Song of Solomon 5:2-6:10

As we move into the second half of our adventure, we enter once again into a dream. It’s interesting to note that the last chapter was the man’s affirmation of devotion to the woman, and it was preceded by her dream in chapter 3, thus his affirmation of devotion for “She” is bracketed within her dreams of longing for him. Now that “He” has affirmed his devotion, “She” dreams a much more heightened sense of anticipation.

You might notice for instance, the vision that follows the opening of the dream in this section, as opposed to the vision in chapter 3. (5:9-16; cf. 3:6-11) In chapter 3, her vision turns to an impersonal vision of the king’s process, while here, her vision is of the body of her lover; yes, things between these two have been kicked up a notch or two in intensity.

The opening part of this dream, 5:2-6, is very telling in my view, and raises an interesting question concerning the application of this narrative. Notice that “She” is asleep, but her heart is still “awake”. She hears a knock at the door; it is her beloved calling for her to let him into to her bedchamber: What is her reaction?

She doesn’t want to get up!

Well, after all, she has gotten undressed and washed up, she doesn’t want to put her robe on again in the middle of the night. Now dear reader, it could just be that my perception of this is way too male, but this sounds pretty lame to me… what is she going to need her robe for? “He” has come for amorous purposes just like she wanted. So, “She” delays, but “He” persists and puts his arm through the key hole; her heart pounds and “She” cannot hold out any longer, she goes towards the door, the wetness of myrrh drips from her hand as she opens the latch, but alas, it’s too late, for “He” is gone.

Once again “She” is out in the streets searching for “He” but cannot find him.

“If today you should hear his voice, do not harden your heart…”

Did “She” really harden her heart there for a brief moment or two, was this playfulness on her part as some have written? I’ll let you decide that for yourselves. In any case, “He” is gone. Of course as we ponder these things, we must bear in mind that this is still a dream.

“She” calls upon the daughters of Jerusalem to help her in her search for her lover, but they can’t really see what the big deal is about this guy that they should all be searching the city in the middle of the night, so “She” tells then how awesome “He” is; they ask which way “He” went… That is when we discover that “He” was never missing at all, for “She” has known exactly where he was the whole time. I’m beginning to wonder about this woman!

“He” now speaks, and his address is once again one of devotion, but this time his focus is not just on her beauty but her uniqueness… with a bit of an edge to it. He speaks of her teeth, hair and face, but instead of going on about her body, he declares how different she is from all other women… and those eyes. What is it about her eyes that is so overwhelming that “He” finds them hard to look into? It could simply be his rising emotions, or maybe there’s something else, something more piercing. The text doesn’t really say, so we are left to ponder.

In any case, the “Friends” give his address immediate acclaim and the section closes…

What can we draw from this section? Can we draw any conclusions at all, or is this building to something else? OK, here’s the big question: Are these two kids EVER going to get together?

If we go back to my working theory that “She” represents God’s people and “He” represents God, these questions get really interesting. Think back to the beginning, where “He” was knocking at the door, and “She” had a lame excuse for not letting him in, and then went to the door just a bit too late and “He” was gone… there’s something to mull over. Of here’s another one: Why did “She” run around frantically searching for him, when she knew exactly where he was the whole time?

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what happens next!