עַל־מִשְׁכָּבִי בַּלֵּילוֹת בִּקַּשְׁתִּי אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי בִּקַּשְׁתִּיו וְלֹא מְצָאתִיו

While the woman’s beloved runs over the hills, she remains at home, yearning for him: On my bed during the nights I sought the one whom my soul loves. In light of verse 4 below, it seems her sleeping chambers are not in her parents’ house. I sought him, but I did not find him. He was not close by. One of the symbolic interpretations of this description is that the soul seeks God at times of loneliness and difficulty, only to find Him distant.

אָקוּמָה נָּא וַאֲסוֹבְבָה בָעִיר בַּשְּׁוָקִים וּבָרְחֹבוֹת אֲבַקְשָׁה אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי בִּקַּשְׁתִּיו וְלֹא מְצָאתִיו

She takes action: I will rise now, and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares. I will seek the one whom my soul loves; perhaps he can be found in the city streets. However, again, I sought him, but I did not find him.

מְצָאוּנִי הַשֹּׁמְרִים הַסֹּבְבִים בָּעִיר אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי רְאִיתֶם

The watchmen who patrol the city found me, and I asked them: Have you seen the one whom my soul loves? It appears that they too had not seen her beloved. The appearance of watchmen indicates that this takes place in an established city, probably Jerusalem, which contains not only marketplaces and streets but also a patrol.

כִּמְעַט שֶׁעָבַרְתִּי מֵהֶם עַד שֶׁמָּצָאתִי אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי אֲחַזְתִּיו וְלֹא אַרְפֶּנּוּ עַד־שֶׁהֲבֵיאתִיו אֶל־בֵּית אִמִּי וְאֶל־חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִי

Since the watchmen offer no help, she turns elsewhere. I had almost passed them, when I found the one whom my soul loves. After three desperate attempts to find her beloved, first at home, then in the streets, and finally after asking others, she finds him. I grasped him and I would not release him until I brought him to my mother’s house, and to the chamber of the one who conceived me. Unlike in other parts of the text, where the house and bed represent erotic love (e.g., 1:4, 16), in this verse the home symbolizes emotional closeness and family. In terms of the soul’s experience, the soul seeks the object of its love in order to return to the emotional relationships of its childhood. One’s parents’ house is the place of his initial development. Therefore, the relationship must be built there. Symbolically, returning to the mother’s home represents the Jewish people returning to their national homeland from their exile among the gentile nations, and in a spiritual sense, returning to God. The people of Israel implore God: Let us return to our original state.

הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה אִם־תָּעִירוּ וְאִם־תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ

Once again, the woman issues her warning: I administer an oath to you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, or by the deer of the field, that you not awaken and not rouse love, until it desires to awaken by itself. As mentioned above (2:7), love has a natural course of development, and it must be allowed to intensify on its own at the appropriate pace. Elsewhere, the poem contains expressions of great passion, but this verse speaks of a contrasting idea: Let love develop on its own terms; do not fan its flames prematurely.

מִי זֹאת עֹלָה מִן־הַמִּדְבָּר כְּתִימְרוֹת עָשָׁן מְקֻטֶּרֶת מֹר וּלְבוֹנָה מִכֹּל אַבְקַת רוֹכֵל

Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, which are visible in the desert from afar? This is not regular smoke, but perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, fragrant spices, and with all the powders of the merchant. Merchants used to travel from place to place peddling cosmetics and jewelry to women.

הִנֵּה מִטָּתוֹ שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה שִׁשִּׁים גִּבֹּרִים סָבִיב לָהּ מִגִּבֹּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

At this point, the story turns in a new direction. King Solomon, who until now was mentioned only in the opening verse of the book, appears as a character in the story, as a king among his people: Behold the bed of Solomon: There are sixty valiant men forming one or several perimeters around it, from the valiant of Israel.

כֻּלָּם אֲחֻזֵי חֶרֶב מְלֻמְּדֵי מִלְחָמָה אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ עַל־יְרֵכוֹ מִפַּחַד בַּלֵּילוֹת

All these valiant men are armed with a sword, trained in war; each man, a sword on his thigh, from fear in the nights. There are fears that prey even on great rulers such as Solomon, and the guards therefore surround his bed. Although they primarily served as a guard of honor, these valiant men also protect Solomon from sudden attack in the night.

אַפִּרְיוֹן עָשָׂה לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה מֵעֲצֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן

King Solomon made himself a grand canopy, or perhaps a canopied bed, from the wood of Lebanon.

עַמּוּדָיו עָשָׂה כֶסֶף רְפִידָתוֹ זָהָב מֶרְכָּבוֹ אַרְגָּמָן תּוֹכוֹ רָצוּף אַהֲבָה מִבְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם

He made its pillars of silver, its cushioning of gold, and its seat of valuable purple wool.Solomon’s guards protect his canopy against strangers approaching from the outside, but its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem who came to King Solomon’s bed. This could refer to Solomon’s many wives and concubines (see 6:8).

צְאֶינָה וּרְאֶינָה בְּנוֹת צִיּוֹן בַּמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה בָּעֲטָרָה שֶׁעִטְּרָה־לּוֹ אִמּוֹ בְּיוֹם חֲתֻנָּתוֹ וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַת לִבּוֹ

Emerge, daughters of Zion, who represent the surrounding public, and gaze at King Solomon,at the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding,and on the day of the rejoicing of his heart.