Song of Solomon 05 (Contemporary English Version)
- My bride, my very own, I come to my garden and enjoy its spices. I eat my honeycomb and honey; I drink my wine and milk. Eat and drink until you are drunk with love.
- I was asleep, but dreaming: The one I love was at the door, knocking and saying, "My darling, my very own, my flawless dove, open the door for me! My head is drenched with evening dew."
- But I had already undressed and bathed my feet. Should I dress again and get my feet dirty?
- Then my darling's hand reached to open the latch, and my heart stood still.
- When I rose to open the door, my hands and my fingers dripped with perfume.
- My heart stood still while he spoke to me, but when I opened the door, my darling had disappeared. I searched and shouted, but I could not find him-- there was no answer.
- Then I was found by the guards patrolling the town and guarding the wall. They beat me up and stripped off my robe.
- Young women of Jerusalem, if you find the one I love, please say to him, "She is weak with desire."
- Most beautiful of women, why is the one you love more special than others? Why do you ask us to tell him how you feel?
- He is handsome and healthy, the most outstanding among ten thousand.
- His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy, black as a raven.
- His eyes are a pair of doves bathing in a stream flowing with milk.
- His face is a garden of sweet-smelling spices; his lips are lilies dripping with perfume.
- His arms are branches of gold covered with jewels; his body is ivory decorated with sapphires.
- His legs are columns of marble on feet of gold. He stands there majestic like Mount Lebanon and its choice cedar trees.
- His kisses are sweet. I desire him so much! Young women of Jerusalem, he is my lover and friend.
In this present dream, the husband had been absent, though for what purpose or for how long, we are not told. He knocks at the door and calls to his wife in affectionate terms asking that she let him in. Calling to her affectionately and the fact that when she finally went to open the door there was myrrh on the door handle, may indicate that he was seeking more than entry to the house, but also entry to his 'garden.' Myrrh was sometimes associated with lovemaking. Somewhat indifferently, the wife says she had just undressed, washed her feet, and gone to bed. How could she get dressed again and dirty her feet to go let him in? But when he tried to open the door she was moved by his effort to get to her and decided to let him in. But she was disappointed to discover that at her hesitation to open for him and his failure to gain entry, the husband had gone away.
She was crushed that he had left and called for him but he did not answer. So she went into the city to find him. But this time when she encountered the guards they mistook who she was, evidently thinking she was a prostitute out in the night or having some other ill intent. Possibly her mistreatment by the guards in her dream symbolized her feelings of guilt at causing her lover to go away. Whether this is accurate or not, the dream itself shows the pain of separation brought on by this episode as she sought to find her lover. She turned, then, to the young women of Jerusalem for their help in finding her lover asking that if they should find him to tell him "that I am lovesick."
The young women asked her what made her lover so special that they should help to find him. She then describes the attractiveness of her lover. It is clear, both by her search for her husband and by this description of him that despite the indifference she may have had, she still cared for him, and her desire for him is rekindled. He is her lover and her friend. Such difficulties are normal in a marriage. Working through these difficulties not only keeps the marriage together, but the marriage is strengthened by the process of working through these difficulties.
No comments:
Post a Comment