Deep Dive

Song of Solomon 2:16

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My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

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Commentaries

Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.

Tyndale Open Study Notesv. 16

2:16–3:5 In the dramatic view, the woman has already been separated from her lover and is horrified by the notion that she will not see him soon. One night, her worries drive her from bed to search frantically for him; she finds him and takes him to see her mother. 2:16-17 He browses . . . like a gazelle: The woman has so identified her lover with the strength and speed of a gazelle that she portrays his delay as grazing in the country. • Alternatively, the lover, in the guise of a gazelle, grazes among the lilies that possibly represent the woman, suggesting the intimate association of the couple. The woman is often likened to a garden (see also 4:12, 15-16; 5:1; 6:2). • return to me: Her longing to see him in the evening is intensifying by the hour.

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Original language

The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).

Strong's Concordancev. 16

דּוֹד (dôwd, H1730) — (figuratively) to love; by implication, a love-token, lover, friend; specifically an uncle רָעָה (râʻâh, H7462) — to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze (literally or figuratively);… שׁוּשַׁן (shûwshan, H7799) — a lily (from its whiteness), as aflower of architectural ornament; also a (straight)…

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Cross-references

Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.

Song of Solomon 6:3rank 12

I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

Song of Solomon 7:10rank 7

I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.

Psalms 63:1rank 3

O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.

Psalms 48:14rank 3

For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even till death.

Jeremiah 31:33rank 3

“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

Song of Solomon 1:7rank 2

Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?

Song of Solomon 7:13rank 2

The mandrakes send forth a fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old, that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

Song of Solomon 2:1rank 2

I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley.

Galatians 2:20rank 2

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Song of Solomon 4:5rank 1

Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

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