Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 2:17
Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The speaker, the woman in the Song, addresses her beloved immediately following her declaration of mutual belonging in 2:16. She speaks at dawn, urging a response before full daylight arrives.
The words — The imperative סֹב (so) commands a "turn," while דְּמֵה־ (demeh-) literally means "be like," directing the beloved to assume the swift, agile posture of a gazelle or young stag.
The thread — The pre-dawn imagery recurs in Song of Solomon 4:6, where the speaker vows to ascend the mountain of myrrh before the shadows flee. The exact command to appear like a gazelle or stag repeats in Song of Solomon 8:14, while the motif of swift movement echoes Song of Solomon 2:8.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate responsiveness to the beloved's call, using the fleeting window of pre-dawn light to frame urgency. It establishes a structural rhythm of eager, agile pursuit that requires the reader to track the dialogue's pacing rather than treat the imagery as static description.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Song of Solomon 4:6 Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
- Song of Solomon 2:8 Listen! My beloved approaches. Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
- Luke 1:78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
- Romans 13:12 The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- Hebrews 8:5 The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
- Hebrews 10:1 For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
- 2 Peter 1:19 We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.