Song of Solomon 2:17 Meaning: Turn Away or Turn Back?
Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.
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.
Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart Upon the mountains of Bether.
Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, Turn, be like, my beloved, To a roe, or to a young one of the harts, On the mountains of separation!
Until the day dawn, and the shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved: be thou like a gazelle or a young hart, Upon the mountains of Bether.
Meaning in one sentence
The Hebrew word 'sov' in Song 2:17 can mean 'turn' toward or away. Discover the bride's ambiguous plea at twilight and its meaning in the poem.
Context
The Song of Solomon is a Hebrew love poem celebrating the passionate bond between a man and a woman. In chapter 2, the bride recounts a springtime visit from her beloved. He arrives leaping on the mountains, calls her to come away, and she confesses her love: "My beloved is mine, and I am his" (verse 16). Then in verse 17, she speaks to him directly as the day ends. The Hebrew phrase "until the day breathes" and the fleeing shadows picture evening. She asks him to "turn" and be like a gazelle on the mountains of Bether. The name Bether means "cleft" or "division," suggesting a place of separation. This closing line leaves readers wondering: Is she sending him away to safety, or calling him back to her?
Key Words
Three Hebrew words shape this verse. First, the verb behind "the day is cool" is yafuach, literally "until the day breathes." In the ancient Near East, the evening breeze brings relief from the heat, and shadows lengthen and disappear. This is not dawn but twilight, a time of parting or intimacy. Second, the command sov (turn) is ambiguous. It can mean to turn around (toward someone) or to turn away. Some interpreters read it as "return to me," while others see it as "go away from here", both are possible from the word itself. Third, Bether means "cleft" or "division." It may refer to a mountain range called Bithron east of the Jordan, a place of separation, or it may simply describe rugged, split mountains. The image of a gazelle leaping across such terrain suggests speed and grace, whether the beloved is coming or going. The verse's power lies in this uncertainty: the bride's desire is clear, but her intention is left open.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christian readers have understood this verse in different ways. Matthew Henry, representing an older tradition, saw the bride longing for Christ's return, interpreting "turn" as "turn to me" and the mountains as obstacles sin had placed between them. Keil and Delitzsch argued she is sending him away, pointing out that in Song 8:14 the similar request uses the verb "flee" rather than "turn." The Cambridge Bible notes the context of a secret visit, her family might object, and suggests she tells him to leave until evening when he can return safely. Barnes connects it to the annual springtime reading at Passover, seeing a reference to Israel's call out of Egypt and the Easter mystery of resurrection. Each reading reflects a different emphasis: some on the union of lovers, others on the tension of love that cannot yet be fully realized. The ambiguity in the Hebrew text allows for both perspectives, and the poem does not resolve which is correct.
A common misunderstanding
Many readers assume "until the day break" means dawn, the start of a new day. But the Hebrew says "until the day breathes," and "shadows flee away" describes shadows disappearing at sunset, not sunrise. The parallel in Genesis 3:8 ("in the cool of the day") confirms this is evening. In fact, the scene is twilight, a time when lovers might part or be together in private. Mistaking it for morning changes the whole mood of the verse.
Main takeaway: The bride's twilight plea leaves her beloved's direction unknown, love's longing held in the tension of arrival and departure.
Questions People Ask
What does 'Bether' mean in Song of Solomon 2:17?
Bether is a Hebrew word meaning 'cleft' or 'division.' It likely refers to a mountainous region east of the Jordan River called Bithron, mentioned in 2 Samuel 2:29. Some translations treat it as a proper name ('mountains of Bether'), while others translate it descriptively as 'the cleft mountains' or 'mountains of separation.' The imagery suggests a rugged, divided landscape that the beloved crosses swiftly like a gazelle.
Does the bride send her lover away or call him back in Song 2:17?
The Hebrew verb 'sov' (turn) is ambiguous. It can mean turn around toward someone or turn away from someone. Commentators are divided. Some, like Keil and Delitzsch, argue from the context of the secret visit that she sends him away to avoid detection. Others, like Matthew Henry, read it as a plea for his return. The parallel in Song 8:14 uses a different verb ('flee'), which suggests departure, but the earlier verse leaves the question open. The poem deliberately holds both possibilities.
Why does the bride compare her beloved to a gazelle or young stag?
Gazelles and stags were symbols of beauty, grace, and speed in ancient Hebrew poetry. In Song 2:8, 9, the beloved is already compared to a gazelle leaping on the mountains. Here, the bride asks him to be like these animals as he moves across the mountains of Bether. The comparison emphasizes his swift, elegant movement, whether he is coming to her or going away. It also evokes the wild, free nature of their love.
Is Song of Solomon 2:17 about the coming of Christ?
Many Christian interpreters, especially in older traditions, have read the Song of Solomon as an allegory of Christ's love for the Church. In that view, verse 17 is the bride (the Church) longing for Christ's return, 'until the day breaks' being the second coming. Others read it more literally as human love poetry. Both interpretations have been present in church history. The text itself does not require an allegorical reading, but the language of separation and desire has naturally been applied to the Christian hope of Christ's coming.
What time of day is described in Song of Solomon 2:17?
The verse describes evening, not morning. The Hebrew phrase 'until the day breathes' refers to the evening breeze, and 'shadows flee away' indicates the disappearance of shadows at sunset. This matches the 'cool of the day' in Genesis 3:8. Some older English translations like the KJV say 'until the day break,' which sounds like dawn, but the original Hebrew points to the end of the day, not the beginning.
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