经文研读
Song of Solomon 2:16 — Mutual Belonging and Feeding Among the Lilies
The beloved affirms that she and her lover belong to each other, and envisions him feeding his flock among the lilies.
经文
- 16.良 人 屬 我 ， 我 也 屬 他 ； 他 在 百 合 花 中 牧 放 群 羊 。My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth his flock among the lilies.
这段经文的意思
The verse opens with a reciprocal confession of belonging: 'My beloved is mine, and I am his.' The two clauses mirror each other, framing the relationship as one of shared possession in which neither party is absorbed into the other. The repeated verb 'is mine' / 'am his' places the lovers on equal footing, and this mutuality is the structural backbone of the declaration.
The second half shifts to an image of the beloved at work: 'He feedeth his flock among the lilies.' The shepherd's pasture is not an ordinary field but a place of lilies, the same flower with which the woman earlier identified herself in chapter 2:1 ('I am a rose of Sharon, A lily of the valleys'). The shared setting suggests that the couple's world and the lover's daily occupation overlap, so that the place where he labors is also the place that marks her.
Read together, the two halves of the verse describe a relationship that is both intimate and active. Belonging is not abstract possession but is grounded in a real, pastoral landscape where the shepherd's care and the woman's presence are intertwined.
背景
In the chapter, Song of Solomon 2 moves from the woman's self-identification as 'a rose of Sharon, A lily of the valleys' (v. 1) through a series of mutual praises between the lovers, an invitation to the spring (vv. 10–13), and the woman's plea to the daughters of Jerusalem not to disturb love (v. 7). The setting throughout is pastoral and agrarian, populated by fig trees, vines, doves, and lilies.
Verse 16 sits between the woman's call to catch the foxes that spoil the vineyards (v. 15) and her longing for the beloved to return 'upon the mountains of Bether' (v. 17). The mutual belonging she declares in verse 16 thus anchors both her concern for the vineyard and her anticipation of reunion.
常见问题
Why does the verse mention lilies twice — once for the woman and once for the pasture?
The lily first appears as the woman's self-description in verse 1 ('I am a rose of Sharon, A lily of the valleys') and reappears here as the place where the beloved feeds his flock. The shared flower links her identity to his daily world.
Is the mutual possession in this verse one-sided or reciprocal?
It is reciprocal. The verse states 'My beloved is mine, and I am his,' pairing the two clauses so that each belongs to the other on equal terms.
How does this verse fit between the foxes and the mountains of Bether?
Placed after the plea to catch the foxes that spoil the vineyards (v. 15) and before the wish that the beloved turn like a gazelle upon the mountains of Bether (v. 17), the mutual belonging of verse 16 anchors both the care for the vineyard and the longing for reunion.