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Song 1:9-3:11

I liken you, my darling, (Hebrew word "Raya"=best freind) to a mare

harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh’s mare was the highest animal in the land. Very well taken care of.

10Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,

your neck with strings of jewels.

We should speak to our mates with encouraging tenderness.

Daughters of Jerusalem to Shulammite

11We will make you earrings of gold,

studded with silver.

Shulammite

Shulammite takes the opportunity to build up her husband; as all spouses should.

12While the king was at his table,

my perfume spread its fragrance.

13My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh

resting between my breasts. (NASB say resting all night long)

This is how dear he is to her.

14My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms (little red tender flower)

from the vineyards of En Gedi.

She likens him to a tender flower even though he is the most powerful man in the land.

Solomon to Shulammite

15How beautiful you are, my darling!

Oh, how beautiful!

Your eyes are doves.

Shulammite to Solomon

16How handsome you are, my lover!

Oh, how charming!

And our bed is verdant.

17The beams of our house are cedars;

our rafters are firs.

Cedars and firs are two very strong woods.

2:1 I am a rose of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

She once saw herself as ugly and unworthy, but after he esteems her, she now feels beautiful. Your spouse will find esteem from someone, it should be from you.

Solomon to Shulammite

2Like a lily among thorns

is my darling among the maidens.

He elevates her about all others as a precious, fragile woman.

Shulammite to Solomon

3Like 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. (he is pleasurable to her)

She delights to get under his umbrella of protection, safty, warmth and leadership.

4He has taken me to the banquet hall,

and his banner over me is love.

His banner is the fact the he publicly honors, respects and cherishes her.

5Strengthen me with raisins, (thought to be an aphrodesiac)

refresh me with apples,

for I am faint with love.

6His left arm is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me.(this is a sexual position)

She desires him sexually as a result of his tender encouragement and leadership.

The most sensitive organ to stimulate on a female is her heart and mind.

Solomon to Daughters of Jerusalem

7Daughters 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.

He is a Godly disciplined man and says no to sex until God pleases in a marriage.

Shulammite to herself

They are going to go on a date!

8Listen! My lover!

Look! Here he comes,

leaping across the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

He is coming to get her.

9My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.(or a STUD!)

Look! There he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattice.

10My lover spoke and said to me,

"Arise, my darling,

my beautiful one, and come with me.

11See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

12Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves

is heard in our land.

13The fig tree forms its early fruit;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

What time of years is this? Spring time

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me."

She sees their love as fresh and full of life. We can stay this way in marriage for all ways. The honeymoon does not have to be over.

Solomon to Shulammite

14My 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.

He is coxing her out of her shell. This will help her feel comfortable with who she is.

A Chorus

15Catch for us the foxes,

the little foxes

that ruin the vineyards,

our vineyards that are in bloom.

Foxes would get in the vineyards and nibble the buds off of the grapes not allowing them to mature and be fruitful.

He is saying that when sin or temptation (foxes) come your way, you need to stop them so they don’t destroy you.

What foxes do you need to catch in you life?

Shulammite to herself

16My lover is mine and I am his;

he browses among the lilies. (he is gentle)

17Until the day breaks

and the shadows flee,(until morning)

turn, my lover,

and be like a gazelle

or like a young stag

on the rugged hills.(her breast)(NASB "Mountain of Bether"=two separate hills)

She desires him again

3:1All night long on my bed

I looked for the one my heart loves;

I looked for him but did not find him.

2I will get up now and go about the city,

through its streets and squares;

I will search for the one my heart loves.

So I looked for him but did not find him.

3The watchmen found me

as they made their rounds in the city.

"Have you seen the one my heart loves?"

4Scarcely had I passed them

when I found the one my heart loves.

I held him and would not let him go

till I had brought him to my mother's house,

to the room of the one who conceived me.

This is a daydream the she is possible having about Solomon.

Solomon to Daughters of Jerusalem

5Daughters 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.

Solomon is a Godly disciplined man who says no to sexual impurity.

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Last modified: 06/26/08