Turn, Turn

Like other commentators on the Song, Raymond Jacques Tournay suggests that the “chariots of Amminadab” and the dance referredto at the end of Song of Song 6 allude to David’s entry into Jerusalem with the ark.

What he adds is an allusion to the exile ad return: “In Song 7:1, the fourfold entreaty ‘Come back’ can remind us of rhe return of the exiles of Judah from the four quarters of the world.”

The ark becomes the symbol of restored Jerusalem (as in Amos 9 and Acts 15) and the poet artfully connects the joyful dancing of returning exiles with the dance of David before the ark.  Plus, the return from exile becomes itself a “dance,” the “turning” of Israel in harmony with her divine Dance Partner.