Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 2:7
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.
7. I charge you ] I adjure you.
by the roes, and by the hinds of the field ] The tsbh , ‘roe,’ is according to Tristram ( Fauna and Flora of Palestine, p. 5) the gazelle, Gazella dorcas. He says, “It is extremely common in every part of the country S. of Lebanon. I have seen it in the Mount of Olives close to Jerusalem.” The ayylh = ‘hind’ is the female of the ayyl, which, according to Post, in Hastings’ Dict. of Bible, is the Cervus dama, the true ‘fallow deer.’ Tristram also thinks the fallow deer is meant, or perhaps the red deer, but the latter has not been found in Palestine.
that ye stir not up, &c.] Rather, as R.V., that ye stir not up, nor awaken love, until it please. The adjuration does not refer to the rousing of a lover, but of the passion of love. The meaning is this. The speaker adjures the daughters of Jerusalem not to attempt any more to arouse or awake love. It should be allowed to rest until it awake of itself; and probably they are adjured by the gazelles and the hinds of the field because of the shyness and timidity of these creatures, or as Delitzsch suggests, because of their absolute freedom. The daughters of Jerusalem had been attempting to awake love for Solomon in her heart by fulsome praises of him, and she adjures them thus in order that they may cease from their vain attempt. This beautiful verse recurs at Son 3:5 and Son 8:4, and forms a kind of refrain which marks the close of certain sections of the book. It also expresses one of the main theses of it, viz. that a true and worthy love should owe nothing to excitements coming from without, but should be spontaneous and as unfettered as the deer upon the hills.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Son 2:7
By the roes, and by the hinds of the field.
The roes and the hinds
The spouse was in the full enjoyment of fellowship with her Beloved. Her joy was so great as almost to overpower her, and yet, so nearly does fear tread upon the heels of joy, she was filled with dread lest her bliss should come to an end. She feared lest others should disturb her Lord, for if He were grieved she would be grieved also, and if He departed the banquet of her delight would be over. She was afraid even of her friends, the daughters of Jerusalem; she knew that the best can interrupt fellowship as well as the worst, and therefore she adjured even Zions daughters not to sin against Zions King. The adjuration which she used is a choice specimen of oriental poetry: she charges them, not as we should prosaically do, by everything that is sacred, and true, but by the roes, and by the hinds of the field.
I. The toes and the hinds of the field are creatures of great beauty. Who can gaze upon them as they wander among the bracken without an inward admiration? Now, since nothing can be more lovely than communion with Jesus, the spouse exhorts the daughters of Jerusalem by all the loveliest objects in nature to refrain from disturbing it. A soul in converse with its God is the admiration of angels. Was ever a lovelier sight seen than Jesus at the table with the beloved disciple leaning on His bosom? Is not Mary sitting at the Masters feet a picture worthy of the choicest art? Do nothing, then, O ye who joy in things of beauty, to mar the fellowship in which the rarest beauty dwells. Neither by worldly care,, nor sin, nor trifling make even the slighest stir which might break the Beloved s repose.
II. The next thought suggested by the roes, and by the hinds of the field is that of tender innocence. These gentle creatures are so harmless, so defenceless, so timid, that he must have a soulless soul who would do them harm or cause them fright. By all, then, that is tender the spouse beseeches her friends not to disturb her Beloved. He is so good, so kind, so holy, harmless, and undefiled, that the most indifferent ought to be ashamed to molest His rest. In fellowship with Jesus there is a tenderness which ought to disarm all opposition, and even command respectful deference. A soul communing with the Son of God challenges no enmity. The world may rise against proselyting zeal, or defiant controversy, or ostentatious ceremonialism, for these have prominence and power, and are fair game for martial spirits: but fellowship is quiet, retiring, unobtrusive, harmless. The saints who most abound in it are of a tender spirit, fearful to offend, non-resistant, and patient–surely it would be a superfluity of cruelty to wish to deprive them of their unselfish happiness, which deprives no heart of a drop of pleasure, and costs no eye a tear.
III. A third thought most certainly had place in the mind of the anxious spouse; she meant to adjure and persuade her friends to silence by everything which sets forth love. The lilies and the roes have always been sacred to love. If you love, or are loved, or wish to be loved, have a reverent regard for those who commune with Jesus, for their souls take their fill of love, and to drive them from their bliss would be inexcusable barbarity. O ye who have any hearts to feel for others, do not cause the bitterest of sorrow by depriving a sanctified soul of the sweetest of delights. Draw not nigh hither with idle tale, or wanton speech, or empty mirth: the place whereon thou standest is holy ground, for surely God is in that place where a heart enamoured of the altogether Lovely One delights itself in the Lord.
IV. Once more, upon the very surface of the figure lies the idea of delicate sensitiveness. The roes and the hinds of the field are soon away if anything occurs to disturb them. In this respect they set forth to the life the speediness with which the Beloved departs when He is annoyed by sin. The Lord our God is a jealous God. In proportion to the fire of love is the heat of jealousy, and therefore our Lord Jesus will not brook a wandering affliction in those greatly beloved ones to whom He manifests Himself. It needs constant watchfulness to maintain constant fellowship. If we would be favoured above others we must be more on our guard than others are. He who becomes a man greatly beloved must needs keep his heart with sevenfold diligence, for to whom much is given of him much will be required. (G. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. I charge you – by the roes] This was probably some rustic mode of adjuration. The verses themselves require little comment.
With this verse the first night of the first day is supposed to end.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This verse is spoken either,
1. By the Bridegroom, who having reposed the sick church in his arms, chargeth them not to disturb her till she please, as the last clause in this case must be rendered. Or rather,
2. By the bride, as may be gathered,
1. From the connexion, because both the foregoing and following words are hers.
2. Because it was more decent for the bride than for the Bridegroom to give this charge to the bridemaids,
the daughters of Jerusalem; and therefore in all places in this book where they are mentioned the person speaking to them is the bride, and not the Bridegroom, and particularly Son 3:5; 8:4, where this verse is repeated, and is confessedly and evidently spoken by the spouse. Daughters of Jerusalem; my bridemaids, friends, and members, over whom I have authority.
By the hinds; either,
1. By the kindness you have to those pretty and amiable creatures, as
you would not injure nor disturb them, nor drive them away, but please yourselves with the sight of them, as shepherds and country damsels commonly do. Or,
2. By the example of those creatures, which are pleasant and loving in
their carriage towards one another. Of the field; which have their usual abode in the fields. That ye stir not up, nor awake; that you do not disturb nor offend him by your miscarriages, but permit him and me to enjoy a quiet repose. Do nothing to grieve him, or molest me. My love; my dearly beloved, called love emphatically, to express her great passion for him. So love is used Son 7:6, and in other authors. Till he please, i.e. never, as this word until, in such like phrases, is commonly used, as Gen 28:15; 2Sa 6:23; Isa 22:14. For neither can sin ever please him, nor can the church bear it that Christ should ever be offended, or that her sweet fellowship with him should be interrupted.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. by the roesnot an oath buta solemn charge, to act as cautiously as the hunter would with thewild roes, which are proverbially timorous; he must advance withbreathless circumspection, if he is to take them; so he who would notlose Jesus Christ and His Spirit, which is easily grieved andwithdrawn, must be tender of conscience and watchful (Eze 16:43;Eph 4:30; Eph 5:15;1Th 5:19). In Margin,title of Ps 22:1, Jesus Christis called the “Hind of the morning,” hunted to deathby the dogs (compare Son 2:8;Son 2:9, where He is representedas bounding on the hills, Ps18:33). Here He is resting, but with a repose easilybroken (Zep 3:17). It isthought a gross rudeness in the East to awaken one sleeping,especially a person of rank.
my lovein Hebrew,feminine for masculine, the abstract for concrete, JesusChrist being the embodiment of love itself (Son 3:5;Son 8:7), where, as here, thecontext requires it to be applied to Him, not her. She too is “love”(So 7:6), for His love callsforth her love. Presumption in the convert is as grieving to theSpirit as despair. The lovingness and pleasantness ofthe hind and roe (Pr 5:19) isincluded in this image of Jesus Christ.
CANTICLEII. (So 2:8-3:5) JOHNTHE BAPTIST’SMINISTRY.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,…. Of whom, see So 1:5. There is some difficulty in these words, whether they are spoken by the church, or by Christ: according to our version, they are the words of the church, and bids fair to be the sense; since they are spoken to the virgins, her companions, that waited on her; and the manner of speech is not by way of command, as by way of adjuration; and the matter, style, and language of it, Christ being the church’s love; and the phrase, “till he please”, best agrees with his sovereignty and authority, who is at liberty to stay with, and remove from, his people at pleasure; and the context and scope of the place seem to confirm it; the church, enjoying communion with Christ, chooses not that he should be disturbed, and by any means be caused to depart from her. Others think they are the words of Christ, and not without reason; since it was the church that was in Christ’s arms, and fallen asleep in them; and the phrase, “my love”, is used by Christ concerning his church, So 7:6; and not this, but another, is used by her concerning him; and besides, both the word for “my love”, and that which is rendered “he please”, are feminine, and best agree with her, “that ye stir not up, the” or “this love, until she please”; so Michaelis d interprets and renders the word for “love [by] this lovely one”; the word is very emphatic, the love, the famous love, the well known love e: add to which, the following words seem to confirm this sense, “the voice of my beloved”, which she had heard, adjuring the daughters of Jerusalem. This charge is made,
by the roes, and by the hinds of the field; not that either Christ or his church swore by them; but the words may be descriptive of the persons addressed by the creatures, among whom they were feeding their flocks, or whom they delighted to hunt f; or were loving and lovely creatures, as they: and the charge is, that they would continue among them, and mind their business, and give no disturbance to Christ or the church; or these creatures are called as witnesses to this charge, which, if not observed, would be brought against them: or the charge is made by all that is dear, these being pleasant and lovely creatures, that they would not interrupt the mutual communion of Christ and his church; or it may be a severe threatening, that, should they disregard the charge, they should become food as common as roes and hinds; and that they should be as cautious of stirring up and awaking the person meant as they would be of starting those timorous creatures. The charge is,
that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please; or, “till she please”; if it is the charge of the church, it may lead to observe, that Christ is the object of the church’s love; and that she is his resting place; that he may not be disturbed and raised up from it by an unfriendly behavior toward him, or by animosities among themselves; that saints should be very careful that they do not provoke Christ to depart from them; and that communion with him is entirely at his pleasure, when and how long it shall continue; it depends as much upon his sovereign will as the first acts of his grace towards them. But if this is the charge of Christ, not to disturb his church, then it may be observed, that the church is the object of Christ’s love, and always continues so; that the church sleeps and takes her rest in Christ’s arms; which is not to be understood of a criminal drowsiness and sleep, but of comfortable repose and rest, Christ gives his beloved ones, in communion with himself; that he loves and delights in the company of his people, and would not have them disturbed in their fellowship with him; and though, while grace is in exercise, saints are desirous of enjoying Christ’s presence always; yet, when it is otherwise, they become indifferent to it, which provokes Christ to depart from them; and therefore it is said, “till she please”: and as this charge is given to the “daughters of Jerusalem”, young converts, or weak believers; it suggests, that they are apt to disturb both Christ and his church; to disturb Christ by their impatience and frowardness, like children; hence the church acts the part of a mother charging her children to be quiet, and not disturb her loving husband, while she enjoyed his company; and to disturb the church, through their weakness, not being able to bear the sublime doctrines of the Gospel, and through their ignorance of Gospel order.
d Not. in Lowth Praelect. de Poes. Heb. p. 158. e So lovers are frequently called “Amor et Amores”, “love and loves”, vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 2. & Ovid. Briseis Achilli, v. 12. Plauti Curculio, Act. 2. Sc. 3. v. 78. Miles, Act. 4. Sc. 8. v. 67. Poenulus, Act. 5. Sc. 3. v. 49. Mostell. arg. v. 1. Persa, arg. v. 1. f “Virginibus Tyriis mos est gestare pharetram”, Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7 I adjure you, ye daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or the hinds of the field,
That ye arouse not and disturb not love
Till she pleases.
It is permitted to the Israelites to swear, , only by God (Gen 21:23); but to adjure, , by that which is not God, is also admissible, although this example before us is perhaps the only direct one in Scripture. (= , dialect. ), fem. (Aram. , Act 9:36), plur. tsebaim or tsebajim , fem. tsabaoth (according with the pl. of ), softened from tsebajoth , is the name for the gazelle, from the elegance of its form and movements. is the connecting form of , whose consonantal Yod in the Assyr. and Syr. is softened to the diphthong ailuv, ailaa; the gen. “of the field,” as not distinguishing but describing, belongs to both of the animals, therefore also the first is without the article. (after the etymon corresponding to the Lat. vel ) proceeds, leaving out of view the repetition of this so-called Slumber-Song (Son 3:5; cf. Son 8:4, as also Son 2:9), from the endeavour to give to the adjuration the greatest impression; the expression is varied, for the representations flit from image to image, and the one, wherever possible, is surpassed by the other ( vid., at Pro 30:31).
Under this verse Hengst. remarks: “The bride would not adjure by the hinds, much more would she adjure by the stage.” He supposes that Solomon is here the speaker; but a more worthless proof for this could not be thought of. On the contrary, the adjuration by the gazelles, etc., shows that the speaker here is one whose home is the field and wood; thus also not the poet (Hitz.) nor the queen-mother (Bttch.), neither of whom is ever introduced as speaking. The adjuration is that love should not be disturbed, and therefore it is by the animals that are most lovely and free, which roam through the fields. Zckler, with whom in this one point Grtz agrees, finds here, after the example of Bttch. and Hitz., the earnest warning against wantonly exciting love in themselves (cf. Lat. irritamenta veneris, irritata voluptas ) till God Himself awakens it, and heart finds itself in sympathy with heart. But the circumstances in which Shulamith is placed ill accord with such a general moralizing. The adjuration is repeated, Son 3:5; Son 8:4, and wherever Shulamith finds herself near her beloved, as she is here in his arms. What lies nearer, then, than that she should guard against a disturbance of this love-ecstasy, which is like a slumber penetrated by delightful dreams? Instead of , , and , should be more exactly the words , , and ; but the gram. distinction of the genera is in Heb. not perfectly developed. We meet also with the very same synallage generis, without this adjuration formula, at Son 5:8; Son 7:1; Son 4:2; Son 6:8, etc.; it is also elsewhere frequent; but in the Song it perhaps belongs to the foil of the vulgar given to the highly poetic. Thus also in the vulgar Arab. the fem. forms jaktulna , taktulna , corresponding to , are fallen out of use. With , expergefacere, there is connected the idea of an interruption of sleep; with , excitare, the idea, which goes further, of arousing out of sleep, placing in the full activity of awakened life.
(Note: The distinction between these words is well explained by Lewisohn in his Investigationes Linguae (Wilna, 1840), p. 21: “The is satisfied that the sleeper wakes, and it is left to him fully to overcome the influence of sleep; the , however, arouses him at once from sleepiness, and awakes him to such a degree that he is secured against falling asleep again.”)
The one adjuration is, that love should not be awakened out of its sweet dream; the other, that it should not be disturbed from its being absorbed in itself. The Pasek between and the word following has, as at Lev 10:6, the design of keeping the two Vavs distinct, that in reading they might not run together; it is the Pasek which, as Ben Asher says, serves “to secure to a letter its independence against the similar one standing next it.” is not abstr. pro concreto, but love itself in its giving and receiving. Thus closes the second scene of the first act: Shulamith lies like one helpless in the arms of Solomon; but in him to expire is her life; to have lost herself in him, and in him to find herself again, is her happiness.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
THE KINGS CHARGE
Son. 2:7
I charge you,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
By the roes and by the hinds of the field,
That ye stir not up,
Nor awaken my love,
Till he (or till she) please.
Uncertain from the original whether the love be Shulamite or the king, or simply the love itself as now experienced and enjoyed. Translators and commentators divided in opinion as to the speaker. The words probably spoken by the king in regard to his Beloved, now so happy in his love, or perhaps sunk into sleep by his side. The charge addressed to the daughters of Jerusalem, or ladies of the Court, in the language of oriental poetry. Roes and hinds familiar objects in the country. Beautiful, but timid animals, ready to start up at the slightest noise. From their affectionate disposition suitably introduced in connection with a matter of love. A mans wife to be to him as the loving hind and pleasant roe (Pro. 5:19). Shulamite, Solomons Beloved, not to be disturbed in the enjoyment of his love, or in the sleep which was occasioned by it. Observe, in regard to the
Enjoyment of Christs Love,
1. The temporary and uncertain duration of that enjoyment in the present world. A limit to it so long as the Church is militant on earth. The banneret of love to be soon exchanged for the banner of war. The feast to give place to the fight. The banquet-house to be followed by the battle-field. Believers soldiers of Christ as well as His Bride. The bridal chaplet to be laid aside for the warriors helmet. The high enjoyment of the Bridegrooms love on earth may be temporary, but not the love itself. That enjoyment easily disturbed, like the repose of the timid gazelle. Intimate fellowship with Christ a tender, delicate, and sensitive thing. Numerous causes of disturbance both within and without us. Even necessary duty in the battle of life and the service of the Master may disturb it. Sin, self, and the seductions of the world, however, its main disturbers. Satan as great a foe to such enjoyment as to that of our first parents in the bowers of Eden. Heaven the place of undisturbed enjoyment.
2. Great care necessary in order to preserve the enjoyment of Christs love. That enjoyment precious, as
(1) Endearing the Saviour;
(2) Engaging us to His service;
(3) Deadening us to the world;
(4) Tending to crucify sin and increase holiness in the soul. The love of Christ constraineth us. The sense of it, therefore, to be carefully preserved. Hence the caution at the Supper Table: Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation: Continue ye in my love. Important charge: Keep yourselves in the love of God, that is, in the enjoyment of it (Jud. 1:21). The sense and enjoyment of Christs love only preserved by
(1) Watchfulness against sin;
(2) Obedience to His will;
(3) Faithfulness in His service;
(4) Patient endurance of the cross. If ye keep My commandments ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Fathers commandments, and abide in His love (Joh. 15:10). David and Peter lost for a time the joy of Gods salvation through sin, but not the salvation itself. Care to be taken to preserve a tender and an unsoiled conscience. Especial care necessary in our intercourse with the world, and even with the professing Church. Danger even of the daughters of Jerusalem disturbing our love. Believers to be most careful over themselves when they have been nearest to Christ.
3. The desire of Jesus that His people may enjoy the continuance of His fellowship and love. Exemplified at the Supper Table in the Upper Room. Continue ye in my love: These things have I spoken unto you that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (Joh. 15:9-11). His desire to come in and sup with believers, and they with Him (Rev. 3:20). From no unkindness or unwillingness on His part if the enjoyment of His fellowship and love is not of longer continuance. Only necessity and duty compel the language: Arise, let us go hence (Joh. 14:31).
4. A time when sensible enjoyment of Christs love and fellowship may be safely and properly suspended. Until he (or she) please. A suspension necessitated after the enjoyment in the Upper Room, both on the part of Christ and His disciples. Christ obliged to leave the banqueting-house to go and redeem His lost sheep; believers to be ready to leave it to go and reclaim them. Others, still without, to be invited and brought to the Marriage-feast with ourselves. The loving self denial of the Master the best way to preserve the assurance of His love, and to secure the frequent repetition of the sense of it. The temporary suspension of our own enjoyment well repaid by the Saviours joy over another lost sheep found. Our love to Himself to be evinced by our care for His lambs (Joh. 21:15). His promise to His faithful and self-denying servants: I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice (Joh. 16:22). Christ most likely to be found again by us, when joining Him in His own loved employmentseeking and saving that which is lost. Feed thy kids beside the shepherds tents.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(7) Roes.Heb., tsebi, tsebiyah; undoubtedly the ghazal of the Arabs; the gazelle. (See 1Ch. 12:8.)
Hinds.Heb., ayyalah. (See Gen. 49:21.) The LXX. strangely read, by the powers and virtues of the field.
My love.Here almost certainly in the concrete, though there is no instance of such use except in this and the corresponding passages. The Authorised Version, till he please, is a mistake in grammar. Read, till she please. The poet imagines his beloved sleeping in his arms, and playfully bids her companions keep from intruding on her slumbers. This verse (which is repeated in Son. 3:5; Son. 8:4) marks natural breaks in the poem and adds to the dramatic effect. But there is no occasion to imagine a real stage, with actors grouped upon it. The daughters of Jerusalem are present only in the poets imagination. It is his manner to fancy the presence of spectators of his happiness and to call on outsiders to share his bliss (comp. Son. 3:11; Son. 5:16; Son. 6:13, &c), and it is on this imaginary theatre which his love conjures up that the curtain falls, here and in other places, on the union of the happy pair. Like Spenser, in his Epithalamium, this poet unto himself alone will sing; but he calls on all things bright and beautiful in the world of nature and man to help him to solemnise this joyful rite, and now the moment has come when he bids the maids and young men cease to sing.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. I charge you Better, I adjure you; a form of administering an oath. The objects named, the roes, (gazelles,) and the hinds of the field, are beautiful and graceful, and give a poetic ornamentation and vivacity to the expression. My love is the abstract term, meaning, not a person loved, but the affection or passion itself. The idea is that of diverting it to another person. “That ye arouse and induce not my affection (elsewhere) until it please,” that is, until it be so repelled by my Beloved as to be constrained of itself to turn and seek another object. That they should add their inducements to the flatteries of the King, seems to her a peril earnestly to be deprecated, lest tempted virtue fail.
A new phase or scene is now introduced, of which the characterizing features are a longing and a search. It is in the form of an animated rehearsal given by the Enamoured to the “daughters of Jerusalem.” The place is the same as that of the preceding division the summer pavilion of the king.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roe-deer, or by the hinds of the field, That you stir not up, nor awaken love, Until he please.”
So overwhelmed is the young maiden by her thoughts of love that she cries out to the young women of Jerusalem, the young women of the court who are enjoying the feast with her, and most solemnly adjures them by the wild creatures who enjoy such mating, to do nothing to stir up or awaken love until he pleases. She is already aware of love’s power, and is afraid of arousing his love, or even her own, too quickly, for she knows what an overwhelming force love is. Indeed we will learn later that it is the very flame of God (Son 8:6).
We note again the indication of her country background, for when she makes her adjuration it is in terms of the things that she knows so well, the roe-deer and the hinds in the wild which she has seen so often engaged in their mating.
There is certainly a timely warning for all Christian lovers in these words, lest their passion for each other take them beyond the bounds that God has set ‘do not awaken love until He please’). And it is a reminder to us as His church that when our love is awakened it is because it is at His pleasure. It is He Who is to make the first move. For in contrast to our love, His love has already been awakened and revealed and is actively at work (Joh 15:9; Joh 15:13-14; 2Co 5:14; Eph 3:19; Eph 5:2; Eph 5:25; Tit 3:4; compare Rom 5:8; 1Jn 4:10-11), and it is reaching out towards us continually. God has commended His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Rom 5:8)
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Son 2:7. I charge you, &c. This is a rural form of adjuring: the bride intreats her virgin companions by those creatures in which they may be supposed to have taken frequent pleasure; but we must never forget that Christ, the heavenly bridegroom, is the supreme, yea, in a true sense, the sole object of her love. The word rendered love is emphatical, and signifies my amiable one. See Hasselquist, p. 192 and the New Translation.
Though I so largely enter, both in my preface, and in my reflections at the end of every chapter, into the spiritual meaning of this divine songthe only meaning for which it was dictated by the Holy Spirit, and recorded in the canon of Scriptureyet I cannot refrain from adding also a few spiritual remarks at the close of every eclogue. By the spouse is meant the CHURCH, who, possessed with the most passionate, love of the promised Redeemer, expresses in ch. i, Son 2:2 her fervent desire for his appearance in the flesh; declaring, at the same time the excellence of his name and grace, and confessing her own unworthiness, as having been too long seduced by false teachers, and lost in gentile idolatry, Son 2:5-6. Under the sense of this, she earnestly desires to know and learn the way of true religion, Son 2:7 a desire pleasing to the Bridegroom, who exhorts her to enter into the holy assemblies of pious souls, and to bring her young converts to be instructed by such pastors as the great Shepherd will appoint in his church, Son 2:8 where she may receive spiritual strength and beauty, Son 2:9-10 where all her members, by their union in religion, may add splendor and glory to her, Son 2:11 where her graces may diffuse their odours, and her heart rejoice in reciprocal affection, and all the acts and offices of fervent piety, Son 2:12-17 and chap. Son 2:1-7.; for the mutual expressions of esteem in these verses seem evidently calculated to set forth the superlative pleasures and heartfelt delights of communion between Christ and the sincere Christian; particularly as experienced in all the acts and offices of religion.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
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.
It appears from what is said in this verse, that the church was so delighted with being stayed with flaggons and apples in the arms of Christ, that she was jealous of being disturbed from a situation so very blessed and desirable; and therefore, she here gives a charge, even to the nearest and dearest connections, even believers with herself, not to interrupt her communion with Jesus, by even their spiritual communion with her. This is a beautiful and most interesting view of the church, and opens to a truly regenerated soul large scope for meditation. However blessed it is for the saints of God to be often talking one to another of the great things of salvation; and, no doubt, upon such occasions, Jesus himself is with them, (Mal 3:16 ; Mat 18:20 ; Luk 24:15 ) yet it is still infinitely more blessed to have sweet communion with Jesus alone. Mat 14:23 ; Gen 45:1 . Reader, I hope you know somewhat of this blessed life. It is sweet; it is gracious and delightful to take communion with the faithful, and to tell anyone and everyone what the Lord hath done for our souls. But, what an infinitely more blessed enjoyment is it to turn aside from the whole earth, and tell Jesus himself what passeth in our souls concerning him. And moreover, by this secret and private fellowship with Jesus, we find more real solid and substantial testimony in our own minds in one short hour’s conversation, than much longer meetings in the society even of the faithful. There may be, and perhaps there often is, much talking of Jesus, where there is but little walking with Jesus: but no soul can retire alone to seek enjoyment with Christ, unless the heart be drawn to Christ. Two cannot walk together except they be agreed. Amo 3:3 . Reader! pause over this and satisfy your own heart on this grand point, before you dismiss it.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son 2:7 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.
Ver. 7. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem. ] A vehement obtestation, or rather an adjuration, I charge you, and that by an oath, taken from the manner of country speech. For in this whole chapter the allegory is so set, as if the feast or meeting were made and represented in a country house or village. These daughters of Jerusalem, therefore, the particular congregations, and all faithful men and women, as Luk 23:28 are straitly charged, and as it were in conscience bound by the Church, the “Mother of us all,” Gal 4:26 not to disease or offend, much or little, her well beloved spouse that “resteth in her love,” Zep 3:17 and “taketh pleasure in the prosperity of his servants,” Psa 35:27 “until he please” – that is, not at all: for he is not a God that taketh pleasure in wickedness, Psa 5:4 his holy Spirit is grieved by it. Eph 4:30 Or, “until he please”; that is, till he waken of his own accord. Be not over hasty with him for help, but hold out faith and patience; let him take his own time, “for he is a God of judgment, and waiteth to be gracious.” Isa 30:18 If through impatience and unbelief you set him a day, or send for him by a post, he will first chide you before he chide the waves that afflict you, as he dealt by his disciples that wakened him ere he was willing. Mar 4:37-40 Those that are suddenly roused out of a deep and sweet sleep are apt to be angry with those that have done it. Great heed must be taken by ourselves, and God’s charge laid upon others, that nothing be “spoken or done amiss against the God of heaven.” Dan 3:29 “Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god.” Psa 16:4 “The Lord shall trouble thee, thou troubler of Israel.” Jos 7:25 “Do ye provoke the Lord to wrath? are ye stronger than he?” 1Co 10:22 Will ye needs try a fall with him? Psa 18:26 “Hath ever any yet waxed fierce against God and prospered?” Job 9:4 Surely, as Ulysses’s companions told him, when he would needs provoke Polydamas, so may we say much more to those that incense the Lord to displeasure,
“ S .”
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb 10:31 Had men the feet of roes and hinds of the field, they could not outrun his wrath; witness Jonah. Or if they could, yet the roes and hinds, those loving creatures, Pro 5:19 would be swift witnesses against them for their baseness and disloyalty, since they do such things as those poor creatures would not. See Deu 30:19 Isa 1:2 . Be thou instructed therefore, O Jerusalem, lest Christ’s soul be disjointed from thee, lest, as well as he loves thee now, “he make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.” Jer 6:8 Let him be that love of thine, as she here emphatically calls him, that taketh up thy whole heart, soul, and strength, with a love, not only of desire, but of complacency, with a God-like love. True it is that we cannot, neither are we bound to love God, in quantum est diligibilis, so much as he is loveable, for so God only can love himself; but we must love nihil supra, aeque, or ntra, nothing more, or so well, or against God. Other persons we may love with his allowance, but it must be in him, and for him, as our friends in the Lord, our foes for the Lord. Other things we may also love, but no otherwise than as they convey love to us from Christ, and may be means of drawing up our affections unto Christ. This true love will keep us from doing anything wilfully that may disease or displease him; it will also constrain the daughters of Jerusalem to “abide with the roes and with the hinds of the field,” so some read this text, as Rachel did by her father’s herds, to glorify Christ in some honest and lawful vocation, and not to vex him by idleness and unprofitableness, since, as punishment hath an impulsive, so love hath a compulsive faculty. 2Co 5:14
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Son 2:7
7I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you do not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases.
Son 2:7 This is either from the bridegroom (margin of NASB) or the bride (NKJV). This phrase is repeated throughout the book (cf. Son 3:5; Son 5:8-9; Son 8:4).
In context it seems to be a suggestion to (1) wait until the lover is ready; (2) wait until the appropriate time; or (3) do not interrupt their lovemaking.
The VERB pleases (BDB 342, KB 339, Qal IMPERFECT) is used several times in this book (cf. Son 2:7; Son 3:5; Son 8:4). It denotes a thoughtfulness about the feelings of the other person.
O, daughters of Jerusalem See note at Son 1:5. This closes out poem number one, while Son 2:8 to Son 3:5 will be poem number two.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
I charge = I adjure. you. This and the verbs here are Masculine. It is not uncommon to find this: but when we do, we find true feminity has been lost.
roes = gazelles.
stir not up = excite not. Hebrew. ‘ur (in the Hiphil).
awake = incite. Hebrew. ‘ur (in the Piel) = not to rouse from sleep, but to excite the passions. See Isa 42:13. Pro 10:12.
my love = my feelings or affection (feminine)
till he = till she. It is Feminine, to agree with love, ‘ahabah = love never used in the abstract, as in Son 3:10, and Son 8:4 (a person). This is an appeal to the court-ladies not to try and incite her affection for Solomon.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
charge you: Heb. adjure you, Mat 26:63
O ye: Son 1:5, Son 5:8, Son 5:16
by the roes: Son 3:5, Pro 5:19
ye stir: Son 8:4, Eph 5:22-33
Reciprocal: Psa 45:14 – virgins Psa 48:11 – daughters Ecc 3:5 – a time to embrace Son 1:13 – he shall Son 3:11 – O ye Luk 5:34 – the children Luk 23:28 – daughters
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Son 2:7. I charge you This is spoken by the bride. By the roes By the example of those creatures, which are pleasant and loving in their carriage toward one another; that ye stir not up, nor awake That you do not disturb nor offend him; till he please Never, as this word until, in such phrases, is commonly used. For neither can sin ever please him, nor can the church bear it, that Christ should ever be offended, or that her sweet fellowship with him should be interrupted.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:7 {c} I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not, nor awake [my] love, till he please.
(c) Christ charges them who have to do in the Church as it were by a solemn oath, that they trouble not the quietness of it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The refrain 2:7
This charge by Solomon occurs again later (Son 3:5; Son 8:4) and serves as an indicator that one pericope has ended. The point of Solomon’s words is that others desiring the kind of relationship he and his beloved enjoyed should be patient and "let love take its natural course." [Note: Ibid., p. 94.]
"Wait for love to blossom; don’t hurry it." [Note: Longman, p. 115.]
The gazelle is a member of the antelope family, and the hind is a female deer. Both animals are skittish, and anyone who wants to get close to them must wait patiently. One cannot approach them aggressively. Similarly a man cannot awaken a woman’s love clumsily.