Translation
THE PEACEFUL WOMAN TO HER OWN DAUGHTERS
I went down to the grove of nut trees
Go to footnote numberto see the green shoots in
the valley, to see if the vines had budded
or if the pomegranates were in bloom.
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
THE COMPLETE WOMAN TO HER OWN DAUGHTERS
I went to the place
of special beauty,
I looked at the exciting prospects of prosperity, to see if abundance and future prosperity could be counted on, to see if productive beauty was on its way.
Footnotes
1
The word for “grove” can mean either “garden, orchard or grove.” In this case it is where the nut trees grow. According to Ray Vanderlaan this word refers to a terrace on a hillside, where each family had its own terrace. On that terrace they grew grapes vines as well as olive trees, and fig trees (and we see from this passage also nut trees). Their practice of putting several plants together in one terrace is borne out by the fact that the Shulammite mentions vines and pomegranates in the same sentence.
Nuts were esteemed in ancient times as something special, and depending on the type of nut, even a luxury. They were not one of the staples of the diet of that area so they were seen as an addition, as something out of the ordinary. The wealthy would have eaten nuts often but the poor people would not. Despite the fact that the rich had ready access to nuts, the perception in the general public was that they were something special, hence that is the meaning for the symbolism. According to the comments in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges the nuts in question were most likely walnuts, since these were grown in that area and still are today. Other nuts were available to the rich, some of which were imported items that the traveling merchants brought from other lands. However, she says “we went down among the nut trees,” so it had to be something they grew in their area.
2: “in bloom”
Solomon often focused on, and used terms related to, prosperity. As a man he was naturally focused on work, productivity and accomplishments. This reality about men appears in several contexts in The Song.