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Lamentations 2

Translating Lamentations is not as cheerful a process as translating Ruth or the Song. I sat down and read it in English before Church on Sunday - took me about 10 minutes. I don't think I can give this the 77 days it deserves. Maybe 7. The third and centre chapter - the three-fold acrostic - is entirely in the first person. And in this second chapter, one cannot but be struck that God destroys his own citadel, his own sanctuary, his own booth. Is prayer all we are left with? Again, as in Job, for the arbiter or referee, and Ruth, for a redeemer, there is a need here that cannot be fulfilled except by God. To hold faithfulness and hope in the face of this destruction and failure, as does this writer and the writer of Psalm 89, is a work of faith.

There is again an intensity of repetition of words. I suspect there are unique framing words for each poem and framing and thematic words for the whole book. I am working on diagrams but my mind has regressed in my learning as I work through this web of destruction. Do not for a moment think you can read the Bible in 10 minutes.

Verse	Hebrew text	A translation	What shall we say?
Aleph	אֵיכָה יָעִיב בְּאַפּוֹ אֲדֹנָי אֶת בַּת צִיּוֹן הִשְׁלִיךְ מִשָּׁמַיִם אֶרֶץ תִּפְאֶרֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא זָכַר הֲדֹם רַגְלָיו בְּיוֹם אַפּוֹ ס	Ah how my Lord has covered in darkness the daughter of Zion He has cast down from heaven to earth the adornment of Israel and he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger	Same construction as Lam 1:1 so a similar beginning I don't know any music from this part so here is a Colonially named flower to lighten the pain of this reading - Bougainvillea growing on volcanic waste
Bet	בִּלַּע אֲדֹנָי וְלֹא חָמַל אֵת כָּל נְאוֹת יַעֲקֹב הָרַס בְּעֶבְרָתוֹ מִבְצְרֵי בַת-יְהוּדָה הִגִּיעַ לָאָרֶץ חִלֵּל מַמְלָכָה וְשָׂרֶיהָ ס	Blasted without pity, my Lord - all the meadows of Jacob He has thrown down in his fury the fortress of the daughter of Judah He has touched to the earth - He has polluted her kingdom and her princes	From Collages
Gimel	גָּדַע בָּחֳרִי אַף כֹּל קֶרֶן יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵשִׁיב אָחוֹר יְמִינוֹ מִפְּנֵי אוֹיֵב וַיִּבְעַר בְּיַעֲקֹב כְּאֵשׁ לֶהָבָה אָכְלָה סָבִיב ס	Glowing in anger he has cut down every horn of Israel He has turned back his right hand from the face of the enemy and he has burned Jacob as a fiery flame that circles and devours
Dalet	דָּרַךְ קַשְׁתּוֹ כְּאוֹיֵב נִצָּב יְמִינוֹ כְּצָר וַיַּהֲרֹג כֹּל מַחֲמַדֵּי עָיִן בְּאֹהֶל בַּת צִיּוֹן שָׁפַךְ כָּאֵשׁ חֲמָתוֹ ס	Directed has he his bow like an enemy taking his stand his right hand as adversity and slew all the eye's delectable goods in the tent of the daughter of Zion he poured out like fire his wrath
He	הָיָה אֲדֹנָי כְּאוֹיֵב בִּלַּע יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּלַּע כָּל אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ שִׁחֵת מִבְצָרָיו וַיֶּרֶב בְּבַת יְהוּדָה תַּאֲנִיָּה וַאֲנִיָּה ס	He, my Lord, became as an enemy He has engulfed Israel He has engulfed all her citadels he has ruined his own fortress and has nurtured in the daughter of Judah her lament and her groaning
Vav	וַיַּחְמֹס כַּגַּן שֻׂכּוֹ שִׁחֵת מֹעֲדוֹ שִׁכַּח יְהוָה בְּצִיּוֹן מוֹעֵד וְשַׁבָּת וַיִּנְאַץ בְּזַעַם אַפּוֹ מֶלֶךְ וְכֹהֵן ס	Violently he removed as a garden his booth He has ruined his feast יְהוָה has let feast and sabbath in Zion be forgotten and he has spurned in the foaming of his anger king and priest
Zayin	זָנַח אֲדֹנָי מִזְבְּחוֹ נִאֵר מִקְדָּשׁוֹ הִסְגִּיר בְּיַד אוֹיֵב חוֹמֹת אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ קוֹל נָתְנוּ בְּבֵית יְהוָה כְּיוֹם מוֹעֵד ס	Zeroed has my Lord his altar He has made void his sanctuary He has shut up by the hand of an enemy the walls of her citadels They give voice in the house of  יְהוָה as in the day of the feast	z is difficult in English - for concordance I  should use zero in Lam 3:17, 3:31 = cast off, but I probably won't. Curious though that the mathematical image can be continued in the parallel, 'make void'
Chet	חָשַׁב יְהוָה לְהַשְׁחִית חוֹמַת בַּת צִיּוֹן נָטָה קָו לֹא הֵשִׁיב יָדוֹ מִבַּלֵּעַ וַיַּאֲבֶל חֵל וְחוֹמָה יַחְדָּו אֻמְלָלוּ ס	He had, יְהוָה, considered ruining the wall of the daughter of Zion He had planned the approach and had not turned his hand from engulfing but he made rampart and wall lament they lamented together	This insight and imputation of a cruel character of God is not made behind his back. So let us imitate if we have any complaint against the most high.
Tet	טָבְעוּ בָאָרֶץ שְׁעָרֶיהָ אִבַּד וְשִׁבַּר בְּרִיחֶיהָ מַלְכָּהּ וְשָׂרֶיהָ בַגּוֹיִם אֵין תּוֹרָה גַּם נְבִיאֶיהָ לֹא מָצְאוּ חָזוֹן מֵיְהוָה ס	To the ground are her gates sunk He has exterminated and crushed her bars Her king and her princes are among the nations There is no Torah Even her prophets find no vision from יְהוָה	I wonder if gate (her gate - shariah) and the Muslim 'sharia' law are related in etymology?
Yod	יֵשְׁבוּ לָאָרֶץ יִדְּמוּ זִקְנֵי בַת צִיּוֹן הֶעֱלוּ עָפָר עַל רֹאשָׁם חָגְרוּ שַׂקִּים הוֹרִידוּ לָאָרֶץ רֹאשָׁן בְּתוּלֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם ס	Yet in silence on the ground the elders of the daughter of Zion sit They have thrown dust on their heads They wear sackcloths Hanging down their heads to the ground are the virgins of Jerusalem	יְהוָה would also be an acceptable start for this Yod position- not available in this verse I suspect that virgins is used metaphorically here and elsewhere - right?
Kaf	כָּלוּ בַדְּמָעוֹת עֵינַי חֳמַרְמְרוּ מֵעַי נִשְׁפַּךְ לָאָרֶץ כְּבֵדִי עַל שֶׁבֶר בַּת עַמִּי בֵּעָטֵף עוֹלֵל וְיוֹנֵק בִּרְחֹבוֹת קִרְיָה ס	Knowing tears, my eyes are exausted My belly is in turmoil Poured on the ground is my liver over the destruction of the daughter of my people for the babes and sucklings are weak in the plazas of the town
Lamed	לְאִמֹּתָם יֹאמְרוּ אַיֵּה דָּגָן וָיָיִן בְּהִתְעַטְּפָם כֶּחָלָל בִּרְחֹבוֹת עִיר בְּהִשְׁתַּפֵּךְ נַפְשָׁם אֶל חֵיק אִמֹּתָם ס	Looking to their mothers, they say where is corn and wine when they are weakened as the wounded in the plazas of the city when their lives are poured out into the their mother's bosom
Mem	מָה אֲעִידֵךְ מָה אֲדַמֶּה לָּךְ הַבַּת יְרוּשָׁלִַם מָה אַשְׁוֶה לָּךְ וַאֲנַחֲמֵךְ בְּתוּלַת בַּת צִיּוֹן כִּי גָדוֹל כַּיָּם שִׁבְרֵךְ מִי יִרְפָּא לָךְ ס	My testimony for you - what will it be? To what will I compare you O daughter of Jerusalem To what will I liken you that I may comfort you O virgin daughter of Zion for great as the sea is your destruction Who will heal you?	Who is the 'I' in this poem? Is is the 'I' who will take on all responsibility in the next part?
Nun	נְבִיאַיִךְ חָזוּ לָךְ שָׁוְא וְתָפֵל וְלֹא גִלּוּ עַל עֲו‍ֹנֵךְ לְהָשִׁיב שְׁבוּתֵךְ וַיֶּחֱזוּ לָךְ מַשְׂאוֹת שָׁוְא וּמַדּוּחִים ס	Nothing worth, insipid were the visions that your prophets had for they did not reveal your iniquity to turn away your captivity but their visions for you were utterances of worthlessness and enticements	Gone into exile in Lam 1: 3 seems a limited gloss - perhaps discovered or revealed as being in exile would be better - but we need the G in this verse 3. Here and in Lam 4:22 - itself a frame for the acrostics, perhaps a better rendering would highlight the 'discovery' - not that physical exile is needed, but that a state of exile already exists and will have been revealed by the subsequent history.
Samech	סָפְקוּ עָלַיִךְ כַּפַּיִם כָּל עֹבְרֵי דֶרֶךְ שָׁרְקוּ וַיָּנִעוּ רֹאשָׁם עַל בַּת יְרוּשָׁלִָם הֲזֹאת הָעִיר שֶׁיֹּאמְרוּ כְּלִילַת יֹפִי מָשׂוֹשׂ לְכָל הָאָרֶץ ס	So they applaud you all passing this way they hiss and nod their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem Is this the city that they say is  the perfection of beauty? the joy of the whole earth?	'pass by' occurs 4 times once each in chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 beauty for me recalls the Song of course as do the epithets of daughter of Zion, etc also - of course - Psalm 48:1
Peh	פָּצוּ עָלַיִךְ פִּיהֶם כָּל אֹיְבַיִךְ שָׁרְקוּ וַיַּחַרְקוּ שֵׁן אָמְרוּ בִּלָּעְנוּ אַךְ זֶה הַיּוֹם שֶׁקִּוִּינֻהוּ מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ ס	Parted against you are their mouths all your enemies they hiss and they gnash teeth they say - we have engulfed her The day that we have been waiting for we have found it - we have seen it	Any glottal can represent Aleph or Ayin - I have failed! Note that these letters are reversed and it would not have been difficult for the author to have avoided the reversal. What prompted the twist? For a moment the enemies seem to triumph - not so fast...
Ayin	עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר זָמָם בִּצַּע אֶמְרָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה מִימֵי קֶדֶם הָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל וַיְשַׂמַּח עָלַיִךְ אוֹיֵב הֵרִים קֶרֶן צָרָיִךְ ס	It was done as planned by יְהוָה He has violently achieved his word that he commanded in days of old He has thrown down without pity and he has made an enemy rejoice over you exalting the horn of your adversaries	fulfill or carried out hardly does justice to the way this is put - that God has produced such defeat for Israel as an accomplishment of his word. JB corrects horn of your adversaries to horn of יְהוָה. I don't see why. But then I am reading this for the first time. We have just read the pride of the enemy - a word that occurs 7 times in this chapter and 5 in the first.
Tsade	צָעַק לִבָּם אֶל אֲדֹנָי חוֹמַת בַּת צִיּוֹן הוֹרִידִי כַנַּחַל דִּמְעָה יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה אַל תִּתְּנִי פוּגַת לָךְ אַל תִּדֹּם בַּת עֵינֵךְ ס	'ts crying out to the Lord is their heart O wall of the daughter of Zion Let your tear run down as a torrent day and night give yourself no respite no silence for your eye's pupil	The personification of the wall continues after the mockery of enemy. These stones are encouraged to cry out.
Qof	קוּמִי רֹנִּי בַלַּיְלָה לְרֹאשׁ אַשְׁמֻרוֹת שִׁפְכִי כַמַּיִם לִבֵּךְ נֹכַח פְּנֵי אֲדֹנָי שְׂאִי אֵלָיו כַּפַּיִךְ עַל נֶפֶשׁ עוֹלָלַיִךְ הָעֲטוּפִים בְּרָעָב בְּרֹאשׁ כָּל חוּצוֹת ס	Quicken, cry out in the night in the beginning of the watches Pour out like water your heart before the face of the Lord Lift up your palms to him for the life of your babes that are weak from famine at the head of every street
Resh	רְאֵה יְהוָה וְהַבִּיטָה לְמִי עוֹלַלְתָּ כֹּה אִם תֹּאכַלְנָה נָשִׁים פִּרְיָם עֹלְלֵי טִפֻּחִים אִם יֵהָרֵג בְּמִקְדַּשׁ אֲדֹנָי כֹּהֵן וְנָבִיא ס	Regard יְהוָה and look On whom have you imposed here? As if women should devour their fruit, the children of their mothering As if in the sanctuary of my Lord priest and prophet should be slain
Shin	שָׁכְבוּ לָאָרֶץ חוּצוֹת נַעַר וְזָקֵן בְּתוּלֹתַי וּבַחוּרַי נָפְלוּ בֶחָרֶב הָרַגְתָּ בְּיוֹם אַפֶּךָ טָבַחְתָּ לֹא חָמָלְתָּ ס	Streets and the ground covered with youngster and aged My virgins and and my youth have fallen by the sword You have slain in the day of your anger You have butchered without pity	cf Lam 1:18
Taf	תִּקְרָא כְיוֹם מוֹעֵד מְגוּרַי מִסָּבִיב וְלֹא הָיָה בְּיוֹם אַף יְהוָה פָּלִיט וְשָׂרִיד אֲשֶׁר טִפַּחְתִּי וְרִבִּיתִי אֹיְבִי כִלָּם פ	Terrors you have summoned circling around me as on a feast day so there will not be in the day of the wrath of יְהוָה one left or one alive of those I mothered or nurtured My enemy has exhausted them	exhausted - one could use several possible glosses here - but for concordance on this word כָּלָה with chapter 3 and 4 I have chosen this one.

Varieties of Ginger

Chocolate, Torch, and others - comes in white too

Bird of Paradise

Hard to beat this one as an analogue of our existence

Lament

Why these thoughts. my love?

It sounds to me as if I am looking for retroactive control over a destructive action. There's no doubt he hurt others who were largely unaware of what he was doing, and he was not alone. You let generations of abuse happen. Men did it in the name of your law, law they did not know or they would not have done these deeds nor would they have allowed others to do them. And as for those who had supervisory power, if they knew you, they would not have wanted either to save face or to protect the reputation of the school. But they would want to exert pastoral protection for the sinner. I wonder if he had anyone to help him come to self-correction - you did not tell me.

It's ironic that he preached judgment and then acted as if there was no judge or condemnation for himself. Did he know nothing of your judgment? Was he, were they, working against you in your name? But now some act against their children and the heirs of the school. Surely the school has changed. The reports have been good. It is now co-ed. It knew the old was masking evil. How will we implement justice? Surely a payment for past abuse prostitutes the victim again.

Why do you let your word be abused by the ignorant - by those who do not know you?

I haven't put it that way before. What would human life be like without  --- this lust for power, this sin and ignorance, such distorted desire?

What is fundamental in our existence? We are conceived. We gestate in some hopefully non-hostile environment - but perhaps not - for so it is with many whose mothers took alcohol when they were pregnant. We are born in pain and blood. We need. We grow. We have varying degrees of opportunity and ability. We age. We die. We decompose. We are aware of these things. You will have at least seen them, and you see the destruction that people with ability can inflict on others. You have always known this. At least you must have known it if you respond to the prayer to Look - to See - to Regard the condition of your Elect.

I know you have known. I know because you have known it in me and you guide me with your eye upon me. Hopefully I am still enough to hear and feel your guidance, to wait for you.

Lamentations 1

A later reading (2015) is here.
This being a first read of Lamentations for me, I will be free with colour coding so we can see the many repeated words and similar sounds in this chapter. (There were too many to colour in this technology. The repetition is intense. Later maybe I will diagram it.) I have taken some freedom with words and placement due to the restriction of the acrostic form - a demand I think I should respect as a translator of this letter game.

I wonder too, given the playful structure of this lament, whether there is some latticework in the acrostic - i.e. if aleph in each of chapters 1-4 is related etc. That will make for some interesting parallel analysis. One can get a sense of the possibility just by reading the four (or five) chapters across: Lamentations 1:1, 2:1, 3:1-3, 4:1, 5:1. You might note the connection with the Song of Songs in Lamentations 4:1 (Compare Song 5:11). The beloved, the chosen, the elect, Zion is judged. There are other possible connections with the Song.

Verse	Hebrew text	A translation	What shall we say?
Aleph	אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד הָעִיר רַבָּתִי עָם הָיְתָה כְּאַלְמָנָה רַבָּתִי בַגֹּויִם שָׂרָתִי בַּמְּדִינֹות הָיְתָה לָמַס ס	Ah how solitary sits the city Filled with people she became as a widow Filled from the nations Princess among the provinces she came into forced service	It is very difficult to think away from the Latin version for the number of times it has been set to music. Music is a language of the spirit subtending time.
Beth	בָּכֹו תִ בְכֶּה בַּלַּיְלָה וְדִמְעָתָהּ עַל לֶחֱיָהּ אֵין לָהּ מְנַחֵם מִכָּל אֹהֲבֶיהָ כָּל רֵעֶיהָ בָּגְדוּ בָהּ הָיוּ לָהּ לְאֹיְבִים ס	Beside herself with weeping in the night And her tears on her cheeks There is for her none to comfort  among all her lovers All her companions have defrauded her They have become her enemies	Comfort and See are among the most highly repeated words in this chapter
Gimel	גָּלְתָה יְהוּדָה מֵעֹנִי וּמֵרֹב עֲבֹדָה הִיא יָשְׁבָה בַגֹּויִם לֹא מָצְאָה מָנֹוחַ כָּל רֹדְפֶיהָ הִשִּׂיגוּהָ בֵּין הַמְּצָרִים ס	Gone is Judah into exile from humiliation and great bondage She sat among the nations She found no rest All her persecutors take hold on her between her adversities
Dalet	דַּרְכֵי צִיֹּון אֲבֵלֹות מִבְּלִי בָּאֵי מֹועֵד כָּל שְׁעָרֶיהָ שֹׁומֵמִין כֹּהֲנֶיהָ נֶאֱנָחִים בְּתוּלֹתֶיהָ נּוּגֹות וְהִיא מַר־לָהּ ס	Desolate are all her gates the ways of Zion are in mourning none come to her feasts Her priests sigh Her virgins are afflicted and she is bitter	Line 3 of the Hebrew is first in the English to allow a D to begin.
He	הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְרֹאשׁ אֹיְבֶיהָ שָׁלוּ כִּי יְהוָה הוֹגָהּ עַל רֹב פְּשָׁעֶיהָ עוֹלָלֶיהָ הָלְכוּ שְׁבִי לִפְנֵי צָר ס	Her adversary has taken precedence Her enemies prosper For יְהוָה has afflicted her on account of her many transgressions Her babes are taken captive in the face of adversity	Although 'head' occurs 7 times in this scroll, I think there must be an idiom here that takes precedence over any possible concordant translation.
Vav	וַיֵּצֵא מִבַּת צִיּוֹן כָּל הֲדָרָהּ הָיוּ שָׂרֶיהָ כְּאַיָּלִים  לֹא מָצְאוּ מִרְעֶה וַיֵּלְכוּ בְלֹא כֹחַ לִפְנֵי רוֹדֵף  ס	Vanished from the daughter of Zion is all her honour Her princes have become like hart that find no pasture and they walk without strength in the face of their persecutors	I needed the V
Zayin	זָכְרָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם יְמֵי עָנְיָהּ וּמְרוּדֶיהָ כֹּל מַחֲמֻדֶיהָ  אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ מִימֵי קֶדֶם בִּנְפֹל עַמָּהּ בְּיַד צָר וְאֵין עוֹזֵר לָהּ רָאוּהָ צָרִים שָׂחֲקוּ עַל מִשְׁבַּתֶּהָ ס	Zion remembers the days of her humiliation and Jerusalem from her miseries all her delectable goods that she had in former days when her people fell by the hand of adversity and there was none to help her Her adversaries saw her They mocked her sabbath	Zion is added and Jerusalem displaced for the zayin. I think the ellipsis of 'remembers' works - but as in all my awkward translations, it is important to get the pause and not be in a hurry
Chet	חֵטְא חָטְאָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם עַל כֵּן לְנִידָה הָיָתָה כָּל מְכַבְּדֶיהָ הִזִּילוּהָ כִּי רָאוּ עֶרְוָתָהּ גַּם הִיא נֶאֶנְחָה וַתָּשָׁב אָחוֹר ס	How sinful Jerusalem's sin therefore she is isolated All who honoured her despise her for they see her nakedness even as she sighs and turns away	נִידָה is a unique word apparently. If there is great sin, what can be the consequence? In this context, exile can lead to repentance or to self-defense. But the immediate effect may be a quivering isolation, a moment of vulnerability that enables a real recognition of foolishness.
Tet	טֻמְאָתָהּ בְּשׁוּלֶיהָ לֹא זָכְרָה אַחֲרִיתָהּ וַתֵּרֶד פְּלָאִים אֵין מְנַחֵם לָהּ רְאֵה יְהוָה אֶת עָנְיִי כִּי הִגְדִּיל אוֹיֵב ס	Tendered in her robes is her uncleanness She did not remember her consequences and she fell down with wonders there is none to comfort her see יְהוָה my humiliation for the enemy is magnified	A strong pervasive, interpenetrating, and intrinsic substitute beginning with 't' for the preposition 'in'. The sentence with wonders seems to associate the exile with the passover wonders in the land of Ham - it is not easy to make a sentence with it
Yod	יָדוֹ פָּרַשׂ צָר עַל כָּל מַחֲמַדֶּיהָ   כִּי רָאֲתָה גוֹיִם בָּאוּ מִקְדָּשָׁהּ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָה לֹא יָבֹאוּ בַקָּהָל לָךְ ס	Yes, adversity spread its hand on all her delectable goods for she has seen the nations enter her holy place whom you charged not to enter into your assembly
Kaf	כָּל עַמָּהּ נֶאֱנָחִים מְבַקְּשִׁים לֶחֶם נָתְנוּ מַחֲמַדֵּיהֶם בְּאֹכֶל לְהָשִׁיב נָפֶשׁ רְאֵה יְהוָה וְהַבִּיטָה כִּי הָיִיתִי זוֹלֵלָה ס	Know that all her people sigh seeking bread they give their delectable goods for food to turn life around see יְהוָה and look for I have become polluted	While שׁוּב has many possible glosses, I will try and include a 'turn' in it so that the many times it appears can be heard. I usually avoid that lovely word 'soul' as a translation of נָפֶשׁ because of its false associations of bodiless - here they need real food
Lamed	לוֹא אֲלֵיכֶם כָּל עֹבְרֵי דֶרֶךְ הַבִּיטוּ וּרְאוּ אִם יֵשׁ מַכְאוֹב כְּמַכְאֹבִי אֲשֶׁר עוֹלַל לִי אֲשֶׁר הוֹגָה יְהוָה בְּיוֹם חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ ס	Look - not for you - all you passing this way and see if there is sorrow like my sorrow which is imposed on me which יְהוָה afflicted in the day of his fierce anger	The inference of a question here ([Is it] nothing to you?) seems misleading as to other possible meanings. Such as - let it not come to you JPS or it's not about you, etc. Fierce - also in Lam 4:11, anger - thematic - occurs 10 times but not in chapter 5
Mem	מִמָּרוֹם שָׁלַח אֵשׁ בְּעַצְמֹתַי וַיִּרְדֶּנָּה פָּרַשׂ רֶשֶׁת לְרַגְלַי הֱשִׁיבַנִי אָחוֹר נְתָנַנִי שֹׁמֵמָה כָּל הַיּוֹם דָּוָה ס	Mightily from on high he has sent fire into my bones and he subjugates her He has spread a net for my feet He has turned me away He has made me desolate every day - faint	fire recurs in Lam 2:3-:4, 4:11 faint Lam 5:17 only - frame? The switch in pronoun is strange - but whether me or her, I suspect the meaning is clear with identification of the individual with the corporate affliction
Nun	נִשְׂקַד עֹל פְּשָׁעַי בְּיָדוֹ יִשְׂתָּרְגוּ עָלוּ עַל צַוָּארִי הִכְשִׁיל כֹּחִי נְתָנַנִי אֲדֹנָי בִּידֵי לֹא אוּכַל קוּם ס	Now bound by his hand is the yoke of my transgressions They are intertwined - they come up to my neck He has made my strength fail My Lord has given me into the hands of those against whom I cannot rise	compare Job 40:17 - Even Behemoth - I wonder if this is an argument for evolution
Samech	סִלָּה כָל אַבִּירַי אֲדֹנָי בְּקִרְבִּי קָרָא עָלַי מוֹעֵד לִשְׁבֹּר בַּחוּרָי גַּת דָּרַךְ אֲדֹנָי לִבְתוּלַת בַּת יְהוּדָה ס	Suspended has my Lord all the mighty in my midst He has called against me a feast to crush my youth In a winepress my Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah	(or JB Spurned)
Ayin	עַל אֵלֶּה אֲנִי בוֹכִיָּה  עֵינִי עֵינִי יֹרְדָה מַּיִם כִּי רָחַק מִמֶּנִּי מְנַחֵם מֵשִׁיב נַפְשִׁי הָיוּ בָנַי שׁוֹמֵמִים כִּי גָבַר אוֹיֵב  ס	I - I weep for these things my eye, my eye running with water for the comforter is too far from me to return my life My children are desolate for an enemy has prevailed	For yod a Y, for aleph and ayin a glottal. The Hebrew ani, ayini are as close as the English I, eye. My eye sees the Hebrew repeated I.
Peh	פֵּרְשָׂה צִיּוֹן בְּיָדֶיהָ אֵין מְנַחֵם לָהּ צִוָּה יְהוָה לְיַעֲקֹב סְבִיבָיו צָרָיו הָיְתָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם לְנִדָּה בֵּינֵיהֶם ס	Pathos - Zion spreads with her hands there is none to comfort her יְהוָה charged  concerning Jacob that his adversaries would surround him Jerusalem has become impure among them
Tsade	צַדִּיק הוּא יְהוָה כִּי פִיהוּ מָרִיתִי שִׁמְעוּ נָא כָל הָעַמִּים וּרְאוּ מַכְאֹבִי בְּתוּלֹתַי וּבַחוּרַי הָלְכוּ בַשֶּׁבִי ס	So Righteous is יְהוָה for I disobeyed his bidding Hear please - all peoples and see my sorrow My virgins and my youth are gone into captivity	I have to find ts in a word since there is no English equivalent letter. In the psalms I was sometimes a little flippant - e.g. tza! in Psalm 34. In Psalm 119 I used S and St. Here I have followed what I did in Psalm 145 where another poet said the same thing.
Qof	קָרָאתִי לַמְאַהֲבַי הֵמָּה רִמּוּנִי כֹּהֲנַי וּזְקֵנַי בָּעִיר גָּוָעוּ כִּי בִקְשׁוּ אֹכֶל לָמוֹ וְיָשִׁיבוּ אֶת נַפְשָׁם ס	Queried I for my lovers they misled me My priests and my elders expired in the city as they sought their food to restore their lives
Resh	רְאֵה יְהוָה כִּי צַר לִי מֵעַי חֳמַרְמָר וּנֶהְפַּךְ לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי כִּי מָרוֹ מָרִיתִי מִחוּץ שִׁכְּלָה חֶרֶב בַּבַּיִת כַּמָּוֶת ס	Regard יְהוָה for I am in adversity My belly is in turmoil and overturned is my heart within me for I have wantonly disobeyed In the streets the sword bereaves in the house - as death	Seeing - 8 times in this chapter - 8 more in the remaining ones - 'regard' this once for the R. Mar מָרִ as a sound is repeated as bitter, overturned, and disobeyed
Shin	שָׁמְעוּ כִּי נֶאֱנָחָה אָנִי אֵין מְנַחֵם לִי כָּל אֹיְבַי שָׁמְע וּרָעָתִי שָׂשׂוּכִּי אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ הֵבֵאתָ יוֹם קָרָאת וְיִהְיוּ כָמֹנִי ס	Sighing, my sighing they have heard there is none to comfort me All my enemies hear of my evil they rejoice that you have done it You will bring the day you have called and they will be as I am	The enemy has public knowledge that increases shame and stimulates a desire for equal retribution
Taf	תָּבֹא כָל רָעָתָם לְפָנֶיךָ וְעוֹלֵל לָמוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר עוֹלַלְתָּ לִי עַל כָּל פְּשָׁעָי כִּי רַבּוֹת אַנְחֹתַי וְלִבִּי דַוָּי פ	To your face let all their evil come and impose on them as you have imposed on me on account of all my transgressions for many are my sighs and my heart is faint	How strangely close is עלל from which we get עֹולֵל (which I have rendered impose) to עולל for babes or children Notice the closing Peh rather than Samech- this is the only verse without a Samech

Bananas

	The banana grows one flower and one crop and then dies - it has a large flower. New shoots come from the underground stem.

Creeds

That first transcription of random thoughts on an airplane when half the paper has disappeared was not very useful... Neither is this one.

How can we read the history of statements of belief? Can we accommodate other creeds and other histories? I think I was watching Macbeth about this time. So there is a marginal note: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow till the last syllable of time.

This is a thorny question and tends to produce schism and conflict. Is there a positive formulation of an answer? Not really. Humans seek power and words allow enforcement of power. But perhaps - this question is a positive formulation: What do the creeds address and what might they invite? On the other hand, what if we spend our analytical time stepping around things we don't "believe"? I suppose one could say this stresses or stretches our willingness to receive and live with "questions", but that sounds like a cop-out to me today.

Examples: Deuteronomy 6:4 is more of a command than creed but there are many layers in the 6 words. Cynthia Miller offers 5 different ways of translating them:

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד

Which would you choose? Hear O Israel:

יְהוָה  is our God. יְהוָה is one.

As for יְהוָה our God, יְהוָה is one

יְהוָה our God is one יְהוָה

יְהוָה is our God, יְהוָה alone

Our one God is יְהוָה ,יְהוָה

Every time we sing these words with the Sunday school, I get a different sense from them.  יְהוָה our God, יְהוָה is one - is how I usually translate for the children. This has, by the way, little to do with 'monotheism'. Why we were taught monotheism as 'advanced'? Because our teachers had no idea what or who they were talking about. Holding correct doctrine while you allow your power to be abusive is not really useful.

The other extreme of examples of creed is at a site like that of Doug Chaplin and his page on the 39 articles. There is a fascinating history here and Doug raises a lot of excellent questions. Not simple though.

Anyway - I believe in that God who is one. One in the sense for me that I perceive multifarious things which will be redeemed in unity.

Ref: ed. Cynthia Miller, The Verbless Clause in Biblical Hebrew. Linguistic Approaches (good essay by Randall Buth in it.)

What is critical to the Gospel?

Written on the milk-run from Victoria to The Big Island of Hawaii. I think it is likely that I lost the first two pages or someone borrowed them for a shopping list. I believe the stimulus was the idea of developing a ס Samek program. ס is the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It occurs after k-l-m-n- but is not 'o'. It makes an s sound.

The answer to the question "What is critical to the Gospel?" is indefinable in words but pressing for definition. It can't be ignored. Is this just a human compulsion? (cf David Attenborough's Life on Earth where he characterizes humanity as the compulsive communicator.)

No, it is more than that. It is more too than just getting started (alpha) or getting finished (omega) or having some complete "confession" of which there are myriad. Start, finish, and complete are important - but strangely "incomplete". What? - is this contradictory? No, you are the piece that makes the start and end matter and the whole complete.

So this ס program - it would be presumptuous to name it תָּם tam after the Hebrew for complete - is named for חֶסֶד chesed. Samek - סָמַךְ meaning support, is the middle letter of חֶסֶד. The letter ס is a rare letter in a key word. An untranslatable word, חֶסֶד encompasses love, kindness, mercy, lovingkindness, discipline, rebuke, covenant, shelter and security. Creation needs it.

I am coming to the conclusion that trying to write simply about my personal theology is going to require something more than simple memory or transcriptions of former thoughts.

Don't miss this one from Richard Beck or this from Targuman.

The Song and commitment

I have not spun out all the implications of a comment I just made here. The comment was made after reading the Pope's address to Ireland which I referenced in my previous post. Il Papa has too many adjectives - but it is an article worth reading. He does point to the source of healing. God makes the best out of the worst. So I share with the shepherd his hope in his pointing to the wounds of Jesus. (I do have some concerns about the article.)

Is there commitment in the Song?

The Song represents for me the commitment of the Lord of Hosts and El Shaddai to me as if I was alone in the world. The commitment is represented in the shared cost of love (who is this that comes up from the desert – 2x) and in the charge at the end of parts 1 and 2 and the expectation of part 5 where the names of God are hidden in the sound of the animals.

If the priests of the church had understood this commitment there would be no scandal today.

Too bold? Too late? Too simple? Or have we no way to open ears or redeem the time? Of course I am not alone in the world or in the churches, but I do not worship by rote, nor did I come into worship by inertia or without a severe and radical break with my self through the cost of death. In all that remains to me, I must lean on my Beloved.

Theology for me today

This post from Tash McGill among several other stimuli has got me thinking that I should say something of my theology. And that I should be clear and simple. No name dropping, no labels, no controversy.

I am in the middle of and beginning some discussions with people whom I have not seen or heard from for 50 years. In the background is a school whose students in the 1950s were brought up with fear, torment, and abuse. (The Pope's recent letter - text here - invites a response also.)

Incidentally, translating Lamentations is not going to be a slam dunk. I am managing one or two verses a day at the moment - that means 22*7/2 days before I utter much. I think I had better read the whole thing before publishing anything and maybe even look at a commentary or two.

In the meanwhile, what would constitute theology? Not my creed though it might say something. Not liturgical practice, though that too might help. I did write about both years ago - lots of little essays in the beginning of my writing time since 1994 when I had that 16 part dream about the structure of Romans.

Theology would have to be an answer to the question 'what do I think about God and the big words that are used about God in my traditions'. Here is a list from John Hobbins on the Clayboy blog recently.

Redemption, ... vicarious suffering, forensic justification, election, inerrancy, infallibility (a stronger concept than inerrancy), atonement, heaven, hell, the power of the keys ...

These are big words. Redemption is from the beginning as I have noted elsewhere - there is no Creation without Redemption. And God saw the light that it was good. Faith is there in that thought.

I thought also about writing again on atonement. Then I saw two essays and poems on it from years ago. We also discussed atonement and a dozen different views of it over the centuries in our Bible study recently - so many words. Richard Beck has a relevant post from last week on George MacDonald (not related to me as far as I know)

So to simplicity - I will begin with this: "What happened to you that did not happen to me? You are a true believer and I am not."

I am coming up against this question in the churches also - how can I respond?  It turns out that I wrote some essays several weeks ago on the plane to Hawaii. They are, strange to say, directly relevant to the question above. So I will transcribe them in a later post. Before they call, I will answer, says the Lord.

The Lamentations of Jeremiah

Before we begin, a few conclusions. The Lamentations is in five chapters and there is, unlike the Song, no argument from me as to where the parts of this poem begin and end. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 are acrostic. That is the first letter in each verse is a unique letter of the alef-bet in sequence. So there are 22 verses in each of these chapters as in chapter 5 also.

Let no one say that a study of letters is unprofitable. These acrostics are more than a game for children. Only chapter 1 is a perfect acrostic in sequence. Chapters 2 and 4 have one letter pair reversed and out of sequence.

Chapter 3 is its own story. It is 66 verses. Guess what! Each trio of verses expresses the acrostic lament. Peh פ and Ayin ע are again in reverse order.  The normal order of the letters as I teach them in Sunday School is in the header of this blog thus:

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת

The last chapter is not an acrostic. The first letter usage is as follows.
א2 ב2 ג0 ד0 ה1 ו0 ז2 ח0 ט0 י1 כ1 ל1 מ2 נ3 ס0 ע5 פ0 צ0 ק0 ר0 ש2 ת0

What does this say to us who read? I expect as always in these texts that there is more to discover.

Identify me

From one of the coffee plantations on the old Kona road - a flower growing in a stump.

The Song of Songs which is of Solomon - Part V

Because I divided the Song by the charges, Part V is short. It completes several themes. The desert, a rebuke of Solomon, and the hidden imagery of the animals that was missing from the charge in parts III and IV.

Verse	Hebrew text	A translation	What shall we say?
ה	מִי זֹאת עֹלָה מִן הַמִּדְבָּר מִתְרַפֶּקֶת עַל דּוֹדָהּ תַּחַת הַתַּפּוּחַ עוֹרַרְתִּיךָ שָׁמָּה חִבְּלַתְךָ אִמֶּךָ שָׁמָּה חִבְּלָה יְלָדַתְךָ	who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her beloved? Under the apricot tree I aroused you there your mother laboured with you there she laboured, gave you birth	In the first desert passage, it is the bridegroom who emerges. Here he emerges with the bride who has shared the cost.
ו	שִׂימֵנִי כַחוֹתָם עַל לִבֶּךָ כַּחוֹתָם עַל זְרוֹעֶךָ   כִּי עַזָּה כַמָּוֶת אַהֲבָה קָשָׁה כִשְׁאוֹל קִנְאָה רְשָׁפֶיהָ רִשְׁפֵּי אֵשׁ שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָה	Set me as a seal upon your heart as a seal upon your arm for strong as death is love jealousy as hard as Sheol its coals are coals of the flaming fire of יָה	The flaming fire gives away the story. יָה has been in this work all along.
ז	מַיִם רַבִּים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְכַבּוֹת אֶת הָאַהֲבָה וּנְהָרוֹת לֹא יִשְׁטְפוּהָ אִם יִתֵּן אִישׁ אֶת כָּל הוֹן בֵּיתוֹ בָּאַהֲבָה בּוֹז יָבוּזוּ לוֹ ס	many waters are not able to quench such love nor will torrents drown it if anyone would give all the substance of his house for love they will surely despise him	John Ireland's anthem is a favorite among many choirs (I could not find a recording online). the target of this despising בּוֹז בּוֹז is to come. Repeating the verb, infinitive + conjugated, is common for intensifying the meaning.
ח	אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר בָּהּ	a little sister we have and her breasts, they are not much What will we do for our sister on the day that she is spoken for?
ט	אִם חוֹמָה הִיא נִבְנֶה עָלֶיהָ טִירַת כָּסֶף וְאִם דֶּלֶת הִיא נָצוּר עָלֶיהָ לוּחַ אָרֶז	If she is a wall we will build on it a battlement of silver. And if she is a door we will enclose her with boards of cedar,
י	אֲנִי חוֹמָה וְשָׁדַי כַּמִּגְדָּלוֹת אָז הָיִיתִי בְעֵינָיו כְּמוֹצְאֵת שָׁלוֹם	I am a wall and my breasts as towers Then I became in his eyes as finding peace
יא	כֶּרֶם הָיָה לִשְׁלֹמֹה בְּבַעַל הָמוֹן נָתַן אֶת הַכֶּרֶם לַנֹּטְרִים אִישׁ יָבִא בְּפִרְיוֹ אֶלֶף כָּסֶף	a vineyard, Solomon had at Baal Hamon he gave the vineyard to the keepers someone brought for its fruit a thousand in silver	It seems to me this is a repudiation of e.g. Simony
יב	כַּרְמִי שֶׁלִּי לְפָנָי הָאֶלֶף לְךָ שְׁלֹמֹה וּמָאתַיִם לְנֹטְרִים אֶת פִּרְיוֹ	My vineyard that is mine is before me The thousand is for you, Solomon and two hundred for the keepers of its fruit	There can be no abusive or even controlling power taken to control the vineyard. The phrase to you (masculine) occurs only twice. Here and in Song 2:14
יג	הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּגַּנִּים חֲבֵרִים מַקְשִׁיבִים לְקוֹלֵךְ הַשְׁמִיעִנִי	The one sitting in the gardens companions who pay attention your voices let me hear
יד	בְּרַח דּוֹדִי וּדְמֵה לְךָ לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים עַל הָרֵי בְשָׂמִים	O haste, my beloved and be like yourself the hosts of roe or the young of the goodly hart on the mountains of spices.	Revelation 22:20. The resumption of wordplay ends the song.

This series on the Song I | 2:4 II 3:5 | III | 5:10 IV 8:4 V

The Song of Songs which is of Solomon - Part IV

In the analogy I have stumbled into, this part must correspond to the testimony of the Church. I don't mean this as if there were a sequence in time, but as a recognition of the work of the Spirit in all ages before and after the inclusion of the Gentiles in the anointing following the life of Jesus, that unique manifestation of the outpouring of God's love which is from before the beginning. 

Verse	Hebrew text	A translation	What shall we say?
ט	מַה דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים מַה דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד שֶׁכָּכָה הִשְׁבַּעְתָּנוּ	why is your beloved so beloved O most beautiful among women? What makes is your beloved so beloved that you have charged us so?	This is a common question - why your faith? Why your tradition? Why your language? Why your religion? But the question is open with the condition: that you have charged us so. There can be no presumption, exploitation, or power taken for self in love. God does not usurp such power nor must any image of God usurp it.
י	דּוֹדִי צַח וְאָדוֹם דָּגוּל מֵרְבָבָה	My beloved is clear and ruddy, intent among ten thousand.	Clear צַח - definitely not white. A rare word and a rarer root. Intent - no intensity is greater than the love of God whether it manifests itself in what is perceived as good or as wrath which is another disguise of the fire of love. I am guessing at this word דָּגַל. It rhymes with the traditional translation of Song 2:4 and it links then to the use of banner in Numbers. In English we have a similar duality in the word 'standard' which may mean flag or example.
יא	רֹאשׁוֹ כֶּתֶם פָּז קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים שְׁחֹרוֹת כָּעוֹרֵב	His head is purged fine gold, his locks bushy black as a raven	This 'refined' fine gold - כֶּתֶם is rarely used but in each case it is in texts where we might just pass over it though it might be pivotal. Why is there an adjective applied to a word that is already glossed as fine gold? It occurs twice in Job 28, the hymn to wisdom, where I missed its potential significance. The word that qualifies it is derived from an identical word with a sense of deep stain. That is a gold that includes the knowledge of good and evil רע and its relationship to us לָנוּ, to me לִי and to you לָךְ my sister bride.
יב	עֵינָיו כְּיוֹנִים עַל אֲפִיקֵי מָיִם רֹחֲצוֹת בֶּחָלָב יֹשְׁבוֹת עַל מִלֵּאת	his eyes as doves by the rivers of waters washed with milk sitting in fullness,
יג	לְחָיָו כַּעֲרוּגַת הַבֹּשֶׂם מִגְדְּלוֹת מֶרְקָחִים שִׂפְתוֹתָיו שׁוֹשַׁנִּים נֹטְפוֹת מוֹר עֹבֵר	his cheeks as the terraced spices as the sweetest of flowers. his lips are lilies dropping myrrh passing through.	there's that definite article again - It is as if each speaker is pointing to a specific, not simply stating a generic or abstract truth about love.
יד	יָדָיו גְּלִילֵי זָהָב מְמֻלָּאִים בַּתַּרְשִׁישׁ מֵעָיו עֶשֶׁת שֵׁן מְעֻלֶּפֶת סַפִּירִים	His hands are cylinders of gold inlaid with jasper his belly a block of ivory encrusted with sapphires	belly, same word as in Song 5:4. There are lots of things that could be pointed out in these songs of praise for the body parts. There is no part of us that is to be despised but every part is to be consecrated in that one death for all. This unity in holiness is well shown to us in the high priestly prayer of John 17 where Jesus consecrates himself for our sakes that we might be consecrated in him. This consecration is prefigured also in the sign of male circumcision, signifying the death of all will to power for self. (Colossians 2:11)
טו	שׁוֹקָיו עַמּוּדֵי שֵׁשׁ מְיֻסָּדִים עַל אַדְנֵי פָז מַרְאֵהוּ כַּלְּבָנוֹן בָּחוּר כָּאֲרָזִים	his legs are pillars of marble fixed in sockets of fine gold. his form is as Lebanon excellent as the cedars.	'form' closes the bracket opened in Song 2:14. The prayer is answered.
טז	חִכּוֹ מַמְתַקִּים וְכֻלּוֹ מַחֲמַדִּים זֶה דוֹדִי וְזֶה רֵעִי בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם	His palate is sweetness and all of him is desirable. This is my beloved and this is my companion O daughters of Jerusalem.	curious singular with plural adjectives
6 א	אָנָה הָלַךְ דּוֹדֵךְ   הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים אָנָה פָּנָה דוֹדֵךְ וּנְבַקְשֶׁנּוּ עִמָּךְ	Where has your beloved gone O most beautiful among women? where has he faced? Your beloved, that we may seek him with you?	In response to this question, the bride is filled with the presence of the Beloved. She is all we should be - beautiful. That is what attracts. (I have repaired a few touches in the prior parts removing 'fair' altogether and getting the adjectives consistently translated for beauty and lovely - or so I hope.) I avoid again the word 'turn' - I prefer face. Seeking and not finding is the theme in John 20:13 (Compare Song 3:1-3). Immediately following in John is the Noli me tangere- The Titian image from the National Gallery is at the link.
ב	דּוֹדִי יָרַד לְגַנּוֹ לַעֲרֻגוֹת הַבֹּשֶׂם לִרְעוֹת בַּגַּנִּים וְלִלְקֹט שׁוֹשַׁנִּים	My beloved is gone down into his garden to the terraced spices to feed in the gardens and to gather lilies.	God with us
ג	אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי הָרֹעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים ס	I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, the feeder among the lilies	us in him and he in us (John 17:23) See also of course the psalms with the headings among the lilies Psalms 45, 60, 69, 80
ד	יָפָה אַתְּ רַעְיָתִי כְּתִרְצָה   נָאוָה כִּירוּשָׁלִָם אֲיֻמָּה כַּנִּדְגָּלוֹת	How beautiful is my companion as the favourable lovely as Jerusalem terrible as those of great intensity	Zeal for thy house may not appear lovely and can lead to destruction. The one who was favoured was eaten up by such zeal. (Of course it is in the Gospel of John 2:17 too - see also Psalm 69:9)
ה	הָסֵבִּי עֵינַיִךְ מִנֶּגְדִּי שֶׁהֵם הִרְהִיבֻנִי שַׂעְרֵךְ כְּעֵדֶר הָעִזִּים שֶׁגָּלְשׁוּ מִן־הַגִּלְעָד	Circle your eyes away from me for they create a storm in me. Your hair like the flock of goats that are lying down from the Gilead.	No No you can't do this! Beloved is rolling her eyes! Staring down the God who loves her. Persisting in questioning every assumption. And loved for it. I will speak of Rahab whose name comes from this proud and defiant stance. Rahab is both defiant and faithful in her defiance - and part of that scarlet thread (Song 4:3).
ו	שִׁנַּיִךְ כְּעֵדֶר הָרְחֵלִים שֶׁעָלוּ מִן הָרַחְצָה שֶׁכֻּלָּם מַתְאִימוֹת   וְשַׁכֻּלָה אֵין בָּהֶם	Your teeth are like the flock of ewe that come up from the wash where all of them are twinned and not one of them is bereaved.	almost a double of Song 4:2
ז	כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵךְ	As the slice of pomegranate your temples within your locks.
ח	שִׁשִּׁים הֵמָּה מְלָכוֹת וּשְׁמֹנִים פִּילַגְשִׁים וַעֲלָמוֹת אֵין מִסְפָּר	There may be sixty queens and and eighty concubines and maidens without number	Solomon's riches and power ridiculed by the poet? But all his wives and concubines and every other person will be drawn to her and to her beloved. But there is a positive reading of Solomon here - of some interest in the context of reading this book under Solomon's name. Maidens only elsewhere in the poem in Song 1:2.
ט	אַחַת הִיא יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי  אַחַת הִיא לְאִמָּהּ בָּרָה הִיא לְיוֹלַדְתָּהּ רָאוּהָ בָנוֹת וַיְאַשְּׁרוּהָ מְלָכוֹת וּפִילַגְשִׁים וַיְהַלְלוּהָ ס	Unique is she, my dove, my pure one Unique is she of her mother, Pure is she of the one bearing her. The daughters saw her. Queens and concubines considered her happy and they praised her.	Whoever knows the grace of this beloved will praise her and will be like her, reflecting the same glory as is known from the face of her unique beloved If this is the Church, and in a figure, Mary, then this prefigures the phrase from Luke that all 'generations will call me blessed'.
י	מִי זֹאת הַנִּשְׁקָפָה כְּמוֹ שָׁחַר יָפָה כַלְּבָנָה בָּרָה כַּחַמָּה אֲיֻמָּה כַּנִּדְגָּלוֹת ס	Who is this, looking forth as dawn, beautiful as the moon, pure as the sun, terrible as those of great intensity?	Here is John again from the wedding in Cana, "Do whatever he tells you."
יא	אֶל גִּנַּת אֱגוֹז יָרַדְתִּי לִרְאוֹת בְּאִבֵּי הַנָּחַל לִרְאוֹת הֲפָרְחָה הַגֶּפֶן הֵנֵצוּ הָרִמֹּנִים	To a garden of nuts I went down to see in the green shoots of the wadi, to see if the vine has flourished the pomegranates budded	Who is speaking here? What a place this garden is! There is a qal perfect הֲפָרְחָה with an interrogative in the middle of the sentence! And look at the hiphil perfect of a weak verb with only one of its root letters remaining הֵנֵצוּ.
יב	לֹא יָדַעְתִּי נַפְשִׁי שָׂמַתְנִי מַרְכְּבוֹת עַמִּי נָדִיב	I did not know I was set  to be from the chariots of my people, a prince.	Who again is the speaker - does the princess become prince?
7 א	שׁוּבִי שׁוּבִי הַשּׁוּלַמִּית שׁוּבִי שׁוּבִי וְנֶחֱזֶה בָּךְ מַה תֶּחֱזוּ בַּשּׁוּלַמִּית כִּמְחֹלַת הַמַּחֲנָיִם	Turn, turn O Shulamite Turn, turn so we may gaze on you What will you gaze on in the Shulamite? a dance of two armies?	Who is this Shulamite? Abishag? The story of Abishag needs a separate post. Only here do we get the word for return or repent. It is the desire of the chorus to see the beautiful woman again.
ב	מַה יָּפוּ פְעָמַיִךְ בַּנְּעָלִים בַּת נָדִיב חַמּוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ כְּמוֹ חֲלָאִים מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָמָּן	how beautiful are your feet with shoes daughter of a prince the curves of your thighs are as jewels the work of the hands of an artist	You see the repeated word that must stop the translation of Song 6:12 as a proper name (Amminidab) The 'artist' is אָמָּן Amen, the same root as faithful. No art is possible without such discipline. Equally, here is the faithfulness of the artist. Would we trust him with our bodies?
ג	שָׁרְרֵךְ אַגַּן הַסַּהַר אַל יֶחְסַר הַמָּזֶג בִּטְנֵךְ עֲרֵמַת חִטִּים סוּגָה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים	your navel is the round bowl not lacking mixed wine your lap a heap of wheat and fenced with lilies
ד	שְׁנֵי שָׁדַיִךְ כִּשְׁנֵי עֳפָרִים תָּאֳמֵי צְבִיָּה	your paired breasts are like a pair of young twin roe.	A double of Song 4:5. Doubles are often frames - so does the description of the sister bride frame with these two doubles an important event? In this reading in five parts, it does. These doubles frame the cost of love, the striking by the watchmen, the questioning by the chorus. Note that there is no repetition of the sister bride motif on this side of the frame, nor is there a continuing of the hidden names in the charge.
ה	צַוָּארֵךְ כְּמִגְדַּל הַשֵּׁן עֵינַיִךְ בְּרֵכוֹת בְּחֶשְׁבּוֹן עַל שַׁעַר בַּת רַבִּים אַפֵּךְ כְּמִגְדַּל הַלְּבָנוֹן צוֹפֶה פְּנֵי דַמָּשֶׂק	your neck like the tower of ivory your eyes the ponds in Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim your nose like a tower of Lebanon spying on Damascus.	Notice how the descriptions move again to country names, replaying the game of pretend travel?
ו	רֹאשֵׁךְ עָלַיִךְ כַּכַּרְמֶל וְדַלַּת רֹאשֵׁךְ כָּאַרְגָּמָן מֶלֶךְ אָסוּר בָּרְהָטִים	Your head upon you is like Carmel and the hair of your head like purple a king held by the locks.
ז	מַה יָּפִית וּמַה נָּעַמְתְּ אַהֲבָה בַּתַּעֲנוּגִים	How beautiful and how pleasant love in these its delights.
ח	זֹאת קוֹמָתֵךְ דָּמְתָה לְתָמָר וְשָׁדַיִךְ לְאַשְׁכֹּלוֹת	This, your stature resembles a palm tree and your breasts are like its clusters
ט	אָמַרְתִּי אֶעֱלֶה בְתָמָר אֹחֲזָה בְּסַנְסִנָּיו וְיִהְיוּ נָא שָׁדַיִךְ כְּאֶשְׁכְּלוֹת הַגֶּפֶן וְרֵיחַ אַפֵּךְ כַּתַּפּוּחִים	I said, I will go up to the palm tree. I will take possession of its branches and let them be, ah, your breasts as clusters of the vine and the fragrance of your nose as apricots.
י	וְחִכֵּךְ כְּיֵין הַטּוֹב הוֹלֵךְ לְדוֹדִי לְמֵישָׁרִים דּוֹבֵב שִׂפְתֵי יְשֵׁנִים	And your palate as the best of  wine flowing for my beloved ever so smoothly and gliding lips asleep.
יא	אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְעָלַי תְּשׁוּקָתוֹ ס	For I am my beloved's and towards me is his desire
יב	לְכָה דוֹדִי נֵצֵא הַשָּׂדֶה נָלִינָה בַּכְּפָרִים	So come, my beloved let us go forth into the field. Let us spend the night under a covering.
יג	נַשְׁכִּימָה לַכְּרָמִים נִרְאֶה אִם פָּרְחָה הַגֶּפֶן פִּתַּח הַסְּמָדַר הֵנֵצוּ הָרִמּוֹנִים שָׁם אֶתֵּן אֶת דֹּדַי לָךְ	We will be early to the vineyards. We will see if the vine has budded the blossom opened the pomegranates flowered. There I will give my love to you.	I think we should be prepared to be surprised by this text.
יד	הַדּוּדָאִים נָתְנוּ רֵיחַ וְעַל פְּתָחֵינוּ כָּל מְגָדִים חֲדָשִׁים גַּם יְשָׁנִים דּוֹדִי צָפַנְתִּי לָךְ	The mandrakes give fragrance and at our gates is all excellence both new and old, my beloved, I have hidden for you.	I will give, I have hidden and it is yours. Note how mandrake sounds like beloved (duda same letters as dodi) - perhaps use its synonym 'love apple'
8 א	מִי יִתֶּנְךָ כְּאָח לִי יוֹנֵק שְׁדֵי אִמִּי אֶמְצָאֲךָ בַחוּץ אֶשָּׁקְךָ גַּם לֹא יָבֻזוּ לִי	Who will give you as brother to me as one who sucked the breasts of my mother? I would find you outside I would kiss you and not one would despise me.
ב	אֶנְהָגְךָ אֲבִיאֲךָ אֶל בֵּית אִמִּי תְּלַמְּדֵנִי אַשְׁקְךָ מִיַּיִן הָרֶקַח מֵעֲסִיס רִמֹּנִי	I would lead you I would bring you into the house of my mother, who will instruct me I will make you drink of the wine that is spiced with the juice of my pomegranate.	instruct here contrasts with instruction based on fear in Song 3:8
ג	שְׂמֹאלוֹ תַּחַת לְרֹאשִׁי וִימִינוֹ תְּחַבְּקֵנִי	His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.	closes the frame opened in Song 2:6
ד	הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם מַה תָּעִירוּ וּמַה תְּעֹרְרוּ אֶת הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ ס	I have charged you daughters of Jerusalem what do you arouse or what do you rouse of this love till it please.	There is no play on words here and there is a significant change in the conjunction - we must ask why. In the music, I have assigned this to the direct voice of the groom.

This series on the Song I | 2:4 II 3:5 | III | 5:10 IV 8:4 V - See also the music here.

A commentary

I will continue to post striking commentaries that I find - this one from Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz bears a reading.

What flower could accompany Va-yikra? A red one for sacrifice

From 2010-02-24

The Song of Songs which is of Solomon - Part III

This is a long part and there are many challenges in it with respect to how the poem works. Who am I to say?

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 מְקֻטֶּרֶתמֹר וּלְבוֹנָה מִכֹּל אַבְקַת רוֹכֵל	Who is this arising from the desert like pillars of smoke with the perfume of myrrh and frankincense with all the aromas 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. 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 with threescore valiant ones circling it from the valiant 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 dread of the nights	לָמַד occurs twice, here and in Song 8:2
ט	אַפִּרְיוֹן עָשָׂה לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה מֵעֲצֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן	A chariot he made for himself the king Solomon of the trees of Lebanon
י	עַמּוּדָיו עָשָׂה כֶסֶף רְפִידָתוֹ זָהָב מֶרְכָּבוֹ אַרְגָּמָן תּוֹכוֹ רָצוּף אַהֲבָה מִבְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם	its pillars he made silver its litter of gold its cover of 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 O daughters of Zion in the king Solomon in the crown his mother crowned him with in the day of his wedding and in the day of gladness 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 as doves from 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 is 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 and built for an armoury A thousand shields hang there all the equipment of the valiant	but now we are back to martial imagery
ה	שְׁנֵי שָׁדַיִךְ כִּשְׁנֵי עֳפָרִים תְּאוֹמֵי צְבִיָּה הָרוֹעִים בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים	Your paired breasts are like a pair of 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 dawning day when the shadows flee I bring myself to the mountain of myrrh and to the hillock 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	לִבַּבְתִּנִיאֲחֹתִי 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 the pendants from your neck	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 דֹדַיִךְאֲחֹתִי 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 fragrance 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 fragrance of your garments like the fragrance 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 with cinnamon with all trees of frankincense myrrh and aloes with all the chiefest of 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 Blow upon my garden and 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 Now eat, friends; and drink and 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 passing through 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 self 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 am sick, of love, am I	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.

This series on the Song I | 2:4 II 3:5 | III | 5:10 IV 8:4 V