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1–7. The third stanza of the first section of the book. The Bride and Groom mutually exchange praises for each other, but then, under the strong impressions of fiery love, the Bride becomes exhausted, experiences a kind of sickness of love and finally, plunging into a semi-conscious state, conjures the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken love until it manifests itself. 8–17. Description of the Beloved from the Bride's side, spring greetings to the love of the first to the last and back. Song 2:1. I am Narcissus of Sharon, lily of the valleys! Having expressed above (Song. 1.15–16) the call to her Beloved to follow into the bosom of nature, the Bride now modestly introduces herself as a child of virgin nature (as if in contrast to the artificial splendor of Solomon’s palace), exclaiming about herself: “I am the daffodil of Sharon, the lily of the valleys.” Heb. Habatzzelet (met. back in Is 35.1), transferred to Russian. translation the word “narcissus”, however, has an indefinite and rather more general meaning, as in LXX: ανθος του πεδιου, Vulg. flos campi. Therefore, all attempts to more accurately determine the name of this flower: narcissus (already the Targum renders: narcos), rose (Bötcher), tulip (Weiginger) have a divinatory meaning, according to Gesenius it is (in Linnaeus’ terminology) Colchium autumnale. Under the name of Sarona, Eusebius and Jerome (Onomast. 834) distinguish two areas: one between Tabor and the Sea of ​​Tiberias (now Sarona north of the wadi el-Bire), the other, better known along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains of Israel from Jonnia to Caesarea (1 Chron. 27.29; Isa. 33:9, 35:2). Perhaps in this case, in view of the proximity of the first area to the city of Sonam, the homeland of the Shulamite Bride (cf. Song 7.1), this is what is meant. Heb. Shoshan (cf. Song 2.16, 4.5, 5.13, 6.2, 7.3) is usually translated by translations (LXX: κρινον, Vulg. lilium) and interpreters as the word: lily, although, probably in ancient times, it meant flowers of more than one breed and not only white color (according to Song 5.13, lily has a red or pink color - in the genus Lilum rubens by Pliny); according to Gesenius, Anemone coronaria. Origen, referring verse 1 to the words of the Bridegroom, comments on Art. 1 like this: “For my sake, who is down, He descends into the valley, and, having brought me into the valley, He becomes a lily. Instead of the tree of life, which was planted in the paradise of God, He became the flower of the whole field, that is, the whole world and the whole earth. For what can be the flower of the world to such an extent as the name of Christ? (p. 163). Song 2:2. Like a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among maidens. If the Bride only out of modesty calls herself the lily of the valleys (v. 1), then the Groom takes her comparison with the lily as an image of her great beauty and incomparable superiority over all other court women (cf. Song 6.8–9). “Just as the lily cannot be compared with the thorns, between which it always appears, so my neighbor above all daughters is the same as the lily among the thorns” (Origen - Jerome, p. 163). Song 2:3. Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I love to sit in its shade, and its fruits are sweet to my throat. The Bride's response (v. 3a) is a complete parallel to the Bridegroom's praise of her (v. 2). Apple tree (Heb. tappuah, Greek μηλον, Lat. malus), as below under apples (v. 5, see Song 8.5), of course not our apple tree, which does not have those properties of its fruits that are acquired by the fruits of this apple tree (v. 5), not growing as a forest tree and not found at all in Palestine, but some other fruit tree: orange, lemon or apricot. Staying in the shade of this apple tree and eating its fruits here, as below (v. 5, fn. Song. 4.16, 7.14) is an image of attractive intimacy and the joy of the Beloved’s caresses. “All trees, all woody growths, in comparison with the Word of God, are considered barren forests. For Christ, whatever you call it is a forest, and everything is barren. For what, in comparison with Him, can be called fruitful? Even the trees, which apparently bend from the abundance of fruits, in comparison with His coming, turn out to be barren” (Origen - Jerome, p. 163). Song 2:4. He brought me into the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Song 2:5. Fortify me with wine, refresh me with apples, for I am faint from love. “He brought me into the feast house” is an expression completely parallel to the words of Song 1.3, “the king brought me into his palace,” but unlike this place, it has a metaphorical meaning, a figurative expression of a related thought, as already shown by expression (4b): “his banner over me is love.” The meaning is that fiery love, like a military banner, protects the Bride, fluttering above her head (see Song 6.4, 10). The reading of Art. is not so clear. 4 in Slavic. the text “bring me into the house of wine, make me love”, which is an exact translation from the Greek text. “Wine” here is taken in association with Song 1.1, 3, as an image of fun, and the “house of wine” (Vulg. cella vinaria), contrary to the literal understanding of many new interpreters, is only an image of the fullness of the joys of love. The Midrash interprets v. 4 thus: “The community of Israel says: God brought me into the great winepress, to Sinai, and there he gave me my standard, the law, the commandments and good works, and I received them with great love” (S. 59). Filled with the impressions of the Groom’s love caresses, as if intoxicated by their action (sn. Song 5.8), the Bride experiences a peculiar disease of love, as if wounded (LXX) or wounded (glorified) by the arrow of love, which is why, turning to the daughters of Jerusalem, she asks them to fortify her with wine (more precisely: “marshmallow”, as in the translation of Archim. Macarius; Heb. Ashisha means specifically a cake made from pressed berries, fruits in general, cf. Hos. 3.1) and refreshed with apples (v. 5). According to some (Boettcher and others), this refers to a special type of apple, which Eastern women, especially the inhabitants of harems, were convinced of their connection with sexual love. But something similar is known from the Bible only about the “apples of love” - mandrakes (Gen. 30.1; Song 7.14). Midrash second half of Art. 5 paraphrases: “The community of Israel says before God: all the suffering that the nations inflict on me comes only because I love You” (S. 60). Origen and Jerome also understand the disease of love in a morally allegorical sense: “How wonderful, how attractive it is to be wounded by love! One has accepted the arrow of carnal love, another has been wounded by earthly passion; Bare your members and expose yourself to the chosen arrow, the beautiful arrow, for the arrow is God (Isaiah 49.2, 6)... By this arrow those who reasoned among themselves were wounded: “Wasn’t my heart sorrowful ... when the Scripture spoke to us” (Luke 24.32)” (p. 167). Song 2:6. His left hand is under my head, and his right embraces me. This verse provides the rationale for the previous one and contains an indication of the source of passionate and, as it were, painfully developed and intense love: the most tender love and caring on the part of the Beloved embraces the entire being and fills the entire life of the Bride (sn. Song 8.3). “The Word of God holds wisdom both in the hand and in the right hand, and this wisdom, although in the diversity of its understanding is many different, is one in its source. Solomon himself teaches about wisdom and the right hand of Wisdom: “The length of life and years of life are in her right hand, and in her right hand are wealth and glory.” (Proverbs 3.16)." (Origen-Jerome, p. 168. See Interpretations. Bible, vol. IV, p. 904). Song 2:7. I conjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, with chamois or deer of the field: do not wake or disturb your beloved as long as she pleases. The first section of the book ends with a kind of oath or spell, found three times in the book of Song of Songs (Song 2.7, 3.5, 8.4) and nowhere else in Scripture, an oath to Jerusalem women with chamois or deer not to arouse love (and not “beloved”, as in the Vulgate and in the Russian Synodal and Archimandrite Macarius) until she will wake up on its own. The formula of the oath “by chamois or hinds of the field” according to the Masoretic text is confirmed by the texts; Syrian, Vulgate (per capreas cervosque camporum) and Russian and deserves preference over the Greek formula. and glory “in the forces and fortresses of the village.” The basis of the peculiar poetic form of this oath lies in nothing other than the special grace and beauty of gazelles and deer, due to which they are the most appropriate image of female beauty and comeliness ((Proverbs 5.19); Interpretations. Bible vol. IV, p. 908), and together with female love; Such an oath is especially appropriate and natural in the mouth of a woman and in addressing women (in all three named cases: Songs 2.7, 3.5, 8.4), whom the Bride strongly warns against the temptation to prematurely and artificially evoke and ignite the flame of love in themselves; on the contrary, she advises to leave the awakening and development of this feeling to nature and God. Here is the moral of the entire section 1 (Song 1.1 - Song 2.7): the consistent development of the feeling of love - from the first search for the kiss of the Beloved to the complete exhaustion of love served as the basis for the Bride to make the aforementioned warning to her friends. The law of normal gradualism in love indicated by her is also valid in allegorical interpretation - in applying the contents of the book to nature, to the history of Israel and to the history of salvation. According to the explanation of Prof. Olesnitsky, the first section of the book of Song of Songs can be called the winter or pre-spring song of lamentation of the promised land about the sun, which has deviated from it in its winter course, as well as the song of the first, sad period in the history of Israel - its stay in Egypt and wandering through the desert (Cit. cit. pp. 368-369). Song 2:8. The voice of my beloved! behold, he comes, gallops through the mountains, jumps over the hills. Song 2:9. My friend looks like a chamois or a young deer. Here, he stands behind our wall, looks out the window, flashes through the bars. The new picture opens with a series of memories of the Beloved about the blissful moments of her earlier union with her Beloved. The Shulamite's monologue conveying this meeting (Song 2.5), according to some commentators, can be considered written earlier than the first section, since it talks about the reason why the Shulamite was separated from her father's house; “the author acted very subtly, using the events preceding the main action only as the first threads for the rest of the fabric” (Karpeles, p. 81). In the image in Art. 8–9 of the Beloved, distinguished by his extreme liveliness, the greatest mobility and elusiveness of the Beloved is exposed, so that an analogy involuntarily arises with the rapidly moving elements. “Second section of Song of Songs 2:5,” says Prof. Olesnitsky, unlike the first, may be called the Song of Spring. The sun, which was hiding from the earth, now itself brings it to life. The section begins with the fragmentary words “the voice of my beloved.” The groom is in such a relationship with the bride that she hears only his voice, feels his breath, but does not know where he comes from or where he goes (John 3.8). Like the elusive wind and the fleet-footed chamois, he runs across the country, jumping over mountains and hills. In relation to the human image, such a concept would be very unnatural; but in relation to the free ray of the sun, which knows no obstacles either in the mountains or in the valleys, this is extremely natural. What goes well here is what is said in the next (9) verse about a lover looking out the windows as he runs, flashing through the bars of houses” (p. 369). The noted features are even more understandable with the typical interpretation of them about Christ, which Origen gives (p. 170 cf. Midrash, pp. 67–68). In the text LXX and slav. in Art. 9 there is an addition: επι τα ορ Βαιθηλ, Bethel; in other texts and translations this addition does not find support. Song 2:10. My beloved began to say to me: get up, my beloved, my beautiful, come out! Song 2:11. Behold, winter has already passed; the rain has passed, stopped; Song 2:12. flowers appeared on the ground; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our country; Song 2:13. The fig trees have put forth their buds, and the vines, as they blossom, give off a fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful, come out! Here we have a complete stanza, beginning and ending with the Beloved’s invitation to the Bride to enjoy the delights of the coming spring, hiding in Palestine after the “time of rains” has passed (etgeshamim 1 Ezra 10:9, 13), more specifically the latter rain (malkosh). The spring ray of sunshine, piercing nature, touching the high Palestinian mountains, does not forget to look into a person’s home. Arise, my fair one, he says to all who live in the holy land, it is time to leave the winter rest and step out into the open space for a new life... Verses 12-13 depict the spring appearance of Palestinian nature at this time of year, mainly called the month of flowers, ziv, like our month May. (Olesnitsky, p. 370). At the same time, the sacred poet chooses such features of spring - flowers, singing, fragrance - that are capable of arousing love for nature and people. Due to the tender love for nature and fresh aroma, this “spring song” is a rare phenomenon in entire antiquity. Song 2:14. My little dove is in the gorge of the rock under the roof of the cliff! show me your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face is pleasant. Song 2:15. Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, and our vineyards are in bloom.: “Oh, my dove,” the sun admiring her says to Palestine, let me look at your face and hear your voice,” obviously, of course, also the face of nature, covered with flowers, and the same voice of migratory birds returning to Palestine, which were spoken of immediately before. The additional expression: “from under the gorges and rocks and cliffs” (show me your face) is the most accurate description of the soil of Palestine, covered with harsh rocks and only from the valleys and water looking fresh and alive” (Olesnitsky, p. 370). Art. 15 is a completely unexpected insertion that interrupts the dialogue between the bride and groom; Perhaps this is an excerpt from the song of the vineyard workers, cited by the Shulamite in memory of her forced service in guarding the vineyard (Song 1.5). The meaning of the verse is clear: “the power that protects Palestine cannot look indifferently at its enemies, no matter who they are, simple foxes or political foxes” (Olesnitsky, p. 370). Song 2:16. My beloved belongs to me, and I to him; he grazes among the lilies. Song 2:17. While the day breathes coolness and the shadows flee, return, be like a chamois or a young deer on the clefts of the mountains. From Art. 16 of this chapter under Art. The 4th chapter of the 3rd depicts the response - to the call of the Bridegroom, v. 8–14, – the Bride’s desire for him. The epithet of the Beloved (v. 16, fn. Song 6.2–3) “grazing among the lilies” best shows that the Bridegroom of the Song of Songs is called a shepherd only in an improper sense in metaphorical and poetic language. The bride expresses strong confidence in the unshakable firmness of mutual feelings, love, connecting her with her Beloved (v. 16, fn. Song 7.11). However, now she foresees the upcoming separation from him, and therefore in Art. 17th, relating to the first verses of the next chapter. In view of the approaching sunset, she begs the Beloved to quickly return from the “mountains of separation” (Heb. gape - bater, LXX: τα δρη κοιλωματων, Vulg. montes Beter, slav. “on the mountains of vale”). A similar turn of phrase occurs below in Song 4.6. You might be interested in: