Chapter two
verse 17
Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.
Rugged hills or hills of Bether. It literally means mountains of division or separation. (18) page 49
This is literally the “mountains of Bether,” which means “the mountains of separation (22a) page 206
Somewhere I read that this refers to two rounds hills that look identical – her breasts. The gazelle is very light and agile in its movement on the mountains, the young stag powers its way along knocking loose rocks and dirt as it climbs. She is saying to be either way agile or powerful with her breasts.
“Day” occurs five times in the song, and the other four occurrences are clearly linked to the wedding day and night. It would be consistent with the artistry of the Song for the first occurrence of “day” in 2.17 to refer to the wedding day, as well. Here and in 4.6 this is literally “the day blows” or “the day breathes,” an idiom either for break of day when the morning breezes blow and the shadows of darkness flee, or when the new day “breathes,” which means “come to life,” and the shadows of darkness flee. The beginning of the phrase is either “when” or “until” (or remotely possible as “before”) Almost all translation will render the introductory phrases the same way in both 2.17 and 4.6: either as “when the day breathes” in both verses or “until the day breathes” in both verses. But it does not appear necessary to translate them the same way if the translation of the underlying conjunctive compound rendered “when” or “until” is governed by the action of the main verb and the broader context. (22a) pages 203-204
Bottom line. She didn’t get mad and end the relationship because he got her to go out in public with him instead of staying at her house when she was feeling very amorous. She might have gotten mad, but she didn’t end the relationship. And she isn’t thinking, let’s be friends.
Guys, No guts, No glory. D o you want a girl who gives you some sex now, or do you want to hold out and have a girl who marries you and becomes more sexual as the years go by, like the girl in Song of Solomon?
My wife was offered a buyout of money that was owed to her by a company that filed for bankruptcy. They offered pennies on the dollar. She could take that or she could wait and see if the company came out of bankruptcy or paid her off in full. Sex before marriage is like settling for pennies on the dollar.
Leave a Reply