The Song of Solomon (in Hebrew שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים , Shir hashirim ), also known as the Song of Solomon or Song of Solomon of Solomon , is one of the books of the Bible and Tanach . Book severely criticized for its sensual language. Their right to be in the Bible has been defended by religious people of all times. Many have regarded it as a spiritual allegory that represents the affection that exists between the god Yahweh and his chosen people, or between Christ and his Church .
Summary
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- 1 argument
- 1 Interpretation
- 2 The author
- 3 Composition of the poem
- 4 Song of Songs Book
- 1 Chapter 1
- 2 Chapter 2
- 3 Chapter 3
- 4 Chapter 4
- 5 Chapter 5
- 6 Chapter 6
- 7 Chapter 7
- 8 Chapter 8
- 5 Sources
Argument
In the Tanach (the original version of the Bible ), the Song of Songs is located between the Book of Ruth and the Book of Ecclesiastes . In the Protestant Christian Bible , the Song of Songs is located between the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Book of the Prophet Isaiah , while in the Catholic Christian Bible it is located between the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Book of Wisdom .
The title Song of Songs (abbreviated Cnt ), commonly given to this brief but beautiful book, is an expression that corresponds literally to the initial of the Hebrew text of the Bible: “Shir hashirim” . It is a highly condensed idiomatic formula, the meaning of which can be properly explained as: ‘the most beautiful song’ or ‘the most sublime poem’.
Cantares is a poem distributed in stanzas , in which, alternately, two lovers express their reciprocal feelings in a passionate language, of a high literary level and bright colors. Everything in this poem full of similes and splendid metaphors is oriented to the exaltation of love between man and woman, of that irresistible and mutual attraction that inspires words and determines the attitudes of lovers.
In Cantares, the husband looks at the wife as a paragon of perfections, he looks at her through the glass of what he considers most desirable, be it vineyard or fountain, garden or “tuberose and saffron” (1.6; 2.15; 4.12–14 ; 5.1; 8.12). The beauty of lovers and the delights of love are like the fruits of the earth , lilies , wine, milk or honeycomb (4.3, 11; 5.1, 13; 6.2, 7; 7.7–9; 8.2) . Also, from the highest peaks of the lyric, the poem sometimes expresses anguish at the absence of the loved one (1.7; 3.1–3; 5.8), the happiness of the encounter (2.8–14; 3.4) and, above all, the longing for mutual surrender (1.2–4; 8.1–3).
Interpretation
Throughout history , the meaning of the metaphors proposed by the Song of Songs has been rejected due to the evidence. It has been unthinkable to many interpreters, both Jewish and Christian, that among the other books of the Bible, there could be one of a secular nature, the purpose of which was none other than to celebrate the happiness of married couples united by a properly human love.
The figure of the conjugal union – so beautifully praised by Cantares – is often used in the Old Testament as a symbol of the alliance of the god Yejová with Israel (Hos 1–3; Jer 2.1–3; Ez 16) and, in the New testament , of the relationship of Jesus Christ with the church (Eph 5.23–32; Rev 21.2, 9). According to believers in Christianity, “my beloved,” the husband, would be an nickname for Christ .
From very early on, an attempt has been made to find a second meaning in the book, of a strictly religious nature and hidden below what appears at first sight. Thus, Judaism interpreted it as an allegorical exaltation of Jehovah’s covenant with Israel . Later, the Christian Christians tried to see their relationship with Christ prefigured in the lovers’ protagonists of the poem. The Catholic mystical writers affirmed the book is the most perfect reference to the union of the soul with God. But all these criteria, conditioned by the religious sentiment of those who supported them, have obscured for centuries the simplest and most immediate interpretation of Cantares, and its literary and thought connection with ancient wedding hymns of Israelite society. They were songs sung some by the bride and groom and others by relatives and guests (Jer 25.10; 33.11), all of whom danced and sang during the seven days that the joyous wedding celebrations lasted (Gn 29.27–28; Thu 14.10, 17).
The author
The mention of Solomon (1.1) leads one to think that that king , son of David and wise man among the wise men, was the inspired poet to whom we owe the Song of Songs . But in this regard it should be noted that the Hebrew phrase translated by “of Solomon” can both mean that he was the author of the poem, as well as that the poem was dedicated to him or, simply, that Solomon is the character to whom the poem refers . In one case or another, the undoubted fact is that the king’s name definitely weighed in favor of Cantares being included among the wisdom books of the people of Israel.
Composition of the poem
At the present time, the vast majority of specialists agree that the Song of Songs, as it has come down to us, is not the work of a single and determined poet. Rather it is a collection of songs from the s. V and IV BC, composed by unknown people for the people to sing, and probably compiled around the beginning of the s. III BC Therefore, it is not possible to suppose any kind of structure established beforehand in preparation for the poetic work. The literary unity of Cantares and the coherence of its thought do not come from any previous plan, but from the general idea that in its day presided over the compilation of the songs.
Song of Songs book
Chapter 1
The wife and daughters of Jerusalem
Song of Solomon, which is from Solomon.
Oh, if he kissed me with kisses from his mouth!
Because better are your loves than wine.
In addition to the smell of your soft ointments,
Your name is like spilled ointment;
So the maidens love you.
Attract me; we will run after you.
The king has put me in his chambers;
We will rejoice and be glad in you;
We will remember your loves more than the wine;
No wonder they love you.
I am dark, O daughters of Jerusalem , but covetable
Like Cedar stores,
Like Solomon’s curtains.
Don’t forget that I’m a brunette,
Because the sun looked at me.
My mother’s children were angry with me;
They put me to guard the vines;
And my vineyard , which was mine, I did not keep.
Let me know, oh you whom my soul loves,
Where you graze, where you nap at noon;
Well why should I be a wanderer
Along with the herds of your companions?
If you don’t know, oh beautiful among women,
Go, follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your goats next to the shepherds’ huts.
The wife and the husband
To the mare of Pharaoh’s chariots
I have compared you, my friend.
Beautiful are your cheeks between the earrings,
Your neck between the necklaces.
Tendrils of gold we will make you,
Silver studded .
While the king was on his kneeler,
My tuberose gave its scent.
My beloved is to me a handful of myrrh ,
That lies between my breasts.
Cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of En-gadi
It is for me my beloved.
Behold, you are beautiful, my friend;
Behold, you are beautiful; Your eyes are like doves .
Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, and sweet;
Our bed is made of flowers.
The beams of our house are made of cedar ,
And the coffered ceilings of cypress .
Episode 2
I am the rose of Sharon ,
And the lily of the valley.
Like the lily among the thorns,
So is my friend among the maidens.
Like the apple tree among the wild trees ,
So is my beloved among the young;
Under the shadow of the desired I sat,
And its fruit was sweet to my palate.
He took me to the banquet house,
And his flag over me was love.
Sustain me with raisins, comfort me with apples ;
Because I am sick of love.
Your left is under my head,
And your right hug me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
For the roe deer and the deer of the field,
That you do not wake up or make love veil,
Until you want.
The voice of my beloved! Behold he comes
Jumping on the mountains,
Jumping on the hills.
My beloved is like the roe deer,
Or the fawn.
Here it is, behind our wall,
Looking out the windows,
Peeking through the lattices.
My beloved spoke, and said to me:
Get up, oh my friend, my beautiful, and come.
For behold, winter is past,
It has moved, the rain is gone;
The flowers have been shown on the ground,
The time for the song has come,
And in our country the voice of the turtledove has been heard.
The fig tree has cast its figs,
And the hovering vines gave odor;
Get up, oh my friend, my beautiful, and come.
My dove, you are in the holes of the rock, in the hidden of steep places,
Show me your face, make me hear your voice;
For sweet is your voice, and beautiful is your appearance.
Catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines;
Because our vines are in bloom.
My beloved is mine, and I am his;
He grazes among lilies.
Until the day dawns, and the shadows flee,
Turn back, my beloved; be like the roe deer, or like the fawn
On the Beter mountains.
Chapter 3
The wife’s dream
At night I looked in my bed for the one who loves my soul;
I looked for it and I did not find it.
And I said: I will get up now, and go around the city;
Through the streets and through the squares
I will search for the one who loves my soul;
I looked for it and I did not find it.
The guards who haunt the city found me,
And I said to them: Have you seen the one who loves my soul?
I had barely passed them a bit,
Then I found the one who loves my soul;
So, and I did not leave it,
Until I put him in my mother’s house,
And in the chamber from which she gave birth to me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
For the roe deer and the deer of the field,
That you do not wake up or make love veil,
Until you want.
The wedding procession
Who is this that rises from the desert like a column of smoke,
Myrrh and incense scented
And of all aromatic powder?
Behold, it is Solomon’s litter;
Sixty brave men surround her,
From the forts of Israel.
They all have swords, skilled in war;
Each one his sword on his thigh,
For the fears of the night.
The King Solomon a chariot made
Wooden from Lebanon .
He made his columns of silver,
Its gold backing,
His scarlet seat ,
Your interior filled with love
By the maidens of Jerusalem.
Come out, maidens of Zion , and see King Solomon
With the crown that his mother crowned him on the day of his marriage,
And the day of the joy of your heart.
Chapter 4
The husband praises the wife
Behold, you are beautiful, my friend; behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes between your locks like a dove;
your hair like a herd of goats
They lie down on the slopes of Gilead .
Your teeth like flocks of sheared sheep
coming up from the laundry,
all with twin calves,
and none of them sterile.
Your lips like scarlet thread
and your beautiful speech;
your cheeks, like pomegranate chunks behind your veil.
Your neck, like the tower of David , built for an armory;
a thousand shields are hung on it,
all shields of the brave.
Your two breasts, like gazelle twins ,
that graze among lilies.
Until the day dawns and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh ,
and to the hill of incense .
You are all beautiful, my friend,
and in you there is no stain.
Come with me from Lebanon , O my wife;
Come with me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
from the summit of Senir and Hermon,
from the lions’ dens ,
from the mountains of the leopards .
You set my heart on fire, sister, my wife;
you have caught my heart with one of your eyes,
with a choker around your neck.
How beautiful are your loves, sister, my wife!
How much better is your love than wine,
and the smell of your ointments than all aromatic spices!
Your lips drip like honeycomb, O wife;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
and the smell of your clothes like the smell of Lebanon.
You are a closed garden, my sister, my wife;
closed source, sealed source.
Your shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, with soft fruits,
of henna flowers and tuberose;
tuberose and saffron , aromatic cane and cinnamon ,
with all the incense trees;
myrrh and aloes, with all the main aromatic spices.
garden fountain ,
living water well,
that run from Lebanon.
Arise, Aquilón, and come, Austro;
blow in my garden, let go of its aromas.
Come my beloved to his garden,
and eat of its sweet fruit.
Chapter 5
I came to my garden, oh sister, my wife;
I have collected my myrrh and my aromas;
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey,
I have drunk my wine and milk.
Eat, friends; drink abundantly, beloved ones.
The torment of separation
I slept, but my heart watched.
It is the voice of my beloved who calls:
“Open to me, my sister, my friend, my dove, my perfect one,
because my head is full of dew,
my hair from the drops of the night ».
I have stripped off my clothes; How should I dress?
I have washed my feet; How shall I dirty them?
My lover put his hand through the window,
and my heart was touched within me.
I got up to open my beloved,
and my hands dripped myrrh,
and my myrrh fingers that ran
on the latch handle.
I opened my beloved;
but my beloved was gone, it had already passed;
And when he spoke out my soul.
I looked for it and I did not find it;
I called him, and he didn’t answer me.
The guards who haunt the city found me;
they beat me, they hurt me;
The guards on the walls took my cloak off me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved,
that you let him know that I am sick of love.
The wife praises the husband
What is your beloved more than another loved one,
oh the most beautiful of all women?
What is your beloved more than another loved one,
so you conjure us?
My beloved is white and blond,
designated among ten thousand.
His head as fine gold;
his frizzy hair, black as the crow.
His eyes, like doves by the streams of the waters,
they are washed with milk, and perfectly placed.
Her cheeks, like an era of aromatic spices, like fragrant flowers;
His lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
His hands, like gold rings set with hyacinths;
His body is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
Its legs, like marble columns founded on bases of fine gold;
its appearance as Lebanon, chosen as the cedars.
His palate, very sweet, and all of it covetable.
Such is my beloved, such is my friend,
oh, maidens of Jerusalem.
Chapter 6
Mutual charm of husband and wife
Where has your beloved gone, oh, the most beautiful of all women?
Where did your beloved stray,
and we will look for it with you?
My beloved went down to his garden, to the age of spices,
to graze in the gardens, and to gather the lilies.
I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine;
he feeds among the lilies.
You are beautiful, oh my friend, like Tirsa;
to be desired, like Jerusalem;
Imposing as armies in order.
Take your eyes off me
because they defeated me.
Your hair is like a herd of goats
They lie down on the slopes of Gilead.
Your teeth, like flocks of sheep coming up from the laundry,
all with twin calves,
and sterile there is not between them.
As grenade chunks are your cheeks
behind your veil.
Sixty are queens, and eighty are concubines,
and the maidens without number;
But one is my dove, my perfect dove;
she is the only one of her mother,
the chosen one from which she gave birth.
The maids saw her, and called her blessed;
Queens and concubines, and they praised her.
Who is this that is shown as the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
enlightened as the sun,
Imposing as armies in order?
I went down to the walnut orchard
to see the fruits of the valley,
and to see if the vines sprouted,
if pomegranates flourished.
Before I knew it my soul put me
between the chariots of Aminadab.
Go back, go back, O Sulamite;
turn around, turn around, and we’ll look at you.
What will you see in the Sulamite?
Something like the meeting of two camps.
Chapter 7
How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
oh, daughter of prince!
The contours of your thighs are like jewels,
handiwork of excellent teacher.
Your navel like a round cup
that he doesn’t lack drink.
Your belly like a heap of wheat
fenced in lilies .
Your two breasts, like gazelle twins.
Your neck, like an ivory tower ;
your eyes, like the pools of Hesbon near the gate of Bat-rabim;
your nose, like the tower of Lebanon,
looking towards Damascus .
Your head above you, like Carmel;
and the hair on your head, like the purple of the king
Suspended in the corridors.
How beautiful you are, and how soft,
oh, delightful love!
Your height is similar to the palm tree ,
and your breasts to clusters.
I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,
I will grasp its branches.
Let your breasts be like vine clusters,
and the smell of your mouth like apples,
and your palate like good wine,
that enters my beloved softly,
And makes the lips of old men speak.
I am my beloved,
and with me you have your contentment.
Come, my beloved, let us go out into the field,
let us dwell in the villages.
Let us rise in the morning to the vineyards;
Let’s see if the vines sprout, if they are looming,
if pomegranates have flourished;
There I will give you my loves.
The mandrakes have given odor,
and at our doors there are all kinds of sweet fruits,
new and old, which I have kept for you, my beloved.
Chapter 8
Oh if you were like a brother of mine
who sucked my mother’s breasts!
Then, being outside, I would kiss you,
and they would not belittle me.
I would take you, I would put you in my mother’s house;
You would teach me,
and i would make you drink wine
Marinated the must of my pomegranates.
Your left is under my head,
and your right hug me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you do not wake up or make love veil,
until you want.
The power of love
Who is this that comes up from the desert,
lying on your beloved?
I woke you up under an apple tree;
there your mother had pains,
there she had pain who gave birth to you.
Put me like a seal on your heart, like a mark on your arm;
because love is strong as death;
jealousy hard like Sheol ;
its embers, embers of fire, strong flame.
The many waters cannot quench love,
nor will the rivers drown it.
If the man gave all the goods of his house for this love,
they would certainly belittle him.
we have a little sister,
that she has no breasts;
What will we do to our sister
when will I talk about it?
If she is a wall,
We will build on it a silver palace;
If it were a door,
We will trim it with cedar boards.
I am a wall, and my breasts like towers,
since I was in her eyes like the one who finds peace.
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon,
which delivered to guards,
each of which had to bring a thousand silver coins for their fruit.
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me;
the thousand will be yours, O Solomon,
and two hundred for those who keep its fruit.
Oh, you who live in the gardens,
the companions listen to your voice;
let me hear
Hurry, my beloved,
and be like the roe deer, or the fawn,
over the mountains of aromas.
