2:14

This verse (2:14) indicates the man’s desire to be with the woman, just as 2:10b–13 did. In 2:10b–13 he invited her to come outside. She lived behind walls in her family home, so it was hard for him to reach her. In 2:14 he compared her to a dove. A dove is timid, so it hides in the cliffs. The woman did not actually hide in the cliffs, but she was hidden from the man in her house.

Remember that in 2:10b–14 the woman quotes what the man said to her. In both 2:10b–13 and 2:14 he invited her to leave her home and come to him. In 2:10b–13, he invited her to come out to enjoy springtime with him. In 2:14 he invited her to come out so that he could enjoy her. So 2:10b–13 and 2:14 have a similar meaning.

2:14a–b

O my dove: Here the man used the phrase my dove as an affectionate nickname for the woman. It implies that she was like a shy dove. It also implies that he used a gentle tone of persuasion to invite her to come to him. He did not try to force her to come. The Berean Standard Bible added the word O to show that he spoke directly to the woman. It is not in the Hebrew text.

In some languages it may be confusing or unnatural to use my dove as a nickname. If that is true in your language, you may need to use a sentence to compare the woman to a dove. For example:

You are like a dove (Good News Translation)
-or-
you are my own ⌊gentle⌋ dove

dove: The Hebrew word used for dove in this verse is different from the Hebrew word for turtledove in 2:12, but the two birds are similar. The term dove probably refers here to the common rock pigeon, which is a bit larger than a turtledove.