Albert Barnes Commentary Song Of Solomon 2:8-17

"The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh, Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: Behold, he standeth behind our wall; He looketh in at the windows; He glanceth through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past; The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing [of birds] is come, And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land; The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the steep place, Let me see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, That spoil the vineyards; For our vineyards are in blossom. My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth [his flock] among the lilies. Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart Upon the mountains of Bether." — Song Of Solomon 2:8-17 (ASV)

The bride tells the chorus about a visit the beloved paid her some time before in her native home. On a beautiful spring morning, he asks for her company. The bride, busy with her country chores, declines for now, but confessing her love, asks him to return in the cool of the evening. This passage describes a springtime of affection, even earlier than the one in the previous chapter. It is a day of pure first love, where both of them have forgotten or concealed all royal status and ceremony.

This may be why the synagogue recites the Song of Songs each spring at the Feast of Passover. It also explains the special interpretations of this passage by Hebrew scholars, who see it as referring to the Passover call of Israel out of Egypt, and by the Church Fathers, who saw it as foreshadowing the gospel mysteries of Easter—Resurrection and Regeneration. The entire scene has also been interpreted as representing the communion of a newly-awakened soul with Christ. In this view, He gradually reveals Himself to her and invites her to come out into fuller fellowship.

Voice - It is better translated as “sound.” The text does not mean a voice, but the sound of approaching footsteps (compare to the word “noise” in Isaiah 13:4).

Like a roe - This refers to a gazelle (compare to the note on Proverbs 5:19). The points of comparison here are beauty of form, grace, and speed of movement. In 2 Samuel 2:18 and 1 Chronicles 12:8, princes are compared to “gazelles.” Wall - This is the clay-built wall of the house or vineyard of the bride’s family, which is different from the strong wall of a city or fortress (Song of Solomon 5:7; Song of Solomon 8:9–10). Looketh forth at the windows - The meaning is clearly that he is looking in at, or through, the window from the outside (compare to the note on Song of Solomon 5:4). Shewing himself - Or, “peering.” Some, using the marginal reading, imagine that the beloved’s radiant face is being compared to a beautiful flower tangled in the lattice-work of the window, from where he gazes down on the bride.

Arise, my friend, my beautiful one, and come away - The stanza begins and ends with this refrain. In it, the bride reports the beloved’s invitation for her to come out with him into the open countryside, which is now a scene of greenery and beauty, and a time for joy and mutual affection. The season, indicated by six signs in Song of Solomon 2:11–13, is spring, after the last rains have stopped. This occurs in the first or Passover month (Joel 2:23), which is Nisan or Abib, corresponding to late March and early April. Cyril interpreted Song of Solomon 2:11–12 as referring to our Lord’s Resurrection in the spring.

The time of the singing... - This refers to the song of pairing birds. This is a better translation than that of the ancient versions, which read, “the pruning time has come.”

The vines... - The blossoming vines give off a fragrance. The fragrance of the vine blossom (“semadar”), which precedes the appearance of “the tender grape,” is very sweet but transient.

The secret places of the stairs - This refers to a hidden nook approached by a zig-zag path. The beloved urges the bride to come out from her home, which is enclosed by rocks.

The bride answers by singing what seems to be a fragment of a vine-dresser’s ballad. She is implying that the vineyard duties her brothers have given her (Song of Solomon 1:6) are preventing her from joining him. The song refers to the destructive tendencies of foxes or jackals in general, as there would be no grapes at this time of year. Allegorical interpretations suggest these foxes symbolize “false teachers” .

Feedeth among the lilies - He carries on his work as a shepherd among pleasant scenes and objects of gentleness and beauty.

Until the day break - Or, more accurately, “until the day breathe.” This means until the fresh evening breeze springs up, which Genesis 3:8 calls “the cool” or breathing time of the day. And the shadows flee - This means the shadows lengthen and finally lose their outlines as the sun sets and disappears . The beloved’s visit is most naturally understood as taking place in the early morning. Since the bride is clearly sending him away until a later time of day, it seems almost certain that the correct interpretation is that she is asking him to return in the evening, after sunset. This phrase recurs in Song of Solomon 4:6. Mountains of Bether - If this is a specific location, it is identical with Bithron, a hilly district on the east side of the Jordan valley (2 Samuel 2:29), not far from Mahanaim (see the margin note for Song of Solomon 6:13). If used in a symbolic sense, it means mountains of “separation,” dividing the beloved from the bride for a time. This symbolic interpretation seems to be the better one, though the local reference need not be abandoned.