LEB SNG chapter 1

LEB SNG Chapter 1

Title

1 [fn] which is for[fn] Solomon.

Maiden’s Soliloquy

2 [fn] you kiss me[fn] [fn] for your love is better than wine.[fn]
3 [fn] are[fn] your name is poured out[fn]
- therefore young women love you.
4  May the king bring me into his chambers![fn]

Let us be joyful and let us rejoice in you;
- let us extol your love more than wine.
  - Rightly do they love you!

Maiden’s Self-Description

5 am black but beautiful,[fn] [fn] like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
6 [fn] 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”[fn] I did not keep.

Dialogue between Shepherdess and Shepherd

7 you whom my[fn] loves, where do you pasture your flock,
- where do your sheep lie down at the noon?

[fn] one who is veiled[fn]
- beside the flocks of your companions?
- 8  follow[fn] of the flock,
  - and pasture your little lambs[fn] beside the tents of the shepherds.

Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved

9 [fn] among the chariots[fn] of Pharaoh, I compare you, my beloved.
10  your neck with strings of jewels.
11  with studs[fn] of silver.

Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved

12 was on his couch, my nard gave its fragrance.
13 is to me[fn] of myrrh, he spends the night[fn] between my breasts.
14 is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna in the vineyards of En Gedi.

Mutual Admiration

15 are beautiful, my beloved. Look! You are beautiful;
- your eyes are doves.
16 are beautiful, my beloved, truly pleasant.

Truly our couch is[fn]

1:? This construction conveys a superlative connotation, e.g., “The most exquisite song”

1:? Or “by Solomon” or “about/concerning Solomon”

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

1:? Literally “May he kiss me”

1:? Literally “with the kisses of his mouth”

1:? 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 )

1:? Literally “your oil lotions”

1:? Literally “good”

1:? Literally “oil lotion”

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

1:? Or “black and beautiful”

1:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”

1:? This is figurative for the maiden’s physical appearance; her skin was darkly tanned

1:? Literally “my vineyard that for me”

1:? Literally “soul”

1:? Literally “For to what will I be like”

1:? 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

1:? Literally “in the tracks”

1:? Or “your kids”

1:? Or “my mare”

1:? Or “chariot horses”

1:? Or “droplets”

1:? Literally “the bag”

1:? Or “he lays”

1:? Literally “green”