Song of Solomon 8:5

As she walked, she leaned on him. She walked close to him. And she depended on his strength.

The passage that follows is difficult to understand. But it is a beautiful passage.

At its start, the passage mentions an apple tree. In 2:2-5, the woman used an apple tree as a word picture for the man. She described how she loved to sit in its shade and to eat its fruit.

Here, she links the tree with the idea of birth. The poet is showing a relationship between love and birth. The poet’s style is impressive, because in the next verse he will write about death. He is making his poem much more serious. And he achieves this very suddenly. This makes the effect even more impressive.