• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wyatt Graham

Faith | Books | Culture

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Column

Song of Songs 1:5-8: The Bride Sings, the Lover Answers

October 9, 2017 by wagraham Leave a Comment

One of the most helpful kinds of Biblical commentary are biblical paraphrases. If you read New Living Translation or other similar translations, then you are really reading an interpretive paraphrase of the Bible. The paraphraser makes explicit his or her interpretation of the text. But this is really a commentary. It makes interpretive decisions for you. 

For my devotional study of the Scripture, I will be writing paraphrases of the Bible that accord with my interpretation of the Bible. My goal is to sharpen my understanding of God’s word and help people to understand what the Bible says. Yet I am only providing a paraphrase. Read the Bible for yourself and see if my paraphrase matches the context and meaning of the passage that I translate. 

I continue this series with Song of Songs 1:5-7!

The Bride Sings to the Daughters of Jerusalem

[5] I am dark but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. [6] Do not look at me because I am dark because the sun tanned me. The sons of my mother are angry with me. They assigned me to guard the vineyards. I did not guard my vineyard.

The Bride Sings to Her Love

[7] Tell me whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you make them lie down at noon—lest I be like one who veils herself beside the flock of your companions?

The Lover to the Bride

[8] If you do not know for yourself, oh beautiful one among women, follow the footprints of the flock, and pasture your young-goats among the shepherds’s tents.

Interpretation

The bride proclaimed her love in 1:2–3 before praising the king with a group of people in 1:4. Now, she addresses the daughters of Jerusalem (perhaps the same group who sang in 1:4), lamenting her appearance and her manner of life (1:5–6).

In 1:7, the bride desires to know where her love pastures his flock so that she can see him without having to veil herself. Perhaps she considering exploring his pastureland in disguise (veil herself) to find her love.

In 1:8, the lover tells the bride where to find him. She is to follow the tracks of flock and to make camp near the tends of the shepherds.

Some people read the Song of Songs as a love triangle between the bride, the king, and a shepherd. Song 1:7–8 do seem to support the love triangle reading of Song of Songs. I am not convinced, however. I think as you read through the Song of Songs, it becomes clear that there are only two characters who are romantically involved: the king and the bride. I’ll keep an open-mind in my reading of the song, but this is where I currently stand on the issue.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Theology

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Wyatt is the Executive Director of The Gospel Coalition Canada. He enjoys his family and writing. You'll generally find him hiding away somewhere with his nose in a book.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Want articles in your e-mail? Sign up here!

What Socrates can Teach us About MAiD

January 29, 2023 By wagraham Leave a Comment

Is Song of Songs Allegorical? Five Questions I Might ask of the text

January 25, 2023 By wagraham Leave a Comment

Prosopology, Simply put

January 25, 2023 By wagraham Leave a Comment

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in