Song of Solomon 2:8-17
Summary for Song 2:8-17: 2:8-17 a In this poem, the woman anticipates the arrival of her lover. She describes the passing of winter and the coming of spring, a time of floral fragrance and new beginnings. She and her lover are in their country garden, a place of intimacy, though even here there is a hint of threat (2:15 b).Summary for Song 2:8-10: 2:8-10 c The man ardently desires to be in the woman’s presence. He finally arrives at his lover’s home and takes her into the romantic countryside during the new, budding spring.
• The woman compares the man to a gazelle, a fast, sleek animal that easily overcomes obstacles to reach its destination.
Summary for Song 2:10-13: 2:10-13 d In the Middle East, winter is the rainy season of clouds, gloom, and cold. When winter is past, and the rains are over and gone, the stimulating and invigorating sights, sounds, and smells of spring energize romantic feelings.
2:14 e In the dramatic view, the couple is playing a game of hide-and-seek in which she is teasing him; he resorts to simply pleading for her to appear, for even playful separation from her is too frustrating for him.
• The rocks are a metaphor for separation that the man wants to overcome to be with her.
2:15 f The foxes may represent threats to the relationship. These threats are not identified; they could be the normal ups and downs of love, rival suitors, or anything else that might keep the couple from enjoying one another.
• In the dramatic view, the woman’s responsibilities as a vinedresser are still in mind. She is probably instructing the vinedressers who cared for her vineyard and received two hundred pieces of silver from her in 8:12 g. The alarm about catching the foxes may be understood in terms of the woman’s personal interest in maintaining the value of her vineyards; eventually, she needs to pay Solomon the lease. If the foxes’ hole-digging ruins the grapevines, she will be further in debt.
Summary for Song 2:16-3:5: 2:16–3:5 h In the dramatic view, the woman has already been separated from her lover and is horrified by the notion that she will not see him soon. One night, her worries drive her from bed to search frantically for him; she finds him and takes him to see her mother.
Summary for Song 2:16-17: 2:16-17 i He browses ... like a gazelle: The woman has so identified her lover with the strength and speed of a gazelle that she portrays his delay as grazing in the country.
• Alternatively, the lover, in the guise of a gazelle, grazes among the lilies that possibly represent the woman, suggesting the intimate association of the couple. The woman is often likened to a garden (see also 4:12 j, 15-16 k; 5:1 l; 6:2 m).
• return to me: Her longing to see him in the evening is intensifying by the hour.
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