Song of Solomon 2

Song of Solomon 2:1

The Beautiful Woman behind the Veil An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (1200 word vocabulary) on the Song of Songs www.easyenglish.info Sarah Ruth This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 2 Woman v1 I am a wild flower of Sharon.

 I am a *lily from the valleys. Man v2 Among other young women, my best friend that I love is like a *lily among *thorns.

Sharon is a place near to where the man and the woman live. It is near the sea and it is flat. There is a lot of rain there, so there are many pretty wild flowers. The *lily is also a pretty flower but it is very common.

The woman is saying that there is nothing special about her. But the man knows that, to him, she is special. She is really lovely. Now other women do not seem beautiful at all.

Now the woman talks to her friends again. Woman v3 Among the other young men, the man who loves me is like an apple tree.

 He is like an apple tree among the trees of the forest.

I love to sit in his shade.

 His fruit is sweet.

 It tastes nice.

v4 He has taken me to the *banquet hall.

 Everyone can see that he loves me.

v5 I am weak with love.

 So, give *raisins to me to make me strong.

 Give apples to me to keep me awake.

v6 His left arm is under my head.

 His right arm draws me near to him.

v7 *Daughters of Jerusalem,

  please do not cause someone to feel love for another person;

 not until he or she wants to.

I am saying this because I really mean it.

 I *beg you on behalf of the *gazelles and the young female *deer in the field.

The woman tells her friends about the time when she was with the man.

Where the woman lived, it would not be usual to find an apple tree among the other trees. It was a foreign tree. Someone would have planted it there. So if someone found an apple tree there, it would be a surprise. The woman is saying that the man is a lovely surprise. She has found him. He is special and he is not like other men.

A *banquet hall is a place where there are many happy people. They eat good food and they drink plenty of *wine. The lunch that she has had with the man was, to her, like this special meal. Perhaps she has tasted apple for the first time and she has enjoyed it. This also explains to us something else. She has enjoyed her time with the man. It was *fun! This is what she means. She now knows him a little. Maybe they had kissed each other.

She remembers when she was under the trees. It was lovely to sit under the trees where the sun could not burn her. But she also says that she loves to sit under the man’s branches. A woman likes to have a man to keep her safe. She wants a man to have enough money for what she needs. But a man can give to a woman more than food and a home. He can help her to become stronger in her *spirit. She will not be afraid if he is strong in his *spirit. This is what she explains here.

The man’s love for her is the important thing. He does not hide this from her. She wants other people to know that he loves her.

Now that she is away from the man, she feels weak. She would rather be in the man’s arms. When a woman first loves a man a lot, there are some changes in her body. She may not want to eat. She may feel sick. She wants to be with the man all the time. If she really wants to know the man, this is good. If not, it is better that she does not draw the man near to her.

The woman knows that the man loves her. She knows this because of the way that he has looked at her. He has put his arm round her. This is all that she wants. She does not want him to touch her in any other way. The pleasure that she feels is very strong. She wants to wait before he touches her in any other way. Woman v8 Listen! I hear the man who loves me!

 Look! He is coming!

 He moves quickly across the mountains.

He runs and he jumps. He comes over the hills.

 v9 The man who loves me is like a *gazelle or like a young male *deer.

It is best for a man that he is not always with his woman. He needs time alone. He needs time with other men, with no women in the group. This will cause him to feel good. So he will want to be with his woman again.

The woman is happy that the man likes to be outside. She wants him to run and to make himself stronger. She does not want him to be sitting inside a room all the time. But now the woman is very happy that the man is coming to her. Woman Look! There he is! He is standing behind our wall.

He is looking through the windows.

 He is trying to see through the *lattice.

v10 The man who loves me spoke. He said to me,

 ‘My beautiful best friend, I love you.

  Please get up and come with me.

v11 See! The winter is past. The rains have finished.

 v12 Flowers are appearing in country places.

 It is now the season to sing.

 Near here, we can hear the lovely sound that the *doves are making.

v13 The new fruit on the *fig trees is growing.

 The smell from the flowers on the *vines is moving into the air.

My beautiful best friend, I love you.

 Please get up and come with me.’

The woman is still telling her friends about the man.

When we read the words ‘window’ and ‘wall’, we think about home. We feel safe and happy inside our home. But when we read the words ‘mountains’, ‘hills’ and ‘*gazelles’ (verses 8-9), we think about outside places. We might feel free and happy outside too. Verses 10 to 13 tell us that the man has asked the woman to come with him already. He wants her to leave things and people that she knows well. He wants her to go outside and to enjoy the spring. The flowers have appeared and the birds are singing. He wants her to have more adventure in her life.

Now he speaks to her again. Man v14 You are like a *dove that is hiding in a rock.

 You are like a *dove that is hiding in the mountains.

Show your face to me because it is lovely.

Let me hear your voice because it has a beautiful sound.

v15 Catch the *foxes for us.

 Catch the little *foxes that destroy the *vineyards.

 They destroy our *vines when the flowers are appearing.

The man wants to see her. He wants to see her face. But he also wants to find out about her in every way. He wants her to show to him more about herself.

It seems that she wants to hide. Perhaps she does not want to see him.

When *foxes dig holes they may destroy *vines. Maybe the *foxes in this story mean her brothers. Perhaps they do not want her to see him. She is beginning to become a lovely lady. But the brothers want to make her a child again.

The *foxes may mean anyone or anything that stops the man and woman being friends. Woman v16 The man who loves me is mine.

 And I am his.

 He eats slowly among the *lilies.

v17 My best friend that I love,

  turn round until the dawn.

Until the shadows have gone, be like a *gazelle.

 Or be like a young male *deer on the hills of rock.

*Lilies are pretty flowers. But the writer uses the word ‘*lilies’ to mean that they are kissing on the lips. The man feels pleasure when he is kissing the woman.

The man and woman are together for a short time, perhaps. She enjoys it when she kisses him. The way that they kiss now is different. It shows that they do not want to be friends only. They want to belong together.

The woman really likes to be with the man. She feels happy now. But she also knows that she is hoping for more than this. She wants those things to become true future events. At some future time, she wants very much to enjoy sex with him. But she may know that she is not yet ready for this. Maybe in some ways she still feels like a child. So, when it is evening, the woman asks him to leave. She asks him to go until the dawn.

She is saying that she wants him to go. But she does want him to return. She needs him to wait for her. This is like people who have to wait for the dawn.

© 1997-2012, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).

March 2012

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