Old Testament · Poetry

Song of Solomon 2

The Rose and the Lily

I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Love speaks in flowers and seasons — arise, my darling, for winter is past.

Berean Standard Bible BSB KJV
Read the commentary What this chapter means, the background behind it, and why it still matters

1I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley.

2Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens.

3Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

4He has brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love.

5Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.

6His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.

7O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

8Listen! My beloved approaches. Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.

9My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

10My beloved calls to me, “Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one.

11For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.

12The flowers have appeared in the countryside; the season of singing has come, and the cooing of turtledoves is heard in our land.

13The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come away, my darling; come away with me, my beautiful one.”

14O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.

15Catch for us the foxes— the little foxes that ruin the vineyards— for our vineyards are in bloom.

16My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

17Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

Commentary

Song of Solomon 2, explained

What Song of Solomon 2 is saying

The beloved declares herself a 'rose of Sharon' and 'lily of the valleys,' while the lover praises her as a lily among thorns. The famous passage 'arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away' invites the beloved into spring's renewal. She requests restraint in love's timing: 'do not awaken love until it pleases.'

The background behind it

The flora imagery—roses, lilies, vineyards, fig trees—draws on the lush landscape of the Levant. The recurring refrain 'do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases' (repeated three times in the Song) suggests a liturgical or didactic function regarding love's proper season.

Themes running underneath

Love has its own timing—the refrain insists that passionate love should not be forced or rushed. The spring imagery connects human love to creation's rhythms of renewal. The gazelle and stag imagery introduces wild, untamed energy as characteristic of genuine love.

Why it still matters

The refrain about not awakening love prematurely speaks to every generation's need for patience in romantic relationships. Love's power demands respect for its proper timing and context.

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