What does the chapter actually say?
Identify the explicit claims before importing later doctrine or assumptions.
SONG OF SOLOMON • CHAPTER 2
Song of Solomon 2
Erotic love poetry, desire, beauty, longing, mutual attraction, separation, and reunion.
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Song of Solomon 2
WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE
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1
I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
a lily of the valleys.
2
As a lily among thorns,
so is my love among the daughters.
so is my love among the daughters.
3
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
his fruit was sweet to my taste.
so is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4
He brought me to the banquet hall.
His banner over me is love.
His banner over me is love.
5
Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples;
for I am faint with love.
refresh me with apples;
for I am faint with love.
6
His left hand is under my head.
His right hand embraces me.
His right hand embraces me.
7
I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,
by the roes, or by the hinds of the field,
that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
until it so desires.
by the roes, or by the hinds of the field,
that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
until it so desires.
8
The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping on the mountains,
skipping on the hills.
Behold, he comes,
leaping on the mountains,
skipping on the hills.
9
My beloved is like a roe or a young deer.
Behold, he stands behind our wall!
He looks in at the windows.
He glances through the lattice.
Behold, he stands behind our wall!
He looks in at the windows.
He glances through the lattice.
10
My beloved spoke, and said to me,
“Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.
“Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.
11
For behold, the winter is past.
The rain is over and gone.
The rain is over and gone.
12
The flowers appear on the earth.
The time of the singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The time of the singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13
The fig tree ripens her green figs.
The vines are in blossom.
They give out their fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.”
The vines are in blossom.
They give out their fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.”
14
My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places of the mountainside,
let me see your face.
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.
in the hiding places of the mountainside,
let me see your face.
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.
15
Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes that plunder the vineyards;
for our vineyards are in blossom.
the little foxes that plunder the vineyards;
for our vineyards are in blossom.
16
My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He browses among the lilies.
He browses among the lilies.
17
Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,
turn, my beloved,
and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.
turn, my beloved,
and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.
POETRY
Where this chapter fits
Song of Solomon belongs to Israel's wisdom/poetic tradition, where literary form matters as much as historical setting.
Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.
Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.
ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS
Historical claims should be compared with historical evidence.
Scientific claims should be compared with science.
Moral claims should be examined morally.
Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Don't skip the hard parts.
What kind of literature is this?
Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.
What historical evidence matters?
Ask whether names, places, institutions, events, customs, and chronology can be independently investigated.
What are the strongest competing interpretations?
Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.
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