reads the book first of all as poetry celebrating love and marriage between a man and a woman has also gained wide acceptance.

In the text itself, "the rose of Sharon" in verse 1 is the woman's description of herself. Its use as a title for Christ is an application derived from allegorical interpretation. Scholars disagree about which flowers the "rose" and the "lily" actually were.

In the Korean Church

The expression in verse 1 is used in hymns and prayers as a reference to Jesus, as in the hymn "Jesus, Rose of Sharon." The "little foxes" of verse 15 are often cited in sermons as an illustration of small sins and habits that undermine the life of faith or the home.