The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:15 Catch 1 the foxes 2 for us,
the little foxes, 3
that ruin the vineyards 4 –
for our vineyard is in bloom.
39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter 5 which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors 6 and drink the blood of the princes of the earth – the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 39:19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, 7 at my slaughter 8 which I have made for you. 39:20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, 9 with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the sovereign Lord.
19:17 Then 10 I saw one angel standing in 11 the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: 12
“Come, gather around for the great banquet 13 of God,
19:18 to eat 14 your fill 15 of the flesh of kings,
the flesh of generals, 16
the flesh of powerful people,
the flesh of horses and those who ride them,
and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, 17
and small and great!”
1 tn The imperative אֶחֱזוּ (’ekhezu, “catch”) is plural in form (Qal imperative 2nd person masculine plural from אָחַז, ’akhaz). Some commentators suggest that the woman is speaking to a large audience, perhaps the maidens of Jerusalem mentioned in 2:7. However, the Hebrew plural can function in an intensive sense when used in reference to a single individual (IBHS 122 §7.4.3a). As noted previously, the bride often uses the plural in reference to herself or to her bridegroom in Sumerian love literature. Thus, the woman simply may be speaking to her beloved, as in 2:16-17, but with particularly intense passion.
2 sn The term “foxes” is used metaphorically. Foxes are always spoken of in a negative light in the OT and in the ancient world were particularly associated with their destructive tendencies with regard to vineyards (Judg 15:4; Neh 4:3; Ps 63:10; Lam 5:18; Ezek 13:4). The description of these foxes as being destructive here seems to confirm that this is the point of comparison in mind.
3 sn In ancient Near Eastern love literature it was common to use wild animals to symbolize potential problems which could separate lovers and destroy their love. For instance, in Egyptian love songs it is the crocodile, rather than the foxes, which were used as figures for obstacles which might threaten a couple’s love. Here the “foxes” are probably used figuratively to represent potentially destructive problems which could destroy their romantic relationship and which could hinder it from ripening into marriage.
4 sn The term “vineyard” is also a figure. In 1:6 she used the vineyard motif as a metaphor for her physical appearance, but here it is “our vineyards” which is probably a figure for their romantic relationship. The phrase “in bloom” makes the metaphor more specific, so that the phrase “our vineyards are in bloom” means that their romantic love relationship was in its initial stages, that is, before it had ripened into marriage.
5 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
6 sn See Rev 19:17-18.
7 sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).
8 tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).
9 tn Heb “chariots.”
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
11 tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.
12 tn On μεσουρανήματι (mesouranhmati) here see L&N 1.10: “high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.” The birds mentioned here are carrion birds like vultures, circling high overhead, and now being summoned to feast on the corpses.
13 tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.
14 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.
15 tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.
16 tn Grk “chiliarchs”; normally a chiliarch was a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).
17 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.