Song of Solomon 2:9

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
beloved	דוֹדִי֙ do.Di	H1730	(figuratively) to love · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
like	דּוֹמֶ֤ה do.Meh	H1819	to compare · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
roe	לִצְבִ֔י litz.Vi	H6643	splendor (as conspicuous) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
young	לְעֹ֣פֶר le.'O.fer	H6082	a fawn (from the dusty color) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
hart	הָֽאַיָּלִ֑ים ha.'ai.ya.Lim	H354	a stag or male deer · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
standeth	עוֹמֵד֙ o.Med	H5975	to stand · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
behind	אַחַ֣ר 'a.Char	H310	properly · cardinal number, masculine singular construct
wall	כָּתְלֵ֔נוּ ka.te.Le.nu	H3796	a wall (as gathering inmates) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
forth	מַשְׁגִּ֙יחַ֙ mash.Gi.ach	H7688	to peep · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
windows	הַֽחֲלֹּנ֔וֹת ha.cha.lo.Not	H2474	a window (as perforated) · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
shewing	מֵצִ֖יץ me.Tzitz	H6692	to twinkle · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
lattice	הַֽחֲרַכִּֽים Ha.cha.ra.Kim	H2762	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine plural 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

Song of Solomon 8:14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.
Song of Solomon 2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
2 Samuel 2:18 And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.
Luke 24:35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
John 12:41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

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 2:9

My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart,.... The church, upon the swift and speedy approach of Christ unto her, compares him to these creatures; which are well known for their swiftness (l) in running, and agility in leaping, as before observed: and, besides these things, Christ may be compared to them on other accounts; they are pleasant and lovely, choice and valuable; bear an antipathy to serpents, which they easily overcome; are very good for food, and very agreeable, and are long lived creatures (m); Christ is lovely and amiable in his person, and high in the esteem of his divine Father, angels and men; is choice and excellent in his nature, offices, and grace; bears an antipathy to t…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Song of Solomon 2:8-17

In this poem, the woman anticipates the arrival of her lover. She describes the passing of winter and the coming of spring, a time of floral fragrance and new beginnings. She and her lover are in their country garden, a place of intimacy, though even here there is a hint of threat (2:15). 2:8-10 The man ardently desires to be in the woman’s presence. He finally arrives at his lover’s home and takes her into the romantic countryside during the new, budding spring. • The woman compares the man to a gazelle, a fast, sleek animal that easily overcomes obstacles to reach its destination.

Rashi on Song of Solomon 2:9

My beloved resembles a gazelle. In the swiftness of His running, for He hastened to come like a gazelle and like a young hart. “עֹפֶר” is a young male hart. Behold, he stands, etc. I had expected to remain detained for many more days, and behold, he informed [me] that He was standing and peering through the windows of heaven at what was being done to me, as it is stated, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people, etc.”18Shemos 3:7.

Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).

The Church Fathers

But because we must always be anxious, always attentive; and because the Word of God leaps forth like a young goat, or like a fawn, the soul must always be vigilant and strive for what it seeks and desires to hold.
— Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul, 5.38

Be more like him who leaps over mountains and transcends hills, looking through windows, standing above nets. The chains of pleasure are evil. It delights the eyes, soothes the ears, but corrupts the mind: it tells many lies, adds falsehood, subtracts truth, promises money, offers gold; but takes away discipline.
— Ambrose of Milan, On Cain and Abel, 1.5.15

Hence the holy Church says to Him in the Song of Songs, whom she seeks under the likeness of a young deer: "Show me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you rest at midday." For the Lord is called a young deer, according to His assumed flesh the son of the ancient fathers. Indeed, a more fervent heat burns at midday, and the young deer seeks a shady place where the fire of heat does not affect it. Therefore, the Lord rests in those hearts which the love of the present age does not inflame, which the desires of the flesh do not burn up, which, set ablaze by their anxieties, do not wither in the lusts of this world.
— Gregory the Dialogist, 40 Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 33

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

Hart — (Heb. ‘ayal), a stag or male deer. It is ranked among the clean animals (Deut. 12:15; 14:5; 15:22), and was commonly killed for food (1 Kings 4:23). The hart is frequently alluded to in the poetical…
Lattice — (1.) Heb. ‘eshnabh, a latticed opening through which the cool breeze passes (Judg. 5:28). The flat roofs of the houses were sometimes enclosed with a parapet of lattice-work on wooden frames, to…
Roe — (Heb. tsebi), properly the gazelle (Arab. ghazal), permitted for food (Deut. 14:5; comp. Deut. 12:15, 22; 15:22; 1 Kings 4:23), noted for its swiftness and beauty and grace of form (2 Sam. 2:18; 1…
Hart, The · Illustrative: Of Christ — Illustrative: Of Christ
Roe, The · Illustrative of: Christ — Illustrative of: Christ
Walls · Illustrative: Of ordinances as a protection to the Church — Illustrative: Of ordinances as a protection to the Church

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).