This verse is difficult to interpret because, first, it is not clear whose voice it is, second, it is not clear who the little foxes are and why they need to be caught, and third, it is not clear whose vineyards are in blossom.
It is probably best to see this verse as part of the young woman’s poem which continues until Song of Solomon 2:17. She is responding to her lover’s call to come away with him. Instead of responding with positive enthusiasm she expresses anxiety and concern. A fox is a predator, and in a vineyard it would have been seen as a dangerous nuisance that can do damage to the crop. Most commentators think that the little foxes
here stands for some kind of threat to their love relationship and may refer to rival lovers.1 It could also simply speak of the dangers in general that threaten a love relationship before it is consummated in marriage.
The vineyard has already been used as a metaphor for the young woman’s sexuality (Song of Solomon 1:6). The vine bears a fruit that can be plucked and savoured.2 The vineyard in this case represents not just the female body, but the intimacy that the female body makes possible. It speaks more broadly of the young man and woman’s relationship which is nearing the time of fulfilment and consummation (in blossom
). The warning about the foxes spoiling the vineyard fits with one of the broader themes in the Song, that though a vital relationship is possible between the lovers, there are still threats to their perfect union.3 Love and marriage are still a good part of God’s creation, but they take place in a fallen and dangerous world that threaten them in many ways.
The young woman says save us
from the foxes. This may be an appeal to others, such as the daughters of Jerusalem, or the community in general, to help the couple maintain the safety of their relationship until the time for consummation comes.4 She may even be appealing to her beloved to be on guard and to do all he can to protect their relationship at this fragile stage.
15 Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”