Song of Solomon 2 · a question people ask
Who is speaking in this chapter?
The chapter doesn't name its speakers, and the WEB marks none in it. The Hebrew shows some of them. "for I am faint with love" (2:5) is a woman speaking. "Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away" (2:10) is said to a woman, and the verse says who says it: "My beloved spoke, and said to me" (2:10). 2:14 is said to a woman too: "let me see your face" (2:14). "turn, my beloved" (2:17) is said to a man. "Catch for us the foxes" (2:15) is said to more than one, and speaks as us. The Hebrew doesn't show who says "I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys" (2:1), or who says "My beloved is mine, and I am his" (2:16), where only the beloved is marked, as a man. Where the text doesn't say more, these notes say the speaker.
The verses
“I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.”
“Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples; for I am faint with love.”
“My beloved spoke, and said to me, “Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”
“My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, let me see your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely. Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that plunder the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies. Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.”