FrameworksSongs2

FRAMEWORKS: Song of Solomon 2: Endearments of a growing relationship

Preliminary Comments: Please ensure you have read the notes in the Introduction. Very well, to begin with, the study which simply seeks to help the reader absorb the text more easily:

Possible breakdown [ignoring ‘the Friends']:

v.1-3 Their reassuring words describing one another

v.4-7 She imagines him coming to her

v.8-13 She imagines him coming to her in the Spring

v.14-15 He calls her to come out [in her imagination?]

v.16-18 She affirms she wants him

She

v.1 [she feels ordinary like a common flower] I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.

v.2 [he counters by saying she stands out] Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the young women.

She

v.3 [not to be outdone she says he stands out providing the shelter and sustenance she needs] Like 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.
v.4 [that leads her on to think about being with him in his banqueting hall where his love for her can be expressed even more] Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
    and let his banner over me be love.
v.5 [she feels weak with love] Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am faint with love.
v.6 [she imagines him supporting & embracing her] His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.
v.7 [she tells the world – as if to herself perhaps – don't rush this love thing] Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.

v.8 [again, perhaps imagining, perhaps seeing him, she sees him bounding towards her] Listen! My beloved!
    Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
v.9 [he comes to her house, clearly looking for her] My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
    Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattice.
v.10 [he calls out to her to come with him] My beloved spoke and said to me,
    ‘Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.
v.11 [it's a new day, Spring is coming] See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
v.12 [life is bursting out all round them] Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
v.13 [in this season of early life, she calls to him to follow] The fig-tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.'

v.14 [he replies, let me see you, come out of (Winter) hiding] My dove in the clefts of the rock,
    in the hiding-places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
    let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.
v.15 [don't let there be anything that might spoil our time together] Catch for us the foxes,
    the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
    our vineyards that are in bloom.

She

v.16 [she rejoices in the early signs of a relationship forming] My beloved is mine and I am his;
    he browses among the lilies.
v.17 [even if it is night, stop all you do and come] Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved,
    and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
    on the rugged hills.

[Concluding Comment: Yet still there are no clues to who this young couple is and again Solomon is no mentioned. It is a chapter full of endearments.]

And now the drama

The Text:

The Drama:

SHE

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

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

SHE

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

4 He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.

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

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

7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

8 Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

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

10 My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.

11 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.

12 Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."

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

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

SHE

16 My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.

17 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.

(Still looking at him she speaks to herself)

“Oh dear, I'm but a common flower of the countryside, so ordinary.

(They are still apart on opposite sides of the stage, simply speaking their thoughts. He continues)

“She stands out like a flower among thorns. She is exceptional, she is wonderful, my darling one, standing out from all the other girls I know.

(They remain apart, revealing their thoughts from afar. She speaks)

He so stands out from the rest, like an apple tree in a forest glade, does he stand out. I see myself sitting beside him, and his presence and his words are so sweet.

Out here in the countryside, it's like he's brought me into his banqueting hall and between the trees is hung a banner declaring his love for me. Oh, I feel weak at the thought of it. Oh feed me, refresh me, I am in need!

I imagine that here on the soft grass as we sit together, and I lie back, so he puts an arm under my head for me to rest upon, and his other arm comes around me in an embrace.

Oh, don't be silly, don't rush love until it is ready, don't spoil anything with haste!

(The background scene changes to a house in the country, on a hillside. She continues speaking)

“Listen, I hear singing. It is him! Look, I see him bounding down the hill side – he's like a young stag, so strong, so sure, and yet so gentle.

Look, he comes to the house and peers in, he is looking for me!

(The backdrop changes to outside the house as she goes on)

He called me to rise and go out with him. Look, he says, the winter is passed and the beauty of Spring is here. It's too good to stay indoors. Come out my love, come with me.

(‘Outside' he speaks)

“I came to find her. Her gentle timidity that reminds me of that of the dove, makes me think of her in her home on the hillside, as a dove hidden away in the hillside rocks. Oh my love, come out, show me your face, let me hear your voice, let me enjoy your beauty and your gentleness.

Nothing must be allowed to spoil you my love. In the vineyards come the foxes that dig holes and ruin the plants, they spoil the beauty there. Your beauty must not be spoiled by anything. You must be cherished.

(She responds)

“He is mine! I am his! Oh the wonder of it. It's as if he's browsed among all the other girls that could have been his, but he has chosen me!

Oh my love, while we have the time to be together, stay and be strong but gentle with me.

(The lights dim, the background fades)

Continue to Songs 3