The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
The beloved is heard and seen coming with joyful energy, leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. An early English rendering by Coverdale described that movement as hopping, an expression that sounds strange when applied to the beloved because the meaning and usage of the word have changed. The verse belongs to the song's poetic picture of spring, forming part of an Oriental love poem told in the warm, figurative language of the East that may be read as a parable.
Within that poetic picture the beloved represents Christ and the woman represents His church, showing Christ's wonderful love for His people. Solomon's experiences in the song may serve as types of Christ and the church. The beloved's arrival connects with the Lord's return, as evidence that Christ desires His coming.
The leaping and skipping also pictures the church in one of her shifting conditions from the patriarch Abraham to the present day, when she is like a young doe leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. This stands in contrast to coming up out of the wilderness leaning on the arm of her Beloved. In that leaping and skipping condition she is variable as the wind and changeable as the weather and carried about by the slightest circumstances.
The beloved is heard and seen coming with joyful energy, leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. An early English rendering by Coverdale described that movement as hopping, an expression that sounds strange when applied to the beloved because the meaning and usage of the word have changed. The verse belongs to the song's poetic picture of spring, forming part of an Oriental love poem told in the warm, figurative language of the East that may be read as a parable.
Within that poetic picture the beloved represents Christ and the woman represents His church, showing Christ's wonderful love for His people. Solomon's experiences in the song may serve as types of Christ and the church. The beloved's arrival connects with the Lord's return, as evidence that Christ desires His coming.
The leaping and skipping also pictures the church in one of her shifting conditions from the patriarch Abraham to the present day, when she is like a young doe leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. This stands in contrast to coming up out of the wilderness leaning on the arm of her Beloved. In that leaping and skipping condition she is variable as the wind and changeable as the weather and carried about by the slightest circumstances.