Song of Songs 2:3-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
3 W Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
so is my lover among men.
In his shadow[a] I delight to sit,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 (A)He brought me to the banquet hall[b]
and his glance at me signaled love.
5 (B)Strengthen me with raisin cakes,[c]
refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
Footnotes
- 2:3 Shadow: suggestive of protection (cf. Jgs 9:15; Ez 17:23; Ps 17:8; 121:5) and, here, of the woman’s joy in the presence of her lover.
- 2:4–6 The banquet hall: the sweet things of the table, the embrace of the woman and man, express the richness of their affection and the intimacy of their love.
- 2:5 Raisin cakes: perhaps pastries used in the worship of the fertility goddess (cf. Hos 3:1; Jer 7:18; 44:19). Apples: this is the common translation of a fruit that cannot be identified (cf. 2:3; 8:5); it appears frequently in Sumerian love poetry associated with the worship of the goddess Inanna. Sick: love-sickness is a popular motif in ancient love poetry.
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