Christianity
Song of Solomon 2The Rose of Sharon
Summary
Song of Solomon 2 begins with the woman calling herself the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys, and her beloved answering that she is a lily among thorns. She delights in his shade and fruit and says his banner over her is love. A refrain charges the daughters of Jerusalem not to stir up love until it pleases. Then the beloved comes leaping over hills and calls her to rise, for winter is past and flowers appear. She ends, My beloved is mine, and I am his.
Key verse
“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”
Song of Solomon 2:4
Themes
- Springtime of Love
- Belonging
- Patience in Love
- Delight
Text
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
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, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
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 forth at the windows, shewing himself 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 is heard in our land;
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, 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 vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.
Across traditions
Judaism
Song of Songs 2 (JPS 1917): Read at PassoverThe Song is read in synagogue during Passover. Its spring imagery in 2:11 to 13, with winter past and flowers appearing, is often cited as a reason for the custom, and the rabbis linked the Song's love to God's redemption of Israel from Egypt.
Hinduism
Bhagavad Gita 12: That Man I LoveIn Arnold's rendering Krishna describes the devoted worshipper again and again with the refrain, That man I love. Hindu bhakti, like allegorical readings of the Song, speaks of the bond between the soul and the divine in the language of personal love and mutual belonging.
Questions about Song of Solomon 2
What is the rose of Sharon?
Song of Solomon 2:1 has the woman call herself the rose of Sharon, the coastal plain of Israel. The Hebrew flower name is uncertain, and suggestions include the crocus, narcissus or a lily. Christians have often applied the title to Christ.
What does his banner over me was love mean?
In Song of Solomon 2:4 the banner is a sign of public identity or protection. The woman says she is openly marked and sheltered by her beloved's love.
What are the little foxes in Song of Solomon 2:15?
The little foxes that spoil the vines are often read as small problems that threaten a growing relationship, though the verse may originally have been a playful lovers' song.