“Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.”
My Notes
What Does Song of Solomon 7:12 Mean?
"Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves." The beloved proposes a morning journey to the vineyards — to inspect the season's growth together. The checking of vines, grapes, and pomegranates is both agricultural and romantic: the garden-inspection IS the love-making. The giving of loves happens in the vineyard, among the growing things.
The phrase "get up early" (nashkimah lakkeramim — let us rise early to the vineyards) makes the vineyard visit a dawn activity: the couple rises with the sun to see the garden. The urgency is romantic — they don't wait for a convenient hour. They wake early. The vineyard calls them at dawn.
The three growth stages — "vine flourish... tender grape appear... pomegranates bud forth" — trace a progression of intimacy: the vine flowering, the first tiny grapes appearing, the pomegranate buds opening. Each stage is an unfolding. Each checking is a discovery. The couple watches the garden open the way they watch each other open — gradually, beautifully, in stages.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What is budding in your relationships — and are you getting up early enough to notice?
- 2.How does watching growth together (checking vines, seeing grapes appear) model relational intimacy?
- 3.What does love being given 'in the vineyard' — among growing things — teach about where intimacy flourishes?
- 4.What 'tender grape' or 'pomegranate bud' is appearing in your life that you haven't checked on?
Devotional
Let's get up early. Let's go to the vineyards. Let's see what's budding, what's blooming, what's opening. And there — among the growing things — I'll give you my love. The beloved proposes a dawn expedition to the garden, and the garden-checking IS the love-giving. The two activities are one.
The 'get up early' is romantic urgency: the beloved doesn't say 'let's go to the vineyard sometime.' She says 'let's wake up at dawn.' The love is too eager for a late start. The desire to see growth — in the garden and in the relationship — wakes them early. The vineyard can't wait. The love can't wait.
The three growth stages — vine flourishing, tender grape appearing, pomegranate budding — are the stages of intimacy observed together: the couple doesn't just arrive at a finished garden. They watch it OPEN. They see the vine move from dormancy to flowering. They check whether the tiny grapes have appeared. They look for the first pomegranate buds. The growth is gradual, and they watch it together. The observing of growth IS the intimacy.
The 'there will I give thee my loves' places the love-giving IN the vineyard, among the growing things: not in a palace, not in a bedroom, but among vines and pomegranates. The love flourishes where the garden flourishes. The intimacy happens where the growth happens. The setting is alive, opening, budding — and the love matches the setting.
What is budding in your relationships — and are you getting up early enough to see it?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
if the vine flourish whether the vine hath budded, R.V. Cp. Son 6:11.
whether the tender grape appear Rather, and its…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture