Title

Maiden’s Soliloquy

¹ The Song of Songs,¹ which is for² Solomon.

1. This construction conveys a superlative connotation, e.g., “The most exquisite song”
2. Or “by Solomon” or “about/concerning Solomon”

² ⌞May¹ you kiss me⌟² ⌞passionately with your lips⌟,³ for your love is better than wine.⁴

1. In the maiden’s soliloquy, she thinks about her beloved in her thoughts (“May he kiss me!”), then poetically speaks to him as if he were in her presence (“for your love is better than wine”). To avoid confusion, the translation uses the second-person form throughout vv. 2–4
2. Literally “May he kiss me”
3. Literally “with the kisses of his mouth”
4. The shift from the third person “he … his” to the second person “you … your” in vv. 2–4 should not be interpreted as suggesting two different referents, that is, one male whom the maiden is addressing as “you,” and another to whom she refers as “he.” Rather, this shift is a poetic device (called “grammatical differentiation”) that is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry (e.g., Gen 49:4; Deut 32:15; Psa 23:2–5; Isa 1:29; 42:20; 54:1; Jer 22:24; Amos 4:1; Mic 7:19; Lam 3:1; Song 4:2; 6:6). This shift is characteristic of a soliloquy, a dramatic or literary form in which a character reveals her thoughts without addressing a listener who is actually present (e.g., 2 Sam 19:4). In this case, the maiden’s private thoughts about her beloved (v. 2a) shift to an imaginary address to her beloved (vv. 2b–4a)

³ As fragrance, ⌞your perfumes⌟¹ are ⌞delightful⌟;² your name is poured out ⌞perfume⌟;³ therefore young women love you.

1. Literally “your oil lotions”
2. Literally “good”
3. Literally “oil lotion”

Maiden’s Self-Description

⁴ Draw me after you, let us run! May the king bring me into his chambers!¹ Let us be joyful and let us rejoice in you; let us extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you!

1. Or “The king has brought me into his chambers”

⁵ I am black but beautiful,¹ ⌞O maidens of Jerusalem⌟,² like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

1. Or “black and beautiful”
2. Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”

Dialogue between Shepherdess and Shepherd

⁶ Do not gaze at me because I am black,¹ because the sun has stared at me. The sons of my mother were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own “vineyard”² I did not keep.

1. This is figurative for the maiden’s physical appearance; her skin was darkly tanned
2. Literally “my vineyard that for me”

⁷ Tell me, you whom my ⌞heart⌟¹ loves, where do you pasture your flock, where do your sheep lie down at the noon? ⌞For why should I be like⌟² one who is veiled³ beside the flocks of your companions?

1. Literally “soul”
2. Literally “For to what will I be like”
3. The reading of the MT (“like one who is veiled”) is supported by the LXX. However, several ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate, Symmachus) reflect an alternate Hebrew textual tradition in which two letters are transposed, resulting in the reading “like one who wanders about.” This makes good sense contextually, since the maiden does not know where her beloved would be at noon

Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved

⁸ If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow ⌞the tracks⌟¹ of the flock, and pasture your little lambs² beside the tents of the shepherds.

1. Literally “in the tracks”
2. Or “your kids”

⁹ To a mare¹ among the chariots² of Pharaoh, I compare you, my beloved.

1. Or “my mare”
2. Or “chariot horses”

¹⁰ Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.

Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved

¹¹ We will make ornaments of gold for you with studs¹ of silver.

1. Or “droplets”

¹² While the king was on his couch, my nard gave its fragrance.

¹³ My beloved is to me ⌞a pouch⌟¹ of myrrh, he spends the night² between my breasts.

1. Literally “the bag”
2. Or “he lays”

Mutual Admiration

¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna in the vineyards of En Gedi.

¹⁵ Look! You are beautiful, my beloved. Look! You are beautiful; your eyes are doves.

¹⁶ Look! You are beautiful, my beloved, truly pleasant. Truly our couch is ⌞verdant⌟;¹

1. Literally “green”

¹⁷ the beams of our house are cedar; our rafter is cypress.