1. Song of Solomon 2:14 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does the young man describe the young woman as a dove in the clefts of the rock?

Song of Solomon 2:14 (ESV)

14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

Even as the young man tries to lure the young woman out so that they can rejoice in the joys of being together, he expresses his frustration at the fact that this is not going to happen yet.

His description of her as a dove in the clefts of the rocks suggests that she is inaccessible to him.1 She is beautiful, but agonizingly out of reach. This is a poetic description of the emotional distance the young man feels from the young woman, and his desire to overcome it. He longs to see her face and hear her voice, but he cannot.2 This separation is not necessarily physical, but is because the time for consummation has not yet come.