Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The woman tells her friends about a midnight rendezvous she once had with her lover. The chapter ends with a glorified description of King Solomon.

II. Photo
The woman is glorified in v. 6: “Who is she that comes up from the desert Like columns of smoke, In clouds of myrrh and frankincense, Of all the powders of the merchant?”

III. Important Verses
vv. 1-4: Upon my couch at night I sought the one I love — I sought, but found him not. “I must rise and roam the town, Through the streets and through the squares; I must seek the one I love.” I sought but found him not. I met the watchmen Who patrol the town. “Have you seen the one I love?” Scarcely had I passed them When I found the one I love. I held him fast, I would not let him go Till I brought him to my mother’s house, To the chamber of her who conceived me.
v. 11: O maidens of Zion, go forth And gaze upon King Solomon Wearing the crown that his mother Gave him on his wedding day, On his day of bliss.

IV. Outline
1-4. The woman seeks and finds her lover
5. Lesson about love (enigmatic)
6-11. Solomon’s procession

V. Comment
Chapter 3 contains two distinct sections. The first section is a narrative in which the female describes a nighttime search for her lover (vv. 1-4), and the second is a song in praise of King Solomon (vv. 6-11). The two sections are divided by v. 5, which is identical to 2:7 and related to 5:8. In terms of structure, the chapter contains many repetitions. For example, both of the words biqqeish “search” and metza’ah “find” appear four times in the first four verses, and Solomon’s name is mentioned three times (vv. 7, 9, and 11).

Vv. 1-2 begin a description of the woman’s search for her lover: “Upon my couch at night I sought the one I love — I sought, but found him not. ‘I must rise and roam the town, Through the streets and through the squares; I must seek the one I love.’ I sought but found him not.” The woman goes on to describe how she finds her lover and brings him to her mother’s house: “I met the watchmen Who patrol the town. ‘Have you seen the one I love?’ Scarcely had I passed them When I found the one I love. I held him fast, I would not let him go Till I brought him to my mother’s house, To the chamber of her who conceived me” (vv. 3-4). These verses seem to relate how an unmarried woman (she is living with her mother) brings her lover into her home, ostensibly for sexual purposes. This poses a problem for commentators who would like the book’s heroine to have more self-control. Some, like Hakham, interpret this entire episode to be a dream (apparently for this reason). He writes (p. 26, translation my own): “While the woman spoke of real events in the previous song, here she speaks about what happened to her in a dream… Everything happens quickly, as is fitting for a dream.” Yet, while this approach solves the “moral problem” of an unmarried girl enjoying a sexual rendezvous with her lover, it must be pointed out that there is no textual support for this episode being a dream.

After relating her story, the woman addresses the “Maidens of Jerusalem” in v. 5: “I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem, By gazelles or by hinds of the field: Do not wake or rouse Love until it please!” (cf. 2:7, 5:8) What is she telling them? While he admits that this phrase isn’t clear, Hakham gives three interpretations in regards to the oath: (1) the friends shouldn’t curse her for her dreams, (2) the friends shouldn’t try to uproot her love, (3) the friends shouldn’t fall in love with her lover. Garrett thinks the woman is speaking to her friends about their virginity. He writes (p. 175): “[She admonishes] her friends to hold on to their virginity until they are certain that the proper time has come. The parallel event, Song 5:2–8, describes not her anxiety over the loss of her virginity but the event itself. The message of Song 3:1–5 appears to be that the virgin who has not faced the emotions of this issue prior to her wedding night is not prepared for marriage.”

The second part of the chapter speaks about King Solomon and his procession, and many scholars believe that section is a wedding song. Garrett writes (p. 182) that the “marriage of a man and woman is here represented as an event that is both regal and divine. Of themselves, the man and woman are ordinary mortals, but the ceremonial bringing of the bride to the groom exalts both of them to the status of royalty.” That is why Solomon (i.e. the groom) is mentioned and glorified.  Also, note that in v. 11 we find the only explicit mention of a wedding in the entire book: “O maidens of Zion, go forth And gaze upon King Solomon Wearing the crown that his mother Gave him on his wedding day, On his day of bliss.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Murphy, Wisdom Literature (Forms of Old Testament Literature)
Hakham, Chamesh Megillot: Shir Hashirim (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])
Garrett, Song of Songs (Word Biblical Commentary)

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Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
After partaking in a dialogue with her lover, the woman describes her lovesickness. She then describes the way in which her lover calls her and how she responds.

II. Photo
The male praises his lover in v. 2: “Like a lily among thorns, So is my darling among the maidens.”

III. Important Verses
v. 2:Like a lily among thorns, So is my darling among the maidens.
v. 3: Like an apple tree among trees of the forest, So is my beloved among the youths. I delight to sit in his shade, And his fruit is sweet to my mouth.
v. 5: Sustain me with raisin cakes, Refresh me with apples, For I am faint with love.
v. 8: The voice of my beloved! There he comes, Leaping over mountains, Bounding over hills.
v. 13: The green figs form on the fig tree, The vines in blossom give off fragrance. Arise, my darling; My fair one, come away!

IV. Outline
1-3. Descriptive dialogue
4-7. Female lovesickness
8-17. The female describes how the male calls her, and how she responds

V. Comment
Chapter 2 begins with a brief dialogue between the male and female (vv. 1-3). The woman speaks about her lovesickness (vv. 4-7), quotes the way which her lover calls her (vv. 8-14), and relates how she responds to him (vv. 15-17). In terms of literary form, the chapter contains many descriptive metaphors (cf. vv. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 17).

In v. 1 the woman describes herself: “I am a rose (chavatzelet) of Sharon, A lily (shoshannat) of the valleys.” Like every metaphor, one might ask, “What does this mean?” It seems that scholars debate the issue. Some feel that she is being humble: since the lily is a common plant she is saying, “I am just one of many girls.” Yet, Garret points out that “it is not likely that she would make such a self-effacing statement in a song where the man and woman are extravagantly praising each other” (p. 148). Others feel that she is describing her importance. Indeed, the capitals of Solomon’s pillars had the (presumably important) lily design: “The capitals upon the columns of the portico were of lily design (ma’aseh shushan), 4 cubits high” (1 Kings 7:19, also see vv. 22, 26). Also, when Isaiah describes a state of rejuvenation he says: “The arid desert shall be glad, The wilderness shall rejoice And shall blossom like a rose (chavatzelet)” (Isa. 35:1). Which interpretation is correct? Garret thinks there is a kernel of truth in both: “On the one hand, she is saying, ‘I am one among many girls.’ But she does not mean by this that ‘I am nobody special.’ She is a flower, a thing of beauty and life. She emphasizes this when she declares that she is the ‘lotus of the valleys’ and invokes traditional notions of the power of the lotus. She does not claim that she is unique in all the world, but she does claim that her role as woman is beautiful and powerful.”

Having spoken about about love and lilies, it is important to point out that four psalms (45, 60, 69, 80) are introduced by the term lamenatzeach ‘al shoshannim “For the leader; on shoshannim.” While Ps. 60, 69, and 80 happen to be laments, it is interesting that Ps. 45 is the only “Wedding Psalm.” It is possible that the instrument called the shoshan was used because its name (“lily”) is associated with love poetry.

V. 15, which immediately follows the woman’s description of how her lover calls her, is enigmatic: “Catch us the foxes, The little foxes That ruin the vineyards — For our vineyard is in blossom.” The major questions are, “Who is speaking?” and “What is he/she/they saying?” The reason that the speaker’s identity is a mystery is that the verse speaks in the plural first person (in Biblical Hebrew there is no masculine/female marker for the first person). While some feel that this verse is a continuation of the male’s speech, and others feel that it is a chorus, many feel that it is the woman replying to her lover. If that is the case, what is she saying? Hakham thinks that she is teasing him (p. 24, translation my own): “The male sang her a second song about a dove (a symbol of simplicity), and she replies with a song about foxes (a symbol of trickery).” Yet, Hakham writes that “she does not reject him wholeheartedly; rather she ‘pushes him away with the left hand but pulls him close with the right hand.’ This is why she finishes with a song of commitment, comparing her lover to a gazelle on the hills of spice.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Murphy, Wisdom Literature (Forms of Old Testament Literature)
Garrett, Song of Songs (Word Biblical Commentary)
Hakham, Chamesh Megillot (Daat Mikra [Hebrew])

Photo taken from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LiliumBulbiferumCroceumBologna.jpg