Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 2:12
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;
12. the flowers appear on the earth ] The outburst of spring flowers in Palestine is wonderful. Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 139, says: “The hills and valleys glow with what is peculiar to Palestine, a profusion of wild flowers, daisies, the white flower called the Star of Bethlehem, but especially with a blaze of scarlet flowers of all kinds, chiefly anemones, wild tulips and poppies. Of all the ordinary aspects of the country, this blaze of scarlet colour is perhaps the most peculiar.” Cp. also Dr Post, in Hastings’ Dict. of the Bible, vol. 11. p. 24.
the time of the singing of birds is come ] The words of birds, as is indicated by the italics in the A.V., are not in the Hebrew. All it says is that ‘th hazzmr has come. Now zmr may mean either ‘pruning’ or ‘singing,’ and most of the ancient versions, e.g. LXX, Vulg., Targ., have translated it pruning, though the word does not occur elsewhere in the O.T. with this meaning. But in favour of this translation we have the fact that the various agricultural operations of the year are in Heb. named by words of an exactly similar form, e.g. qtsr, the harvest of grain, &c. Further, in Jer 51:33, we have the entirely analogous expression ‘th haqqtsr = ‘the time of harvest.’ It cannot, therefore, be doubted that the translation ‘ the time of pruning ’ is thoroughly justified. Against it there is the fact that in Son 2:13 the vines are in bloom, and they cannot be pruned when they are at that stage. But there is what is called summer pruning, one purpose of which is to help in the formation of the fruit or blossom-buds of fruit trees. This is done while the shoots are yet young and succulent so that they may in most cases be nipped off with the thumb-nail. The time for this would be just before the blooming, and both pruning and blooming would be processes appropriate to spring. For the meaning singing, there is the fact that zmr occurs a number of times with the meaning song (e.g. Isa 25:5; 2Sa 23:1, &c.), but always of human singing. There is no instance of its being used of the singing of birds.
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land ] The turtle-dove is named here, not as a singing bird, but as a bird of passage which “observes the time of its coming” (Jer 8:7); that is, it unfailingly appears in the spring, and by its voice announces its presence in the now leafy woods where it cannot readily be seen. Tristram says ( Nat. Hist. p. 219), “Search the glades and valleys in March, and not a turtle-dove is to be seen. Return at the beginning of April, and clouds of doves are feeding on the clovers of the plain. They stock every tree and thicket. At every step they flutter up from the herbage in front, they perch on every tree and bush, they overspread the whole face of the land, and from every garden, grove, and wooded hill, pour forth their melancholy but soothing ditty unceasingly from early dawn to sunset.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The flowers appear on the earth: this and the following clauses are here alleged as evidences of the spring time, which in the mystical and principal sense seems to signify the day of grace, or the glad tidings of salvation proposed to sinners in the time of the law, by types, and shadows, and promises, but much more clearly and fully in the gospel, and all the discoveries and communications of Gods grace to mankind in holy ordinances, in the gifts, and graces, and comforts of the Holy Spirit, vouchsafed unto and appearing in believers, as buds and blossoms do in the spring time.
The time of the singing of birds; when birds sing most freely and sweetly, as they do in the spring. Or, as the ancient translators render it, of cutting or cropping, not trees, which agrees not with that season, but the flowers, last mentioned, for nosegays, or other uses.
The turtle; which changeth its place according to the season, as is observed. Jer 8:7, and by all other writers, who affirm that it disappears in winter, and appears in the spring, as some other birds also do; but this seems particularly to be mentioned, because it doth not only give notice of the spring, but also doth aptly represent the Spirit of God, which even the Chaldee paraphrast understands by this turtle, which appeared in the shape of a dove, and which worketh a dove-like meekness, and chastity, and faithfulness in believers.
In our land; in Immanuels land, as Canaan is called, Isa 8:8, in the church.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. flowerstokens of angerpast, and of grace come. “The summoned bride is welcome,”say some fathers, “to weave from them garlands of beauty,wherewith she may adorn herself to meet the King.” Historically,the flowers, c., only give promise the fruit is not ripe yet;suitable to the preaching of John the Baptist, “The kingdom ofheaven is at hand“; not yet fully come.
the time of . . . singingtherejoicing at the advent of Jesus Christ. GREGORYNYSSENUS refers the voiceof the turtledove to John the Baptist. It with the olive branchannounced to Noah that “the rain was over and gone” (Ge8:11). So John the Baptist, spiritually. Its plaintive“voice” answers to his preaching of repentance(Jer 8:6; Jer 8:7).Vulgate and Septuagint translate, “The time ofpruning,” namely, spring (Joh15:2). The mention of the “turtle’s” cooing betteraccords with our text. The turtledove is migratory (Jer8:7), and “comes” early in May; emblem of love, and soof the Holy Ghost. Love, too, shall be the keynote of the “newsong” hereafter (Isa 35:10;Rev 1:5; Rev 14:3;Rev 19:6). In the individualbeliever now, joy and love are here set forth in their earliermanifestations (Mr 4:28).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The flowers appear on the earth,…. One of the first signs of the spring being come t; and make the season delightful and pleasant; the sun returning with its warming influences, herbs and plants are quickened and spring up; fields and meadows, as well as gardens, are covered with a variety of beautiful flowers, which make walking abroad very delightful. By these “flowers” may be meant either the graces of the spirit in the saints, which, when a wintertime with them, seem to be dead, at least are hid; but, upon a return of the sun of righteousness, revive and are seen again: or the saints themselves, when in a flourishing condition, and in the exercise of grace; who may be compared to the flowers of the field for the production of them in the spring, which is a kind of re-creation of them, Ps 104:30; and fitly expresses the renovation of the Holy Ghost, to which the revival of them is owing; and for the fragrancy of them, their persons and services being of a sweet savour through the grace and righteousness of Christ; and for their beauty and ornament to the fields in which they grow, as saints are through Christ in themselves, and to the churches and interest of Christ; and for the gaiety and cheerfulness in which the flowers appear in the spring season, and so a proper emblem of the joy and consolation of the saints; where grace revives, Christ returns, and they are favoured with communion with him. It may not be improper to observe, that this may represent the large conversions of souls to Christ, and the numerous appearance of so many beautiful flowers in the church of Christ in the first ages of Christianity, after a long winter of Jewish and Gentile darkness;
the time of the singing [of birds] is come; another sign of spring, and suits the Gospel dispensation, in which the churches of Christ, and the members of them, sing the praises of the Lord in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; and particularly young converts, those little birds that sing in warbling notes and tuneful lays the songs of electing, redeeming, calling, justifying, pardoning, and adopting grace, to the glory of God, and to their mutual comfort and edification. Some render it, “the time of the branch” u, of the vine putting forth its branches; or “the time of cutting” w, of pruning vines, of lopping trees, and cutting off unfruitful branches; as in the Gospel dispensation, when the Jewish branches were broken off, and the Gentiles were ingrafted in, and being pruned brought forth more fruit; and this agrees with the season of the year, the spring being the time of cutting and pruning vines x; though this is by some objected to as unseasonable;
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; so one part of rural pleasures is described by the poet y, not only by the singing of birds of various kinds, but particularly by the note of the turtle; which is a kind of dove that lies hid in the wintertime, or is gone, being a bird of passage, and appears and returns at the spring, when its voice is heard again z; see Jer 8:7; for its voice is never heard in winter, unless on a fine day a; by which may be meant, not the voice of the law, as the Jewish writers b, rather of the Gospel, the joyful sound, which for a while was heard only in the land of Judea, called by way of specialty “our land”: but either of the voice of the Messiah himself c, preaching the everlasting Gospel in the land of Israel when here on earth; or of John the Baptist his forerunner; and so Alshech interprets it of Elijah, who was to come before the Messiah, and refers to Mal 4:5. It may design the voice of all the apostles of Christ, and first ministers of the Gospel d; or of the Holy Ghost, as the Targum, who appeared as a dove at Christ’s baptism; and whose voice in the hearts of his people, speaking peace and pardon, and witnessing their adoption, causes joy and gladness; or of the church itself, compared to a turtledove for its harmlessness, meekness, chastity, c. whose voice in prayer and praise is heard, and is acceptable to Christ, So 2:14.
t “Ver praebet flores”, Ovid. de Remed. Amor. l. 1. v. 188. “Omnia tum florent”, ibid. Metamorph. l. 15. Fab. 9. So flowers are called
, “the children of the spring”, in Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 13. c. 9. p. 608. “Vernus sequitur color, omnis in herbas turget humus”, Claudian. de Rapt. Proserp. l. 2. v. 90. u “tempus palmitis”, Gussetius, p. 231. w , Sept. “tempus putationis”, V. L. Pagninus so the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions. x Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 17. c. 22. Hesiod. Opera & Dies, l. 2. y , Theocrit. Idyll. 7. z Plin. ut supra, l. 18. c. 28. a Myndius apud Athenaeum in Deipnosophist. l. 9. c. 11. p. 394. So Pliny, “hyeme mutis, vere vocalibus”, l. 10. c. 35. Vid. l. 18. c. 28. b In Zohar in Gen. fol. 121. 3. c So Pesikta in Yalkut in loc. d Vid. Stockium, p. 1181.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) The time of the singingHeb., zamrmay mean pruning (so LXX. and Vulg.), but parallelism requires singing-time (a meaning which analogy will certainly allow us to give to the Hebrew word zamr). Nor can the correctness of our version in inserting of birds be questioned, since from the context it is plainly the untaught harmony of spring, and not the voices of men intended. It is true there is no authority for this beyond the context, and the allusions to the singing of birds are besides very few in Scripture; but travellers say that different species of warbless (Turdid), especially the bulbul and the nightingale. abound in the wooded valleys, filling the air in early spring with the rich cadence of their notes (Tristrams Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 160).
Turtle.Heb., tr (turtur), from its plaintive note. Three species are found in Palestine, but the one intended is doubtless our own turtle-dove (Turtur auritus). It is migratory, and its advent marks the return of spring (Jer. 8:7). Search the glades and valleys even by sultry Jordan at the end of March, and not a turtle-dove is to be seen. Return in the second week of April, and clouds of doves are feeding on the clovers of the plain. The turtle, immediately on its arrival, pours forth from every garden grove and wooded hill its melancholy yet soothing ditty from early dawn till sunset (Tristrams Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 219).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. The flowers appear on the earth The drift of allusion shows the parties foremost in the drama, the Enamoured and the Beloved, to be in lowly condition and dwellers in the country. To such this spring season is the most laborious of all, especially to get in all seeds while the soil is moist with the early rain and the latter rain is yet to come. This gives a holiday zest to this proposed excursion. They are to go, not for labour, but to the banquet which nature spreads.
The time of the singing The word really means, the song of men of labourers but to refer it to birds does no harm, though the next clause would be sufficient for that.
The voice of the turtle The “turtle” dove (named tur-tur, from its cooing) spends the winter farther south, and its return to Palestine is like that of the swallow to ours, or like that of the cuckoo, whose note resembles the turtle dove’s, which is often called the mourning dove.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Son 2:12 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;
Ver. 12. The flowers appear on the earth. ] Here we have a most dainty description of the spring or prime time – prin-temps, as the French call it – far surpassing that of Horace and the rest of the poets, who yet have shown themselves very witty that way. For the sense; by “flowers” (made rather to smell than to feed upon) are understood, saith an interpreter, the firstfruits of the Spirit, whereby the elect give a pleasant smell; and therein lieth sweetness of speech, and words going before works, even as flowers before fruits. For the which cause, as the apostle exhorteth that our speech be gracious always, “ministering edification to the hearer,” Col 4:6 so the prophet calls it a “pure language,” which the Lord will give to as many as love him, as are called according to his purpose. Zep 3:9
The time of the singing of birds is come.
a See Eze 7:16 . Isidor.
b Basil.
c Aug. in Psa. x.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
on the earth = in the fields.
voice: i.e. cooing.
turtle = turtle-dove. A migratory bird (Jer 8:7).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
flowers: Son 6:2, Son 6:11, Isa 35:1, Isa 35:2, Hos 14:5-7
time: Psa 40:1-3, Psa 89:15, Psa 148:7-13, Isa 42:10-12, Isa 55:12, Eph 5:18-20, Col 3:16
of the turtle: Rom 15:9-13, Eph 1:13, Eph 1:14
Reciprocal: Gen 8:8 – a dove Gen 8:22 – seedtime Job 39:26 – stretch Jer 8:7 – turtle 1Jo 2:8 – the darkness