Song of Solomon 2:14 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Song of Solomon 2:14
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
a dove (apparently from the warmth of their mating) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
clefts
בְּחַגְוֵ֣יbe.chag.Vei
H2288
a rift in rocks · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
rock
הַסֶּ֗לַעha.Se.la'
H5553
a craggy rock · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
secret
בְּסֵ֙תֶר֙be.Se.ter
H5643
a cover (in a good or a bad · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
stairs
הַמַּדְרֵגָ֔הha.mad.re.Gah
H4095
properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
see
הַרְאִ֙ינִי֙har.'I.ni
H7200
to see · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person feminine singular + pronominal suffix
countenance
מַרְאַ֔יִךְmar.'A.yikh
H4758
a view (the act of seeing) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
hear
הַשְׁמִיעִ֖ינִיhash.mi.'I.ni
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person feminine singular + pronominal suffix
voice
קוֹלֵ֑ךְko.Lekh
H6963
a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
sweet
עָרֵ֖ב'a.Rev
H6156
pleasant · adjective, masculine singular absolute
voice
קוֹלֵ֥ךְko.Lekh
H6963
a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
countenance
וּמַרְאֵ֥יךְu.mar.'Eikh
H4758
a view (the act of seeing) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
comely
נָאוֶֽהna.Veh
H5000
suitable · adjective, masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezra 9:5-6 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my…
Song of Solomon 1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Song of Solomon 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: fo…
Exodus 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was…
Song of Solomon 8:13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.
Exodus 33:22-23 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I…
Exodus 4:11-13 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Song of Solomon 1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
John Gill on Song of Solomon 2:14
O my dove,.... An epithet sometimes used by lovers (q), and is a new title Christ gives to his church, to express his affection for her and interest in her; and to draw her out of her retirement, to go along with him. The dove is a creature innocent and harmless, beautiful, cleanly, and chaste; sociable and fruitful, weak and timorous, of a mournful voice, and swift in flying; all which is suitable to the church and people of God: they are harmless and inoffensive in their lives and conversations; they are beautiful through the righteousness of Christ on them, and the grace of the Spirit in them; they are clean through the word Christ has spoken, and having their hearts purified by faith; th…
In the dramatic view, the couple is playing a game of hide-and-seek in which she is teasing him; he resorts to simply pleading for her to appear, for even playful separation from her is too frustrating for him. • The rocks are a metaphor for separation that the man wants to overcome to be with her.
Rashi on Song of Solomon 2:14
My dove, in the clefts of the rock. This is said regarding the time when Pharaoh pursued them and overtook them camping by the sea. With no place to escape in front of them because of the sea, and they could not turn to the side because of wild beasts. What did they resemble at that time? A dove that was fleeing from a hawk and entered the clefts of the rocks, where a snake was hissing at her. Should she enter inside, there was the snake; should she go outside, there was the hawk. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, said to her [Yisroel], “Show Me your countenance,” [i.e.,] the quality of your deeds, to whom you turn in time of distress.
Let me hear your voice. “And the Bnei Yisroel cried out to A…
The rock is Christ. He is a wall and a shelter to us who believe and a perfect guardian, which is denoted by the wall. When you arrive, he says, you will be protected with every defense.
Because your voice is sweet, etc. Indeed, the voice of that soul is sweet to the Lord, which knows how either to announce the words of the Lord to neighbors or to resound praises to the Lord Himself sweetly with the prophet, How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Psalm 119)! That face seems beautiful to the Lord, which strives to present itself as worthy to behold His face, which is accustomed to say to Him from the innermost heart, I have sought Your face, O Lord; Your face will I seek; do not turn Your face away from me (Psalm 27). However, our diligence in cleanliness will not be sufficient for us, if we do not also correct those who err, as much as we can, if we do not care to defend the weaker ones from their snares...
Rise up, come, my love, my dove; and come, my dove, under the covering of the rock. Moses too is placed under the covering of the rock, that he may see the hinder parts of God under the covering of the outwork. First come to that which is before the wall, and afterward you will be able to enter where the wall of the rock is. Show me your face. Up to the present day like things are said to the bride. For she did not yet have the confidence to contemplate, with unveiled face, the glory of the Lord. But because she is now adorned and set in order, it is said to her: Show me your face. For her voice was not yet so sweet that she deserved to have it said to her, Make me hear your voice. When, then, did she learn to speak? Be silent, and hear, O Israel, and you shall know what the Lord speaks. And her voice was made sweet to the bridegroom, according to that prophetic word: Let my petition be sweet to him. Then the bridegroom declares to her: And make me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet. If you open your mouth to the Word of God, the bridegroom will say to you: Your voice is sweet, your aspect beautiful. Wherefore, rising up, let us beseech the Lord that we may be made worthy of the bridegroom's word, of the wisdom of Christ Jesus, to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Cave — There are numerous natural caves among the limestone rocks of Syria, many of which have been artificially enlarged for various purposes. The first notice of a cave occurs in the history of Lot (Gen.…
Dove — In their wild state doves generally build their nests in the clefts of rocks, but when domesticated “dove-cots” are prepared for them (Cant. 2:14; Jer. 48:28; Isa. 60:8). The dove was placed on the…
Dove, The · Characterised by: Comeliness of countenance — Characterised by: Comeliness of countenance
Excellency And Glory Of The Church, The · Consist in its: Graces of character — Consist in its: Graces of character
Rocks · Inhabited by: Doves — Inhabited by: Doves
Titles And Names Of The Church · Dove — Dove
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
