Song of Solomon 1:2-14
Summary for Song 1:2-14: 1:2-14 a The Song begins with the woman’s expression of desire for intimate union with the man she loves. In the Song, the woman is frequently the one who initiates relationship. The members of the chorus (identified in the NLT as “Young Women of Jerusalem”) affirm her choice of this man.• According to the three-character dramatic interpretation, the Song opens by explaining the woman’s predicament. The king is about to take her into his palace, but her true passions lie with her shepherd lover. The woman hopes that her lover will rescue her from the king’s presence (1:4 b). 1:2 c Kiss me and kiss me again: The woman longs for the touch and taste of kisses from her true love. From the very start we find that the young woman and the man share a strong attraction. Their relationship is one of mutual respect and loving concern.
• Love is a sensual experience in the Song. The taste of love is sweeter than wine, a rich and sensuous liquid; love, like wine, also leaves its partaker slightly light-headed.
1:3 d The fragrance of the man’s cologne suggests sweet smells of love, indicating that the woman wants to get physically closer to him.
• all the young women love you: The young man’s allure is not only physical. He has an excellent reputation—the chorus of women expresses their respect and adoration for him in 1:4 e. By highlighting the attention he receives from other women, the woman makes it clear that her love is not blind, and that she feels fortunate to be the one whose love the man returns.
1:4 f Take me with you: The two lovers are very active throughout the Song, traveling through the hills, to the city, and out to the country. This time the woman invites the man to take her away with him, and urgently expresses her desire (let’s run!). According to the three-character dramatic view, they may be running to escape the king, who has brought the young woman into his palace.
• The king has brought me into his bedroom (literally into his rooms): A common interpretation of this clause is that the woman is anticipating an intimate relationship with King Solomon. However, though a literal Hebrew translation indicates that she has been brought into Solomon’s rooms, it does not specify which rooms she was taken into. Nor does the Hebrew imply that it was her personal desire.
• The text changes here from the second person (“you”) to the third person (“his”), which might indicate that two different men are involved—one being spoken to, the other being spoken about. In that case, it is possible that the woman desires to run because she does not want to be the king’s concubine.
• If the Song is a collection of love songs without a narrative thread, it is not problematic for the lover to be identified here as the king and later as a shepherd (e.g., 1:7 g): (1) The language may or may not be intended literally; (2) these titles, consistent with other ancient Middle Eastern love poetry, may reflect the woman’s view of her lover at a particular time (e.g., by indicating that he is a king in her eyes); or (3) different poems may refer to different couples.
• The woman frequently addresses the young women of Jerusalem (e.g., 2:7 h; 3:5 i). They are portrayed as close, trusted friends who are fond of the woman and responsive to her requests. She often confides in them about her lover, and they commend the couple from their outside perspective (e.g., 5:1 j, 9 k).
• O king is not in the Hebrew; its addition reflects the view that the young man is the king rather than a shepherd.
Summary for Song 1:5-11: 1:5-11 l If the Song is a three-character drama and the shepherd is her lover, the couple was apart while she was in the king’s palace, and in this passage she wants to be sure of where to find him when she leaves there. On two occasions, she is frantic about losing him again (3:1-4 m; 5:2-8 n). At other times, her concern is more subtle (2:14 o).
Summary for Song 1:5-6: 1:5-6 p The woman’s dark skin color has nothing to do with her race; her complexion has been darkened by the sun. Even so, she retains her self-respect and asserts her beauty. She is wholesome-looking from tending vineyards and goats (see also 1:8 q).
• Solomon had caretakers of his fields, vineyards, herds, and flocks; the herders lived in dark goats’-hair tents.
1:6 r my own vineyard: The NLT interprets vineyard as a metaphor for the woman’s own body (cp. 2:15 s; 7:12 t). In ancient Near Eastern societies, brothers protected sisters from premature intimate relationships with men. The woman’s protest reflects her belief that she is ready for love (see also 8:8-12 u, the only other mention of the brothers).
• The dramatic view takes vineyard literally: The brothers’ abuse had resulted in the woman’s inability to take care of the vineyards for which she was personally responsible. She found herself in Solomon’s harem because she had not been able to pay Solomon the money she owed him (8:11-12 v).
Summary for Song 1:7-8: 1:7-8 w leading your flock: In the dramatic view, the woman’s lover and his friends are literal shepherds, not a line of work or the company that one would associate with King Solomon at any time in his life.
• like a prostitute (literally like a veiled woman): Prostitutes wore veils to hide their identities (Gen 38:14-16 x). Since the woman has been claimed by Solomon as a concubine, she has reason to shroud herself and avoid being obvious. She wants to avoid having to ask everyone around her for the location of someone she loves (cp. Song 3:3 y; 5:6-7 z). She wants to find him privately during the resting period at noon so they can enjoy the time together.
1:8 aa The man’s first words in this poem lovingly pacify the woman’s anxiety by giving directions to where she should meet him.
• The man desires to be with her and tells her to come under the guise of a goatherd, following the trail of his flock.
1:9 ab The shepherd frequently calls the woman darling (literally companion) to show his respect for her as a partner and friend as well as a lover (1:15 ac; 2:2 ad, 10 ae, 13 af; 4:1 ag, 7 ah; 5:2 ai; 6:4 aj).
• In the ancient Near East, a charge of horsemen on stallions was sometimes diverted by letting loose a mare in heat. This so distracted the attacking horses that they broke the charge. Similarly, the woman’s beauty drives other men to distraction.
Summary for Song 1:10-11: 1:10-11 ak The woman’s beauty is enhanced by her jewelry. This beauty deserves to be even further ornamented, so the man says that even more jewelry will be provided for her (cp. Matt 13:12 al).
Summary for Song 1:12-14: 1:12-14 am In the dramatic view, it appears that although the woman is physically in the king’s palace (1:4 an, 12 ao), her heart is with her shepherd lover (1:13-14 ap).
• In the anthology view, this is a short poem on intimate fragrances. 1:12 aq The meaning of the word translated couch is uncertain, and the word lying is not found in the Hebrew, so the king and the woman could be lying together on a couch or bed, or simply sitting at a table in one of the palace rooms.
• The interpretation that sees the Song as a collection of love songs is not concerned with whether the man is literally a king.
1:13 ar Myrrh is extracted from the branches of a fragrant shrub that did not grow in Israel, but was imported from Arabia and India at extravagant cost. The sachet is a little packet of sweet-smelling myrrh. The woman’s desire for intimacy is expressed by comparing her lover to the sachet lying between her breasts.
• According to the three-character dramatic view, the woman is with the king in one of his palace rooms, but the fragrance of myrrh between her breasts fondly reminds her of her shepherd lover who is truly there, closer to her heart than the king.
1:14 as The woman thirsts for the sincere love of her man the way a traveler would thirst for the water of En-gedi, an oasis in the wilderness west of the Dead Sea.
• Henna is an aromatic shrub from the region around En-gedi; its blossoms were used for red hair dye.
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