Song of Solomon 2:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Song of Solomon 2:3
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
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
Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought th…
Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when th…
Isaiah 32:2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a gr…
Hebrews 1:1-6 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and…
John 1:14-18 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace a…
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Song of Solomon 2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
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 2:3
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons,.... As the apple tree, in a garden or orchard, excels and is preferable to the wild barren trees of a forest (k), especially it appears so when laden with choice fruit; so the church, who here returns the commendation to Christ, asserts, that he as much excels all the "sons", the creatures of God, angels or men: angels, as the Targum, who, though sons of God by creation, Christ is the Son of God, in a higher sense; he is their Creator, and the object of their worship; they are confirmed by him in the estate they are, and are ministering spirits to him; and he is exalted above them in human nature: men also, the g…
As she is the finest of small, beautiful flowers, he is like a larger and stronger apple tree. An apple tree is a sensuous image in the ancient Near East because of its delicious fruit and pleasant fragrance. In the intense heat of the Middle Eastern climate, a tree’s shade is more than refreshing; it can be life-saving (cp. Jon 4:6; Matt 13:32).
Rashi on Song of Solomon 2:3
As an apple tree. When an apple tree is among trees that do not bear fruit, it is more precious than all of them, for its fruit is good both in taste and in fragrance.5Alternatively, Targum renders תפוח as an Esrog tree.
So is my beloved among the sons. Among the young men. The allegory is: So is the Holy One, Blessed Is He, superior to all the gods. Therefore, “in His shade I delighted and sat.” The Midrash Aggadah [explains], this apple tree, all flee from it because it provides no shade; so did all the nations flee from the Holy One, Blessed Is He, at the giving of the Torah, but I,6Although the other nations fled, Bnei Yisroel perceived the eternal benefit of sitting in His shadow, by a…
"As an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among young men." And seeing this, the church is glad and rejoices, saying with great delight, "I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
The Church, following this ever-flourishing greenness of grace in Christ, says: "In his shadow I desired, and I sat." The Apostles also received this privilege of the evergreen gift, not a leaf of theirs could ever fall, so that even their shadow could heal the sick. For the weaknesses of the body overshadow the faith of the mind, and the flourishing merits of virtues.
"As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, etc." This is what the Psalmist speaks of, "For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord? Or who is like God among the sons of God?" (Psalm 88). Just as the apple tree, which is pleasing to sight, smell, and taste, tends to surpass the wild trees, so does the man God rightfully surpass all who are pure men among the saints; and the merit of those who are sons of God by grace transcends the power of him who is the son by nature. Hence John says, "And we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1). Hence Apostle Paul says, "And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken: but Christ as a son over his own house." (Hebrews 3:5-6). Let the cedar shine therefore; let the cypress lift itself in height; let the other trees of the forests display the miracles of their beauty, fragrance, and worth. The apple tree surpasses them all, which, besides the sweetness of its smell and appearance, also contains the power for nourishment. Let the righteous shine with their virtues: he who, born of a Virgin, provides us with the supports of eternal life, surpasses all. Whence it is well added:
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
Apple · A fruit — A fruit
Delighting In God · Saints’ experience in: Communion with God — Saints’ experience in: Communion with God
Fruits · Illustrative: Of doctrines of Christ — Illustrative: Of doctrines of Christ
Preciousness Of Christ · Illustrated — Illustrated
Trees · Different kinds of mentioned: Of the wood — Different kinds of mentioned: Of the wood
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).
