This next poem (Song of Solomon 8:8–12) draws a contrast between those who truly know love and those who regard it as a commodity to be bought and sold (Song of Solomon 8:7).
The first voice we hear in this poem is that of the young woman’s brothers. We first met her brothers in Song of Solomon 1:6, where they forced her to look after the family vineyards. They appear for a second time now in the Song and speak for the first time. They refer to her as a little sister, and she has no breasts.
In their eyes they still see her as immature and someone who has not yet reached marrying age.
8 We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for?