1. Song of Solomon 2:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does the young man stand behind the wall gazing through the window?

Song of Solomon 2:9 (ESV)

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice.

Suddenly he is there (behold). The quickness of his arrival once again emphasizes both his eagerness and her excitement at his coming. But, instead of coming in, he stands behind the wall outside and looks in through the window. He has arrived and yet there is a distance between them. Instead of being close to her he is almost hiding behind a wall looking in. The distance between them has been only partially closed. The closeness they both long for is agonizingly out of reach.