Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 2:14
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.
14. clefts of the rock ] Rather, hiding places of the rock. The word chaghw occurs only here and in the quotation from an older prophet which is found in Jer 49:16 and Oba 1:3. There is no root known in Heb. from which the word can be derived, but its meaning is fixed by the Arab. hagan, ‘a place of refuge’ (cp. Oxf. Heb. Lex. s.v.), and this meaning is supported by the parallelism, for we have ‘secret place’ or ‘covert’ in the next clause.
in the secret places of the stairs ] Better, as R.V., in the covert of the steep place. The word madhrghh occurs again Eze 38:20 in the phrase “the steep places shall fall.” It probably has the same meaning here. Stairs rests entirely on the analogy of Arabic, and is here quite inappropriate. There is no necessary reference to the character of the place where the bride is. The wild dove chooses high and inaccessible rocks as its resting-place because of its shyness. The shyness and modesty of the bride is meant to be indicated. There may however be some reference to the fact that the lover cannot approach the place where she is.
let me see thy countenance ] let me have sight of thee, for thy form is comely.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Son 2:14
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.
A sermon for Lent
My text contains a parable. The parable is one easy for us to realize. There rises somewhere in the Jewish land a mountain of rock, and it rises precipitously. Looked at from beneath it would seem as if its peak were inaccessible. Yet to the cragsmen of the district it is an oft-trodden path. They rise from ledge to ledge of the rock as by a natural staircase, and they pause and rest in its grottoes and caverns, and find refreshment in the ascent. To one at least this is a well-known spot. Again and again he climbs its height, and he has entered into familiar intercourse with one of those making their homes in the cleft of the rock. There dwells a dove that he has tamed, one who knows his voice, one who in his sight is unequalled in comeliness, one the sound of whose note is as the sweetest music to his ear. And as he climbs the mountain ascending to where the dove dwells, he cries, 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. Such is the parable. What is its interpretation?–at least to Christian men? To us the Song of Solomon comes as a beautiful poem, revealing to us the conditions of Christian life as lived in the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the cragsman typified of old! He draws nigh to His Church, as at this Lenten season; He speaks to His dove, His undefiled one, in the words we are considering now. And this is His cry–God grant that it may be answered by you, my brothers, at this Lenten Season, Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice: for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. A dove is a type of innocence, I know, but not a type of sinless innocence. It is a type of innocency recovered by contrition. Ezekiel is our teacher here. Be sees Israel escaped from bondage and restored to her fatherland, and thus describes her dwelling there. He shall be like the dove on the mountains, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. There is no sound so peaceful and so plaintive as the note of the dove. Peaceful, for contrition is a state of peace. Yet, after all, mouruful is his plaintive note, because in the contrite, true sorrow co-exists with peace and joy. And this is the call of Jesus Christ at this time–that we will lift to Him the countenance that is marked with tears of penitence; that we will lay at His feet in the consecrated songs of the Church our misereres for forgiven sin. Always in the Churchs worship, in the worship of the individual creature, blended with the voice of loud thanksgiving must be the wailing note of the dove. It is this truth, I am sure, that we need to recognise–that contrition is of necessity a feature of Christian life, because that Christian life is lived by those who are not wholly free from sin, As we go on our way day by day we are conscious of shortcomings. Nay, nay, happy is he who is not conscious from time to time of deliberate deviation from the law of righteousness. And even beyond that, whatever is wrought out in us by the great crisis of conversion, it does not break that link of personality which links us to our sin-stained past. We who live in the Divine peace and love and obedience now are they who sinned in the sin-stained past. We cannot, if we are wise or true, act as though there were no link linking us to that past. Our life, therefore, of necessity, must be a life of contrition for sin, and all the more intense just because that sin is forgiven. How, then, is this contrition to be ours? God gives the answer in this season of Lent. Lent is one of the seasons of our Divine education. Christ has created by His Spirit this season of Lent in the Catholic Church, in order that He may teach us how to live a contrite life. Well, how? In varied ways. Sometimes this contrition is awakened or deepened within us by a revelation of the reality of God, as it was to Isaiah. Sometimes by strange Divine interpositions in the ordinary course of life, as it was to Simon Peter by the lake. Sometimes in the course of deep, engrossing study, as it was with the Magi. Sometimes by a Divine call meeting us in the path of our duty, as it was when Matthew was called from the receipt of custom. Yet, mainly, Jesus educates us into contrition by the revelation of Himself as the crucified Lord. It was thus when the 3,000 were brought to contrition. And so it has been all down through the ages, as the testimony of the history of the Church bears witness. And so it is to-day, as every evangelist will bear testimony. Generally men are brought to contrition, generally men are maintained in contrition, generally men advance in contrition through the revelation of Jesus to the sinner as the crucified, by the power of the Holy Ghost. Nor is it difficult to see why this is. Contrition depends upon conviction of sin. It begins in our conviction of sin; it grows with the deepening of conviction of sin; and this conviction of sin is ours through the revelation of the Cross of Christ. As we recognize the connection between mans sins and the Redeemers sorrows, and see what sin is in its exceeding sinfulness; our eyes are opened to judge of sin aright, and our judgment expresses itself in self-condemnation. Again, contrition implies not only conviction of sin, but the knowledge of Gods love. A knowledge of sins exceeding sinfulness, unless it is followed by a revelation of Divine love, would result in despair and death. But God, who sees our position of danger when we are convicted of sin, reveals unto us Jesus Christ crucified, as being the unveiling of Himself as the God of Love. He bids us see in the eyes of love which look down upon the world from the cross, eyes that are lit up with the very love of God Himself. And yet once more. If in the vision of the cross there is given to us a revelation of the greatness of sin, and then of the greatness of the love of God speaking to the sinner in his sorrow, and giving to him the kiss of reconciliation, there comes to us a revelation of what a sinners life should be as lived under this conviction of sin and in this vision of the love of God. It is to be a life of humility as the sinner kneels at the loving Fathers feet and breathes out in acts of devotion his own sorrow for sin. It is to be a life of zeal, as he rises to show this sorrow for a wasted past by devotion to the service of God in the living present. It is to be a life of patient conformity to the Divine discipline, as he recognizes in the sorrows of life Gods blessed living purgatory in which His own children are purified and educated according to His will. So, then, if you would go forth and really live with God during this season of Lent; if you would have your Lent life a reality and not a mere ecclesiastical sham, let it be a Lent spent at the feet of Jesus Christ, your crucified, your enthroned Redeemer; give yourselves up to Him in whole abandonment, and in the spirit of prayer. Call upon Him in the power of His Spirit, to give you deeper conviction of sin, a grasp of Divine love, a stronger purpose to live a life of firmer humility, of zeal, and patience. Above all, remember this–there is no living the life of contrition unless it is lived in the Divine peace. How wisely we learn this from the order of the Churchs seasons. Shrove Tuesday is not in Holy Week, nor is its teaching assigned to Easter Eve. It is not first Lent, and then forgiveness; it is first forgiveness and then Lent. Through Shrove Tuesday we pass by the door of Ash Wednesday into the Lent of contrition. And so it is, believe me, in our Christian life. If we would really mourn before God for sin with a generous and unselfish mourning; if we would sing the song that he longs to hear, we must sing it in the clefts of rock. It is only as we surrender ourselves to Christ for forgiveness of the past; only as we cling to Him in love and faith and hope for acceptance in the living present; only as we entrust ourselves to Him for the future that awaits us; in a word, it is only as we live in realized union with Him as our Redeemer, that we can ever offer Him the contrition that He craves. (Canon Body.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. My dove – in the clefts of the rock] He compares his bride hiding herself in her secret chambers and closets to a dove in the clefts of the rock.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
My dove; so the church is called, partly for her dove-like temper and disposition, because she is chaste, and mild, and harmless, &c.; and partly for her dove-like condition, because she is weak, and exposed to persecution, and given to mourning, as doves are, Isa 38:14; 59:11; Eze 7:16, and subject to many fears, and therefore forced to hide herself in rocks, as it follows, in the clefts of the rock; where she hid herself, either,
1. For fear of her enemies, whom to avoid she puts herself into the protection of the Almighty. Or,
2. Out of modesty, and a humble sense of her own deformities and, infirmities, which makes her endeavour to hide herself even from her Beloved, as ashamed to appear, in his presence, which is frequently the case of Gods people, especially after falls into sin. And this sense seems to be favoured by the following words, in which Christ relieveth her against such discouraging thoughts.
In the secret places of the stairs; in the holes of craggy and broken rocks, which resemble stairs. So the same thing is here repeated in other words.
Let me see thy countenance; be not afraid nor ashamed to appear before me; come boldly into my presence, and acquaint thyself with me.
Thy voice; thy prayers and praises.
Sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely; thy person and services are accepted by me, and are amiable in my sight.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. dovehere expressingendearment (Ps 74:19). Dovesare noted for constant attachment; emblems, also, in theirsoft, plaintive note, of softened penitents (Isa 59:11;Eze 7:16); other points oflikeness are their beauty; “their wings covered withsilver and gold” (Ps 68:13),typifying the change in the converted; the dove-like spirit,breathed into the saint by the Holy Ghost, whose emblem is the dove;the messages of peace from God to sinful men, as Noah’s dove,with the olive branch (Ge 8:11),intimated that the flood of wrath was past; timidity, fleeingwith fear from sin and self to the cleft Rock of Ages (Isa26:4, Margin; Ho11:11); gregarious, flocking together to the kingdom ofJesus Christ (Isa 60:8);harmless simplicity (Mt10:16).
cleftsthe refuge ofdoves from storm and heat (Jer48:28; see Jer 49:16).GESENIUS translates theHebrew from a different root, “the refuges.” Butsee, for “clefts,” Ex33:18-23. It is only when we are in Christ Jesus that our”voice is sweet (in prayer, Son 4:3;Son 4:11; Mat 10:20;Gal 4:6, because it is Hisvoice in us; also in speaking of Him, Mal3:16); and our countenance comely” (Exo 34:29;Psa 27:5; Psa 71:3;Isa 33:16; 2Co 3:18).
stairs (Eze38:20, Margin), a steep rock, broken into stairs orterraces. It is in “secret places” and rugged scenes thatJesus Christ woos the soul from the world to Himself (Mic 2:10;Mic 7:14). So Jacob amid thestones of Beth-el (Ge28:11-19); Moses at Horeb (Ex3:1-22); so Elijah (1Ki19:9-13); Jesus Christ with the three disciples on a “highmountain apart,” at the transfiguration (Mt17:1); John in Patmos (Re 1:9).”Of the eight beatitudes, five have an afflicted condition fortheir subject. As long as the waters are on the earth, we dwell inthe ark; but when the land is dry, the dove itself will be tempted towander” [JEREMYTAYLOR]. Jesus Christ doesnot invite her to leave the rock, but in it (Himself), yet inholy freedom to lay aside the timorous spirit, look up boldly asaccepted in Him, pray, praise, and confess Him (in contrast to hershrinking from being looked at, So1:6), (Eph 6:19; Heb 13:15;1Jn 4:18); still, thoughtrembling, the voice and countenance of the soul in Jesus Christ arepleasant to Him. The Church found no cleft in the Sinaitic legalrock, though good in itself, wherein to hide; but in Jesus Christstricken by God for us, as the rock smitten by Moses (Nu20:11), there is a hiding-place (Isa32:2). She praised His “voice” (Son 2:8;Son 2:10); it is thus that hervoice also, though tremulous, is “sweet” to Him here.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O my dove,…. An epithet sometimes used by lovers q, and is a new title Christ gives to his church, to express his affection for her and interest in her; and to draw her out of her retirement, to go along with him. The dove is a creature innocent and harmless, beautiful, cleanly, and chaste; sociable and fruitful, weak and timorous, of a mournful voice, and swift in flying; all which is suitable to the church and people of God: they are harmless and inoffensive in their lives and conversations; they are beautiful through the righteousness of Christ on them, and the grace of the Spirit in them; they are clean through the word Christ has spoken, and having their hearts purified by faith; they are as chaste virgins espoused to Christ, and their love to him is single and unfeigned; they cleave to him, are fruitful in grace and good works; and the church being espoused to Christ brings forth many souls unto him in regeneration; saints carry on a social worship and delight in each other’s company; they are weak and timorous, being persecuted and oppressed by the men of the world; and mourn for their own sins and others, and often for the loss of Christ’s presence; and are swift in flying to him for safety and protection. Under this character the church is said to be
in the clefts of the rock, the usual place where the dove makes its nest, Jer 48:28; or retires to it for safety r. Adrichomius says s, there was a stone tower near Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of Olives, called “petra columbarum”, “the rock of the doves”, where often five thousand were kept at once, to which there may be an allusion here; or else it may have respect to the place where doves are forced to fly when pursued by the hawk, even into a hollow rock, as described by Homer t; and may be expressive of the state of the church under persecution, when obliged to flee into holes and corners, and caves of the earth; when the Lord is a hiding place to her, in his love, and grace, and power; and particularly Christ is the Rock of his people, so called for height, strength, and duration, and they are the inhabitants of this Rock; and who was typified by the rock in the wilderness, and particularly by that into the clefts of which Moses was put, when the glory of the Lord passed before him: moreover, the clefts of this rock may design the wounds of Christ, which are opened for the salvation of men; and where saints dwell by faith, and are secure from every enemy u. The Ethiopic version is, “in the shadow of the rock”, to which Christ is compared, Isa 32:2; and so the Septuagint version, “in the covering of the rock”, which is no other than the shade of it. Likewise the church is said to be
in the secret [places] of the stairs; Christ is the stairs or steps by which saints ascend up to God, have access to and communion with him; and the secret places may have respect to the justifying righteousness of Christ, and atonement by him, hidden to other men, but revealed to them; and whither in distress they betake themselves, and are sheltered from sin, law, hell, and death, and dwell in safety. Though as such places are dark and dusty, and whither the dove, or any other creature, may in danger betake itself, so upon the whole both this and the preceding clause may design the dark, uncomfortable, and solitary condition the church was in through fear of enemies; in which situation Christ addresses her, saying,
let me see thy countenance, or “face”; and encourages her to appear more publicly in, his house and courts for worship, and present herself before him, and look him full in the face, and with open face behold his glory, and not be shamefaced and fearful; not to be afraid of any thing, but come out of her lurking holes, and be seen abroad by himself and others, since the stormy weather was over, and everything was pleasant and agreeable;
let me hear thy voice; in prayer to him and praise of him, commending the glories and: excellencies of his person, and giving thanks to him for the blessings of his grace;
for sweet [is] thy voice; pleasant, harmonious, melodious, having a mixture of notes in it, as the word signifies; and so exceeds the voice of a natural dove, which is not very harmonious: Herodotus w makes mention of a dove that spoke with a human voice; and such a voice Christ’s dove speaks with, and it is sweet; that is, pleasant and delightful to him, who loves to hear his people relate the gracious experiences of his goodness, and speak well of his truths and ordinances; prayer is sweet music to him, and praise pleases him better than all burnt offerings;
and thy countenance [is] comely; fair and beautiful, and therefore need not cover her face, or hang down her head, as if ashamed to be seen, since she was in the eye of Christ a perfection of beauty.
q “Mea columba”, Plauti Casina, Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 50. Doves were birds of Venus; her chariot was drawn by them, Chartar. de Imag. Deor. p. 218. Vid. Apulci Metamorph. l. 6. r “Quails spelunca subito commota columba, cui domus et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi”, Virgil. Aeneid. 5. v. 213. s Theatrum Terrae S. p. 171. t Iliad. 21. v. 493, 494. u “In tegimento petrae”, i.e. “tuta praesidio passionis meae et fidei munimento”, Ambros. de Isaac, c. 4. p. 281. w Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 55.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Solomon further relates how he drew her to himself out of her retirement:
My dove in the clefts of the rock,
In the hiding-place of the cliff;
Let me see thy countenance,
Let me hear thy voice!
For thy voice is sweet and thy countenance comely.
“Dove” (for which Castellio, columbula, like vulticulum, voculam ) is a name of endearment which Shulamith shares with the church of God, Psa 74:19; cf. Psa 56:1; Hos 7:11. The wood-pigeon builds its nest in the clefts of the rocks and other steep rocky places, Jer 48:28.
(Note: Wetstein’s Reisebericht, p. 182: “If the Syrian wood-pigeon does not find a pigeon-tower, , it builds its nest in the hollows of rocky precipices, or in the walls of deep and wide fountains.” See also his Nord-arabien, p. 58: “A number of scarcely accessible mountains in Arabia are called alkunnat , a rock-nest.”)
That Shulamith is thus here named, shows that, far removed from intercourse with the world, her home was among the mountains. , from , or also , requires a verb = (Arab.) khajja , findere. ( , as a Himyar. lexicographer defines it, is a cleft into the mountains after the nature of a defile; with , only the ideas of inaccessibility and remoteness are connected; with , those of a secure hiding-place, and, indeed, a convenient, pleasant residence. is the stairs; here the rocky stairs, as the two chalk-cliffs on the Rgen, which sink perpendicularly to the sea, are called “ Stubbenkammer ,” a corruption of the Slavonic Stupnhkamen, i.e., the Stair-Rock. “Let me see,” said he, as he called upon her with enticing words, “thy countenance;” and adds this as a reason, “for thy countenance is lovely.” The word , thus pointed, is sing.; the J od Otians is the third root letter of , retained only for the sake of the eye. It is incorrect to conclude from ashrech , in Ecc 10:17, that the ech may be also the plur. suff., which it can as little be as ehu in Pro 29:18; in both cases the sing. esher has substituted itself for ashre . But, inversely, maraich cannot be sing.; for the sing. is simply marech . Also marav , Job 41:1, is not sing.: the sing. is marehu , Job 4:16; Son 5:15. On the other hand, the determination of such forms as , , is difficult: these forms may be sing. as well as plur. In the passage before us, is just such a non-numer. plur. as . But while panim is an extensive plur., as Bttcher calls it: the countenance, in its extension and the totality of its parts, – marim , like maroth , vision, a stately term, Exo 40:2 ( vid., Deitrich’s Abhand. p. 19), is an amplificative plur.: the countenance, on the side of its fulness of beauty and its overpowering impression.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Love of the Church to Christ. | |
14 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. 15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. 16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. 17 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.
Here is, I. The encouraging invitation which Christ gives to the church, and every believing soul, to come into communion with him, v. 14.
1. His love is now his dove; David had called the church God’s turtle-dove (Ps. lxxxiv. 19), and so she is here called; a dove for beauty, her wings covered with silver (Ps. xviii. 13), for innocence and inoffensiveness; a gracious spirit is a dove-like spirit, harmless, loving quietness and cleanliness, and faithful to Christ, as the turtle to her mate. The Spirit descended like a dove on Christ, and so he does on all Christians, making them of a meek and quiet spirit. She is Christ’s dove, for he owns her and delights in her; she can find no rest but in him and his ark, and therefore to him, as her Noah, she returns.
2. This dove is in the clefts of the rock and in the secret places of the stairs. This speaks either, (1.) Her praise. Christ is the rock, to whom she flies for shelter and in whom alone she can think herself safe and find herself easy, as a dove in the hole of a rock, when struck at by the birds of prey, Jer. xlviii. 28. Moses was hid in a cleft of the rock, that he might behold something of God’s glory, which otherwise he could not have borne the brightness of. She retires into the secret places of the stairs, where she may be alone, undisturbed, and may the better commune with her own heart. Good Christians will find time to be private. Christ often withdrew to a mountain himself alone, to pray. Or, (2.) her blame. She crept into the clefts of the rock, and the secret places, for fear and shame, any where to hide her head, being heartless and discouraged, and shunning even the sight of her beloved. Being conscious to herself of her own unfitness and unworthiness to come into his presence, and speak to him, she drew back, and was like a silly dove without heart, Hos. vii. 11.
3. Christ graciously calls her out of her retirements: Come, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice. She was mourning like a dove (Isa. xxxviii. 14), bemoaning herself like the doves of the valleys, where they are near the clefts of the impending rocks, mourning for her iniquities (Ezek. vii. 16) and refusing to be comforted. But Christ calls her to lift up her face without spot, being purged from an evil conscience (Job 11:15; Job 22:26), to come boldly to the throne of grace, having a great high priest there (Heb. iv. 16), to tell what her petition is and what her request: Let me hear thy voice, hear what thou hast to say; what would you that I should do unto you? Speak freely, speak up, and fear not a slight or repulse.
4. For her encouragement, he tells her the good thoughts he had of her, whatever she thought of herself: Sweet is thy voice; thy praying voice, though thou canst but chatter like a crane or a swallow (Isa. xxxviii. 14); it is music in God’s ears. He has assured us that the prayer of the upright is his delight; he smelled a sweet savour from Noah’s sacrifice, and the spiritual sacrifices are no less acceptable, 1 Pet. ii. 5. This does not so much commend our services as God’s gracious condescension in making the best of them, and the efficacy of the much incense which is offered with the prayers of saints, Rev. viii. 3. “That countenance of thine, which thou art ashamed of, is comely, though now mournful, much more will it be so when it becomes cheerful.” Then the voice of prayer is sweet and acceptable to God when the countenance, the conversation in which we show ourselves before men, is holy, and so comely, and agreeable to our profession. Those that are sanctified have the best comeliness.
II. The charge which Christ gives to his servants to oppose and suppress that which is a terror to his church and drives her, like a poor frightened dove, into the clefts of the rock, and which is an obstruction and prejudice to the interests of his kingdom in this world and in the heart (v. 15): Take us the foxes (take them for us, for it is good service both to Christ and the church), the little foxes, that creep in insensibly; for, though they are little, they do great mischief, they spoil the vines, which they must by no means be suffered to do at any time, especially now when our vines have tender grapes that must be preserved, or the vintage will fail. Believers are as vines, weak but useful plants; their fruits are as tender crops at first, which must have time to come to maturity. This charge to take the foxes is, 1. A charge to particular believers to mortify their own corruptions, their sinful appetites and passions, which are as foxes, little foxes, that destroy their graces and comforts, quash good motions, crush good beginnings, and prevent their coming to perfection. Seize the little foxes, the first risings of sin, the little ones of Babylon (Ps. cxxxvii. 9), those sins that seem little, for they often prove very dangerous. Whatever we find a hindrance to us in that which is good we must put away. 2. A charge to all in their places to oppose and prevent the spreading of all such opinions and practices as tend to corrupt men’s judgments, debauch their consciences, perplex their minds, and discourage their inclinations to virtue and piety. Persecutors are foxes (Luke xiii. 32); false prophets are foxes, Eze. xiii. 4. Those that sow the tares of heresy or schism, and, like Diotrephes, trouble the peace of the church and obstruct the progress of the gospel, they are the foxes, the little foxes, which must not be knocked on the head (Christ came not to destroy men’s lives), but taken, that they may be tamed, or else restrained from doing mischief.
III. The believing profession which the church makes of her relation to Christ, and the satisfaction she take sin her interest in him and communion with him, v. 16. He had called her to rise and come away with him, to let him see her face and hear her voice; now this is her answer to that call, in which, though at present in the dark and at a distance,
1. She comforts herself with the thoughts of the mutual interest and relation that were between her and her beloved: My beloved to me and I to him, so the original reads it very emphatically; the conciseness of the language speaks the largeness of her affection: “What he is to me and I to him may better be conceived than expressed.” Note, (1.) It is the unspeakable privilege of true believers that Christ is theirs: My beloved is mine; this denotes not only propriety (“I have a title to him”) but possession and tenure–“I receive from his fulness.” Believers are partakers of Christ; they have not only an interest in him, but the enjoyment of him, are taken not only in the covenant, but into communion with him. All the benefits of his glorious undertaking, as Mediator, are made over to them. He is that to them which the world neither is nor can be, all that which they need and desire, and which will make a complete happiness for them. All he is is theirs, and all he has, all he has done, and all he is doing; all he has promised in the gospel, all he has prepared in heaven, all is yours. (2.) It is the undoubted character of all true believers that they are Christ’s, and then, and then only, he is theirs. They have given their own selves to him (2 Cor. viii. 5); they receive his doctrine and obey his laws; they bear his image and espouse his interest; they belong to Christ. If we be his, his wholly, his only, his for ever, we may take the comfort of his being ours.
2. She comforts herself with the thoughts of the communications of his grace to his people: He feeds among the lilies. When she wants the tokens of his favour to her in particular, she rejoices in the assurance of his presence with all believers in general, who are lilies in his eyes. He feeds among them, that is, he takes as much pleasure in them and their assemblies as a man does in his table or in his garden, for he walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks; he delights to converse with them, and to do them good.
IV. The church’s hope and expectation of Christ’s coming, and her prayer grounded thereupon. 1. She doubts not but that the day will break and the shadows will flee away. The gospel-day will dawn, and the shadows of the ceremonial law will flee away. This was the comfort of the Old-Testament church, that, after the long night of that dark dispensation, the day-spring from on high would at length visit them, to give light to those that sit in darkness. When the sun rises the shades of the night vanish, so do the shadows of the day when the substance comes. The day of comfort will come after a night of desertion. Or it may refer to the second coming of Christ, and the eternal happiness of the saints; the shadows of our present state will flee away, our darkness and doubts, our griefs and all our grievances, and a glorious day shall dawn, a morning when the upright shall have dominion, a day that shall have no night after it. 2. She begs the presence of her beloved, in the mean time, to support and comfort her: “Turn, my beloved, turn to me, come and visit me, come and relieve me, be with me always to the end of the age. In the day of my extremity, make haste to help me, make no long tarrying. Come over even the mountains of division, interposing time and days, with some gracious anticipations of that light and love.” 3. She begs that he would not only turn to her for the present, but hasten his coming to fetch her to himself. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Though there be mountains in the way, thou canst, like a roe, or a young hart, step over them with ease. O show thyself to me, or take me up to thee.“
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
BRIDEGROOMS SECOND CALL
Son. 2:14
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.
Love unwilling to take a refusal. Hence a repetition of the bridegrooms call. Strange backwardness on the part of a sinner to comply with the call of a Saviour. Backwardness on the part of a believer to follow. Jesus to the enjoyment of a higher life of holiness and blessedness. In the Bridegrooms Second Call, observe
I. The TITLE of the Called one. My dove. A term of endearment. Love sees in its object only what is beautiful and agreeable. The called one a sinner, with much that is not dove-like. Yet love says: My dove. Yet in regard to a believer, the title thee. The believer is
(1) A dove, because renewed with a dove-like nature akin to that of Him who renews him and dwells in himthe Holy Spirit, whose emblem is the dove; the dove-like becoming the predominant one in him, and going on increasing until it reaches perfection and is the only one, and that for ever. Believers viewed and addressed by Christ in His love, according to their new, rather than their old nature.
(2) Christs dove, as(i.) Given Him by the Father; (ii.) Purchased by His own blood; (iii.) Wooed and won by Him as His Bride, and made a member of His body. The little word my as precious to Christ in reference to believers as it is to believers in reference to Christ.
The Dove,
an emblem of believers, as it is
1. Helpless. Unable to defend itself against birds of prey (Compare Psa. 18:17; Jer. 31:11).
2. Simple. With as little wisdom as strength to defend itself. Ephraim is like a silly dove (Hos. 7:11). O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth (Gal. 3:1). Hence Pauls fear for the Corinthians (2Co. 11:2).
3. Timid. Trembles at the sight of a hawks feather. They shall tremble as a dove out of the land of Assyria (Hos. 11:11). Believers tremble at Gods word. Afraid to sin, though not afraid to suffer (Heb. 11:25).
4. Sensitive. They shall mourn love like doves in the valley. The doves note a mournful one. Believers sensitive to evils within and without them, about which others do not care. Concerned and troubled both for Christs cause and their neighbours souls. Sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. Weep in secret places for the pride and destruction of others. Groan within themselves for the sins of their own nature and life. Their character and blessedness that they mourn, and sorrow after a godly sort (Mat. 5:4; 2Co. 7:11).
5. Beautiful. Has wings covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold (Psa. 68:13). Believers to be made like them. Adorned with the beauties of holiness. Comely with Christs comeliness put upon them.
6. Cleanly. Cleanly in its food, its feathers, and its nest. Believers called to be holy and without blame. Clean through the Word of Christ spoken to them. Purify themselves, as God is pure. Cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Cleansed by the blood, and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ (1Jn. 1:7; 1Co. 6:11).
7. Harmless. The doves harmlessness proverbial. Believers made like Him who was holy, harmless, &c. Their calling to be blameless and harmless, as the sons of God; harmless in spirit, speech, and actions (Php. 2:15).
8. Affectionate and faithful. Pairs only with one mate. Mourns over its loss. Believers love to Christ stronger than death. Follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
9. The Bearer of Tidings. Doves employed for this purpose. A species of pigeon distinguished by this name. Noahs dove. So believers the bearers of the glad tidings of the Gospel (Isa. 40:9; Isa. 52:7; Psa. 68:11; Mar. 16:15).
10. Often resorting to, and making their nest in the rocks. A species named from this circumstance. Hence what follows
II. Their PLACE and CONDITION. That art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs (or precipices). Possible allusion to the retired seclusion in which Shulamite was kept in her mothers house; or to the sequestered situation of that house among the mountains. The description suggested by the title given: My dove. Doves often found in the recesses of rocks. Indicates
1. Timidity. The dove in the clefts of the rock from fear of her pursuers. Believers to pass the time of their sojourning here in fear. Work out their salvation with fear and trembling. The wise man feareth and departeth from evil, while the fool rageth and is confident (Pro. 14:16). Sufficient cause for fearing always, in a corrupt nature within us, a roaring lion and subtle serpent without us, and a world lying in wickedness around us.
2. Security. The dove safe in the clefts of the rock. Believers safe in the Rock of Ages. Their place of defence the munitions of rocks. Jehovah Himself their refuge. Sheltered in Jesus, the enemy may harrass, but not hurt them. Sin may rage, but not reign in them. Men and devils may persecute and persuade, but not prevail against them. Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (1Pe. 1:5).
3. Isolation and loneliness. Believers in the world, though not of it. Strangers and pilgrims. The world knoweth us not, even as it knew Him not. Believers at present in this world as the Bride when the Bridegroom is taken away from her. Special times in their experience when they are as a sparrow alone upon the house-top (Psa. 102:7; Psa. 38:11). Hence the promise: I will not leave you comfortless (margin, orphans); I will come to you (Joh. 14:18).
III. The CALL itself, Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice. Christs desire in regard to His Church in the world
(1) To enjoy their fellowship (Rev. 3:20);
(2) To see them trustful, cheerful, and happy in Himself (Php. 3:1);
(3) To witness in them the exercise of faith and love (Heb. 12:2);
(4) To enjoy their beautythe reflection of His ownHis own comliness which He has put upon them (Psa. 45:11). The believers countenance, lighted up with faith and love, the fairest sight in heaven and earth to Christ, next to His Father. The weakest believer invited to a free and familiar intercourse with the Saviour. The believers happiness, as well as the Saviours joy, to turn his countenance fully and constantly towards Him. Nothing, not even sin, to be allowed to turn it away from Him when He lovingly invites him to turn it to Him.
(5) To hear their voice (i.) In speaking to Him as well as of Him; (ii.) In cheerful song; songs given the believer even in the nightin painful and perilous, as well as pleasant and peaceful, times (Job. 35:10; Psa. 42:8); (iii.) In thanksgiving and praise. To give thanks in everything, and to praise at all times, the will of God concerning us; (iv.) In confessing sin, and Jesus as a gracious and all-sufficient Saviour from it; (v.) In prayer and supplicationpraying always and not fainting; in everything making their requests known unto God; coming boldly to the throne of grace through Him who is their elder brother and High Priest; casting their care upon Him who careth for them, and pouring out their hearts before Him. No situation or circumstances in which the soul should yield to the temptation of restraining prayer.
IV. The REASON of the Call. For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. The voice of a believer, though heard in groans and lamentations, sweeter to Jesus than the hallelujahs of angels. The voice of the child for whom He gave His life, and of the Bride whom He redeemed with His own blood. Sweeter still when heard in songs of faith and love, or in happy communion with Himself. The believers countenance comely to Christ, though soiled with tears and dejected with sorrow. The Saviours refreshment in Simons house, not the viands on the table, but the woman at His feet with her countenance wet with the tears of penitence and love. The believing prayers and loving praises of a pardoned sinner sweeter to Christ than the songs of seraphim. The first cry of an awakened soul turns away his ear from the symphonies of heaven. His joy fulfilled, not in the angels that never fell, but in fallen and restored men. The joyous thanksgivings of redeemed sinners make the Son of God a double heaven. His joy of joys in the dead made alive again, in the lost one found. He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love; He will joy over thee with singing,like the mother who sings for joy over her infant that lies smiling in her lap (Zep. 3:17). Hephzibah, the name He gives to His saved people: My delight is in her (Isa. 62:4).
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(14) O my dove . . . in the clefts of the rock.The rock pigeon (Columba livia), the origin of the domestic races, invariably selects the lofty cliffs and deep ravines (comp. Jer. 48:28; Eze. 7:16) for its roosting places, and avoids the neighbourhood of men. The modesty and shyness of his beloved are thus prettily indicated by the poet. For the expression clefts of the rock, see Note, Oba. 1:3.
The stairsi.e., steep places (comp. Eze. 38:20, margin), from root = to go up.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. O my dove The Beloved calls her a “dove” from the timid nature of that bird, which on the least alarm flies to its shelter. “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away.”
“How say ye to my soul,
Flee as a bird (
Stairs Hebrew, In the crevices of mountain cliffs. Tenderly does the Beloved chide her reluctance to accept his invitation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
When she does not respond THE VOICE OF THE BELOVED continues.
“O my dove, who is in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the steep place, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice, For sweet is your voice, And your face is comely.”
But he received no response and discovered that it was as though his love had flown away like a shy dove and had taken shelter in the clefts of the rocks. However, the voice of the beloved will not be silenced by her unresponsiveness. She may be like a shy dove hiding from him in the clefts of the rock in the mountains, and in the coverts of the steep precipice, but he does not want her at a distance. He wants to see her beloved face close at hand, and to hear her sweet voice, for he knows how sweet her voice is, and how comely is her face.
The story of Israel is full of them hiding away in the clefts of the rock and in the steep places where, as it were, God could not reach them. ‘Why, when I called, was there none to answer?’ (Isa 50:2), He asked. They were like a silly dove without understanding who looked elsewhere (Hos 7:11). If only Israel had let Him see her face and hear her voice. He gave her every opportunity, speaking to her again and again through the prophets. But she was deaf to His call. She preferred the tents of the other shepherds. And in the end, apart from for the faithful few, He left her in order to seek out the remnant of His people among the Gentiles
Are we too hiding in the clefts of the rocks? Sheltering on the precipice? His voice calls constantly to us, in such tender tones and with the offer of such delights. He wants to see our face and to hear our voice. He wants us to walk with Him and share with Him our lives. And so the only question is as to whether we will leave our safe shelters and go with Him as He pastures His sheep among the mountains, or whether we will turn away from the window and fail to hear His call.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Son 2:14. O my dove, &c. O my dove, through the clefts of the rocks, through the secret places of the stairs let me see thee, &c. New Translation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
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.
Here are several very grand parts in this verse. Jesus here calls his beloved by a new name, that of the dove, perhaps from several causes. The dove is considered the most harmless of creatures. Hence Jesus enjoined his disciples to be harmless as doves. Mat 10:16 . And as the dove is harmless, so is it a beautiful creature in its plumage, exceedingly social also and attached in its affection, but timid to an excess. Now on all these accounts there should seem a great aptness in the Lord’s comparison of his church to the dove, For what so weak as a poor believer, so fearful, so apprehensive, and full of doubting? What so lovely or beautiful as a soul washed in the blood of Christ, and made comely in his righteousness? And who so attached as the believer when brought into the privilege of an union with Christ? The clefts of the rock have been thought by some the enclosed and eternally secured purposes of God in Christ, the rock of ages. And if so, the secretness of it may be well understood in allusion to the other expression, of the stairs. It must be confessed, that as Jehovah hath from everlasting ordered all things according to the counsel of his own will; there seems a great propriety in this view. And Jesus calling to his dove in this sense seems to be as if he had said, O thou beautiful, but timid and fearful creature, thou art in the clefts of the rock, eternally secured in me; as in my side pierced by the soldier’s spear; there I have placed thee, and there from everlasting thou art secret. I do not presume to decide upon a point of such sublimity; but I conceive that there is no impropriety in the thought. And under this idea was not Moses the man of God, somewhat typical of this, when the Lord God in passing-by and making his glory to appear before him in the mount put him in the cleft of the rock? Exo 33:22 . The next thing to be considered in this verse is, what Christ said to the church. Jesus had called her his dove; and had said where she was; he now bids her to let him see her countenance, and hear her voice, and adds as a reason that the former was sweet, and the latter comely. If it be supposed that the church was mourning like a dove, when Jesus thus calls her, it should seem to imply, that the cries and mournings of his people for sin are noticed, and come up with acceptance before him. And the blushing countenance of the penitent is what the Lord regards. A beautiful view we have of it in Ezr 9:5-15 . And in the prophet’s account of Ephraim, Jer 31:18-20 . Reader! it is truly comfortable and encouraging to God’s people, to consider, that however vile and refuse they may be esteemed by the world, yet, in the eyes of Jesus they are lovely. Oh! Lord Jesus! to be countenanced by thee, to be noticed by my Lord, how preferable to all the honours and distinctions of men!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son 2:14 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.
Ver. 14. Oh, my dove! that art in the clefts of the rock. ] The dove is meek, mournful, simple, sociable, fearful, beautiful, faithful to her mate, fruitful, neat, so is the Church. And because the dove is sought after by birds of prey, therefore she builds in strong and steep places, in clefts of rocks, in the sides of “the hole’s mouth,” as Jeremiah hath it. Jer 48:28 The Church also is forced many times to “flee into the wilderness,” Rev 12:6 into the further parts of the world, and hide itself in corners, to avoid persecution. So many, so mighty, and so malicious are the Church’s enemies, that she dare scarce peep out or appear abroad with the dove, but she is in danger to become hawk’smeat. Hence Hilary saith of the primitive Christians, that they were not to be sought in tectis et exteriori pompa, in palaces and outward pomp, but rather in deserts and in mountains, and “in dens and caves of the earth,” as the apostle also hath it. Heb 11:38 Concerning the Christian congregation in Queen Mary’s time, saith Mr Foxe, a there were sometimes forty, sometimes a hundred, sometimes two hundred came together, as they could, in some private place in London, for mutual edification. They are utterly out, therefore, that hold that the true Church must be evermore glorious and conspicuous for her outward splendour. She is soon like the moon in her eclipse, which appeareth dark towards the earth, but is bright and radiant in that part which looks toward heaven. The Papists would have this moon always in the full. However if she show but little light to us, or be eclipsed, they will not yield she is the moon. And yet (except it be in the eclipse) astronomers demonstrate that the moon hath at all times as much light as in the full. But oftentimes a great part of the bright side is turned to heaven, and a lesser part to the earth. And so the Church is ever conspicuous to God’s eye, though it appear not always to ours.
In the secret places of the stairs.
Shew me thy face.
Let me hear thy voice.
Sweet is thy voice.
And thy countenance is comely,
a Acts and Mon., fol. 1881.
b .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Son 2:14
14O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your form,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your form is lovely.
Son 2:14 There are two commands in Son 2:14, both Hiphil IMPERATIVES (BDB 906, KB 1157 and BDB 1033, KB 1570).
The interpretive question is about the first one:
NASByour form
NKJVyour countenance
NRSV, NJB,
JPSOAyour face
TEVyour lovely face
The Hebrew term sight, appearance, vision (BDB 909), in context, implies looking at the physical body (implication of being unclothed).
dove This bird has several connotations in Hebrew usage:
1. a clean bird that eats no carrion, Gen 8:8-12
2. the sacrifice of poor people, Lev 5:7; Lev 5:11
3. gentleness and beauty, Psalms and Song of Songs (Son 1:15; Son 2:14; Son 4:1; Son 5:2; Son 5:12; Son 6:9)
4. the Hebrew root for lament (BDB 58), cf. Isa 3:26; Isa 9:11; Isa 19:8; Isa 38:14; Isa 59:11
5. national Israel (cf. Hos 7:11; Hos 11:11)
6. Jonah’s name
The rabbis believe that the dove refers to Israel and those who are hidden among the rocks refer to the students of the Torah.
lovely This root (BDB 610) means comely or desirable. It is used several times in Song of Songs (cf. Son 1:5; Son 1:10; Son 2:14; Son 4:3; Son 6:4). These two young people desire each other and freely tell one another!
1. voice is sweet (BDB 787, pleasant, cf. Son 2:8)
2. form is lovely
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
secret places of the stairs = the hiding places of the cliff.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
dove
There is beautiful order here. First we have what the bride is as seen in Christ, “My dove.” In herself most faulty; in Him “blameless and harmless” Php 2:15 the very character of the dove. The bride’s place of safety, “in the clefts of the rock”–hidden, so to speak, in the wounds of Christ. Thirdly, her privilege. “Stairs” speaks of access. It is not “secret places,” as in A.V., but “the secret of the stairs”–the way and privilege of access to His presence; Eph 2:18; Col 3:1; Heb 10:19-22. Fourthly, the order of approach: she is to come near before she speaks, “Let me see thy countenance,” then “Let me hear thy voice.” Lastly, now that she is near and has spoken, He speaks a tender word of admonition: “Take us the foxes,” etc.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
my dove: Son 5:2, Son 6:9, Psa 68:13, Psa 74:19, Isa 60:8, Eze 7:16, Mat 3:16, Mat 10:16
that art: Exo 3:6, Exo 4:11-13, Ezr 9:5, Ezr 9:6, Job 9:16, Isa 6:5, Dan 9:7, Luk 8:47, Luk 8:48
clefts: Exo 33:22, Exo 33:23, Isa 2:21, Jer 49:16, Oba 1:3
let me hear: Son 8:13, Psa 50:14, Psa 50:15, Pro 15:8, Heb 4:16, Heb 10:22
for sweet: Psa 22:3, Psa 50:23, Isa 51:3, Rev 4:8-10, Rev 5:8, Rev 7:9, Rev 7:10
thy countenance: Son 1:5, Son 1:8, Son 6:10, Psa 45:11, Psa 110:3, Eph 5:27, Col 1:22, 1Pe 3:4, Jud 1:24
Reciprocal: Gen 8:8 – a dove Lev 14:22 – two turtle doves Pro 31:26 – in her Son 4:1 – my Son 5:15 – his countenance Son 6:4 – beautiful Son 6:13 – return Son 7:6 – General Son 7:9 – the roof Jer 48:28 – like Joh 4:23 – the Father seeketh Phi 4:6 – known
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Son 2:14. O my dove So the church is called, for her dove-like temper, and for her dove-like condition, because she is weak, and exposed to persecution, and therefore forced to hide herself in rocks; in the secret places of the stairs In the holes of craggy and broken rocks, which resemble stairs. Let me see thy countenance Be not afraid to appear before me; let me hear thy voice Thy prayers and praises. For sweet is thy voice, &c. Thy person and services are amiable in my sight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:14 O my dove, [that art] in the {h} 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.
(h) You who are ashamed of your sins, come and show yourself to me.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The desire to be alone with one’s lover is both natural and legitimate. Unfortunately it sometimes departs after marriage.