Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Song of Solomon 2:4

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Song of Solomon 2:4. He brought me to the banqueting house — Literally, the house of wine. The ancients preserved their wine, not in barrels or dark cellars under ground, as we do, but in large pitchers, ranged against the wall in some upper apartment in the house, the place where they kept their most precious effects. We have a proof of this in HOMER: -

Ως φαν· ὁ δ' ὑψοραφον θαλομον κατεβησατο πατρος

Ευρυν, ὁθι νητος χρυσος και χαλκος εκειτο,

Εσθης τ' εν χηλοισιν, ἁλις τ' ευωδες ελαιον.

Εν δε πιθοι οινοιο παλαιου ἡδυποτοιο

Εστασαν, ακρητον θειον ποτον εντος εχοντες,

Ἑξειης ποτε τοιχον αρηροτες· ειποτ' Οδυσσευς

Οικαδε νοστησειε, και αλγεα πολλα μογησας.

Κληΐσται δ' επεσαν σανιδες πυκινως αραρυιαι,

Δικλιδες· εν δε γυνη ταμιη νυκτας τε και ημαρ

Εσχ', κ. τ. λ.. Od. lib. ii., ver. 337.

Meantime the lofty rooms the prince surveys,

Where lay the treasures of th' Ithacian race.

Here, ruddy brass and gold refulgent blazed;

There, polished chests embroider'd vestures graced.

Here, pots of oil breathed forth a rich perfume;

There, jars of wine in rows adorn'd the dome.

(Pure flavorous wine, by gods in bounty given,

And worthy to exalt the feasts of heaven.)

Untouch'd they stood, till, his long labours o'er,

The great Ulysses reach'd his native shore.

A double strength of bars secured the gates;

Fast by the door wise Euryclea waits, &c.

POPE.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The lovers talk together (1:8-2:7)

In reply to the girl’s longing, the man invites her to come and join him in the fields (8). He praises her beauty and promises to give her the finest jewellery (9-11). The girl responds that her greatest joy is just to be in his presence and let her love flow out to him (12-14). After the man further praises the girl’s beauty (15), she expresses her desire to be with him in the fields again, where they can lie down together in the shade of the trees (16-17).
The girl regards herself as nothing special - just a country maiden, just a small wildflower in a large field (2:1). Yes, replies her lover, but she is the only flower in the field. Compared with her, all the other girls are brambles (2). And her lover, replies she, is like a tree that surpasses all the other trees of the forest. He protects, strengthens and refreshes her. His company is to her a feast of joy and love (3-6).
In view of the girl’s strong desire for her lover, a warning is given (in the form of an appeal to the easily excited young women of Jerusalem). The warning shows the danger of trying to stir up love when a person is not ready for it (7).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE SHULAMITE CONTRASTS HER TRUE LOVER WITH SOLOMON

"As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love. Stay ye me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am sick from love. His left hand is under my head, And his right hand doth embrace me."

"So is my beloved among the sons" Note that when a lover is meant, the word is not `love' but `beloved.' Note also that the Shulamite's true lover is "among the sons," a description that has no application whatever to Solomon.

Also, look at the past tense: "I sat down"; "his fruit was sweet"; "he brought me," etc. All the scholars admit that Solomon is wooing the maiden in this book; but she mentions loving experiences with her true lover that occurred in the past. She is rejecting the king.

"He brought me to the banqueting house" When was Solomon's palace ever called "a banqueting house."? This is clearly a reference to some public eating place.

In the light of these considerations, we find full agreement with Balchin who wrote that these verses recall, "A meeting the maiden had with her lover."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 582.

We include here a sample of the allegorical speculations with regard to the meaning of this chapter:

"This is a poetical, allegorical representation of what takes place in the Church and in the experience of believers individually. Examples of this are seen (in the case of God's people) when the Jews returned from the captivity in Babylon, or in the Incarnation of Christ; or, (in the case of individuals), at any time of great revival in the Church."Preacher's Homiletic Commentary, Vol. 14b, p. 50. This writer only wishes that he could see things like that here; but, truthfully, he cannot.

Illustration: This writer once watched a skilled artist painting a picture of Bryce Canyon in Utah. He used many different colors in portraying the matchless wonder of that spectacular pageant of natural beauty. A bystander said:

"I don't see all those colors down there"! The artist looked at him sadly, and said: "Don't you wish you could"?

Similarly, this writer would welcome the power to see such wonderful teachings in these erotic verses. And make no mistake about it, these words are extremely sensuous and erotic, as a glance at the Good News Bible translation will indicate.

"Stay ye me with raisins… I am sick from love… his left hand is under my head… etc." What do these verses say?

The recall of events in her former meeting with her beloved were too taxing for the maiden. Memory brought an acute emotional climax. She appeals to the women of the harem to bring food (Song of Solomon 2:5). Evidently, the love-sick maiden had not eaten properly during the period of her separation (due to the king's bringing her into his harem)."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), op. cit., p. 136.

This translation supports Bunn's understanding of the passage: "Restore my strength with raisins,… I am weak from passion."From the Good News Bible.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The bride’s answer: “As the ‘tappuach’ with its fragrant fruit excels the barren trees of the wild wood, so my beloved his associates and friends etc.” תפוח tappûach may in early Hebrew have been a generic name for apple, quince, citron, orange etc.

Song of Solomon 2:4

His banner - As the standard is the rallying-point and guide of the individual soldier, so the bride, transplanted from a lowly station to new scenes of unaccustomed splendor, finds support and safety in the known attachment of her beloved. His “love” is her “banner.” The thought is similar to that expressed in the name “Jehovah-nissi” (see the Exodus 17:15 note).

Song of Solomon 2:5

Flagons - More probably cakes of raisins or dried grapes (2 Samuel 6:19 note; 1 Chronicles 16:3; Hosea 3:1). For an instance of the reviving power of dried fruit, see 1 Samuel 30:12.

Song of Solomon 2:6

Render as a wish or prayer: “O that his left hand were under my head, and that his right hand did embrace me!” Let him draw me to him with entire affection. Compare Deuteronomy 33:27; Proverbs 4:8.

Song of Solomon 2:7

Render: “I adjure you ... by the gazelles, or by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up nor awaken love until it please.” The King James Version, “my love,” is misleading. The affection or passion in itself, not its object, is here meant. This adjuration, three times significantly introduced as a concluding formula (marginal references), expresses one of the main thoughts of the poem; namely, that genuine love is a shy and gentle affection which dreads intrusion and scrutiny; hence the allusion to the gazelles and hinds, shy and timid creatures.

The complementary thought is that of Song of Solomon 8:6-7, where love is again described, and by the bride, as a fiery principle.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 2

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys ( Song of Solomon 2:1 ).

The bridegroom responds.

As the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters ( Song of Solomon 2:2 ).

The bride responds.

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick ( Song of Solomon 2:3-5 )

And it probably should be translated "sick with love" because we have a thing of sick of love. We think that, you know, I'm sick of it. But that isn't the meaning here. I'm sick because of it. I'm sick and like I would say I'm smitten of a bad malady or something. Well, I'm sick of love. Love is the cause of my sickness. I'm sick with love. I'm just lovesick, we would say.

His left hand is under my head, his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please ( Song of Solomon 2:6-7 ).

And then the bride goes on to speak.

The voice of my beloved! behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he stands behind our wall, he looks forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; and the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. 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 beautiful. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am his: and he feeds [his flocks, actually] among the lilies. 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 ( Song of Solomon 2:8-17 ).

She continues to speak. Or sing, actually, because it's a song. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The girl responded that Solomon, too, was a rare find. He was as rare as an apple (or possibly quince or citron) tree in a forest of other trees: sweet, beautiful, and outstanding.

"’Shade,’ ’fruit,’ ’apple tree’ are all ancient erotic symbols, and erotic suggestions are what she has in mind (Song of Solomon 2:3-4). . . . ’Shade’ speaks of closeness." [Note: Hubbard, p. 286.]

". . . if the lotus [lily, Song of Solomon 2:2] enhances the pleasure of visual form and beauty, the apple tree stimulates the taste and olfactory senses." [Note: Hess, p. 77.]

"The shadow is a figure of protection afforded, and the fruit a figure of enjoyment obtained." [Note: Delitzsch, p. 42.]

Jody Dillow understood the phrase "his fruit is sweet to my taste" (Song of Solomon 2:3) as referring to the girl having oral sex with Solomon. [Note: Joseph Dillow, Solomon on Sex, p. 31.] However, "fruit" never appears elsewhere in the Old Testament as a euphemism for the genitals, and neither the Hebrew Bible nor the Egyptian love literature refer to oral sex. [Note: The NET Bible note on 2:3.] Probably simple kissing is what is in view.

The metaphors that follow show that Solomon satisfied three needs of this woman: protection, intimate friendship, and public identification as her beloved. A woman’s lover must meet these basic needs for the relationship to flourish.

The word "banner" in "his banner over me" may be from an Akkadian word that means "desire" or "intent." If so, the clause may mean "his intent toward me was lovemaking." [Note: Hubbard, p. 286; Pope, p. 376; and Carr, The Song . . ., p. 91.]

"Lovesick" means faint from love. She needed strengthening (Song of Solomon 2:5-6; cf. Song of Solomon 5:8). She felt exhausted from her love for her loved one.

"In the Song, as in much of the other ancient Near Eastern love poetry, the woman is the one who takes the initiative, and who is the more outspoken. Similarly, in the Mesopotamian Ritual Marriage materials, much is placed on the girl’s lips. Our contemporary attitude, where the girl is on the defensive and the man is the initiator, is a direct contrast with the attitude in the ancient world." [Note: Ibid., pp. 88-89.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

He brought me to the banqueting house,.... Or "into" it q. The "house of wine" r, as it is literally in the original; either the "wine cellar" s, as some, where stores of it were kept; or, the "place of fasting" t, as others, and, as we render it, a "banqueting house"; where it was distributed and drank; a banquet of wine being put for a feast, and here the nuptial feast; and may design the Gospel feast in the house of God, where there is plenty of the wine of Gospel truths, and provisions of rich food, with which believers are sweetly refreshed and delightfully regaled: and to be brought hither, under the drawings and influences of divine grace, is a special privilege, a distinguishing layout; and show a great condescension in Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, to take his people by the hand, as it were, and introduce them into his house, so well furnished, and to a table so well spread: and so the church relates it as an instance of divine favour, and as a fresh token of Christ's love to her; which further appears by what follows: the covenant of grace and the Scriptures of truth may be thought of as a banqueting house, well stored with blessings, and promises, and rich provisions; which, to be led and let into, is a singular kindness;

and his banner over me [was] love; signifying, that she was brought into the banqueting house in a grand, stately, and majestic manner, with flying colours; the motto on which inscribed was "love"; the allusion may be to the names of generals being inscribed on the banners of their armies; so Vespasian's name was inscribed on the banners throughout his armies u. Christ's name, inscribed on his, was "love", his church's love; and by which his company or band was distinguished from all others, even by electing, redeeming, calling love. It may signify the security and protection of the saints, while in the house of God, and enjoying communion with him, being under the banner of love, with which they are encompassed as a shield; and it may denote the very manifest and visible displays of it, which the church now experienced.

q אל "in", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Marckius, Michaelis. r בית היין "domum vini", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. s "Cellam vinariam", Tigurine version. t "Locum convivii", Junius & Tremellius. u Suetonii Vita Vespasian. c. 6.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.   4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.   5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.   6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.   7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

      Here, I. The spouse commends her beloved and prefers him before all others: As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, which perhaps does not grow so high, nor spread so wide, as some other trees, yet is useful and serviceable to man, yielding pleasant and profitable fruit, while the other trees are of little use, no, not the cedars themselves, till they are cut down, so is my beloved among the sons, so far does he excel them all,--all the sons of God, the angels (that honour was put upon him which was never designed for them, Hebrews 1:4), --all the sons of men; he is fairer than them all, fairer than the choicest of them, Psalms 45:2. Name what creature you will, and you will find Christ has the pre-eminence above them all. The world is a barren tree to a soul; Christ is a fruitful one.

      II. She remembers the abundant comfort she has had in communion with him: She sat down by him with great delight, as shepherds sometimes repose themselves, sometimes converse with one another, under a tree. A double advantage she found in sitting down so near the Lord Jesus:-- 1. A refreshing shade: I sat down under his shadow, to be sheltered by him from the scorching heat of the sun, to be cooled, and so to take some rest. Christ is to believers as the shadow of a great tree, nay, of a great rock in a weary land,Isaiah 32:2; Isaiah 25:4. When a poor soul is parched with convictions of sin and the terrors of the law, as David (Psalms 32:4), when fatigued with the troubles of this world, as Elijah when he sat down under a juniper tree (1 Kings 19:4), they find that in Christ, in his name, his graces, his comforts, and his undertaking for poor sinners, which revives them and keeps them from fainting; those that are weary and heavily laden may find rest in Christ. It is not enough to pass by this shadow, but we must sit down under it (here will I dwell, for I have desired it); and we shall find it not like Jonah's gourd, that soon withered, and left him in a heat, both inward and outward, but like the tree of life, the leaves whereof were not only for shelter, but for the healing of the nations. We must sit down under this shadow with delight, must put an entire confidence in the protection of it (as Judges 9:15), and take an entire complacency in the refreshment of it. But that is not all: 2. Here is pleasing nourishing food. This tree drops its fruits to those that sit down under its shadow, and they are welcome to them, and will find them sweet unto their taste, whatever they are to others. Believers have tasted that the Lord Jesus is gracious (1 Peter 2:3); his fruits are all the precious privileges of the new covenant, purchased by his blood and communicated by his Spirit. Promises are sweet to a believer, yea, and precepts too. I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Pardons are sweet, and peace of conscience is sweet, assurances of God's love, joys of the Holy Ghost, the hopes of eternal life, and the present earnests and foretastes of it are sweet, all sweet to those that have their spiritual senses exercised. If our mouths be put out of taste for the pleasure of sin, divine consolations will be sweet to our taste, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.

      III. She owns herself obliged to Jesus Christ for all the benefit and comfort she had in communion with him (Song of Solomon 2:4; Song of Solomon 2:4): "I sat down under the apple-tree, glad to be there, but he admitted me, nay, he pressed me, to a more intimate communion with him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, why standest thou without? He brought me to the house of wine, the place where he entertains his special friends, from lower to higher measures and degrees of comfort, from the fruit of the apple tree to the more generous fruit of the vine." To him that values the divine joys he has more shall be given. One of the rabbin by the banqueting-house understands the tabernacle of the congregation, where the interpretation of the law was given; surely we may apply it to Christian assemblies, where the gospel is preached and gospel-ordinances are administered, particularly the Lord's supper, that banquet of wine, especially to the inside of those ordinances, communion with God in them. Observe, 1. How she was introduced: "He brought me, wrought in me an inclination to draw nigh to God, helped me over my discouragements, took me by the hand, guided and led me, and gave me an access with boldness to God as a Father," Ephesians 2:18. We should never have come into the banqueting-house, never have been acquainted with spiritual pleasures, if Christ had not brought us, by opening for us a new and living way and opening in us a new and living fountain. 2. How she was entertained: His banner over me was love; he brought me in with a banner displayed over my head, not as one he triumphed over, but as one he triumphed in, and whom he always caused to triumph with him and in him, 2 Corinthians 2:14. The gospel is compared to a banner or ensign (Isaiah 11:12), and that which is represented in the banner, written in it in letters of gold, letters of blood, is love, love; and this is the entertainment in the banqueting-house. Christ is the captain of our salvation, and he enlists all his soldiers under the banner of love; in that they centre; to that they must continually have an eye, and be animated by it. The love of Christ must constrain them to fight manfully. When a city was taken the conqueror set up his standard in it. "He has conquered me with his love, overcome me with kindness, and that is the banner over me." This she speaks of as what she had formerly had experience of, and she remembers it with delight. Eaten bread must not be forgotten, but remembered with thankfulness to that God who has fed us with manna in this wilderness.

      IV. She professes her strong affection and most passionate love to Jesus Christ (Song of Solomon 2:5; Song of Solomon 2:5): I am sick of love, overcome, overpowered, by it. David explains this when he says (Psalms 119:20), My soul breaks for the longing that it has unto thy judgments, and (Psalms 119:81; Psalms 119:81), My soul faints for thy salvation, languishing with care to make it sure and fear of coming short of it. The spouse was now absent perhaps from her beloved, waiting for his return, and cannot bear the grief of distance and delay. Oh how much better it is with the soul when it is sick of love to Christ than when it is surfeited with the love of this world! She cries out for cordials: "Oh stay me with flagons, or ointments, or flowers, any thing that is reviving; comfort me with apples, with the fruits of that apple-tree, Christ (Song of Solomon 2:3; Song of Solomon 2:3), with the merit and meditation of Christ and the sense of his love to my soul." Note, Those that are sick of love to Christ shall not want spiritual supports, while they are yet waiting for spiritual comforts.

      V. She experiences the power and tenderness of divine grace, relieving her in her present faintings, Song of Solomon 2:6; Song of Solomon 2:6. Though he seemed to have withdrawn, yet he was even then a very present help, 1. To sustain the love-sick soul, and to keep it from fainting away: "His left hand is under my head, to bear it up, nay, as a pillow to lay it easy." David experienced God's hand upholding him then when his soul was following hard after God (Psalms 63:8), and Job in a state of desertion yet found that God put strength into him, Job 23:6. All his saints are in his hand, which tenderly holds their aching heads. 2. To encourage the love-sick soul to continue waiting till he returns: "For, in the mean time, his right hand embraces me, and thereby gives me an unquestionable assurance of his love." Believers owe all their strength and comfort to the supporting left hand and embracing right hand of the Lord Jesus.

      VI. Finding her beloved thus nigh unto her she is in great care that her communion with him be not interrupted (Song of Solomon 2:7; Song of Solomon 2:7): I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the mother of us all, charges all her daughters, the church charges all her members, the believing soul charges all its powers and faculties, the spouse charges herself and all about her, not to stir up, or awake, her love until he please, now that he is asleep in her arms, as she was borne up in his, Song of Solomon 2:6; Song of Solomon 2:6. She gives them this charge by the roes and the hinds of the field, that is, by every thing that is amiable in their eyes, and dear to them, as the loving hind and the pleasant roe. "My love is to me dearer than those can be to you, and will be disturbed, like them, with a very little noise." Note, 1. Those that experience the sweetness of communion with Christ, and the sensible manifestations of his love, cannot but desire the continuance of these blessed views, these blessed visits. Pester would make tabernacles upon the holy mount, Matthew 17:4. 2. Yet Christ will, when he pleases, withdraw those extraordinary communications of himself, for he is a free-agent, and the Spirit, as the wind, blows where and when it listeth, and in his pleasure it becomes us to acquiesce. But, 3. Our care must be that we do nothing to provoke him to withdraw and to hide his face, that we carefully watch over our own hearts and suppress every thought that may grieve his good Spirit. Let those that have comfort be afraid of sinning it away.