This part ends in pain with the strike of the watchman, as Christopher Smart recalls in his long and complex Biblical poem Jubilate Agno - He was not so mad as might seem:
For I am under the same accusation as my Saviour
for they said he is besides himself
For the officers of the peace are at variance with me
and the watchman strikes me with his staff
(fragment B part 2)
| Verse | Hebrew text | A translation | What shall we say? |
| ו | מִי זֹאת עֹלָה מִן הַמִּדְבָּר כְּתִימְרוֹת עָשָׁן מְקֻטֶּרֶת מֹר וּלְבוֹנָה מִכֹּל אַבְקַת רוֹכֵל | Who is this coming up from the desert like pillars of smoke smelling of myrrh and frankincense with all the aromatics of trade | This is a sudden shift. What vision is it? The word קָטַר has a connection to smell or sacrifice. Perfumed (KJV) is imaginative but hardly matches the pillars of smoke in the verse. Solomon was famous for his trade among other things.The image recurs in Song 8:5 and is traditionally part of a Marian liturgy. There is a setting by Healey Willan - listen here. (incomplete unfortunately - this one is complete if not at lissom as some.) |
| ז | הִנֵּה מִטָּתוֹ שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה שִׁשִּׁים גִּבֹּרִים סָבִיב לָהּ מִגִּבֹּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | Behold his bed, that of Solomon threescore mighty ones circling it from the mighty of Israel | We move with speed from bed to war imagery. This is not the common couch - one wonders almost if it is a bier rather than a bed. It is not a happily used word. |
| ח | כֻּלָּם אֲחֻזֵי חֶרֶב מְלֻמְּדֵי מִלְחָמָה אִישׁ חַרְבֹּו עַל יְרֵכוֹ מִפַּחַד בַּלֵּילוֹת ס | all of them holding a sword instructed in war each his sword on his thigh from fear of the nights | לָמַד occurs twice, here and in Song 8:2 |
| ט | אַפִּרְיוֹן עָשָׂה לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה מֵעֲצֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן | The king Solomon made a chariot for himself of the trees of Lebanon | |
| י | עַמּוּדָיו עָשָׂה כֶסֶף רְפִידָתוֹ זָהָב מֶרְכָּבוֹ אַרְגָּמָן תּוֹכוֹ רָצוּף אַהֲבָה מִבְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם | its pillars he made silver its arms gold its cover purple its floor paved with love from the daughters of Jerusalem | |
| יא | צְאֶנָה וּרְאֶינָה בְּנוֹת צִיּוֹן בַּמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה בָּעֲטָרָה שֶׁעִטְּרָה לּוֹ אִמּוֹ בְּיוֹם חֲתֻנָּתוֹ וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַת לִבּוֹ ס | Go forth and see Daughters of Zion into the king Solomon into the crown his mother crowned him with into the day of his wedding and into the day of joy in his heart | This is hardly complimentary - Solomon's crown was won with murder - three years of it. Bathsheba was complicit. |
| 4 א | הִנָּךְ יָפָה רַעְיָתִי הִנָּךְ יָפָה עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵךְ שַׂעְרֵךְ כְּעֵדֶר הָעִזִּים שֶׁגָּלְשׁוּ מֵהַר גִּלְעָד | Look at you, beautiful, my companion look at you, beautiful eyes doves within your veil; your hair like the flock of goats lying down on the slopes of Gilead | Sudden change again - a song of praise for the individual parts of the body |
| ב | שִׁנַּיִךְ כְּעֵדֶר הַקְּצוּבוֹת שֶׁעָלוּ מִן הָרַחְצָה שֶׁכֻּלָּם מַתְאִימוֹת וְשַׁכֻּלָה אֵין בָּהֶם | Your teeth are like the flock of the shorn that come up from the wash where all of them are twinned and not one of them is bereaved | |
| ג | כְּחוּט הַשָּׁנִי שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ וּמִדְבָּרֵךְ נָאוֶה כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵךְ | Like the thread of scarlet are your lips and your speech lovely like the slice of pomegranate your cheek behind your veil | proleptic definite |
| ד | כְּמִגְדַּל דָּוִיד צַוָּארֵךְ בָּנוּי לְתַלְפִּיּוֹת אֶלֶף הַמָּגֵן תָּלוּי עָלָיו כֹּל שִׁלְטֵי הַגִּבֹּרִים | Like the tower of David your neck built for an armoury the thousand shields hang there all the equipment of the mighty | but now we are back to martial imagery |
| ה | שְׁנֵי שָׁדַיִךְ כִּשְׁנֵי עֳפָרִים תְּאוֹמֵי צְבִיָּה הָרוֹעִים בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים | Your two breasts like two young twin roe the ones feeding among the lilies | One is tempted to bring the name Shaddai into the hidden names in this book (actually it is there already in the charge in the sound of שָּׂדֶה sadeh, the field. See an earlier post that I had forgotten about!!) especially since the breasts are coupled with the roe image. |
| ו | עַד שֶׁיָּפוּחַ הַיּוֹם וְנָסוּ הַצְּלָלִים אֵלֶךְ לִי אֶל הַר הַמּוֹר וְאֶל גִּבְעַת הַלְּבוֹנָה | Until the day dawns or the shadows flee I bring myself to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense | שֶׁ shin is very common in the Song in its role as relative pronoun but often it requires no translation - while this is a common occurrence in forms between any two languages, it still raises the question why? Was this an affectation of the poet? Or is there some necessity in some grammatical function within the tongue? |
| ז | כֻּלָּךְ יָפָה רַעְיָתִי וּמוּם אֵין בָּךְ ס | You are all beautiful, my companion and blemish is there none in you | The joy of the lover in his beloved, the joy and pleasure of Hashem in creation = in every part of it. |
| ח | אִתִּי מִלְּבָנוֹן כַּלָּה אִתִּי מִלְּבָנוֹן תָּבוֹאִי תָּשׁוּרִי מֵרֹאשׁ אֲמָנָה מֵרֹאשׁ שְׂנִיר וְחֶרְמוֹן מִמְּעֹנוֹת אֲרָיוֹת מֵהַרְרֵי נְמֵרִים | With me from Lebanon, O bride with me from Lebanon you will come you will look from the head of Amana from the head of Shenir and Hermon from dens of lions from the mountains of the leopards | I have admittedly in play, imagined children with boxes making a train and imagining themselves taking journeys in strange and dangerous places. The play for me undoes the brutality of Solomon as example. |
| ט | לִבַּבְתִּנִי אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה לִבַּבְתִּנִי בְּאַחַת מֵעֵינַיִךְ בְּאַחַד עֲנָק מִצַּוְּרֹנָיִךְ | You have ravished my heart my sister O bride you have ravished my heart with one of your eyes with one of your neck pendants | The address אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה which KJV renders as my sister, [my] bride occurs 4 times here at what may be the middle of the whole Song - so it is a significant set of addresses of endearment. The KJV is a nice move, but it does not seem to match the poet's structures which are always of the form verb my sister, bride verb How does one make that poetic and preserve whatever the poet was doing? (Sister and bride occur separately also, the second term never with the person pronoun.) |
| י | מַה יָּפוּ דֹדַיִךְ אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה מַה טֹּבוּ דֹדַיִךְ מִיַּיִן וְרֵיחַ שְׁמָנַיִךְ מִכָּל בְּשָׂמִים | How beautiful is your love my sister O bride how good is your love compared to wine and the smell of your ointments to all spices | based on later thinking on comparatives, I am avoiding the word better where I can |
| יא | נֹפֶת תִּטֹּפְנָה שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ כַּלָּה דְּבַשׁ וְחָלָב תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנֵךְ וְרֵיחַ שַׂלְמֹתַיִךְ כְּרֵיחַ לְבָנוֹן ס | Your lips drip honeycomb, O bride honey and milk under your tongue and the smell of your garments like the smell of Lebanon. | |
| יב | גַּן נָעוּל אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה גַּל נָעוּל מַעְיָן חָתוּם | A garden enclosed my sister O bride, a spring enclosed a fountain sealed | |
| יג | שְׁלָחַיִךְ פַּרְדֵּס רִמּוֹנִים עִם פְּרִי מְגָדִים כְּפָרִים עִם נְרָדִים | Your plants a paradise of pomegranates with fruits of excellence camphire, with spikenard | |
| יד | נֵרְדְּ וְכַרְכֹּם קָנֶה וְקִנָּמוֹן עִם כָּל עֲצֵי לְבוֹנָה מֹר וַאֲהָלוֹת עִם כָּל רָאשֵׁי בְשָׂמִים | spikenard and saffron calamus and cinnamon with all trees of frankincense myrrh and aloes with all the chief spices | |
| טו | מַעְיַן גַּנִּים בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים וְנֹזְלִים מִן לְבָנוֹן | A fountain of gardens a well of living waters and flowing from Lebanon | a well (John 4:14) and other well stories |
| טז | עוּרִי צָפוֹן וּבוֹאִי תֵימָן הָפִיחִי גַנִּי יִזְּלוּ בְשָׂמָיו יָבֹא דוֹדִי לְגַנּוֹ וְיֹאכַל פְּרִי מְגָדָיו | Rouse yourself, north wind and come O south Upon my garden blow let its spices flow let my love come into his garden and eat its choicest fruits | hidden dark, from my right, north and south combine opposites in joy |
| 5 א | בָּאתִי לְגַנִּי אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה אָרִיתִי מוֹרִי עִם בְּשָׂמִי אָכַלְתִּי יַעְרִי עִם דִּבְשִׁי שָׁתִיתִי יֵינִי עִם חֲלָבִי אִכְלוּ רֵעִים שְׁתוּ וְשִׁכְרוּ דֹּודִים | I am come into my garden my sister O bride I have gathered my myrrh with my spice I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey I have drunk my wine with my milk eat, friends; drink yea, be intoxicated, O lovers | An argument for incarnation? I am reminded of John 6 - except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye have no life in you |
| ב | אֲנִי יְשֵׁנָה וְלִבִּי עֵר קוֹל דּוֹדִי דוֹפֵק פִּתְחִי לִי אֲחֹתִי רַעְיָתִי יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי שֶׁרֹּאשִׁי נִמְלָא טָל קְוֻצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה | I - I sleep, but my heart is aroused the voice of my beloved knocking Open to me, my sister, my companion my dove, my undefiled for my head is filled with dew my locks with the drops of the night | restless...called - will we respond? Wake to the knock, do not let the cares of the world distract you. |
| ג | פָּשַׁטְתִּי אֶת כֻּתָּנְתִּי אֵיכָכָה אֶלְבָּשֶׁנָּה רָחַצְתִּי אֶת רַגְלַי אֵיכָכָה אֲטַנְּפֵם | I have put off my coat how then shall I put it on? I have washed my feet how then shall I soil them? | the moment is missed |
| ד | דּוֹדִי שָׁלַח יָדוֹ מִן הַחֹר וּמֵעַי הָמוּ עָלָיו | My beloved put in his hand by the hole and my belly moved for him. | the moment is not passed - she is known |
| ה | קַמְתִּי אֲנִי לִפְתֹּחַ לְדוֹדִי וְיָדַי נָטְפוּ מוֹר וְאֶצְבְּעֹתַי מוֹר עֹבֵר עַל כַּפּוֹת הַמַּנְעוּל | I rose up - I - to open to my beloved and my hands dropped myrrh and my fingers myrrh sweet smelling upon the handles of the lock. | p 190 of the verbless clause ed Miller has a misprint - it is missing the translation of וּבֹו תִדְבָּק 'to him you will cleave' (Deuteronomy 10:20) in its example. This is the intimacy called for. I repeat the stand-alone pronoun in English to account for the unnecessary pronoun in Hebrew. It is the I of the open relationship, not the incidental I of the self taken for granted. |
| ו | פָּתַחְתִּי אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי חָמַק עָבָר נַפְשִׁי יָצְאָה בְדַבְּרוֹ בִּקַּשְׁתִּיהוּ וְלֹא מְצָאתִיהוּ קְרָאתִיו וְלֹא עָנָנִי | I opened - I - to my beloved and my beloved had withdrawn, passed on my life went out to speak to him I sought him and did not find him I called him and he did not answer | the missed but not passed moment is sought Are we not used to silence? and the rebuke of those who have charge of the city? How will the city be redeemed? |
| ז | מְצָאֻנִי הַשֹּׁמְרִים הַסֹּבְבִים בָּעִיר הִכּוּנִי פְצָעוּנִי נָשְׂאוּ אֶת רְדִידִי מֵעָלַי שֹׁמְרֵי הַחֹמוֹת | The keepers found me circling about the city they struck me, they wounded me they took away My veil from me the keepers of the walls | Christopher Smart alludes to this section in his Jubilate Agno. Here is the bride's personal knowledge of the cost of his incarnation who was wounded (different word) for our transgressions.The wound in this verse may be like rape. There are violent forces ranged against love. פצע is used only 3 times in the Bible |
| ח | הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם אִם תִּמְצְאוּ אֶת דּוֹדִי מַה תַּגִּידוּ לוֹ שֶׁחוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי | I charge You daughters of Jerusalem if you will find this my beloved you will make known to him that I - I am sick of love | There is a certain closure after part III. It is like a death, our death. It was made known in Song 1:7 and closed here. There is no lack in love because of death. |
