The Shulamite's Humble Beauty and Search
Song 1:5-7
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Son.1.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שחורה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- ונאוה: CONJ+ADJ,f,sg,abs
- בנות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כאהלי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,const
- קדר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כיריעות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,const
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 1:6 (verbal): Immediate continuation of the same theme—speaker explains her dark complexion and asks the daughters of Jerusalem not to gaze because of the sun that scorched her, echoing the 'black and beautiful' motif.
- Song of Solomon 2:7 (structural): The recurring adjuration to the 'daughters of Jerusalem' (compare the address in 1:5) frames the poem's communal, dialogic setting and the bride's public self-presentation.
- Isaiah 42:11 (allusion): Mentions the inhabitants of Kedar—links the iconic image of Kedar's nomadic tents (as in 1:5) and the poetic association of desert/Arab tents with dark-dyed goat-hair coverings.
- Genesis 25:13 (allusion): Lists Kedar as a son of Ishmael—provides the ethnic/geographical background for 'tents of Kedar,' evoking Arab nomads and their black tents familiar to the Israelite imagination.
- 1 Kings 10:18 (thematic): Part of the depiction of Solomon's wealth and royal furnishings—parallels the reference to 'curtains of Solomon' as an image of luxurious, royal textiles and splendor.
Alternative generated candidates
- I am dark, and yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem—like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
- I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem—like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
Son.1.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תראוני: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- שאני: CONJ+PRON,1,sg
- שחרחרת: ADJ,f,sg
- ששזפתני: VERB,piel,perf,3,m,sg
- השמש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- אמי: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נחרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,pl
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- שמני: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg,obj:1s
- נטרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הכרמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- כרמי: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- שלי: PRON,poss,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- נטרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 1:5 (verbal): Immediate context: the speaker describes herself as 'black'/'dark' but beautiful, closely tied to 1:6's 'do not look at me because I am dark' motif and contrast between appearance and worth.
- Song of Solomon 8:12 (verbal): Uses the same vineyard imagery and language of possession/keeping ('my vineyard, which is mine, is before me'), echoing 1:6's complaint about being appointed keeper of vineyards while neglecting her own.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The 'song/parable of the vineyard' portrays an owner, vine, and caretakers—paralleling Song 1:6's vineyard stewardship motif and expectations about fruit/maintenance.
- Matthew 21:33-41 (allusion): The parable of the tenants (vineyard owners sending servants) resonates with the image of being set over vineyards and the social/working dynamics implied in Song 1:6.
- Job 30:30 (verbal): Expresses bodily darkening and affliction ('my skin is black upon me'), paralleling the language in 1:6 of being darkened by the sun and the social shame that attends it.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not look upon me because I am dark—because the sun has scorched me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they set me to keep the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.
- Do not gaze at me because I am dark; the sun has scorched me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they set me to keep the vineyards, yet my own vineyard I did not keep.
Son.1.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הגידה: VERB,piel,imp,2,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- שאהבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- איכה: INTJ
- תרעה: VERB,qal,impf,3,fs
- איכה: INTJ
- תרביץ: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- בצהרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שלמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אהיה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- כעטיה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- על: PREP
- עדרי: NOUN,m,pl,cns
- חבריך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,f,sg
Parallels
- Song of Songs 1:8 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the book: both verses use pastoral/flock imagery and speak of following the tracks of the flock/companions (same field of metaphor and similar wording).
- Song of Songs 2:16 (thematic): Develops the lovers' mutual possession and intimacy (‘my beloved is mine’), which underlies the question about where the beloved pastures and the speaker’s desire to be with him.
- Psalm 23:1-3 (verbal): Uses the same pasture/lie-down language—'He makes me lie down in green pastures'—linking the beloved’s pastoral care and resting-place imagery to the shepherd motif.
- Isaiah 40:11 (thematic): Shepherd-care imagery ('He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs') echoes the pastoral metaphor for guidance, feeding, and resting places implied in the question about where the beloved pastures his sheep.
- Ezekiel 34:11-12 (allusion): God’s declared seeking and gathering of scattered sheep ('I will search for my flock... I will seek the lost') resonates with the motif of seeking the beloved and inquiring where he pastures his flocks.
Alternative generated candidates
- Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where do you pasture your flock, where do you make it lie down at noon? Why should I be as one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
- Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where do you pasture, where do you make your flock lie down at noon? Why should I be as one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem—like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not gaze at me because I am dark; the sun has scorched me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they set me to keep the vineyards—my own vineyard I have not kept.
Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where do you pasture, where do you make your flock lie down at noon? Why should I be like one veiled beside the flocks of your companions?