If only you were to me like a brother,
\nwho was nursed at my mother’s breasts!
\nThen, if I found you outside,
\nI would kiss you,
\nand no one would despise me.
\nI would lead you
\nand bring you to my mother’s house–
\nshe who has taught me.
\nI would give you spiced wine to drink,
\nthe nectar of my pomegranates. (8:1-2)<\/p>\n
Of course, if, as a surprising number of commentators take this, you assume the woman is talking literally and wishes that he were her brother, and that she could take him home with her to her mother, then this little segment here makes not a whole lot of sense. It startles me that so many commentators insist on an interpretation that makes no sense; it reminds me of when Vanessa is reading and gets frustrated and tells me that the sentence makes no sense. She reads it, says a nonsense word, and I ask her, do you know a word like that? Well, no. So do you think that’s what that word really is? Well, maybe not. At least she has the sense to ask, and doesn’t just accept the nonsense.<\/p>\n
The term brother in the ancient Near East, like the term sister (which we’ve seen before in Song of Songs) is term of endearment, used like “honey” or “darling”. Hense, she is expressing the desire for a romantic and intimate relationship, and one that is legitimate, rather than sereptitious, since in most cases the term sister and brother were used by husbands and wives. She wants their affair to be open and legitimized. Her mother’s house is not a place she lives; rather, it is her genitals (consider the earlier usage of this term in Song of Songs). And of course the spiced wine, nectar of pomegranites, and the like is all referencing kissing (again, look at the usage earlier in the poem).<\/p>\n
His left arm is under my head
\nand his right arm embraces me.
\nDaughters of Jerusalem,
\nI charge you:
\nDo not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.<\/p>\n
Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover?
\nUnder the apple tree I roused you;
\nthere your mother conceived you,
\nthere she who was in labor gave you birth.
\nPlace me like a seal over your heart,
\nlike a seal on your arm;
\nfor love is as strong as death,
\nits jealousy unyielding as the grave.
\nIt burns like blazing fire,
\nlike a mighty flame.
\nMany waters cannot quench love;
\nrivers cannot wash it away.
\nIf one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. (8:3-7)<\/p>\n
The opening lines are reminiscent of what we’ve seen before in 2:6; if you recall, I suggested then that we might be looking at oral sex; I’m still not certain. It is interesting to compare this passage in general with that one, because there are other connections. Thus, I will quote 2:3-7, so that you can see clearly all the similarities and then we’ll talk about it a bit:<\/p>\n
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
\nis my lover among the young men.
\nI delight to sit in his shade,
\nand his fruit is sweet to my taste.
\nHe has taken me to the banquet hall,
\nand his banner over me is love.
\nStrengthen me with raisins,
\nrefresh me with apples,
\nfor I am faint with love.
\nHis left arm is under my head,
\nand his right arm embraces me.
\nDaughters of Jerusalem,
\nI charge you by the gazelles
\nand by the does of the field:
\nDo not arouse or awaken love
\nuntil it so desires. (2:3-7)<\/p>\n
Cool, huh? In the earlier passage, the woman compares him to an apple tree, his fruit is sweet to the taste, and so on (which is part of why I thought possibly in terms of oral sex); in the earlier passage she is faint with love, asking to be strengthened with raisins, refreshed by apples.<\/p>\n
Now, in the current passage, she is leaning on her lover, reminiscing: <\/p>\n
“Under the apple tree I roused you;
\nthere your mother conceived you,
\nthere she who was in labor gave you birth.”<\/p>\n
She is not talking about being born, but rather the birth of their love, and their first encounter. The “mother conceived you” would imply genital to genital sex, rather than oral sex, however.<\/p>\n
The remainder of the Song of Songs I find interesting because of how it is consistent with what Paul will write a thousand years later in 1 Corinthians 13. So consider the Song of Songs 8:6-7:<\/p>\n
for love is as strong as death,
\nits jealousy unyielding as the grave.
\nIt burns like blazing fire,
\nlike a mighty flame.
\nMany waters cannot quench love;
\nrivers cannot wash it away.
\nIf one were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
\nit would be utterly scorned.<\/p>\n
Then compare it with 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:<\/p>\n
Love is patient,
\nlove is kind.
\nIt does not envy,
\nit does not boast,
\nit is not proud.
\nIt is not rude,
\nit is not self-seeking,
\nit is not easily angered,
\nit keeps no record of wrongs.
\nLove does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
\nIt always protects,
\nalways trusts,
\nalways hopes,
\nalways perseveres.
\nLove never fails.<\/p>\n
Love is strong as death, it is an unquenchable fire that no amount of water can put out, and no amount of money would be enough to make the beloved reject the one he or she loves. Love cannot be undone, it does not go away, it cannot be extinguished.<\/p>\n
We have a young sister,
\nand her breasts are not yet grown.
\nWhat shall we do for our sister
\nfor the day she is spoken for?
\nIf she is a wall,
\nwe will build towers of silver on her.
\nIf she is a door,
\nwe will enclose her with panels of cedar.<\/p>\n
I am a wall,
\nand my breasts are like towers.
\nThus I have become in his eyes
\nlike one bringing contentment.
\nSolomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon;
\nhe let out his vineyard to tenants.
\nEach was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver.
\nBut my own vineyard is mine to give;
\nthe thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.
\nYou who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice!
\nCome away, my lover,
\nand be like a gazelle
\nor like a young stag
\non the spice-laden mountains. (8:8-14)<\/p>\n
The poem ends as erotically as any other part of it. The woman worried about her breast size, but thanks to the attention of her lover, they are now big enough. I don’t think she means that they actually expanded, but rather, her self-perception has improved. She has a better body image thanks to his genuine love for her. Because he loves her and accepts her unconditionally, she can see that she indeed is beautiful and that she brings contentment and satisfaction to him.<\/p>\n
Playing off the line from chapter seven, she comments, “If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned” (8:7). She speaks to those who might try to bribe her away from him for a thousand shekels of silver. It isn’t enough; as she says, “But my own vineyard is mine to give”. Love cannot be bought, and love cannot be turned off for money. And so she ends the poem by calling for him to come away to her, and to enjoy her once again; the implication is that they will live happily ever after, of course.<\/p>\n
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Send to Kindle<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once again, take warning all who read this post. The language that follows is somewhat explicit. If discussions of sex offend you, then you might want to skip this blog post. Of course, you might also want to make a … Continue reading