Song of Solomon 2

Beloved

I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.

Lover

As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

Beloved

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, his fruit was sweet to my taste.

He brought me to the banquet hall. His banner over me is love.

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

His left hand is under my head. His right hand embraces me.

I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.

The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills.

My beloved is like a roe or a young deer. Behold, he stands behind our wall! He looks in at the windows. He glances through the lattice.

My beloved spoke, and said to me, “Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.

For behold, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

The fig tree ripens her green figs. The vines are in blossom. They give out their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”

Lover

My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, let me see your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that plunder the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom.

Beloved

My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.

Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter unfolds the mutual longing between the man and the woman, portraying intimate affection and tender pursuit. It moves between personal reflection, public witness, and poetic invitation, capturing both the beauty and vulnerability of love in bloom. Within the unfolding drama of the Song, this chapter advances the theme of love’s timing and readiness, showing how desire is both awakened and restrained.

Flow.

The woman begins with humble self-portraiture, comparing herself to a wildflower among thorns, while exalting her beloved above all others, like an apple tree in a forest.
She recalls the joy and shelter she finds in him—his presence a banquet, his love a banner over her—before expressing her weakness from the power of love, needing renewal.
The scene shifts as she hears her beloved calling from afar, announcing his arrival like a swift, graceful creature over hills, inviting her to depart with him into a renewed world where spring has come.
She responds with yearning, likening him to a hidden dove, and calls for protection of their love from small threats; she then affirms their mutual belonging and sends him back to the freedom of the mountains until evening.

Connections.
Following chapter 1, where the woman searches for and finds her beloved after initial separation, this chapter deepens the intimacy already begun, showing the blossoming of mutual delight. The man’s call to “come away” echoes the relational progression from longing to communion. The emphasis on seasons and timing—“the winter is past”—prepares the reader for chapter 3, which will return to themes of seeking in the night, but now with greater urgency, grounding the emotional rhythm of pursuit and reunion in the cycle of absence and return.

What it teaches.
The Song portrays human love as a gift, woven with imagery of creation’s renewal and divine order. Love is not impulsive but bound by time and season, requiring restraint even as it flourishes (WCF 24.2). The mutual possession—“My beloved is mine, and I am his”—reflects covenantal faithfulness, mirroring the bond between Christ and his Church (Eph. 5:31–32; cf. HC LD 30). The call to not “awaken love until it so desires” (v. 7) underscores the sanctity of proper timing, honoring the integrity of desire within God’s design for relationship.

Apply.
Delight in love as a gift that unfolds in its proper season, sheltered by faithfulness and protected from haste.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.