{2:1}
{2.1}I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valley.
In this verse we can understand that it is the girl’s self-appraisal the Sulamith. But does it meant that the Sulamith is beautiful than any other? Is she proclaiming herself the most beautiful women of king’s wives? There are different translation in this verse; I am a meadow-flower of
The word “rose” is found elsewhere only in Isa. 35:1, but it appears in Akkadian, meaning “meadow saffron” or crocus; it assuredly does not mean rose, but “saffron” or crocus.Crocus (plural: crocuses, croci) is a genus of perennial flowering plants, native to a large area from coastal and subalpine areas of central and southern Europe (including the islands of the Aegean), North Africa and the Middle East, across Central Asia to western China. Nevertheless it is really uncertain as to what kind of flower is meant here.
Pic i: Crocus flower in coastal plain.
In the previous verse we read the sulamith herself announce that she has dark complexion. It is possible that she is not such a beautiful lady. This verse could be the proof. When she says “I am the crocus or rose of
