.1:8-17.

Back to Contents

The lovers talk together (So 1:8-2:7)

In reply to the girl’s longing, the man invites her to come and join him in the fields (So 1:8).

He praises her beauty and promises to give her the finest jewellery (So 1:9-11).

The girl responds that her greatest joy is just to be in his presence and let her love flow out to him (So 1:12-14).

After the man further praises the girl’s beauty (So 1:15), she expresses her desire to be with him in the fields again, where they can lie down together in the shade of the trees (So 1:16-17).

The girl regards herself as nothing special - just a country maiden, just a small wildflower in a large field (So 2:1).

Yes, replies her lover, but she is the only flower in the field. Compared with her, all the other girls are brambles (So 2:2).

And her lover, replies she, is like a tree that surpasses all the other trees of the forest. He protects, strengthens and refreshes her. His company is to her a feast of joy and love (So 2:3-6).

In view of the girl’s strong desire for her lover, a warning is given (in the form of an appeal to the easily excited young women of Jerusalem). The warning shows the danger of trying to stir up love when a person is not ready for it (So 2:7).