I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples,
The words here belong to the Bridegroom, who pauses in the middle of describing His bride to climb the palm tree and gather its fruit. What does the palm stand for, and what does He come to gather?
(Note: where the ESV has "lay hold of its fruit," older translations read "take hold of the boughs thereof." The writers below follow that wording.)
Who Is Speaking
Almost the whole of this chapter is the voice of the Bridegroom, not the bride. One commentator marks the shift, and reads the passage as the King's satisfaction in one He had every reason to reject:
William KellyIt is the expression of His delight in the bride. What a change grace works in the Jew who once despised Christ! Everything He counts good and fragrant comes from Him, whether now or in that day.
The Palm Tree
The palm was chosen for what it is like. Its shape and habits both say something, and one detail about its fruit explains why He climbs:
Andrew MillerThe "palm tree" and the "clusters of grapes" can stand for victory and maturity — for uprightness and fruitfulness… Its stem is slim but graceful, upright and tall. It is the picture of uprightness. "They are upright as the palm tree." Though pressed, or tied down for a time, it refuses to grow crooked. It soon straightens up again… Some kinds grow very tall. Then the fruit is hard to reach, since the stem has no branches. This may be what the next verse refers to. The fruits of the Spirit are never beyond the Lord's reach. He gathers and values the fruits of grace in His people.
Climbing to Gather
Anyone who has watched a date harvest recognises the action described. It takes effort, and it is done for the sake of what grows out of sight at the top:
The Song of SolomonThe Lord pauses in His description to speak of gathering the sweet fruit of victory from the palm tree for His own joy. Date palms have no branches, only a crown of palm leaves around the top. The dates grow in clusters in the centre of this crown of leaves. To gather the fruit you must climb the bare trunk. Then you take hold of the boughs with one hand to hold yourself, and you gather the dates with the other. That is the picture here. You are His date palm, dear fellow believer. Can He gather from you the sweet fruit of victory that He so much desires?
Enjoyed, Not Only Admired
Others in the Song look at the bride and praise her. The King does something they cannot do:
Hamilton SmithThe daughters of Jerusalem can look at the bride as someone to admire. The King does more than admire. The bride is His, and He finds in her a source of personal delight… Seeing her in all her beauty, He likens her to the graceful and tall palm; seeing her as an object of delight, He likens her to "clusters of grapes."… The King takes and enjoys the delights that others only gaze at and admire.
Clusters of the Vine
The second half of the verse changes the picture. A vine is nothing like a palm, and it teaches the opposite lesson:
The Song of SolomonHere we have the clusters of grapes. The vine stands in sharp contrast to the tall and stately palm. The vine has no power in itself to lift itself off the ground unless it has a strong support outside itself to cling to. This is true of us too. We always find ourselves trailing in the dust. We have no power to stand upright like the palm tree, except as we in our weakness cling to Christ and depend on Him to hold us up. Only vines that cling to a support bear fruit. Is this not the real secret of much of our weakness and fruitlessness?
Breath Like Apples
The last picture in the verse is breath, and breath gives away what a person has been eating:
The Song of SolomonIn chapter 2, verse 3, the Song likens Christ to the apple tree. If we are feeding on apples — on the good things Christ has for us — it will give us a sweet fragrance of Christ. Many know defeat instead of victory for one great reason: they are eating garlic and onions instead of apples. They feed on newspapers, worldly books, novels, picture shows and the like. They do not feed on Christ and the good things He has prepared for us in His Word.
Summary
- Grown — the palm pictures uprightness, maturity and victory. Pressed down for a time, it refuses to grow crooked and straightens again.
- Reached — the fruit sits high on a branchless trunk, yet the fruits of the Spirit are never out of the Lord's reach.
- Gathered — He climbs for the fruit. The sweet fruit of victory in a believer is what He wants for His own joy.
- Held — the vine's clusters teach the other half: no power to stand or bear fruit unless we cling to Christ in our weakness.
- Breathed — feed on Christ and the fragrance shows; feed on the world and that shows too.