photo by Matija Barrett
This commentary is based on my notes after reading The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Song of Songs, by Tremper Longman III, 2001
Poem 16 (A Good Wife/ A Noble Husband)
The Woman
v 11 I went down to the nut grove to see the new growth in the valley,
to see the budding of the grapevine, in the bloom of the pomegranates.
It is spring, and many believe this is the setting of a tryst.
These verses are highly debated. The NLT has them spoken by the woman, while the NLT has them spoken by the man.
v 12 I did not realize that my desire had placed me in a chariot of a noble man.
The woman, like many wives, does not see her husband as a ‘noble man’ but as a fallible human. This may also be an indication that, with a good wife, a man is helped to greatness, a theme that is common in the Bible. By seeing him as he is, and helping, the woman makes her husband more likely to achieve greatness.
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