Song of Solomon 5:2-8
Summary for Song 5:2-6:3: 5:2–6:3 a One verse earlier, the couple are fully enjoying their intimate union. Now the woman feels the torment of separation. In the dramatic interpretation, the woman has been separated from the man twice before and has searched for him (1:4-7 b; 3:1-4 c). This last time, the separation takes place in her dreams—it is only a nightmare. Her dream seems to extend to 6:3 d, given the natural flow of questions and answers between the woman and the young women of Jerusalem.• If the Song is an anthology, these poems explore love rather than giving accounts of actual events. This poem reminds us that an intimate relationship is not always easy or perfectly satisfying. 5:2 e I slept, but my heart was awake: This is an apt definition of a dream; she was physically asleep, but emotionally and psychologically awake.
• my lover knocking ... “Open to me”: Opening doors is a metaphor for sexual activity in the ancient Near East (see also 8:9 f). By describing the man as knocking at the door and requesting entry, the poem suggests that the man is requesting sexual union. He awaits permission; he does not presume.
Summary for Song 5:4-6: 5:4-6 g My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled: The man persists in his attempts to arouse the woman, and she eventually responds positively to his overtures. However, by the time she responds, he has given up or become otherwise occupied. This is a powerful poetic picture of the struggles of two lovers to be sexually intimate with each other.
5:7 h The night watchmen ... beat and bruised me: The watchmen who were protectors in 3:3 i now become demonized characters in her dream (5:2 j). What they do describes how she feels—pummeled and wounded.
• stripped off my veil: She feels that she has lost her dignity.
Summary for Song 5:8-9: 5:8-9 k The woman enlists the young women of Jerusalem to help her find her lover. They ask her to describe him, and this leads into the second descriptive poem (wasf) of the Song (see study note on 4:1–5:1). 5:8 l I am weak with love: The woman’s trauma is an image for her lovesickness (cp. 2:5 m).
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