Set Me as a Seal upon Your Heart

The poem now brings in several voices. The Shulamite starts off describing how she wished her Beloved was like her brother. Perhaps she meant being her brother would allow her to know her Beloved over a greater amount of time.

The Shulamite describes how she would like to be set like a seal, permanently into her Beloved's heart and arms. Her brothers were saying how they would protect their sister, if she was a wall, they would build a battlement, if she was a door, they would enclose her. But clearly their sister had different ideas as she was already committed to her Beloved. And she invites her Beloved to quickly come back to her. Solomon was also used in this chapter referring him as the Beloved.



Song of Solomon 8

1 Oh, that you were like my brother,
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I should find you outside,
I would kiss you;
I would not be despised.
2 I would lead you and bring you
Into the house of my mother,
She who used to instruct me.
I would cause you to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.


(To the Daughters of Jerusalem)

3 His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.


Love Renewed in Lebanon

A Relative

5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awakened you under the apple tree.
There your mother brought you forth;
There she who bore you brought you forth.


The Shulamite to Her Beloved

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;[a]
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement[b] flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.


The Shulamite’s Brothers

8 We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
We will build upon her
A battlement of silver;
And if she is a door,
We will enclose her
With boards of cedar.


The Shulamite

10 I am a wall,
And my breasts like towers;
Then I became in his eyes
As one who found peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;
He leased the vineyard to keepers;
Everyone was to bring for its fruit
A thousand silver coins.


(To Solomon)

12 My own vineyard is before me.
You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
And those who tend its fruit two hundred.


The Beloved

13 You who dwell in the gardens,
The companions listen for your voice—
Let me hear it!


The Shulamite

14 Make haste, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
On the mountains of spices.

I am the Rose of Sharon

The poem continues with Solomon probably as The Beloved while his lover is The Shulamite. Among the expressions of love that the Shulamite described were The Beloved providing shelter for her and providing a banquet to sustain her. This is not unlike other parts of Scripture referring to God's shelter such as under His wings or that God provides for all we need.



Song of Solomon 2
1 I am the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.


The Beloved

2 Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.


The Shulamite

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.


The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem

4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6 His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.


The Beloved’s Request
The Shulamite

8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”


Her Brothers

15 Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.


The Shulamite

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.


(To Her Beloved)

17 Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of Bether.[a]