Song of Songs 1

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[5] Some fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, assigned as 6Q6 (6QCant); 50 CE; extant verses 1–7).[6][7][8]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^A; 5th century).[9]

The song of songs, which is Solomon's.[13]

This verse is a detached description of the book's content, containing two phrases: "the song of songs" and "which is Solomon's".[14]

• The "song of songs" (Hebrew: שיר השירים, shîr ha-shî-rîm[15]): The form of the words indicates a superlative statement as the "Best Song",[16] but can also denote "a single poem composed of many poems".[17]
• "Song" (Hebrew: שיר, shîr;[15] also meaning "poem") in noun form appears only here in this book, out of 166 times in the Hebrew Bible (mostly in the Book of Psalms).[16]
• "Which is Solomon's" ("that concerns Solomon"; Hebrew: אשר לשלמה, ’ă-sher liš-lō-mōh[15]): can have the interpretation that (1) Solomon is the author; (2) the book is dedicated to Solomon; or (3) it was merely a 'part of royal holding'.[18]
• "Solomon" is mentioned twice in this chapter (verses 1 and 5); Solomon's name also appears in two other passages (3 times in 3:6–11 and twice in the final chapter 8:10–12), a total of seven times in the whole book.[19]

[The Shulamite]

Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,

Your name is ointment poured forth;

Therefore the virgins love you.[25]

• "The virgins" (Hebrew: עלמות, ‘ălāmōṯ[26]): from the root word ‘ălmā ("maiden"), which is only used seven times in the whole Hebrew Bible, twice in this book (the second one in 6:8),[lower-alpha 1] none denies the possibility of the interpretation of "virgins", some even suggest it, but the most certain meaning is "unmarried women who are, or shortly will be, sexually mature".[28]

The word "אחריך", meaning "after you", from Song of Solomon 1:4a in the Leningrad Codex (hand-written) and in the Hebrew Bible print edition of the BHS (which omits the Rafe diacritic)

According to the New King James Version (NKJV)

[The Shulamite]

Draw me away!

[The Daughters of Jerusalem]

We will run after ^[a]you.

[The Shulamite]

The king has brought me into his chambers.

[The Daughters of Jerusalem]

We will be glad and rejoice in ^[b]you.

We will remember your love more than wine.

[The Shulamite]

Rightly do they love you.[29]

• ^[a]"You": masculine singular, referring to "the Beloved" ("the man").[30]
• ^[b]"You": feminine singular, referring to "the Shulamite" ("the woman").[31]

I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.[32]

The phrase "daughters of Jerusalem" ("friends of the woman" in MEV heading; "girls of Jerusalem" in Living Bible) is introduced as one of the three identifiable speaking voices and principal characters in this chapter, other than the woman, who speaks until verse 7, and the man, whom the woman talks about in 1:2-4 and 7 (he starts to speak in 1:9-11).[33]

Do not gaze at me, because I am dark,

because the sun has looked upon me.

My mother's sons were angry with me;

they made me the keeper of the vineyards,

but my own vineyard I have not kept.[34]

• "My mother's sons": suggesting her "full brothers" (not "half-brothers"), who seem to assume responsibility for the woman (cf. Song 8:8), a common practice in patriarchal societies, especially with no mention of her father in the whole book.[35] The woman's mother is mentioned in five places (Song 1:6; 3:4, 6:9; 8:1,2), whereas the man's mother is mentioned once (Song 8:5) and one mention of Solomon's mother (Song 3:11).[35][36]

17th-Century French tapestry with the text of Song 1:7 in Latin on the center bottom ("Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest"). Palace of Tau, Rheims.

Tell me, you whom my soul loves,

where you pasture your flock,

where you make it lie down at noon;

for why should I be like one who wanders

beside the flocks of your companions?[37]

• "Noon": in warm climates, such as in Palestine, is a time for 'rest and repose', and a convenient occasion for 'an amorous tryst'.[38]

[He]

If you do not know,

O most beautiful among women,

follow in the tracks of the flock,

and pasture your young goats

beside the shepherds' tents.[40]

All three finite verbs in this verse ("know", "follow" and "pasture") have the woman as the subject, and the second-person feminine singular form is used for "you" or "your".[39] The structure of this verse duplicates the woman's question and plea of verse 7.[39] MEV applies this verse to the "Friends of the woman".[41]

[The Man]

I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.[42]

The man calls his lover, "my love" (or "my [female] friend"; Hebrew: רעיתי, ra‘-yā-ṯî[43]) a specific term of endearment for women that is used 9 times in the book (Song 1:9, 15; 2:2,10, 13; 4:1,7; 5:2; 6:4).[44][45] The masculine form of the same root word to call the man ("my [male] friend"; Hebrew: רעי, rê-‘î[46])[lower-alpha 2] is used in a parallel construction with "my beloved" (Hebrew: דודי, ḏōḏî[46]) in Song 5:16.[44]

While the king is at his table,

My spikenard sends forth its fragrance.[49]

• "His table" (Hebrew: מסבו, me-si-bōw[50]): with a meaning "that which surrounds or is round",[51] likely "a divan or seat set round a room".[52]
• "Spikenard" (or "nard"; Hebrew: nerd): or "perfume";[53] a substance originated from India, extracted from Nardostachys jatamansi, a plant of the family Valerianaceae, growing in the Himalaya mountains, in Nepal and Bhutan.[54] It was "very precious" as read from the account of Mary's anointing on Jesus, priced more than 300 denarii (Mark 14:5; John 12:2).[55]

Ein Gedi (=Engedi) nature reserve, Judaean Desert, Israel. (2009)

My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.[56]

• "Camphire" (Hebrew: כפר, kō-p̄er[57]) or "Henna" (Lawsonia inermis) from Arabic: حِنَّاء‎ (ALA-LC: ḥinnāʾ).[58] This small shrub (8–10 feet high) produces "clusters of white and yellow blossoms with a powerful fragrance" and continues to grow in En-gedi area from the ancient time until the modern era, providing an enduring illustration of this verse.[59]
• Engedi: lit. "spring of the kid"; an "oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea".[60]

Behold, you are fair, my love!

Behold, you are fair!

You have dove's eyes.[61]

In this verse and the following, the lovers exchange a mutual admiration in a parallel fashion:[62]

• first the man (verse 15)

a. Ah!

b. you are beautiful

c. my love (ra‘-yā-ṯî)

• then the woman (verse 16):

a'. Ah!

b'. you are beautiful

c'. my love (ḏōḏî)[62]

The response of the man comprises seven words, two of which are repeated (Hebrew: הנך יפה hināḵ yāp̄āh, "behold_you_[are] fair"[63]).[64] The exclamation "you are beautiful" is used most frequently by the man to describe his lover (1:8,15; 2:10, 13; 4:1,7,10; 7:1,6 [Masoretic: 7:2,7]).[65]