Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 1:5
I [am] black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
5. Here the Shulammite, under the inquisitive glances of the court ladies, who probably desire to see whether they have in any degree accomplished their purpose of rousing her admiration for the king, remembers her rustic appearance, and explains that the swarthy colour which is so different from theirs, is not natural or permanent, and asserts her equality in beauty.
I am black ] Better, swart. The word denotes here, not blackness as of a negro or of a horse (cp. Zec 6:2; Zec 6:6), but the ruddy or brown hue of sunburning; though with poetic exaggeration the speaker compares herself to the Bedouin tents of camel’s hair, for blackness, and to the brilliantly coloured curtains of Solomon’s tent, for beauty.
Kedar ] i.e. black, was the name of a tribe of nomads whose eponymous ancestor was (Gen 25:13) a son of Ishmael. They wandered in the Arabian desert towards Babylonia, and are called Kidru in the cuneiform inscriptions.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This section is made by the Targumist and other Jewish interpreters to adumbrate the condition of Israel in the wilderness; by some Christian expositors, that of the Gentile Church on her first conversion.
Son 1:5
I am black … – Dark-hued, as the tents of Kedar with their black goats hair coverings, rough and weather-stained, but comely (beautiful) as the rich hangings which adorn the pavilion of Solomon. Kedar was the name of an Arab tribe Gen 25:13; Psa 120:5. The word itself signifies dark or black. Possibly tents of Kedar stand here poetically for shepherds tents in general Isa 60:7.
Son 1:6
Look not upon me – In wonder or scorn at my swarthy hue. It was acquired in enforced but honest toil: the sun hath scanned me (or glared upon me) with his burning eye. The second word rendered looked is a word twice found in Job Job 20:9; Job 28:7, and indicates in the latter place the piercing glance of a bird of prey.
My mothers children, – Or, sons; a more affectionate designation than brothers, and implying the most intimate relationship.
Angry – This anger was perhaps but a form of jealous care for their sisters safety (compare Son 8:12). By engaging her in rustic labors they preserved her from idleness and temptation, albeit with a temporary loss of outward comeliness.
Mine own vineyard – A figurative expression for herself or her beauty.
Son 1:7
whom my soul loveth – A phrase recurring several times. It expresses great intensity of affection.
Feedest – i. e., Pursuest thy occupation as a shepherd; so she speaks figuratively of the Son of David. Compare Son 2:16; Son 6:3; Psa 23:1.
Rest – Or, lie down; a term properly used of the couching of four-footed animals: thy flock is here therefore easily understood. Compare Eze 34:14-15; Psa 23:2; Jer 50:6.
As one that turneth aside – Or, goeth astray like an outcast.
Son 1:8
The chorus, and not the king, are the speakers here. Their meaning seems to be: If thy beloved be indeed a shepherd, then seek him yonder among other shepherds, but if a king, thou wilt find him here in his royal dwelling.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Son 1:5-6
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.
The churchs blackness
I. The church of God and Christians, whilst they are here, are in an imperfect state. There is a mixture of some light and darkness together, and so it will be till we come to heaven, both for sin and sorrow, for sins and defects in soul. The causes why God will have it so are:
1. In regard of outward infirmities, that we might be made conformable to His Son (Rom 8:17), and so reign with Him, being first made suitable to the body.
2. In respect of outward and inward infirmities, both because Gods glory is seen in our infirmities (2Co 12:7), His grace being sufficient to uphold us, and also in regard our weakness commends His strength, and our folly His wisdom.
3. Because He would draw us out of the earth, and have us hasten to accomplish the marriage and come away, therefore He sends us so many crosses, and so little rest in the flesh.
4. Because God would have us humble, patient and pitiful people, neither of which would be unless our state were imperfect; we would never know ourselves, our brethren and God, unless it were so, that on both sides we saw the prints of our imperfections.
II. Though our estate be here imperfect, yet we must not be discouraged.
1. We have a great and mighty deliverer. He loves His children in the midst of all their deformities.
2. He is able to help them in all estates; His grace is still sufficient, He hath present help. What needs the child be dismayed for pain when the Father can remove it at His pleasure?
3. The saints of God in all ages have gone through imperfections; they have been sick, poor, doubtful, passionate, as well as we. God hath brought them to heaven, to happiness, through all storms.
4. Uprightness may stand with imperfection, some gold may be amongst earth; as the Church shows here, beauty and deformity may stand together, some light, some darkness. Now God bids the upright hope, rejoice, says he is blessed (Psa 23:6).
5. Because the effects of discouragement are too bad, as fretting (Psa 42:11); yea, this doth not only keep Out praises, but causes neglect of all ordinances, drives from God, makes one fierce, envious, uncomfortable, impotent, etc.
III. There is a glory and excellence in the saints of God in the midst of all their deformities and debasements. Indeed their glory is like Solomons curtains, not obvious to every eye; like Kedars tents, or a heap of wheat in the chaff, and outwardly base, but inwardly excellent.
1. Needs it must be so, for being converted, they obtain a new name (Rev 2:17); yea, they, have this peculiar favour granted, as 1Jn 3:1, to be called the sons of God.
2. They have a new nature, being made partakers of the image of God, and so of the Divine nature; as it is (2Pe 1:4).
3. They have a new estate; Christ Jesus makes them free, as Joh 8:35, and He makes them also rich, supplying all their wants with the riches of His glory (Psa 4:3).
4. They have a new kindred and guide. God is their Father, they are members of Christ (1Co 12:13), they are led by the Spirit of God. God dwelleth in them, and the Spirit of glory rests upon them even in affliction (1Pe 4:14), and filleth them with glorious faith and precious graces.
(1) This first discovers a wonderful blindness in us, who can see no such matter in the saints of God.
(2) This is comfort to saints now and hereafter. Now they be glorious, but yet they are but in the way going to glory (Pro 4:18). If thus in their pilgrimage, what at home in their country? If thus, imperfect, what in perfection? If thus, in corruption, what when this corruption shall put on incorruption? And if thus, in mortality, what when mortality shall be swallowed up of life?
IV. We must not still be poring into the deformities of Gods Church and people, like flies on galled places, or dogs upon garbage and raw flesh. For–
1. This is a practice which utterly crosseth God in His commandments, who chargeth us not to despise the day of small things (Zec 4:10).
2. This is quite against justice; for Christians have beauty as well as blackness, graces as well as corruptions.
3. This neither cometh from any good, nor worketh good. It ariseth from pride, ignorance, etc., and showeth that a man neither knows his own estate, nor God s proceedings with His people, who brings them to honour through baseness, and confounds the glory of the world with base things.
V. Then Gods children pay for it, when they do not their own work, not keeping their own standing. It is with them as soldiers and scholars, when they keep not their own places, and learn not their own lessons: they are met with on every side.
1. Because no man speeds well out of his own place, but Christians worst of all; as Pro 27:8, a thousand inconveniences befall to oneself, to his charge, when absent. God will be upon him, and leave him to himself, till he hath wound himself into woeful brakes.
2. Men will be upon his back, as Paul on Peters, or else grow strange till he be humbled; but bad men they will curse him, all the hypocrites in the town will be at his heels.
3. The devil will be upon them, and having drawn them out of the way, will either still mislead them, or else cut their throats and steal all, or hold them, if possible he may, from returning unto God; as in the prodigal son.
4. Their own consciences will be upon them, and it is with them as with a child that plays truant, his heart throbs, he hath no peace: so a Christian, whether he prosper or not prospers, he hath no peace, he eats not, he sleeps not in peace. (R. Sibbes.)
The Churchs confession of infirmity
By the daughters of Jerusalem, Jewish expositors understand the Gentiles, Jerusalem being the spiritual metropolis and mother of us all. And, in substance, most Christian expositors agree with them–that is, they suppose the persons addressed to be some who are not yet openly joined to Christ; who are halting and undecided; seeing much of power and grace in Christ, but discouraged and driven back, either by the remaining infirmities of His followers, or by the persecutions to which they see them to be exposed. Hence the Church proceeds to vindicate herself against any suspicions arising out of these adverse appearances. True, in one sense I am black; judged of externally, and seen only as man seeth, I am as dark and swarthy as the skins with which the wild Arab roofs his tent. But, in another sense, I am comely; my clothing is of wrought gold, my raiment is of finest needlework; my soul, embroidered and enriched with the graces of the Eternal Spirit, makes me beautiful as the hangings in kings palaces, gorgeous as the curtains of Solomon. Black, but comely. The words may be taken, and by the Jews are taken, as anticipative of the glory of the Church in the latter days. In her present state she may be considered as dark as the Ethiops skin. Her heresies, her divisions, her heart-burnings, the spots in her feasts of charity, the scandals among men professing godliness, make the saying to be true of her which Jeremiah witnesses, that her visage is blacker than a coal. But how does Ezekiel speak of what her glory shall be (Eze 16:9-14)? Again, the expression, I am black, may be taken to refer to the many sins of the believer. In the eyes of no one is he so black as he is in his own. He is covered over with blemishes, and spots, and soils. There are stains upon his duties, stains upon his repentances, stains upon his prayers. But look we again. We have seen the picture but from one side. On looking at it from the other, this stained and darkened thing is beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Thus, while the believer is both black and comely, he is neither all the one, nor all the other. There is a strife for mastery always going on between the elements of his inner life–the grace reigning, but the sin not expelled–the flesh disputing inch by inch the claims of the Spirit, and iniquity forcing its presence into the shrine of his holiest things. Still, comely he is, and that through Christs comeliness. The world sees only the tents of Kedar, but cannot discern the curtains of Solomon. (D. Moore, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. I am black, but comely] This is literally true of many of the Asiatic women; though black or brown, they are exquisitely beautiful. Many of the Egyptian women are still fine; but their complexion is much inferior to that of the Palestine females. Though black or swarthy in my complexion, yet am I comely – well proportioned in every part.
As the tents of Kedar] I am tawny, like the tents of the Arabians, and like the pavilions of Solomon, probably covered by a kind of tanned cloth. The daughters of Jerusalem are said to represent the synagogue; the bride, the Church of Christ. It is easy to find spiritual meanings: every creed will furnish them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I am black. It might be objected, Who art thou, that thou shouldst have or pretend to such a royal Bridegroom, and such honours and favours? To this the church answers, I confess, as to myself and outward appearance in the eyes of the world, I have not that pomp and beauty which men admire, but am black, contemptible and deformed, both for my own infirmities and disorders, and for the scandals of some of my own members, and for the reproaches and persecutions of worldly men. She alludes to the complexion of Pharaohs daughter, who was black.
But comely; yet I am glorious within, Psa 45:13, and comely, through the beauty which my Husband hath put upon me, by his graces and blessings conferred upon me, such as justification and sanctification, &c.
Daughters of Jerusalem; by which she understands particular believers, whose mother Jerusalem is called, Gal 4:26, who had joined themselves to her, especially young converts and weak Christians, who were startled and offended at the contemplation of her blackness.
Of Kedar, i.e. of the wild Arabians, the posterity of Kedar, Gen 25:13, who dwelt in tents, which were black and uncomely, both in themselves, and by the injuries of the weather, to which they were constantly exposed.
As the curtains of Solomon; as the hangings wherewith Solomons house was furnished, which none can doubt that they were most beautiful and glorious. So these two last clauses answer to the two first, and that in the same order in which they lie.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. blacknamely, “as thetents of Kedar,” equivalent to blackness (Ps120:5). She draws the image from the black goatskins with whichthe Scenite Arabs (“Kedar” was in Arabia-Petra) covertheir tents (contrasted with the splendid state tent in which theKing was awaiting His bride according to Eastern custom);typifying the darkness of man’s natural state. To feel this, and yetalso feel one’s self in Jesus Christ “comely as the curtains ofSolomon,” marks the believer (Rom 7:18;Rom 8:1); 1Ti1:15, “I am chief”; so she says not merely, “Iwas,” but “I am”; still black in herself, butcomely through His comeliness put upon her (Eze16:14).
curtainsfirst, thehangings and veil in the temple of Solomon (Eze16:10); then, also, the “fine linen which is therighteousness of saints” (Re19:8), the white wedding garment provided by Jesus Christ(Isa 61:10; Mat 22:11;1Co 1:30; Col 1:28;Col 2:10; Rev 7:14).Historically, the dark tents of Kedar represent the GentileChurch (Isa 60:3-7,c.). As the vineyard at the close is transferred from the Jews, whohad not kept their own, to the Gentiles, so the Gentiles areintroduced at the commencement of the Song for they were among theearliest enquirers after Jesus Christ (Mt2:1-12): the wise men from the East (Arabia, or Kedar).
daughters ofJerusalemprofessors, not the bride, or “the virgins,”yet not enemies; invited to gospel blessings (Son 3:10;Son 3:11); so near to JesusChrist as not to be unlikely to find Him (So5:8); desirous to seek Him with her (So6:1; compare Son 6:13;Son 7:1; Son 7:5;Son 7:8). In Son 7:8;Son 7:9, the bride’s Belovedbecomes their Beloved; not, however, of all of them (So8:4; compare Luk 23:27;Luk 23:28).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I [am] black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,…. The church having obtained of Christ, what she wanted, turns to the daughters of Jerusalem, the same perhaps with the virgins her companions; they seem to be young converts, it may be not yet members of the visible church, but had a great respect for the church, and she for them; and who, though they had but a small knowledge of Christ her beloved, yet were desirous of knowing more of him, and seeking him with her; see So 3:9; to these she gives this character of herself, that she was “black” in herself x, through original sin and actual transgression; in her own eyes, through indwelling sin, and many infirmities, spots, and blemishes in life; and in the eyes of the world, through afflictions, persecutions, and reproaches, she was attended with, and so with them the offscouring of all things: “but comely” in the eyes of Christ, called by him his “fair one”, the “fairest among women”, and even “all fair”, So 1:8; through his comeliness put upon her, the imputation of his righteousness to her; through the beauties of holiness upon her; through, the sanctifying influences of his Spirit; and, being in a church state, walking in Gospel order, attending to the commands and ordinances of Christ; and so beautiful as Tirzah, and comely as Jerusalem, So 6:4; and upon all accounts “desirable” y to Christ, and to his people, as the word may be rendered;
as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon: each of which are thought by some to refer to both parts of her character; and suppose that the tents of Kedar, though they might look poor on the outside, were full of wealth and riches within; and Solomon’s curtains, or hangings, might have an outward covering not so rich and beautiful as they were on the inside; but rather the blackness of the church is designed by the one, and her comeliness by the other. With respect to her blackness, she compares herself to the tents of Kedar, to the inhabitants of those tents, who were of a black or swarthy complexion; Kedar signifies the name of a man whose posterity these were, that dwelt in tents, even of Kedar the second son of Ishmael, and who inhabited some part of Arabia; and, their employment being to feed cattle, moved from place to place for the sake of pasturage, and so dwelt in tents, which they could easily remove, and hence were called Scenites; and the tents they dwelt in being made of hair cloth, and continually exposed to the sun and rain, were very black, and yet a number of them made a fine appearance, as Dr. Shaw relates z; though black, yet were beautiful to behold; he says,
“the Bedouin Arabs at this day live in tents called “hhymes”, from the shelter which they afford the inhabitants; and “beet el shaar”, that is, “houses of hair”, from the materials or webs of goats’ hair whereof they were made; and are such hair cloth as our coal sacks are made of; the colour of them is beautifully alluded to, So 1:5; for nothing certainly can afford (says he) a more delightful prospect than a large extensive plain, whether in its verdure, or even scorched up by the sunbeams, than, these movable habitations pitched in circles upon them; of which (he says) he has seen from three to three hundred.”
And for her comeliness the church compares herself either to the curtains of Solomon, about his bed, or to the rich hangings of tapestry in the several apartments of his palace, which no doubt were very costly and magnificent.
x “Nigra per naturam, formosa per gratiam”, Aug. de Tempore, serm. 201. p. 354. tom. 10. “Fusca per culpam, decora per gratiam”, Ambros. in Psal. cxviii. octon. 2. col. 881. tom. 2. y “optabilis”, Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus; so Aben Ezra. z Travels, p. 220. edit. 2. See Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. Solin. Polyhist. c. 46.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After this choral song, Shulamith, who has listened to the singers not without being examined by their inquisitive glances as a strange guest not of equal rank with them, now speaks:
5 Black am I, yet comely, ye daughters of Jerusalem,
As the tents of Kedar, as the hangings of Solomon.
From this, that she addresses the ladies of the palace as “daughters of Jerusalem” ( Ker , a du. fractus; like for , 2Ch 13:19), it is to be concluded that she, although now in Jerusalem, came from a different place. She is, as will afterwards appear, from Lower Galilee; – and it may be remarked, in the interest of the mystical interpretation, that the church, and particularly her first congregations, according to the prophecy, was also Galilean, for Nazareth and Capernaum are their original seats; – and if Shulamith is a poetico-mystical Mashal or emblem, then she represents the synagogue one day to enter into the fellowship of Solomon – i.e., of the son of David, and the daughters of Jerusalem, i.e., the congregation already believing on the Messiah. Yet we confine ourselves to the nearest sense, in which Solomon relates a self-experience. Shulamith, the lightly esteemed, cannot boast that she is so ruddy and fair of countenance as they who have just sung how pleasant it is to be beloved by this king; but yet she is not so devoid of beauty as not to venture to love and hope to be loved: “Black am I, yet comely.” These words express humility without abjectness. She calls herself “black,” although she is not so dark and unchangeably black as an “Ethiopian” (Jer 13:23). The verb has the general primary idea of growing dark, and signifies not necessarily soot-blackness (modern Arab. shuhwar , soot), but blackness more or less deep, as , the name of the morning twilight, or rather the morning grey, shows; for (Arab.) sahar
(Note: After an improbable etymology of the Arab., from sahar , to turn, to depart, “the departure of the night” (Lane). Magic appears also to be called sihar , as nigromantia (Mediaev. from nekromantia), the black art.)
denotes the latter, as distinguished from (Arab.) fajr , the morning twilight ( vid., under Isa 14:12; Isa 47:11). She speaks of herself as a Beduin who appears to herself as (Arab.) sawda , black, and calls
(Note: The houri (damsel of paradise) is thus called hawaryyt , adj. relat. from hawra , from the black pupil of the eye in the centre of the white eyeball.)
the inhabitants of the town (Arab.) hawaryyat ( cute candidas). The Vav we have translated “yet” (“yet comely”); it connects the opposite, which exists along with the blackness. is the fem. of the adj. = = , which is also formed by means of the doubling of the third stem-letter of = , (to bend forward, to aim; to be corresponding to the aim, conformable, becoming, beautiful), e.g., like , to be full of sap, green. Both comparisons run parallel to nigra et bella ; she compares on the one hand the tents of Kedar, and on the other the tapestry of Solomon. signifies originally, in general, the dwelling-place, as the place where one spends the night; these two words interchange: ohel is the house of the nomad, and baith is the tent of him who is settled. (with the Tsere, probably from (Arab.) kadar , to have ability, be powerful, though of after the Heb. manner, as Theodoret explains and Symm. also translates: , from (Heb.) Kadar , atrum esse ) is the name of a tribe of North. Arab. Ishmaelites (Gen 25:13) whom Pliny speaks of ( Cedraei in his Hist. Nat. Son 5:11), but which disappeared at the era of the rise of Islam; the Karaite Jefeth uses for it the word (Arab.) Karysh , for he substitutes the powerful Arab tribe from which Muhammed sprung, and rightly remarks: “She compares the colour of her skin to the blackness of the hair tents of the Koreishites,” – even to the present day the Beduin calls his tent his “hair-house” ( bet wabar , or, according to a more modern expression, bet sa’r , ); for the tents are covered with cloth made of the hair of goats, which are there mostly black-coloured or grey. On the one hand, dark-coloured as the tents of the Kedarenes, she may yet, on the other hand, compare herself to the beautiful appearance of the of Solomon. By this word we will have to think of a pleasure-tent or pavilion for the king; pavillon (softened from Lat. papilio ) is a pleasure-tent spread out like the flying butterfly. This Heb. word could certainly also mean curtains for separating a chamber; but in the tabernacle and the temple the curtains separating the Most Holy from the Holy Place were not so designated, but are called and ; and as with the tabernacle, so always elsewhere, (from , to tremble, to move hither and thither) is the name of the cloths or tapestry which formed the sides of the tent (Isa 54:2); of the tent coverings, which were named in parall. with the tents themselves as the clothing of their framework (Hab 3:7; Jer 4:20; Jer 10:20; Jer 49:29). Such tent hangings will thus also be here meant; precious, as those described Ex 26 and 36, and as those which formed the tabernacle on Zion (2 Sam 7; cf. 1Ch 17:1) before the erection of the temple. Those made in Egypt
(Note: Vid., Wetzstein’s Isaiah (1869), p. 698.)
were particularly prized in ancient times.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
SHULAMITE SPEAKS TO FEMALE COMPANIONS
Verses 5-6 record the first of several addresses by the Shulamite to certain females known as daughters of Jerusalem, but not further identified. In these 2 verses she explains her dark complexion as sun-tan resulting from being required by her brothers to care for the family vineyards in the homeland. The absence of any mention of a father suggests that he was dead.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
SOLOMONS BLACK BEAUTY
Son 1:5.
FOR forty-seven consecutive years I have been bringing to the assembled auditors texts, chapters and Books of the Bible; but up to this moment I have never spoken on The Song of Solomon, nor even discussed a single text from its eight chapters.
This has been due to two circumstances: first, the wealth of the Word is such that no man need ever want for an appropriate, or an adequate text; and, second, the general theme of Solomons Song is of such a delicate nature that we have preferred to expend our time upon other Scriptures.
However, in the long course of that series of studies, by which we are presenting to our auditors the entire Bible, we now reach this Book; and there is no sufficient reason why it should longer be passed over in silence.
We agree absolutely with those interpreters of the Book who see in it an ardent expression of marital love as ordained of God in creation; and also the expression of the same as a type of the Heavenly relationship between Christ, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride. We are not unmindful of Pauls employment of this figure. Writing to the Church at Corinth, he said: I am jealous over you with Godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one Husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ (2Co 11:2). It will also be remembered that John, in his Patmos vision, describes the Heavenly City after this manner,
I John saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev 21:2).
Certainly the most beautiful and sacred of all earthly relations is that of husband and wife when the devotion is mutual and the love is sanctified.
Keeping that in mind saves one from putting upon the Song of Solomon any false or fleshly interpretation, and enables him to see in it the type or symbol of the Divine, and, consequently, sacred affection.
The most common, and perhaps the most correct interpretation of this Scripture sees in the first chapter a statement of a woman, dusky, if not black, in color, who had been selected by Solomon as one of his numerous wives or concubines, who reluctantly yielded to her kings power to select whom he would, but who, in her heart, was devotedly loyal to a shepherd lover; and it is of him that she speaks in ardent affection.
THE BLACK WIFE
This woman is sensible of her non-acceptable color. Hence her speech: I am black, but comely. That this blackness was more than a sunburn is evidenced from the language: as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Through the ages the Kedar tents were covered with black goat skins. David, in one of those dark days when his distress was great, cried unto the Lord and said: Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar (Psa 120:5)! So they have always been accepted as a type of the darkness of mans estate in sin.
It is not impossible therefore, that among the multitude of beauties selected by Solomon for his harem, there was one woman of the black race; in fact, the text would seem to clearly indicate that fact. But, doubtless more nearly the East Indian than the negro type.
Her speech, however, is more than an expression of conscious separation on account of color,
It also involves an explanation of the race characteristics. Men are constantly discussing the origin of races. There are evolutionists who believe that the five more distinct races of the earth evidence the Darwin theory, and that men do not come from a common ancestry, but from different animal stocks.
Such a suggestion is contrary to all the scientific data upon the subject. There is no indication that one branch of the monkey family evoluted into Japanese or Chinesethe yellow race; that another Simian branched into the black race, a third into the red race, a fourth into the white race, and so on. White monkeys are rare!
The text has a far saner and more scientific suggestion, namely, I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me. The black peoples of the earth were found originally around the equator and doubtless were made black by the exposure to the sun, at its highest, through the centuries and millenniums.
Dr. Ysaburo Noguchi, a Japanese biologist, reported some months ago on a trip which he took into Brazil for the purpose of studying racial characteristics. He declared that he could almost build an infant to order through the use of ultra-violet rays and stimulation or diminution of glandular activity. He said an infants growth may be retarded or increased and its stature, breadth of shoulder and other physical characteristics could be fixed. He even went so far as to affirm that by electrical nutrition and glandular control, he could change an Indian into a Negro, or a Japanese into a Caucasian.
All such statements will be taken with extreme caution; but, if his claims could be proven true, they would only further emphasize the fact that all men are made of one blood; and that external influences and internal manipulation, such as possibly nature herself has employed, produces the racial differences to be found on the face of the earth.
The circumstance that there is no sterility resulting from racial distinctions proves that man is one, and leaves it far easier to believe that a tropical sun would tend to create and fix color than to hold that different monkeys developed into different races of men.
Still further, this woman does not favor interracial marriage. She esteemed the fact that the king, to secure whose heart was regarded an unspeakable honor, would show such affection for her as to give her the kiss of the mouth, and reveal toward her an ardor or love that was symbolized by the strength of wine, and had about it the aroma of precious ointment; yet she affirmed her unflagging affection for the far away shepherd, to whom she had given her love, and with whom she evidently preferred to spend her life.
There was more in this decision than love itself; there was love based upon wisdom, for doubtless her shepherd lover was of the same race with herself. Whether she knew it or not, her decision to go to her own, if possible, was a decision of wisdom.
Upon that many of the scientists of the present time lay special emphasis. William Archer, speaking of race mixture, says, I do not believe that this is a true ideal of progress. J. W. Gregory tells us that the objection to intermarriage between the white and black is strongly developed in the Teutonic race, British, Dutch, and Scandinavian. He also says, The aversion to marriage with people of a different race is not limited to the whites. Mixed intercourse is regarded with even more intense repulsion by some of the higher classes of Indians, who regard every half caste as an insult to their national pride, and who feel intermarriage or intercourse between Indian women and European men as the most galling product of the British occupation of India. The general dislike of miscegenation is expressed by the contempt in the term mongrel and by the widespread belief that hybrids are inferior to both parents. Although holding to the improvement of the race by interbreeding, biologists admit that where two widely distinct races are in contact, the inferior qualities are not bred out, but may be emphasized in the progeny.
Beyond all question there is a national pride and selfishness that has little occasionthe feeling of an American that he is the worlds best man, of the Englishman that his like has not been found elsewhere on the face of the earth, and of the German that he is the special favorite of God. But these egoisms of nations are another thing from the distinction in races.
Stoddard, in his Racial Realities in Europe, says, In Southern Portugal the population is distinctly tinged with negro blood. The result is that the populations both of the southern country side and of the port towns show many negroid types. The effect of this African infusion upon the Portuguese stock has undoubtedly been a depressing one.
Robert Speer, the world traveler-supervisor of Presbyterian missions, in his volume, Of One Blood, tells us that in later Rome there was an almost universal intermixture of blood, and quotes Professor Tenney Frank as saying that perhaps ninety per cent of the free plebians in the streets of Rome in the time of Juvenal and Tacitus had oriental blood in their veins, and he has compiled equally remarkable statistics for various towns in Italy, Gaul, and Spain. He concludes, It is evident, that the whole empire was a melting pot and that the oriental was always and everywhere a large part of the ore.
And then Speer adds, Some lay the fall of Rome to this amalgamation. Professor Conklin, of Princeton, says, The present tendency to the breaking down of isolation and the commingling of races is a reversal of the processes by which those races were established.
It is a fact, as Conklin declares, that the present conditions of life are exactly such as to finally break down all these walls of partition and bring about a commingling of all existing human types, but it may also be true, as Conklin contends, that the race itself is degenerating just as rapidly as this hybridization is taking place.
Only a few weeks ago there walked into my study one Saturday afternoon a Chinaman of about fifty-five summers and an American girl of twenty-four. The Chinaman announced to me that they had come to get married. I looked them over and announced to him that they had come to the wrong place. In my heart I was extremely glad for the difference in age, for it provided me a better justification of my refusal to unite them in marital bonds; but as a matter of fact, the difference in race was also effective with me, for I have yet to learn of a union of people of utterly distinct race who found in the marriage bond the fulfilment of their dreams and hopes for happiness.
But we pass on to
THE BLACK LIFE
As we have already said, this whole Book of the Song of Solomon is filled with symbolic truths. This girls statement, I am black, but comely, contains some instructive and precious suggestions.
Color can, and does signify character. Job, as he sat miserable in his sufferings and covered with boils that doubtless broke and scabbed, said, My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. It was to him at that time both a literal and typical truth. He knew himself to be afflicted, and he feared that he had lost the Divine favor so that the sight of his person seemed black, and the day itself deepened into night. Jeremiah, writing of Israels estate, seems to have lost all hope as he looked upon their graven images and was made familiar with their strange vanities, and he cried in despair, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved, and then he adds, For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black, astonishment hath taken hold on me (Jer 8:20-21). It is easy to see his meaning, I am staggered by what I see, the world around me seems black, and sin has brought it about!
Mrs. Jameson says, We find colors used in a symbolical or mystic sense * * . White, represented by the diamond of silver, was the emblem of light, religious purity, innocence, virginity, faith, joy, and life. Our Saviour wears white after His resurrection.
In the judge it indicated integrity; in the sick man, humility; in the woman, chastity.
Red, the ruby, signified fire, Divine love; the Holy Spirit, heat, or the creative power and royalty. White and red roses express love and innocence or love and wisdom. In a bad sense, red signifies blood, war, hatred and punishment.
Blue, or the sapphire, expressed Heaven, the firmament, truth, fidelity. Yellow, or gold, was the symbol of the sun, of the goodness of God. Black expresses the earth, darkness, mourning, wickedness, death, and was appropriate to the Prince of darkness.
How true it is to the feelings of life, and how many a man, how many a woman, has been compelled to say, I am black, as he or she reflected upon conduct, or even upon fixed character itself. It always means that one is self-condemned, that one sees how sin has conquered in him.
Color also can express conscious sorrow. It did in the instance of Jeremiah for he says, For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black! He seems to have voiced that fact in this very instance for the Shulamite woman hastens to say My mothers children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. This is an indication that because of her color they had driven her out, they had put her away, they had made her an outcast, so to speak; they had not even permitted her to take care of her own vineyard, but to do the slaves part of taking care of theirs, first.
It is altogether probable that this might have been one of those instances where, through mixed marriage, a child had taken on the color of a remote ancestor, and while the members of the house were of the same family, there was by inheritance, a black sheep of the flock. There is a statement that runs curiously, There is one black sheep in every flock, and it is supposed to apply to the sinful one in an ordinary and medium-sized family; but like its illustration, it is only partially true. And yet history compels us to face the fact that it is often true. Some one who has turned his back upon God; some one who, like the prodigal, has taken his portion of the goods and wasted it in riotous living; some one who has descended to swinish associates and to starvation wagessuch are black as we employ terms.
But, blessed be God, we may add this further remark, and base it upon the text:
Color is changeable; it is not forever fixed. Isaiah, the great Prophet, gives us this conception when he voiced the Word of the Lord, Come, now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
There are known chemicals that can change color completely, that can take out stains, that can remove spots; but there is no chemical that has such power as the Blood of Christ. It can cleanse from all sin; it can change black to white. That is why Daniel himself could say: Many shall be purified, and made white.
But this text has a further suggestion
THE BASIS OF BEAUTY
There is a natural beauty about the unregenerate. If we accept this language as typical we must take it at its face value, I am black, but comely.
Can it be true? Is a man in his unregeneracy wholly offensive to God? Or is there something in him that God sees and that God loves? We have long believed and held that the Bible clearly teaches that God beholds beauty in the unregenerate man. He has not forgotten that man was made originally in the Divine image, and He does not ignore the fact that though the fall degenerated and scarred and stained, much of that original beauty remained. The Psalmist is speaking of his physical frame when he says, I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
We are told that Gothold, hearing a young woman praised for her beauty, asked, What kind of beauty did you mean; merely that of the body or that also of the mind? We ourselves see in men and women about us, manifold evidences of their Divine creation; and in spite of all that they have suffered through the fall, and in consequence of six thousand years of sin, there is enough of beauty left in many a natural man to justify Gods statement made after man was completed, namely, that He saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.
However, the original beauty is to be recovered by redemption. The black color will in no wise detract from the face of him in whom Christ is reflected, the hope of glory; for when we see Christ in a man, it little concerns us whether he is yellow, red, white, or black; there is beauty there!
The Watchman-Examiner sometime since published a poem, author unknown, which read:
I slept. I dreamed. I seemed to climb a hard ascending track
And just behind me labored one whose face was black,
I pitied him, but hour by hour he gained upon my path.
He stood beside me, stood upright, and then I turned in wrath.
Go back, I cried, what right have you to stand beside me here?
I paused, struck dumb with fear, for lo!
The black man was not therebut Christ stood in his place!
And oh! the pain, the pain, the pain that looked from that dear face.
Lawrence Dunbar, the great negro poet of the South, beautifully expresses the thought that Christ is no respecter of persons, but loves the white and the black alike, for Dunbar gives us his interpretation of the parable of the ninety and nine, and it reads after this manner:
THE LIL BRACK SHEEP
Po lil brack sheep dat strayed away,
One los in de win an de rain.
An de Shepherd He say, O hirelin,
Go fin My sheep again.
An de hirelin say, O shepherd
Dat sheep am brack and bad.
But de Shepherd He smile, like dat lil brack sheep
Wuz de onliest lamb He had.
An He say, O hirelin, hasten,
For de win and de rain am col,
An dat hirelin frown: O Shepherd,
At sheep am ol an gray!
But de Shepherd He smile, like dat lil brack sheep
Wuz fair as de break ob day.
An He say, O hirelin hasten.
Lo! here is de ninety an nine,
But dere, way off fum the sheep fol,
Is dat lil brack sheep of Mine!
An de hirelh frown: O Shepherd,
De res of de sheep am here!
But de Shepherd He smile, like dat lil brack sheep
He hol it de mostes dear.
An de Shepherd go out in de darkness
Where de night wus col and bleak,
An dat lil brack sheep, He fin it,
An lay it against His cheek.
An de hirelin frown, O Shepherd,
Don bring dat sheep to me!
But de Shepherd He smile, an hol it close,
An dat lil brack sheep wuzme!
He is no respecter of persons; He loves all alike, and the love that seeks and saves the black sheep can also cleanse the blackest soul and make it white as wool; yea, white as snow.
Thank God that this love is both sufficient and unfailing. You recall the story of George Matheson, the young man who was engaged to the girl of his choice and as the wedding day approached his eye sight troubling him, he consulted a Doctor who after a thorough examination, said, I am sorry to tell you, Sir, but in a short time you will be totally blind.
He hurried to the home of his beloved and broke the sad news to her and she instantly broke the engagement, saying, I cannot bind my life to a blind man.
It is difficult to blame her, for such a future would be filled with dark forebodings; but having been thus rejected by human love, he turned to the Lord, in his pitiful estate, and found a compensation in love Divine. And you will remember that Matheson then wrote that marvelous hymn:
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshines blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me thro pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow thro the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust lifes glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, tells us that charity (love) never faileth. But he must have meant love Divine, the love of God that forgives, saves, and, for all eternity, will diminish in naught! The love that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
Notes
Son. 1:6. Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mothers children were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard have I not kept. Look not upon me al tiruni. Look not at me. ZOCKLER. Gaze not on me. WILLIAMS. With surprise and doubt, as if wondering at her presumption. NOYES. In admiration of her beauty. HITZIG. With scorn or disdain. WITHINGTON, GINSBURG. With too much scrutiny. TAYLOR. With indignation. DURHAM. With delight at my affliction, as Oba. 1:12. AINSWORTH. With an evil eye. MERCER. DO not survey me in my vile dress, but consider how I have it. DEL RIO. Allegorically; TARGUM: Spoken by the Congregation of Israel to the nations: Do not despise me because I am more sorrowful than you, having done according to your deeds in worshipping your false gods, and having brought upon myself the Divine displeasure. FOLIOT: Do not look so much at my sufferings, as at the reason why I endure them, and the fruit which I shall receive from them. WEISS: Addressed by Israel to the nations wondering at their boldness after the sin of the golden calf, or astonished that they could commit so great a sin.
Because the sun hath looked upon me. sheshzaphathni; from shazaph; to burn or scorch; to blacken; hence also to look upon, as Job. 20:9; Job. 28:1. From by the change of into . VULGATE: Hath discoloured me. AQUILA: Hath blackened me. WICKLIFF: Has scorched me. COVERDALE: Has shined on me. LUTHER: Has so burned me. DIODATI: Has touched me with his rays. MARTIN: Has looked on me. VATABLUS: Has fixed his rays on me. TIGURINE VERSION: Striking me with his beams. PARKHURST: Has looked down on me, or has shined on me. WILLIAMS: Has beamed upon me. FRY: Properly, looked with penetrating rigour. WEISS: Has glanced or gazed on me. BURROUGHS and GINSBURG: Has browned me. THRUPP: Fiercely scanned me. ZCKLER: Scorched me. MERCER: The blackness not natural but accidental. RASHI: Not natural, and therefore may be removed. A. CLARKE observes that the brown complexion of the Egyptians is attributed to the influence of the sun or climate. But probably no Egyptian in the text. Allegorically; TARGUM: Israel made black by the worship of the sun. FAUSSET: Scorched with Gods anger, executed on her through the world-powers, because of her unfaithfulness before Messiahs coming. GREGORY, &C.: The sun of righteousness blackens the soul by the sufferings endured on his account, or by showing it its own blackness in his presence. PHILO CARPATHIUS: DO not despise me for my sins; since Christ the sun of righteousness has shone upon me. AINSWORTH, GILL, &C.: The Church blackened by the sun of persecution. ROSENMLLER: By miseries and calamities.
My mothers children were angry with me. (nikharu bhi); from to burn, or Piel of EWALD. SEPTUAGINT, VULGATE, &c.: Fought against me. COVERDALE: Had evil will. LUTHER, DIODATI, MARTIN: Were angry with me. So EWALD, DELITZSCH, and GESENIUS. Acted severely against me. A. CLARKE. Were severe with me. PERCY, GOOD, BOOTHROYD. Despised me; literally snorted at me: expresses the ill-treatment she received from her relations in exposing her to servile employments, which caused her dark complexion. Hence the Bride of low extraction compared with her royal Bridegroom. FRY. My mothers children synonymous with brothers: her father probably no longer living at the time of this transaction. ZOCKLER. The children those of her mother by a former husband. HOUBIGANT, UMBREIT, EWALD, &c. Her countrymen. HARMER. Allegorically; TARGUM: False prophets and teachers, the cause of Gods anger against Israel. RASHI: The children of Egypt, among whom I was brought up, and who came up from Egypt with me; and the the offspring of my mother in the wilderness. KEIL: Israel experienced, in consequence of their sin, the anger of the nations, and lost their beauty and glory. WEISS: The Egyptians were incensed against Israel on account of Noahs curse on Ham, and his blessing on Shem, and so treated them cruelly. COCCEIUS, &c.: Persecuting Jews. MUNSTER, &C.: False prophets and kings. SANCTIUS: The Gentiles. MERCER: Nominal members of the Church. DUTCH ANNOTATORS: False brethren. PISCATOR: Affections of carnal corrupt nature. MENOCHIUS: All enemies, external or internal.
They made me Keeper of the vineyards. hak-keramim, plural of kerem, a vineyard; from the unused root = , to be of a noble disposition; hence noble, fruitful; , land planted with noble plants (Jdg. 15:5; Job. 24:18). GESENIUS. A vineyard, possession, estate. EWALD. The noblest, most valued possession. ZCKLER. Ground cultivated like a garden; used generally of vineyards, gardens, and plantations. SIMON. Made me keeper, &c.; made her a drudge in their service, to her own personal injury; keeping vineyards, a servile work. PERCY, COBBIN. BOSSUET, on the supposition of the bride being an Egyptian princess, observes: The princess, by one of those family intrigues common at Eastern Courts, had perhaps been banished to some southern part of Egypt, where she had been employed on secular labour, till by a counter intrigue and revolution equally common, she was recalled from her banishment. Allegorically; TARGUM: Taught me to worship their idols and to walk in their statutes. MERCER: Forced me to observe rites not prescribed by God. DU VEIL: Made me a zealous observer of their human traditious SANCTIUS: Forced me to follow sinful pleasures and practices. COCCEIUS: Excommunicating me from their synagogues. AINSWORTH: To fall in with their corrupt worship and vain traditions. SCOTT: Drawn by original sin to evil things against my will. THEODORET, however, takes another view of the words, applying them to the Apostles: They gave me (the Gentile Church) the divine ordinances to keep. ORIGIN views them as spoken by the Apostles and others, who anxious about the salvation of men, suffered outwardly themselves. LYRA applies them to the drudgery of Israel in Egypt. DEL RIO thinks the vineyards were in the first instance the synagogue, then the Churches of the Gentiles. So COCCEIUS also views the vineyards as including the congregations of the faithful. FROMONDI sees the pastoral office indicated: Dispersed me among the Gentiles, and caused me to be made pastors and keepers of the Gentile Churches. DAVIDSON: The Christian Church charged with the care both of Jew and Gentile vineyards, in consequence of the Jews rejection of God and His laws; or made the depository of the oracles of God with which they are to be fed. HAHN: The brothers, or Hamitic Heathendom, having withdrawn from the service of God and given themselves to the service of Satan, and so made their vineyard or the vineyard of God to become a vineyard of Satan, alienated the weaker sister from the service of God, and drew her into that of Satan, causing her to keep the vineyard, like themselves, in his service.
But mine own vineyard have I not kept. carmi shelli, my vineyard which belongs to me. MERCER: which was committed to me. ZCKLER: (shelli), not only gives special emphasis to the suffix my, but distinguishes her vineyard as quite distinct and of another kind from what she had been forced to keep, viz., herself, with all she has and is. GESENIUS, EWALD, &c., apply it in like manner to her beauty. SANCTIUS: That with which she was bought at her dowry, according to usual practice (Hos. 3:2); the same mentioned in chap. Son. 8:12. Allegorically; TARGUM: The Lord who is my God I have not served. The vineyard, according to THEODORET, the traditions received before accepting Christianity; or, her own soul. SANCTIUS: The more noble part of our nature. BERNARD, &c.: The Jewish people (Isa. 5:1); or, the primitive Church composed of Jews, to whom Christ and the Apostles were first sent. MENOCHIUS: The charge of all the worlds vineyards, and especially that of the synagogue, was committed to me. DEL RIO: I forsook the vineyard, at first committed to me on account of the conduct of the Jewish husbandmen in killing the heir (Matthew 22) JUNIUS: I departed from my duty. PISCATOR: Did not adhere steadily to the worship of God. AINSWORTH: The charge not kept either from her own infirmity and negligence, or from the tyranny of others, or from both: persecutions and afflictions often the effect of chastening for sin. PATRICK: I was like one set to keep the vineyard of others, and could not look after his own: picture of the Gentiles seduced by false teachers into idol worship. GILL: Her own vineyard, either the Church or her own soul: not kept, either from fear or infirmity, or both. SCOTT: The treatment she received proved a temptation to neglect her duty and the care of her own soul, and so conduced to mar her loveliness. HAWKER: Neglected her own soul while engaged in the service of others. ROSENMULLER: Her own countrys religion and institutions forsaken. De WETTE: The Jewish vineyard neglected by the Jewish shepherds (Eze. 34:7-9; Zec. 11:8). THRUPP: The religions culture of all Israel. HAHN. The vineyard committed to her in the service of Satan she has not kept; having awoke to the painful feeling of her unrest, and learned to long after the better home with Israels King.
SHULAMITE
TO THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, OR LADIES OF SOLOMONS COURT
Gives an Account of herself in justification of her presence in the Kings Chambers.
Son. 1:5-6
I am black,
But comely,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem;
As the tents of Kedar,
As the curtains of Solomon.
Look not upon me,
Because I am black,
Because the sun hath looked upon me.
My mothers children were angry with me;
They made me keeper of the vineyards;
But mine own vineyard have I not kept.
Shulamite, in the Allegory, originally a rustic damsel, employed by her brothers in watching the vineyards. Though thus tanned and discoloured by the sun, yet not uncomely in herself, and therefore not to be despised by the ladies of the court. The words indicate the believers twofold character, and the reason of it.
The Christian Paradox.
I am black, but comely.
Shulamite, black or tawny in complexion from the reason given; but comely in feature and proportion. Swarthy, as the coarse tents of Kedar or Arabia, made of dark coloured goats or camels hair, and farther blackened by exposure to the sun and rain (Isa. 21:13; Isa. 21:17; Isa. 42:11; Eze. 27:21; Psa. 120:5-6). Comely, as the beautiful embroidered hangings of Solomons palace (Ecc. 2:4-8; Est. 1:5-6).
Hence observe
I. DARK side of the Paradox.I am black. The believer black
1. With sin. In common with others, the believer blackened
(1) With original sin;
(2) With actual transgression. The character of sin to make men black. Sin black in itself, and blackens those who carry it in their nature and commit it in their life. Black, as contrary to the nature and will of God, who is Light. The least sin in a believer like a dark spot on the suns disk. Sin pervading our whole nature renders us moral Ethiopians. Man, originally created upright, made black by the Fall (Ecc. 7:29; Rom. 5:12-19). Black with sin, both original and actual, now the character of the human race (Gen. 6:5; Gen. 8:21; 2Ch. 6:36; Pro. 20:9; Psa. 14:1-3; Rom. 3:9-19; Rom. 3:23; Jas. 2:10; Jas. 3:2; 1Jn. 1:8). The experience and confession of David (Psa. 51:5). The teaching of Christ (Joh. 3:5-7). Observe
(1) The believer black through inbred corruption and daily transgressions, even while in Christ and enjoying His love. A law in his members warring against the law of his mind (Rom. 7:23). Peters fall immediately after the feast. The believer carries his blackness into the Kings chambers. Good to remember and confess it in the midst of his spiritual enjoyments. Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged (Isa. 51:1).
(2) The believer not only black, but conscious of it. The great distinction between him and others. Others as black as he; but he alone sees and feels his blackness.
(3) The believer not afraid to acknowledge that he is black. His safety and comfort not in his not being black, or less black than others; but in his being comely in Christ, and washed in His blood. His sense of blackness, therefore, no hindrance to his rejoicing in Christ, but rather a help to it. Confession of blackness part of our rejoicing in Christs comeliness. The blacker we are in our own eyes, the more precious is Christ (2Co. 12:8-10).
(4) The confession, I am black, often the turning point in a souls history. Pauls experience at Damascus (Act. 9:1-18; Rom. 7:9). That of Isaiah in the temple (Isa. 6:5-8). Never comely till we realize we are black.
(5) Our whole nature black. I,not a part of me; the whole natural man; the me and I of the Apostle. In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. I am carnal, and sold under sin (Rom. 7:14; Rom. 7:17).
(6) Believers always black with sin while in this world. Times when the believer may be without suffering; no time when he is without sin.
2. With suffering. Suffering and grief blacken us as well as sin (Jer. 8:21; Lam. 4:8; Psa. 119:83). Like others, the believer, while in this world, black with suffering as well as with sin. Sin draws suffering with it as its dark shadow. Believers no exception to this law. That believers have suffering, no more to be concealed than that they have sin. The difference between them and other men, not that they have less suffering, but that they have more comfort and better hope. The testimony of Scripture and the experience of believers, that many are the afflictions of the righteous, and that through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom. Believers, though having the first-fruits of the Spirit, yet groan within themselves (Rom. 8:23). Groan, being burdened (2Co. 5:2). Believers not only not exempt from grief and suffering in this life, but have naturally a large share of it. Their sufferings partly such as are common to men; partly, peculiar to themselves as believers. Various causes of their suffering.
(1) The love of their Father, who chastens them for their profit, to make them partakers of His own holiness (Heb. 12:6-11).
(2) The hatred of the world, which persecutes the members as it did the Head (Joh. 15:18-21; Joh. 17:14; 2Ti. 3:12).
(3) The temptations of Satan, acting both directly on the mind himself, and indirectly through the agency of others (2Co. 12:7; 1Pe. 5:9; Rev. 2:10).
(4) Indwelling sin, or the body of sin and death which we carry with us, occasioning a constant warfare within, and often extorting the cry, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:23-24; Gal. 5:17; Jas. 4:1; 1Pe. 2:11).
(5) The sins and sufferings of others, as well of their own brethren as of the unconverted; these often awakening the cry of the prophet: O that my head were waters, &c. (Jer. 9:1; Jer. 8:21; 1Co. 12:26; 2Co. 11:29; Rom. 12:15).
(6) Faithful and self-denying efforts for the spiritual and eternal benefit of others; thus filling up in their flesh that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ for His bodys sake, the Church (Col. 1:24; 2Co. 11:23-28). Believers, having the Spirit of Christ, suffer in seeking to save others, and grieve to see so many remain unsaved.
II. BRIGHT side of the Paradox. But comely. The Bride, notwithstanding external blackness, all glorious within (Psa. 45:14). Shulamites comeliness rather that of the soul, which lighted up and gave a charming expression to her swarthy features. Believers comeliness that in the hidden man of the heart, and diffusing a spiritual beauty over the life Believers comely
1. Through imputed righteousness. Comely through the comeliness of their Head and Saviour put upon them (Eze. 16:14). Believers made the Righteousness of God in Christ (2Co. 5:21). Made accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). Christ made righteousness to those who are in Him (1Co. 1:30). The language of faith: In the Lord have I righteousness (Isa. 45:24). The name by which the promised Saviour was to be called: The Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6). The guests at the Kings marriage-supper accepted not in their own garments, but in those provided for and given to them by the King Himself (Mat. 22:11-12). Pauls desire to be found not in his own righteousness which was by the law, but that which was through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (Php. 3:9). Believers, like Jacob, blessed in the garments of their Elder Brother (Gen. 27:15; Gen. 27:27). Men made sinners by one mans disobedience; made righteous by the obedience of another (Rom. 5:19).
2. Through imparted holiness. Believers saved and made comely as well by impartation as by imputation; made personally holy by the one, as they are made legally righteous by the other. Made righteous in our Representative, we are made holy in our own persons. Christ made to us sanctification, as well as righteousness (1Co. 1:30). Faith says: In the Lord I have righteousness and strength,the latter for personal holiness, as the former for acceptance with God (Isa. 45:24). Believers clothed with the beauty of holiness, as well as with the robe of righteousness. Made to put on Christ in His spirit and character, as well as in His Surety righteousness. Renewed in the image of God, and conformed to the likeness of His Son. Made one with Christ, they possess His Spirit, and live because He lives in them (Gal. 2:20). Sanctified as well as justified in Him (1Co. 1:2). Christ our Life, as well as our Peace and Hope. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His (Rom. 8:9). Believers chosen and blessed by the Father in Christ, in order to be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:4). Predestinated by Him to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). Redeemed by Christ to be sanctified and cleansed, and so presented to Himself a glorious Church, holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27). Believers accepted in Christ without any holiness; but accepted in order to their being made holy.
III. The COMBINATION of the two. The believer, like Shulamite, at once black and comely. The paradox: Black and yet comely. Comely while yet black. The explanation: Believers black in themselves, comely in Christ; black by nature, comely by grace; black in the flesh or old man in them; comely in the spirit or new man. Believers carry in them two natures at once,the flesh and the spirit, the old man and the new. Like Rebekah, with two nations in her womb. The elder, or old carnal nature, to serve the younger, or the new and spiritual one. In the believer, with his twofold nature of flesh and spirit lusting and warring against each other, is seen the company of two armies. Hence both inward conflict and outward incongruities. The believer both a saint and a sinner. Has in him the roots of all sin, and the principles of all holiness. Hence the believers frequent doubts and disquietude about his spiritual condition. The question natural to the inexperienced Christian: If I am a child of God, why am I thus? A part of spiritual wisdom to know that we can be, and that, if believers, we actually are, both black and comely at the same time. Not less black in ourselves because comely in Christ; and not less comely in Christ because black in ourselves. Believers often black outwardly in respect to condition and circumstances, when comely inwardly in respect to character and affections. Black like their Master, in the eyes of the world; comely in the eyes of God. Black in suffering; comely in the patience and meekness with which they endure it.Observe
1. Believers to be as conscious of their comeliness in Christ, as of their blackness in themselves. Our duty to know ourselves, that Christ is in us; and that while black in ourselves, we are comely in Him. Hence both the believers humility and joy.
2. Our duty and privilege to confess both our blackness and our comeliness. Grace not to be denied while blackness is acknowledged. To see and confess ourselves at once black and comelyblack in ourselves and comely in Christthe mark of a believer. Pride forbids both.
3. Our comeliness to attract and convince the world, more than our blackness might offend and deter them. The excellence of Christ and His Gospel seen in the comeliness of believers, notwithstanding their blackness. Believers to seek that others may think highly of Christ on their account, and rejoice in Him along with them. The world and weak professors apt to stumble at the blackness in believers, as seen in their sufferings, and especially in their sins. More power in their comeliness to attract, than in their blackness to repel. Believers more to be envied for their comeliness than despised for their blackness.
4. Much in the believer and the spiritual life mysterious and incomprehensible to the world. Apparent contradictions: black, yet comely; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich. Strange in the eyes of natural reason that the children of God should be black at all; still more, that they should be comely at the same time. Yet natural
(1) That the Bride of the Man of Sorrows should be also for a short time a sufferer, and that the Wife of the Persecuted One should herself be persecuted;
(2) That the blackness of her own fallen nature should not be all at once removed, but allowed for wise and important purposes in part to remain till the Bridegroom comes and takes her to Himself. The blackness daily passing away; the comeliness ever increasing. The blackness carried only till death; the comeliness perfected in the New Jerusalem.
5. The glory of the work of Christ and of the grace of God, that those who are black are thereby rendered comely. Our blackness in respect to suffering assumed by the Surety, that we might have His comeliness put upon us. That comeliness imparted in regeneration and conversion. Even when we were dead in sins, hath He quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God: and such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (Eph. 2:5-6; 1Co. 6:9-11; read also Tit. 3:3-7).
Notice the PARTY ADDRESSED
O ye daughters of Jerusalem.
These, in the Allegory probably the ladies of Solomons court, now present with Shulamite in the Kings chambers. Now addressed by the rustic Stranger who has just been introduced among them. The probable representatives
(1) Of the professing Church;
(2) Of persons only partially or carnally acquainted with Christ. Charged not to disturb the Beloved Ones rest (chap. Son. 2:7). Connected in some way with the marriage of the King and Shulamite (chap. Son. 3:10). Supposed to have some knowledge of the Bridegroom, though not possessing Him as their own (chap. Son. 5:8). Made desirous to learn more about Him, and to seek Him with the Bride (chap. Son. 6:1). Becomes interested in the Bride, and admires her beauty (chap. Son. 6:13). The women of Jerusalem who followed Jesus to Calvary, called by this name; with a probable reference to the term in the text, and indicating the connection of the Song with the Gospel history, and the identity of the Bridegroom with Christ. Observe, in reference to
The Visible Church.
1. Possible to be near Christ and yet not to belong to Him; to have a knowledge of the Saviour, but not a saving one; to have a place in Christs House, and yet not to be Christs Bride.
2. The duty of believers to have regard to the spiritual welfare of the unconverted in the visible Church, and to seek their salvation.
3. Believers to be careful to remove all stumbling-blocks out of the way of the Churchs unsaved members, especially such as are in themselves.
4. Young believers to regard the members of the visible Church with charity, and to treat them with deference and respect.
5. Believers to be able and willing, humbly and for edification, to declare, especially to the members of the Church, their spiritual standing and condition in Christ.
APPEAL AND EXPLANATION
Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked (or glanced) upon me (to scorch me); my mothers children were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards: but mine own vineyard have I not kept (Son. 1:6).
Shulamite begs the ladies of the court not to gaze upon her with such prying eyes nor yet to regard her with disdain, or be offended on account of her swarthy complexion; a dusky hue being a mark of inferior condition among Eastern females. She intimates the cause of her blacknessexposure to the sun whilst fulfilling a rural task imposed on her by hostile relatives under whose control she had been,unmarried females in the East being under the guardianship of older male relations; and whilst watching the vineyards during the summer while the fruit was ripening,a work which could easily be done by a young female, though both menial in itself and injurious to her complexion. This last circumstance perhaps figurately alluded to in the concluding clause of the verse: Mine own vineyardmy own interest, or what concerned my own person, namely, my complexionI have not kept, or attended to. Or perhaps emphasizing the circumstance that it was in attending to the vineyards of others,and not to her own,and therefore unwillingly and by constraint,that her otherwise fair countenance had become thus discoloured. Observe
1. The condition of believers on earth, whether as one of sin or suffering, no just cause of offence to others; their sin being the result of a corrupt nature inherited from their first parents, and their suffering being partly the necessary consequence of that sin, and partly from the hostility of their unrenewed brethren (Rom. 5:12; Rom. 5:19; Rom. 7:15; Rom. 7:19; Joh. 15:18; Joh. 15:20; Joh. 16:2; 1Pe. 1:6).
2. Men of the world and unrenewed Church members apt to look more on believers blemishes than on their beauty.
3. Believers, like Christ Himself, often, through mens sin, a stumbling-stone and rock of offence to others; partly from their unavoidable imperfections, and partly from their constrained sufferings. Chosen out of the world, and therefore made an offence to it. Sharers of Christs cross, and, therefore, of its offence (Gal. 4:11; Heb. 13:12-13).
4. The duty and desire of believers to remove as far as possible all occasions of stumbling from the way of others; and to guard them against stumbling at what must necessarily exist. Pauls exhortation to believers: Give none offence, neither to the Jew, nor to the Gentile, nor to the Church of God (1Co. 10:32; 1Co. 8:9; Rom. 14:13). His own resolution: If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend (1Co. 8:13). His anxiety in respect to his sufferings: I desire that ye faint not at my tribulation for you. That no man should be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto (Eph. 3:13; 1Th. 3:3).
5. Connection with Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, sure to blacken us; as
(1) Discovering to us our own corruption;
(2) Exposing us to persecution and tribulation from the world (Joh. 16:2; Joh. 16:33).
6. Our mothers children, whether naturally or ecclesiastically, not always the children of our heavenly Father, or the Bride of His Son (Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 4:22-31; Joh. 7:5).
7. No uncommon thing for believers to experience the anger and persecution of their mothers children (Isa. 66:5; Mat. 10:21; Mat. 10:35-36).
8. A sinning and suffering condition in this world, a necessity laid upon believers in common with others in consequence of the Fall. All men, believers included, children of wrath by nature, as well as children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2-3) The creature made subject to vanity not willingly (Rom. 8:20).
9. The duty of each to be careful in looking to the interests of his own soul. Each mans soul his own vineyard given him by his Creator to keep (Pro. 4:23). Loss of spiritual beauty the result of negligence and unwatchfulness (Pro. 24:30-34). Ministers, while keeping the vineyard of others, to be especially careful to keep their own (1Co. 9:27).
10. The part of a believer to look to the interests of others as well as, and to a certain extent, beyond his own. I seek not mine profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. Let no man seek his own, but every man anothers wealth (or welfare). Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others: let this mind be in you which was also in Christ, (1Co. 10:2; 1Co. 10:33; Php. 2:4-5). True ministers the servants of others for Jesus sake (2Co. 4:5). Self-forgetting love one mark of the Bride of Jesus Christ.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
TEXT 1:5, 6
APPEAL
5
Black am I, yet comely, ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the hangings of Solomon. Look not on me because I am black, because the sun has scorched me.
6
My mothers sons were angry with me, appointed me as keeper of the vineyardsmine own vineyard have I not kept.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 1:5, 6
15.
Isnt black too strong a word as used in these verses? What is meant?
16.
Does the girl know she is attractive? Is this an advantage or disadvantage? Discuss.
17.
How does she compare with both the tents of Kedar and the hangings of Solomon?
18.
What made this maiden conscious of the color of her skin?
19.
Is there some reason for saying my mothers sons instead of my brothers?
20.
What are the responsibilities of a keeper of a vineyard?
21.
What is meant by a reference to her own vineyard?
PARAPHRASE 1:5, 6APPEAL SHULAMMITE TO COURT LADIES
5
I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem!
(Black) as the tents of Kedar,
(Comely) as the tapestries of Solomon.
6
Do not disdain me because I am so dark,
Because the sun has deeply tanned me.
My brothers were angry with me;
They made me keeper of their vineyards;
My own vineyard I could not keep.
COMMENT 1:5, 6
Exegesis
We much prefer the translations which suggest the maid to be dark or sunburnt. Perhaps she becomes somewhat self-conscious of her darker complexion as she mingles among the secluded bleached out women of Solomons harem. The tents of Kedar refers to dwelling places of the descendants of Ishmael who roamed the deserts of northwestern Arabia. Their tents were made of black goats hair. Such tents are still in use today in several parts of Israel and Arabia. The cloth is a close-weave and waterproof.
The tapestries of Solomon were those beautiful hangings used in the temple and many of the royal buildings. The rich colors and embroidery work made them a topic of conversation throughout the land.
This maiden offers to all maidens after her a grand example of proper self-image. She quite candidly recognizes both her limitations and potential. She is less than perfect but she is valuable and comely. She offers this evaluation of herself before she hears from the daughters of Jerusalem.
Peer group pressure has not been suddenly discovered by our generation. If we do not dress alike or comb our hair alike we are scrutinized with a critical eye. The Shulammite was different. She explains her appearance. We do not feel there is veiled criticism in the phrase my mothers sons, it is but another way of identifying her brothers. Why did they send her out into the hot sun to work the vineyard? They were upset with her for some reason. Perhaps it was her shepherd lover. Maybe they felt she was too young. It would seem they wished to remove her from the family home. She was busy all day in the vineyard and perhaps stayed in a near shelter at night. Such is only conjecture and we must leave it there. The reference to mine own vineyard refers to her complexion and grooming, which was in strong contrast to what she saw in the pavilion of Solomon.
Marriage Son. 1:5-6
As we have observed above: the woman who knows her limitations and does not feel inferior, the one who recognizes her comeliness and is yet not proud will make an ideal wife and mother. It is so important that such an attitude be expressed and maintained among other women. This will not be an easy task. Perhaps we should be reminded that family influence will carry over into marriage relationships. How the wife treated her brothers might be similar to her treatment of her husband. We detect no resentment in the explanation of the treatment she received from her brothers.
Communion Son. 1:5-6
The Christian is indeed black but comely. We do not refer to an inward blackness of sin from Adams transgression, but of the effects of external influences upon him. Because he has responded to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life (1Jn. 2:15-17) he has entered the blackness of death in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1 ff). But he is also very comelyhe is created in the image of God and has all the potential of a child of heaven. He can be made whiter than snow; he can be raised out of his death into new life (Col. 3:1 ff). Among the daughters of Jerusalem the Christian must maintain his integrity. He is a sinner like those about him, but God so loved him that he is now the comely child of God. We all have a strong tendency to either think too much of ourselves and emphasize our comeliness or deprecate ourselves unnecessarily and remember how black we are. We can say in genuine humilityI am a black sinner made comely by grace. We could see a comparison in the action of the brothers of this text to our fellow sinners. They have had an influence upon us and we could blame our sinning upon them. A little thought will let us both know that we were the ones outwardly responsible. In this same context we can say we were so busy in the affairs of this world we never even considered what tragic influence it was having upon our standing before God.
FACT QUESTIONS 1:5, 6
29.
Why not use the term black?
30.
What probably produces the awareness that she was sunburnt?
31.
What were the tents of Kedar?
32.
Why refer to the hangings of Solomon?
33.
This maiden offers a grand example of proper self-image. How?
34.
How does peer-pressure relate to the circumstances described here?
35.
Why was she a keeper of vineyards?
36.
In what way does this Shulammite become a pattern for a good wife and mother?
37.
What was the attitude of this sister toward her brothers?
38.
Explain how the Christian is black but comely.
39.
We have a strong tendency to emphasize either our blackness or our comeliness. Explain.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(5) As the tents of Kedari.e., Dark as the Kedareen tents of black goats hair, beautiful as the royal pavilions with their rich hangings. For a similar style of parallelism, comp. Isa. 15:3 : On her housetops, and to her open streets, every one howleth, descendeth with weeping. For Kedar, see Gen. 25:13.
As the poet puts this description of the ladys complexion into her own mouth, we must understand it as a little playful raillery, which is immediately redeemed by a compliment. It also prepares the way for the reminiscence of an interesting passage in her early life. See next verse.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Daughters of Jerusalem The “daughters of Jerusalem” are, like the Greek chorus, a group of bystanders in close sympathy with the representation, whose part in it serves to explain and aid the general action.
Tents of Kedar An Arab tribe, that, like the modern gipsies, often intruded itself among the villages of Palestine, was a familiar sight. As the curtains, etc. The hangings of the pavilions, etc. The contrast would not be between a tent and a palace, but between the coarse hair-cloth tents of Kedar and the summer pavilions of the king, which, as Eastern rulers still do, he might pitch in some attractive spot for change of air and for recreation. In such a pavilion this song opens.
Comely That is, graceful.
“I am dark, but comely, Oh you daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon.”
The maiden assures the king’s subjects, especially the young women among them, of her own attractiveness. She wants them to know that she is dark skinned, but comely. Her beauty is like the splendid black tents of the chieftains of Kedar as they shine in the noonday sun, like the drapings of the tents of Solomon in all their splendor. Thus she has the vibrant beauty of the woman of the desert and dresses finely in beautiful garments.
In a similar way in Jer 6:2 ‘the daughter of Zion’ is likened to a comely and delicate woman, one in whom God should have been able to take pride, even though she turned out to be unfaithful. But no prophet would have claimed that she was perfect. As Isaiah makes clear, ‘all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags’ (Isa 64:6). Similarly in Eph 5:26 Christ promises that He will keep and nourish His church, as a man does a maiden, and will present her to Himself a glorious church, holy and without blemish, but it is made clear that this results from the fact that He has first cleansed her and clothed her in the splendor of His righteousness (compare 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21). Having been made clean His people are to be beautiful in Him with the beauty of holiness (Psa 96:9).
‘Dark, but comely.’ The word for ‘dark’ means ‘blackish’. She was seemingly darker skinned than the aristocratic daughters of Jerusalem who had enjoyed protection from the sun from birth, and even possibly also on racial grounds. But she would not have shared the blackness of the Ethiopian or Sudanese. She recognized, however, that the darkness of her skin would be seen by the delicate daughters of Jerusalem as a fault. Just as the church is blemished, but comely, to the Lord, Jesus Christ.
The ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ who were probably originally daughters of aristocratic parents, probably represent here (in view of the young maiden representing Israel) the satellite nations subject to Israel and to the king. We can compare how satellite villages were called ‘daughters of –’ in, for example, Jos 15:45; Jos 15:47.
The Insecurity of the Girl Literal Interpretation – In Son 1:5-7 the story begins with introduction of the character of the Shulamite maiden. Bickle says, “[T]he testimony of her actual journey now begins (Son 1:5).” [94] In this passage of Scripture, the Shulamite maiden expresses her insecurities and feelings of inadequacies in this newly established relationship with the king. She is embarrassed because of her dark complexion. Her dark skin reveals that she has worked in the field, unlike the other fair maidens that the king could have chosen. The fact that she was made to keep the vineyards, and neglect her own vineyards suggests the unfair treatment by her family or community. Such expressions reveal her pursuit of rest in her soul, a pursuit of rest that will find its fulfillment in the final scene of this song.
[94] Mike Bickle, Session 6 Her Journey Begins With Spiritual Crisis (Song of Solomon 1:5-11 ), in Song of Songs (Kansas City, Missouri: International House of Prayer, 1998), 1.
Women, especially beautiful women, tend to be very sensitive to their faults. My wife spent the first few years of our marriage commenting on her dark complexion. It took me years to assure her that I loved her dark complexion. The Shulamite’s self-evaluation in Son 1:5-6 shows that she has not entered into rest in her soul, and is not fully content and assured in her relationship with her beloved. Therefore, she seeks the approval from a lover (Son 1:7).
Figurative Interpretation Son 1:5-7 is generally agreed to symbolize the conviction of sin. However, there are various views as to whether this is being expressed by an unbeliever, a new believer, or a mature believer who has learned to come into the presence of God.
1. A Young Believer – The dark skin symbolizes the imperfections of young believers. Young converts feel clean in their conscience from their conversion, but soon experience failures in sin. This sin brings guilt as they learn to experience daily cleansing. The vineyards may represent the works that man does in the flesh before coming to Christ. The fact that the Shulamite was made to keep the entire vineyard may represent the bondages of this world that people find themselves subjected to from the pressures of society.
2. A Mature Believer – Watchman Nee says the Shulamite’s feelings of inadequacies are the natural result of any believer who comes into the presence of the King. A believer who enters into the presence of God becomes conscience of his/her sinful, Adamic nature which we all carry in the flesh until we are delivered from our mortal bodies. The Shulamite’s declaration of blackness is an expression of her in weak, sinful, mortal nature in the flesh, but the statement, “but comely” is an awareness of her acceptance by God through conversion. He says, “she is black in Adam and comely in Christ.” [95]
[95] Watchman Nee, Song of Songs (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications, c1965, 2001), 22-5.
Son 1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Son 1:5 Eze 16:61, “Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.”
In the same sense, in Jos 15:45 the towns surrounding Ekron are referred to as “daughters” in the literally Hebrew, since the inhabitants of these small villages came out of the city of Ekron.
Jos 15:45, “Ekron, with her towns (lit. daughters) and her villages:”
John Gill suggests that the “daughters of Jerusalem,” used allegorically, describes young converts to Christ, since they are very much respected by the king (Son 3:9-11), yet seem to know very little about Him (Son 5:9). In other words, we have the allegorical story of a mature Christian leading others to the same intimate relationship that he has learned to enjoy.
Son 1:5 “as the tents of Kedar” – Word Study on “Kedar” Strong says the Hebrew name “Kedar” “qedar” ( ) (H6938) literally means, “dusky (of the skin or the tent),” and comes from the primitive root ( ) (6937), which means, “to be ashy, i.e., dark-colored.” The Enhanced Strong says this name is used 12 times in the Old Testament and is translated in the KJV as “ Kedar 12. ” Kedar was the second son of Ishmael (Gen 25:13-15, 1Ch 1:29-31).
Gen 25:13-15, “And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:”
1Ch 1:29-31, “These are their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael.”
Comments – According to Isa 42:11; Isa 60:7, Kedar was a semi-nomadic tribe that lived at times in villages, and at other times moved about in tents with their flocks of animals. According to Eze 27:21 they traded their flocks with other merchants for other goods. Thus, Jeremiah refers to their tents, flocks, curtains, vessels and camels.
Isa 42:11, “Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.”
Isa 60:7, “All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.”
Jer 49:28-29, “Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.”
Eze 27:21, “Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.”
In addition, they also seemed to have been a warlike tribe of archers who raided the good of others.
Psa 120:5-7, “Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.”
Isa 21:17, “And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.”
A. S. Fulton says the tribe of Kedar settled in northwest Arabia near the border with Palestine, and that Assyrian inscriptions have mentioned the tribe of Kedar in association with the Arabs and Nebaioth. He describes the tribe of Kedar as a semi-nomadic tribe that often dwelt in tents made of haircloth. [96] John Gill says that the continual exposure to the sun and rain made these tents black, “and yet a number of them made a fine appearance.” He quotes Shaw who had traveled to this region of the world and observed the Bedouin tribesmen:
[96] A. S. Fulton, “Kedar,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
“the Bedouin Arabs at this day live in tents called “hhymes,” from the shelter which they afford the inhabitants; and “beet el shaar,” that is, “houses of hair,” from the materials or webs of goats’ hair whereof they were made; and are such hair cloth as our coal sacks are made of; the colour of them is beautifully alluded to, #Son 1:5; for nothing certainly can afford (says he) a more delightful prospect than a large extensive plain, whether in its verdure, or even scorched up by the sunbeams, than, these movable habitations pitched in circles upon them; of which (he says) he has seen from three to three hundred.” [97]
[97] John Gill, Song of Solomon, in John Gill’s Expositor, in e-Sword, v. 7.7.7 [CD-ROM] (Franklin, Tennessee: e-Sword, 2000-2005), comments on Song of Solomon 1:5.
Son 1:5 Figurative Interpretation When God calls us to salvation, we are in His eyes sin-stained, but greatly beloved. Even after we are saved, we still carry the nature to sin within our mortal bodies. This fleshly tendency towards sin must daily be overcome by our inner man, which has been regenerated. When we see this true fleshly nature in ourselves through the light of God’s Word, we cry out as Paul, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” (1Ti 1:15)
Son 1:6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
Son 1:6 Son 1:6 “my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept” Word Study on “vineyard” Strong says the Hebrew word “vineyard” “ korem ” ( ) (H3754) means, “a garden, a vineyard.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 93 times in the Old Testament, being used in the KJV as “vineyard 89, vines 3, vintage 1.” This word is used 9 times in the book of Songs.
Comments – The Song of Songs refers to a garden nine times (Son 4:12; Son 4:15-16; Son 5:1; Son 6:2; Son 6:11; Son 8:13) and to a vineyard nine times (Son 1:6; Son 1:14; Son 2:15; Son 7:12; Son 8:11-12) within its text. A garden is a place of meditation and rest, while a vineyard is a place of bearing fruit as a result of entering into rest and communion with God. For our life of walking in the Spirit and bearing fruit is simply the overflow of being filled with the Spirit while in communion with the Lord. The beloved’s vineyard would figuratively represent a believer who has entered into his calling and ministry and is labouring for the Lord. Watchman Nee believes the vineyards the Shulamite was forced to labor in represents the works of man, while her own vineyard represents the work that God has assigned to her. [98] The Shulamite will eventually get her own vineyard in Son 8:12 and learn to keep it.
[98] Watchman Nee, Song of Songs (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications, c1965, 2001), 24.
Son 8:12, “My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.”
Comments – In the African culture, the women take the leading role of tending the garden. In the Philippine society children of a family are assigned different tasks. For example, as a young girl my wife was given the duty of cooking and cleaning the house. Some children go out a make a living to help support the family. In the Philippine culture, the youngest daughter is given the lifetime task of taking care of the parents when they are older.
Son 1:6 Figurative Interpretation “Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me” – The Shulamite’s darkness is popularly interpreted as a believer’s awareness of sins. When we become aware of our sins, we feel guilt and shame, and are drawn by God’s love to a place of repentance and reconciliation to God. “my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept” She not only feels the shame of sin, but also the shame of rejection because of the anger of her brothers towards her. The fact that she served in the vineyards of others means that she was forced, or compelled, to serve in bondage, and trying to please others with her works. While God gives to us when we serve Him, the world only takes away and hates. It cannot love us with a God-kind of love. This is because the children of this world do not naturally walk in love, but rather, in hatred. They compel others to become their servants, rather than directing them to God’s designed plan for their own lives. In other words, people use others selfishly rather than sacrificing themselves to help others.
Son 1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
Son 1:7 Comments – Most modern English versions translation this phrase as “one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions.” A veiled woman in the oriental culture would be a lady who is not spoken for and who has no lover. Such a single woman would wait by the flocks hoping to catch the eye of some young shepherd. Thus, the beloved does not want to gather in this group as if she were like them. Instead, she desires a special relationship with her beloved and wants his special attention when she goes forth to find him. Again, this reflects her insecurity and lack of rest and trust in this new relationship.
Son 1:7 Comments – In Son 1:7 the Shulamite woman was searching for her Lover. She will search for him a number of times in this Song. The purpose of each search is to find rest. She will look for him during the phase of Courtship in Son 1:7. She will look for him again during the phase of Engagement in Son 3:1-4. She will search for him during the phase of Maturing Marriage in Son 5:6-7, until she learns his ways and becomes confident in his devotion towards her and learns that he abides in the garden among the lilies (Son 6:1-3). She will eventually learn that true rest will be found in yielding to his plan for her life, which is communion with him in the garden, and labouring in her own vineyard (Son 8:10).
Literal Interpretation She has tried to follow what others have placed in her path and demanded of her, yet she found only hatred from the children of this world (Son 1:6). Having realized the fact that she has neglected her own vineyard, or purpose in life, she looks to her Lover for direction in order to fulfill her purpose, which is to fulfill her destiny. She asks to be joined to her Lover’s flock and not another. She wants to feel chosen, and not just another virgin unclaimed by love. This is why Ruth lay at the feet of Boaz, who found her the next morning and chose her as his wife. In this pursuit is a place of rest, which the Beloved longs to find in her soul, which in this love story can be understood as an assurance that he truly loves her and will provide for her. Here we see that the Shulamite woman is not familiar with her lover’s ways. She asks for clarity in understanding the ways of her Lover (Son 1:7), and he replies by telling her how to learn of his way, without giving her a direct answer (Son 1:8). This can be interpreted to mean that this relationship is yet immature. There is not shortcut to mature love. She is asking something that will take time to develop.
Figurative Interpretation Young believers are not familiar with the ways of God and must learn how to find daily peace and rest. As the Shulamite asks for clarity in understanding the ways of her Lover, so do young Christians. They want to know God in their lives and to have clear answers to His way; but they must learn that understand the ways of God is a lifetime journey, and that the journey is not always clear. The reason God designed it this way is so that we, as Christians, will have to seek the Lord daily for direction, rather than on just one easy occasion. This is so that God can enjoy our fellowship. Her statements in Son 1:7 may be figurative of her initial search for a relationship with God and the need to find the answer among God’s flock, which is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just as she asks to be joined to his flock and not another, so do we seek to find God’s special place for us. In Mar 4:35-41 we read the story of Jesus passing across the Lake of Galilee with His disciples. Although there were many little boats accompanying them, only one boat carried Jesus. This boat was the place where the disciples were ordained to be. All the boats arrived at the same destination, but only one carried Jesus, the Anointed One. In a similar way, there are many churches to serve in, but we are called to serve in only one place. This is the first step in a believer fulfilling his destiny.
The Courtship (Scene 1: The Shepherd’s Flock and the King’s Banquet House) (Justification) Literal Interpretation – Son 1:5 to Son 2:7 describes love’s first passions within the courtship of King Solomon and the Shulamite maiden. There are two scenes in this first song. The setting for the first scene (Son 1:5-11) places the Shulamite in the fields of the shepherds. The second scene (Son 1:12 to Son 2:7) finds her in the evening banquet hall and in nighttime rest. The king’s palace is where King Solomon has taken a young Shulamite lady from a northern province of Israel, whom he intends on making his bride in much the same way that Esther was first brought to the royal palace by the king and prepared for one year before entering into his bed chamber. We know this because the passage refers to the king’s table (Son 1:12) and banquet hall (Son 2:4).
Son 1:5-7 – In Son 1:5-6 the Shulamite begins by expressing her initial insecurities and embarrassment over her dark complexion. Her dark skin reveals that she has worked in the field, unlike the other fair maidens that the king could have chosen. These comments by the beloved express her feelings of inadequacies, symbolic of being tainted with sin. It shows that she has not entered into rest in her soul, and is not fully content and assured in her relationship with her beloved, and thus, she longs to find rest with her beloved (Son 1:7), which will not be found until Son 8:10. She does not know that her destiny and service for the king will bring her back to the vineyards, but not her own vineyard, nor that of her brothers, where she was forced to labour under the sun; now she will work in the vineyards of the king (Son 8:12).
Son 8:10, “I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.”
Son 8:12, “My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.”
Son 1:8-11 – In Son 1:8-11 we have the first response of the Lover. She has asked for a special place with him in the shepherd’s field (Son 1:7); for she did not want to be like the other veiled women who were unspoken for. He replies by telling her to go and feed by the tents of the shepherds (Son 1:8) while assuring her of his devoted love for her alone (Son 1:9-11). Note that this description of his beloved is relatively short compared to his later descriptions.
Son 1:12 to Son 2:7 – In Son 1:12 to Son 2:2 we see a series of communications exchanged between the two lovers as they speak words of love. As a result, the beloved falls more deeply in love and becomes “lovesick” (Son 2:3-5). She longs for his close embrace (Son 2:6) and warns other young virgins not to fall into this passion before its proper time (Son 2:7), because such passion is difficult to manage. At this point in love’s journey she has not entered into rest.
Figurative Interpretation Figuratively speaking, Son 1:5 to Son 2:7 can be interpreted allegorically as man first coming to Christ and accepting God’s love for him. Its figurative interpretation may be understood to symbolize a person who becomes saved; however, within this love song, a person becomes aware of and accepts God’s love for him.
The first scene (Son 1:5-11) reflects our labours of love for the Lord when we first come to Christ. The two statements, “feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents,” and “I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots,” (Son 1:8-9) both reflect service. Even new believers have ways to serve the Lord. I had a job when I rededicated my life to the Lord, so I immediately began to tithe. I was soon teaching Sunday school as an additional way of serving. The second scene (Son 1:12 to Son 2:6) reflects our time of rest and communion with the Lord. We rest in an abundance of newly discovered blessings as babes in Christ.
Even while we are newly saved, and still behave somewhat like the world, our heart bears witness to God’s redemptive love for us (Son 1:5-6). In these two verses of Scripture the Shulamite maiden expresses her awareness of his love for her in spite of her shortcomings. A new believer begins to seek direction in this spiritual journey, one that can be found by following the same journey the saints of old have walked (Son 1:7-8). He sees us in our greatest potential as a child who will endure discipline so that we can serve Him, as Pharaoh’s decorated horses pulled the king’s chariot (Son 1:9-11). He has set a table before us of wonderful blessings (Son 1:12). He has ordained for us to experience perfect rest (Son 1:13) and joy (Son 1:14) because of His great love for us (Son 1:15). He has set forth rest (Son 1:16) and protection (Son 1:17) for His children. We are seen by Him as the most lovely among the children of men (Son 2:1-2). His love overshadows us and overflows into our daily lives (Son 2:3-6). This is the way God expresses His love towards men during this season of their lives.
Although young believers have strong expressions of love and passion for God, they are untested by the fires and trials of life. Thus, they are still undependable for service in the Church. They even express the gifts of the Spirit. Yet, the seasoned pastor understands that they need time for passion to mature into wisdom through the discipline of trials before being given great responsibilities. Any parent knows how his children are full of passion. They are either laughing or crying. They pursue activities and fun and play with all of their energies. Yet, in all of their passion a child lacks wisdom to know how to manage their emotions. Their responds to their environment is often impulsive rather than thoughtful. So it is in the growth of believers in the Christian life.
Peace and contentment in the midst of trials are the signs of true Christian maturity. Paul the apostle expresses this contentment in his epistle to the Philippians (Php 4:11). But first, we must go through a season of passion, as described in the first section of Songs.
Php 4:11, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
How does such passion arise in the heart of young, immature believers? I have seen it in both new converts as well as older Christians. Such passion is aroused by the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. For the new believer, it is the fresh, new experiences of God at work in their lives. They have tasted for the first time the joys of serving the Lord and they want more. For the older Christians who have never grown in the Lord, the Holy Spirit will often touch them by being slain in the Spirit, or healing their bodies to let them know that there is more to the Christian life than what they have experienced thus far. This touch from God stirs them up to pursue Him on a deeper level than they have done so before. Therefore, this position will not last long, for in the next song (Son 2:8 to Son 3:5), the Shulamite is called out from her bed of rest into a place of separation and communion.
Outline – Note the proposed outline of this section:
1. Scene 1 The Shepherds & their flocks Son 1:5-11
a) The Shulamite’s Insecurity Son 1:5-7
b) Solomon’s Praise & Reassurance Son 1:8-11
2. Scene 2 The King’s Banquet Table Son 1:12 to Son 2:7
a) The King’s Provision Son 1:12-17
b) The King’s Love for His Beloved Son 2:1-2
c) The Woman Falls Love-Sickness Son 2:3-7
Son 1:5. I am black, but comely The word shechorah, rendered black, signifies brown, swarthy, or dark-complexioned, and denotes such a duskiness as that of the morning, when some little light begins to appear. The appellation of fair, which is given to the bride in the sequel, is only meant in the general sense of lovely or beautiful. The tents of the wild Arabs, called in Scripture ahalei keidar, are to this day of a dark or black colour, being made of the shaggy hair of their black goats.
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
There is a very great beauty in this verse, considered as to the view the Church had of herself as she really was in herself, and as she really was in Christ, and as beheld in him. And I think, if the Reader connects these expressions (as no doubt he ought) with what went before, he will discover a still greater beauty. She had desired the Lord to draw her that she might run after him – this was done. The king had brought her into his very chambers. Overpowered with such condescending grace the Church looks into herself, and sees so much vileness and iniquity that her soul swoons in the view, and cries out “I am black, O ye daughters of Jerusalem:” full of spots, and in myself covered over with the leprosy of sin. But behold, by the clothing of Jesus’s righteousness and the washing in his blood, how comely I am in the comeliness which he hath put upon me?
By the daughters of Jerusalem I should conceive is meant the same as the virgins before noticed: only as a beautiful variety to heighten the representation they are here called daughters. For considering Jerusalem which is above, as the Apostle calls her, the Mother of us all, who belong to the gospel church, and of the general assembly whose names are written in heaven; they are all one in Christ Jesus. See Gal 4:26 ; Heb 12:22-23 ; Gal 3:27-28 . The comparison the Church makes of her corruption by nature to the tents of Kedar, and of her loveliness in Jesus to the curtains of Solomon, is uncommonly beautiful. Kedar was one of the children of Ishmael, whose posterity dwelt in tents, being shepherds. And no doubt those tents being exposed to the weather acquired blackness from variety of seasons, of sun, and storms, and rain. The blackness of those tents became no unapt representation of the dark state of the mind by nature, and the habit of mourning in the soul by reason thereof. And moreover, it might be meant to show also the black estate in which the Church of Jesus appears in the eyes of the world. See Gen 24:13 ; Isa 42:11 . The contrast to all this in the curtains of Solomon, which, no doubt, from the riches of Solomon, and the splendour in which he lived, must have been very superb and elegant, is equally striking to represent the loveliness of the Church, who as the king’s daughter is all glorious within, when beheld in the garment of Christ’s salvation, and made as Zion is said to be, a perfection of beauty, from the comeliness Jesus hath put upon her. See Lam 2:15 ; Psa 45:13 ; Eze 16:14 . Reader! what say you to this account the Church gives of herself? Can you adopt the same language? Do you behold yourself as in yourself, vile and worthless: but in the righteousness of Jesus, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing? Can you join issue with the Church; I will greatly rejoice
in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation: he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. Isa 61:10 .
Before I dismiss this verse, I would call upon the Reader to remark with me what a precious view this state of the Church gives, both of our Lord’s unparalleled grace and condescension, and the happy state into which the sinner is brought by his great salvation. I stand amazed, dearest Jesus, notwithstanding all I have heard, and all I have known of thy love to our fallen nature, in the contemplation of such grace as is here displayed. Was it not enough that thou shouldest come down from the realms of light and glory, to seek and save that which was lost; but dost thou go on to such unequalled condescension as to receive sinners, and eat with them? to make those that are by nature black as the tents of Kedar, fair and lovely as the curtains of Solomon? Nay, more, to unite them to thyself, and to make them one with thyself in the human nature, as thou art one with the Father in the Godhead. Reader, if happily the Lord thy God hath wrought this work of grace on thee, learn why it is the King hath brought thee into his chambers, namely, from his love and mercy; not thy desert. And in the consciousness of this, however despised and looked upon as black by the world, rejoice in the hidden glory put upon thee by the Lord thy righteousness. This is enough to support thee under all thy afflictions.
Black, But Comely
Son 1:5
The blackness was caused by the look of the sun “Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me” ( Son 1:6 ). The image is a very striking one. Not only did the sun glare upon the observer, but it was like the brilliant eye of a bird of prey, looking down from some great height upon that which it proposed to seize and destroy. The text is wholly Oriental in its figure, and has been thus rendered “Dark as the Kedareen tents of black goat’s hair, beautiful as the royal pavilions with their rich hangings.” The passage may be so adapted as to bring into view the twofold quality of human nature as revealed in the Scriptures: in one respect black enough; in another respect comely beyond all other loveliness. This would be fanciful and doubtful if the verse stood alone; but it does not. Throughout the Bible this doctrine is presented as the true view of human nature, namely, “black, but comely.” The whole Bible preaches with unity this fundamental and sacred doctrine. To force this particular text into this particular meaning would be unjust to the writer of the song; but the contrast is so established and elaborated and illustrated by other parts of the Bible, that it becomes legitimate to seize this beautiful expression as indicating in very graphic terms the reality of the aspect which we present to heaven as men, namely, “black, but comely.” Let us see if this be not so, and in order to make the doctrine the more apparent let us set, as it were, side by side man’s view of himself and God’s view of man as man is in Christ Jesus, and in the whole purpose and scope of grace divine. The first speaker should be man. What says he? Listen: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” There is a recognition of the blackness of human nature. Let the second speaker be God himself. What does he say? Listen with still more steadfastness and reverent attention: “Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.” Setting these two testimonies side by side, what have we but a variation of the text, “Black, but comely”? Let man speak again, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” That indictment is severe enough; there is no line of self-exculpation in it. Let God reply: “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Once more, set these two quotations, both from the prophecies of Isaiah, side by side, and we have the text in another and striking form, showing how true it is that man is “black, but comely.” Let man again state his own case, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Is there any deliverance possible? Is it always with man to be in a state of bondage and humiliation and infamy? Let God reply: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” So the testimony is not all upon one side. There are two aspects of human nature. We must take both aspects into our view, if we would form a just judgment of the case as God regards it. Let man speak again: “The law of sin which is in my members,” a blackness I cannot get rid of; I cannot wash out the stain; if I relieve the surface of its deepest colour all the flush of darkness returns suddenly and completely. Let God reply: “The Lord hath put away thy sin.” When God puts away a man’s sin, who can find it? God says he will cast our sins “behind” him. Behind the Infinite! who has ever ventured into that locality? Once more let man utter his moan: “I am carnal, sold under sin.” It is as if Christ heard that voice, and could not be silent under its appeal, for the passage which we next quote would seem to be a reply and a gospel rejoinder: “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” Is man yet done with the utterance of his lamentation? He speaks yet again: “I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Let God reply from heaven as to his view of the Church when it has undergone the whole process of Christ’s purification and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost: “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair.” Man has still another speech to make. It is wonderful what variety of expression may be given to the deepest convictions; such convictions seem to create their own language; whilst the one of contrition and self-abhorrence would seem to be one, yet if we listen attentively how rich and varied is the passion of the tone! Listen: “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Hear the Lord: “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” Jesus Christ will purify unto himself “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Let the greatest Christian that ever lived speak, and even in his tone we should find contrition, penitence, self-despair: “In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.” Now for other words, “Perfect in Christ Jesus”; “Holy and without blemish” sanctified, body, soul, and spirit: the miracle completed.
Is there no encouragement along this treatment of the subject? Does not the line lie in pleasant places? Man never yet complained justly and sincerely of himself without eliciting from God a corresponding reply: Hope thou in God; he will find water for thee in the desert; when thy way is blocked up with solid rock he will melt the stone or powder it, that thou mayest pass straight on to thine appointed destiny. Do not let us rest in the narrow and cold prison of our own shame and penitence and self-abhorrence. We might listen unto ourselves until we fell into complete despair. We are not to dwell upon the “black”; we are to look towards the “comely”; we are not to listen to ourselves beyond a given point, or our own voice of accusation will drive us mad: we must be still, and listen to Christ’s appeal. A passage like this entitles us to look at the best aspects of our nature and circumstances. Dwell upon the second part of the text, saying again and again, as if repeating the refrain of a song “but comely”; weak, but strong. Hear how beautifully the two views have been put together in some of the apostolic statements: “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” See again what a contrast is here “The poor of this world,” but “rich in faith.” Hear the Apostle Paul: “As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
So, then, no undue strain has been put upon the text. If at first we seemed to employ it as a mere accommodation, the choice, for this purpose, has been amply vindicated by the citations which are before us. It would seem from beginning to end of the Bible as if there were two selves in every man; two distinct aspects of character; two voices always pleading within the court of conscience, memory, and imagination. Blessed is he who listens to the clear voice of heaven to the hopeful gospel voice. Yet in order to hear that voice in all its distinctness we must first hear our own in all the bitterness of its lamentation, in all the poignancy of its moaning: the comeliness comes out in contrast to the blackness, and we must not spoil the contrast by removing one of the elements needful to it. Again and again must we remember that we shall not know grace until we have known sin; we shall have no ear for the gospel until we have been deafened by the thunders of the accusing law.
How, then, stands the case as presenting a contrast? It may stand thus: a man may say, I had a body, a physical frame; but that body seems to be but a sphere in which pain can have all its own way; at best it is a dying body, at best I am but a leaseholder, and the lease is running out most rapidly; nay, I can hardly call myself a leaseholder, for were I such I could lay claim to a certain definite period of time; I am rather a tenant-at-will, I may be dismissed to-morrow. So a man might moan about his body; but the text, and all the collateral passages which are before us, entitle us to say, We have a body, but we have also a soul; whilst looking at the one we become melancholy, we hardly care to live; all life is shadowed by a coming tomb. A melancholy figure at the end of life throws its adumbration upon all the path we tread, and we walk through darkness: that is one view; but we must not give way to that unhappy spell; at best that view is only a half truth; we must be encouraged to look at the other aspect: there is a voice which tells us that we are not all body; we are mind, we are spirit, we are will; we were made in the image and likeness of God: “Dust thou art, to dust returnest, was not spoken of the soul.” How many men need this encouraging voice to be all day ringing in their ears! So prone are they to take the dark view, and to yield to all fleshly burden and temptation and difficulty. It is the business of the Church, of all its gospel ministers and gospel services, to cheer them, to present the large view, to introduce the light. So a man might say, Why should I live? I am more localised than the birds of the air; they can fly, I can only walk; where I stand before a river unable to cross it the tiniest bird that flutters its weak wing can fly over the stream, and would seem in doing so to mock my feebleness. I am a prisoner of space; I feel the burden of space; I would willingly give up this spark of consciousness that I might have rest in forgetfulness. So a man might talk. A man talking so is on the highway to melancholia or suicide. Is there no other aspect? You are localised, but you have imagination that wondrous faculty which creates new heavens and a new earth, in which dwelleth righteousness; that divine power that knows no limit. There is no searching of the capacity of an inspired and purified imagination; even shadows are wrought into the wizardry of its parabolism; even pain, weakness, suffering these are dragged on its chariot-wheels, and made to grace the day of its festival. We have not yet used our upper selves; we have been content to be kept down, humbled, scorned, degraded. What a feast we might have had of reason! What intercourse with all the higher spirits that minister subtly and invisibly in all the economy of life! What a forecast of destiny we might have enjoyed! We might have been in heaven! There is no reason why even now men should not mingle with the white-robed saints in light, with the sons of the morning: what little drawback there is to this high banqueting is but a reminder that yet we have to encounter the last foe, and throw him in the final wrestling. It is again the business of the Church, and all its ministers and services and functions, to bring men to see the larger view, to draw them away from dwelling mopingly upon the blackness of the case, that they might see somewhat of the comeliness and loveliness and brightness and glory with which God has enriched the universe. By a right exercise of mind and will and imagination the poorest man may roll in wealth not factitious wealth, but real spiritual wealth; the wealth that will enable him to forget poverty, and hunger, and difficulty, and suffering. There is a possibility of being so spiritually elevated, morally ennobled, as to forget the pain that otherwise would distract the attention and kill the body. When we commune with God we forget all labour, all toil, all pain. There are transfiguration days even in our poor little life, when we see Moses, and Elias, and Christ, and heaven. To realise one such day enables a man to come down into the common week, and fight all its beasts, all the lions that can be let loose upon it, for the power of God rests upon his soul. So a man may talk about his ignorance. How little the best man can know; he may say, The wisest man is but a variety of a fool; what can the keenest mind discern? We cannot see into to-morrow; we may put a finger upon our eyes, and thus block out the sun: we are always correcting ourselves; the science of to-day is corrected by the discoveries of to-morrow. We live at best a life of varied ignorance now in full tide, now receding, but still the action is tidal, and we can hardly tell whether the tide is coming in or going out. So a man may talk, but in so talking he would but express his folly; whilst there is no doubt a distinct limit to intellectual attainment, is there not a sphere called by the mysterious, yet well-understood, name of faith? When men count their senses, they should make faith a kind of sixth sense. The five senses can go but a little way, and they walk so tremblingly and hesitatingly, as if they would wish to return and enjoy the security of their own ignorance; but faith goes out at night-time; the darkness and the light are both alike to faith; faith finds a hand in the black night, and clings to it, not with despair, but with trust and love, and passion of thankfulness and devotion. Faith says, I cannot answer your questions, but I feel and know that your questions are vain; I have no elaborate explanation to give of myself, but I feel in myself rational, because moral, satisfaction. Lord, increase our faith! Believest thou that I am able to do this? Be it unto thee according to thy faith.
Then the text should rebuke those who see only the black, not only in themselves but in other people. We are not only black, we may be comely. Hear the wondrous words of the prophet Obadiah: “Thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.” But that is the day when some men Will be rude to us. They delight to look upon our distress; they find a kind of cruel enjoyment in seeing us writhe in our speechless agony: they want to see how we bear the pain, how we endure the yoke, how we take to the new discipline of poverty. There are times when men should not look upon us in any sense of criticising us or endeavouring to estimate our quality; they should be tender; they should be marked by the spirit of reserve; they should turn aside that we might at least spend some moments in solitude when we wrestle with our most poignant agony. But who can shut out curiosity? Who can refine the demon of vulgarity? Who can keep at bay the beast that longs with thirst insatiable for our destruction and ruin? Do not gloat over the blackness of other men. Do not whisper in deadliest criticism concerning their faults and their slips and their misadventures in life. Do not suppose that God is deceived by whispering, as if by lowering our voice to a whisper we were really not speaking about the thought at all, when in stern reality we are speaking of it with the strongest emphasis. In such a case a whisper is our power. “Thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity.” How few people know how to treat others in the day of calamity! how fond they are of reproach! how mocking is their tone! how cruel is their very countenance! they do not understand the aching human heart. But we are not left to one another. “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?” Is there no one who understands this double nature, this wrestling and struggling going on always within the human life? Yea, there is One who knows it all: “We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He knows what is in man; he watches the daily fight. At last which shall be uppermost? Let each man answer for himself in the fear and strength of God. What shall it be at the last “black,” or “comely”? That is the question. Has my will anything to do with answering that great inquiry? Certainly. God proposes to reason with men. He pleads constantly with erring ones; he comes down to those who are lost in lamentation, and speaks comfortably to them; he says, “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.” When Jacob says, “My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God,” he says: No; I have been watching thee in all the darkness, and at the last thou shalt be more than conqueror. Let us then not fail or give up heart or cease the godly struggle. He who fights that he may win Christ shall surely win the Son of God. “Fight the good fight of faith.” “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” “He that endureth to the end shall be saved.” The day cometh when the blackness will be forgotten, and the comeliness shall be sealed with immortality.
Note
“Kedar, the second son of Ishmael and founder of one of the most distinguished tribes of Arabia (Gen 25:13 , Gen 25:16 ). The word Kedar signifies ‘black,’ and the tents of the tribe, like all those of the Bedawin of the present day, were black ( Son 1:5 ); hence some have supposed that the name was given to the tribe because of the colour of their tents. Others think that the name originated in the darkness of their complexion (Bochart, Opera, 1:216). This is all mere conjecture. The name was first borne by the son of Ishmael; but whether it originated, like that of Esau, in any peculiarity in the child, or in any event in his after life, we cannot tell. The tents of the nomad tribes of Arabia are black, and the colour of their skin is uniformly of a light bronze hue, so that the name Kedar was in these respects no more applicable to one tribe than another. The ‘children of Kedar’ ( Isa 21:17 ) were well known to the Israelites, and are more frequently spoken of in Scripture than any of the other Arab tribes…. They were also celebrated as warriors. Isaiah, when foretelling their fall, says, ‘All the glory of Kedar shall fail, and the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar’ ( Isa 21:16-17 ).” Kitto’s Cyclopdia of Biblical Literature.
Son 1:5 I [am] black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Ver. 5. I am black, but comely. ] Heb., Black as the morning, or day dawning, which hath light and darkness, dimness at least, mixed together. It is not H , wherein there is more light than darkness, but , wherein there is more darkness than light, as the grammarians distinguish. a This morning light is lovely, though not pure; so is the Church comely, though not dear. The coy daughters of Jerusalem might make a wonderment, that so black a dowdy, as the Church appeared to them that saw not her inward beauty, should ever hope to have love from the “fairest among men.” We read how Aaron and Miriam murmured against Moses, who was “fair to God,” b because of the brown skinned woman whom he had married. Num 12:1 For answer to whom the spouse here grants that she is black, or blackish at least: – (1.) As having some hypocrites in her bosom, that as that blasted grain c Mat 13:25 smutcheth and sullieth the better sort; (2.) As being not fully freed from sin till after death. Sin is dejected, indeed, in the saints, but not utterly ejected while they are here. For what reason? It is in them as the spots of the leopard, not by accident, but by nature, which no art can cure, no water can wash off, because they are not in the skin, but in the flesh and bones, in the sinews and the most inward parts. Howbeit the Church is freed from the damning and domineering power of sin. And whereas (3.) She is looked upon as “black,” Job 30:30 Lam 4:8 Jer 8:21 because of her afflictions, those fruits of sin, and seems to have lain among the pots, as the Psalmist hath it, places where scullions use to lie, and so are black and collied, yet shall she be “as the wings of a dove that are covered with silver,” &c. Psa 68:13 Though she “sit in darkness, the Lord shall give her light.” Mic 7:8 And as black soap makes white clothes, so do sharp afflictions make holy hearts, where God is pleased to set in with his battle door, as that martyr said. d Puriores caelo afflictione facti sunt, saith Chrysostom of those that were praying for Peter. Act 12:13-17 And “some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white,” saith the prophet of those suffering saints. Dan 11:35 The face of the Church is never so beautiful as when it is washed with its own tears; as some faces appear most orientally fair when they are most instamped with sorrow. Christ did so. Isa 52:14
But comely. “ Si mihi difficilis formam natura negavit,
Iustitia formae damna rependo meae.
Ingenio formae damna rependo meae. ” – Ovid. Epist.
As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. ] Kedar signifieth black; and the Kedarens, a people of Arabia, descended from Ishmael, dwelt in black tents, made of hair cloth, and had no other houses; e they also dwelt not far from the Ethiopians, or blackmoors. 2Ch 21:16
As the curtains, &c., “ Saepe sub attrita latitat sapientia veste. ”
Often under the surface lies hidden the vesture of wisdom.
a Eustath. in Hom. Odyss.
b Y . Act 7:20
c , frumentum adustum,
d Acts and Mon., 1486.
e Plin., lib. vi. cap 28; Solin., cap. 26; Isa 13:20
f Joseph., Antiq., lib. viii. 5.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Son 1:5-7
5I am black but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,
For the sun has burned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?
Son 1:5-6 It is difficult to follow who is speaking and to whom they are speaking. The transitions are not clearly (textually) marked. In Son 1:5-6 the northern woman is addressing apparent concerns of the Jerusalem harem or the women of the court.
I am black Son 1:6 describes this as a deep tan (blackish, BDB 1007), which she received from the sun while tending the family vineyards and flocks. Usually harem women strived to be as white as possible.
daughters of Jerusalem The identity of this group is crucial, but difficult. Here are some of the interpretive theories:
1. Solomon’s harem
2. city girls (versus country girls)
3. the woman’s friends
4. a mental image
5. a literary way of moving the scene along
6. a type of narrator (chorus)
7. women of the royal court (i.e. wives of leaders or royal servants)
They are a literary foil to help the maiden examine and express her thoughts and feelings. See notes at Jer 46:11 for the Hebrew idiom daughters of _____.
Kedar The Kedarites (BDB 871, literally swarthy or black-tinted) are related to the Ishmaelites, which means they were Arabs (cf. Gen 25:12-18; 1Ch 1:29; Isa 42:1; Isa 60:7; Jer 49:29-32). These desert nomads are known for their black tents which were woven from goat’s hair. The tents (BDB 13) were made from goat skin, while the curtains (BDB 438) were woven from goat hair.
Like the curtains of Solomon This is obviously parallel to tents of Kedar. The question is, what curtain does it refer to:
1. Solomon’s palace (TEV)
2. Solomon’s travelling tent (NJB)
3. the temple in Jerusalem
There is just not enough information in the text to make a determination.
Also, it is possible that the color is not the parallel, but dark. . .beautiful, whereby the curtains of Solomon are not dark, but beautiful (cf. TEV).
Notice that the NJB has Salmah, NAB has Salma, and REB has Shalmah. This comes from a supposed tribe in the area of Edom, possibly close to Kedar. However, there is no textual support or ancient version support for this textual change.
Son 1:6
NASB, NAB
JPSOA, NIVdo not stare at me
NKJVdo not look upon me
NRSVdo not gaze at me
TEV, REBdo not look down on me
NJBtake no notice
This can be understood in one of two ways:
1. Her dark tan was seen by the daughters of Jerusalem as reflecting her poor, rural background, and lack of light skin (TEV, NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 1009).
2. Her dark tan and beauty caused them to stare at her in awe and envy.
My mother’s sons were angry with me The VERB can be from one of two roots that mean to burn (with anger):
1. , BDB 354, Niphal PERFECT, cf. Isa 41:11; Isa 45:24
2. , BDB 359, Niphal PERFECT, cf. Psa 69:4; Eze 15:4-5
Number 1 is more probably the correct root. It is interesting that the root (BDB 637) literally means to snort and developed metaphorically to denote anger.
The interpretation of this verse is crucial to the understanding of the book (cf. Son 6:9). As in all other passages there are several theories:
1. the brothers are jealous of the king’s favour
2. this reflects a family feud over the young girl’s chastity (line 5)
3. the young girl did not take enough time for herself (TEV)
4. she has given her heart to another (i.e., a northern local lover)
Son 1:7 you who my soul loves To whom does this refer? It depends on one’s understanding of how many characters are involved in this poetic/musical drama. The two theories are: (1) the girl’s hometown shepherd boyfriend from the North or (2) Solomon himself from Jerusalem (i.e., shepherd of Israel).
For soul (nephesh), see note at Gen 35:18 .
Where do you make it lie down at noon This may refer to:
1. Solomon’s travelling pavilion, thereby:
a. tents of Son 1:6
b. companions of Son 1:7, line 5 and Son 8:13
2. to a local shepherd whom she loves
There is the added sexual imagery of lying down, implying, I want to come lie down with you. Poetry carries connotations and implications with its choice of words and their various connotations.
veils Veils (BDB 741, wrap oneself) is found in the MT, Septuagint, and NRSV. Other ancient versions read wanders (BDB 380 or 1073, cf. the Peshitta, Vulgate, and RSV). This refers to either (1) her modesty (i.e., veil); (2) her premarital desires; or (3) her asking her lover not to associate with travelling prostitutes (cf. Gen 38:14-19).
black = swarthy (feminine)
daughters of Jerusalem: i.e. the ladies of Solomon’s court.
Kedar = dark. All Kedar’s tents were black.
as. Supply the Ellipsis (App-6), “[but comely] as the curtains of Solomon”. Required by the Alternation: a| swarthy. a| as Kedar’s tents. b| comely. b| as Solomon’s curtains.
Son 1:5-7
Son 1:5-7
THE SHULAMITE RESPONDS TO CONTEMPTUOUS CRITICISM
“I am black but comely,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
As the tents of Kedar,
As the curtains of Solomon.
Look not upon me, because I am swarthy,
Because the sun hath scorched me.
My mother’s sons were incensed against me:
They made me keeper of the vineyards;
But mine own vineyard have I not kept.
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,
Where thou feedest thy flock,
Where thou makest it to rest at noon;
For why should I be as one that is veiled
Beside the flocks of thy companions?”
This paragraph tells us the identity of the Shulamite’s true love. He is a shepherd, not the king of Israel. No stretch of imagination can make a shepherd out of Solomon. Furthermore, the hostility and cruelty of the harem appear here. “The newcomer is subjected to their contemptuous, jealous looks.
“I am black but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem” (Son 1:5). That the Shulamite here apologizes for her dark sun-tan indicates that the pale, hot-house victims of the harem had heaped their scorn and criticism upon her.
These words have led some to suppose that the Shulamite was a Negro; “But the parallel line tells us plainly the meaning, `I am swarthy’; therefore, she was apologizing for her dark sun-tan. The balance of the paragraph explains how the sun-tan came about. Her brothers had compelled her to work outdoors. Thus she could not keep her “own vineyard.” What did she mean by that?
“My own vineyard have I not kept” (Son 1:6). Bunn interpreted this to mean that, “The Shulamite had not kept her own chastity. Cook saw it as a reference to, “the care and cultivation of her own beauty.” Pope affirmed that, “The reference is to the maiden’s body, especially her sexual parts. Cook’s opinion is by far the preferable understanding of it. To accept the other views would mean that the Shulamite here confessed her status either as an adulteress or as a prostitute.
“Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest thy flock?” (Son 1:7). If this text has any meaning at all, it means that the Shulamite’s true lover was a shepherd. Only by the abuse of figurative language can this be applied to Solomon. The implication of this is that the absent lover was feeding his flock in some place unknown to the Shulamite. Solomon was not absent; he was not feeding a flock, and his place was well known to everyone in Jerusalem. Solomon is not in this at all.
Exegesis
We much prefer the translations which suggest the maid to be dark or sunburnt. Perhaps she becomes somewhat self-conscious of her darker complexion as she mingles among the secluded bleached out women of Solomons harem. The tents of Kedar refers to dwelling places of the descendants of Ishmael who roamed the deserts of northwestern Arabia. Their tents were made of black goats hair. Such tents are still in use today in several parts of Israel and Arabia. The cloth is a close-weave and waterproof.
The tapestries of Solomon were those beautiful hangings used in the temple and many of the royal buildings. The rich colors and embroidery work made them a topic of conversation throughout the land.
This maiden offers to all maidens after her a grand example of proper self-image. She quite candidly recognizes both her limitations and potential. She is less than perfect but she is valuable and comely. She offers this evaluation of herself before she hears from the daughters of Jerusalem.
Peer group pressure has not been suddenly discovered by our generation. If we do not dress alike or comb our hair alike we are scrutinized with a critical eye. The Shulammite was different. She explains her appearance. We do not feel there is veiled criticism in the phrase my mothers sons, it is but another way of identifying her brothers. Why did they send her out into the hot sun to work the vineyard? They were upset with her for some reason. Perhaps it was her shepherd lover. Maybe they felt she was too young. It would seem they wished to remove her from the family home. She was busy all day in the vineyard and perhaps stayed in a near shelter at night. Such is only conjecture and we must leave it there. The reference to mine own vineyard refers to her complexion and grooming, which was in strong contrast to what she saw in the pavilion of Solomon.
Marriage Son 1:5-6
As we have observed above: the woman who knows her limitations and does not feel inferior, the one who recognizes her comeliness and is yet not proud will make an ideal wife and mother. It is so important that such an attitude be expressed and maintained among other women. This will not be an easy task. Perhaps we should be reminded that family influence will carry over into marriage relationships. How the wife treated her brothers might be similar to her treatment of her husband. We detect no resentment in the explanation of the treatment she received from her brothers.
Communion Son 1:5-6
The Christian is indeed black but comely. We do not refer to an inward blackness of sin from Adams transgression, but of the effects of external influences upon him. Because he has responded to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life (1Jn 2:15-17) he has entered the blackness of death in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1 ff). But he is also very comely-he is created in the image of God and has all the potential of a child of heaven. He can be made whiter than snow; he can be raised out of his death into new life (Col 3:1 ff). Among the daughters of Jerusalem the Christian must maintain his integrity. He is a sinner like those about him, but God so loved him that he is now the comely child of God. We all have a strong tendency to either think too much of ourselves and emphasize our comeliness or deprecate ourselves unnecessarily and remember how black we are. We can say in genuine humility-I am a black sinner made comely by grace. We could see a comparison in the action of the brothers of this text to our fellow sinners. They have had an influence upon us and we could blame our sinning upon them. A little thought will let us both know that we were the ones outwardly responsible. In this same context we can say we were so busy in the affairs of this world we never even considered what tragic influence it was having upon our standing before God.
Exegesis Son 1:7
In her imagination the maiden has left the chambers of the King. She is out again in the open fields of her home in northern Canaan. She can see her beloved shepherd with his flock. She wants to sit down with him at the same oasis at noon. She longs for his personal interest and concern for her, so she simulates a situation where he can express his concern and show personal interest. Suppose I cannot find his flock, and I must wander across the fields from flock to flock? What will the companion shepherds of my beloved think of me? The obvious conclusion would be that I am a prostitute in search of business. Do not let me be thus misrepresented-it is the anti-thesis of my true self. Help me!
Marriage Son 1:7
There is much to learn in this one verse. Women are given to day-dreaming-witness the immense popularity of the afternoon soap operas on TV. But contrary to what men believe they are not dreaming about men as such-but about the love and concern men should have for women. Yes, the maiden wanted to be with the shepherd-longed earnestly to see him. But for what reason? So he might take an interest and show personal concern for her. This is not primarily an erotic interest but a total-person interest. It is the nature of your wife to seek protection and help.
Communion Son 1:7
Surely we can address our Lord with the words of this verse: O thou whom my soul loveth. Far more than a mere academic relationship exists between the bride and the eternal shepherd. The two works of the shepherd are the two needs of our soul: food and rest. We can observe other sheep who are fed and rested. We long for this same relationship. Our request will not go unanswered. There is food and rest for anyone who will come unto Him-take upon him His yoke-he shall find rest and will be led into the green pastures.
Other shepherds have flocks-we have often wandered among these flocks and found neither food nor rest.
2.
Four characteristics of true faith
Son 1:5-7
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mothers children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
Here is a beautiful picture of true faith. It expresses every believers thoughts concerning himself and his Savior. In verses five and six, the Church, the Bride of Christ, speaks about herself to the Daughters of Jerusalem.
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mothers children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
Then, in verse seven, she speaks about herself to her Beloved Lord. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
Black
True faith acknowledges and confesses sin. I am black. The people of God are charged by both the world and by self-righteous religionists with many evils. But none of our enemies have such a loathsome view of us as we have of ourselves. Do any charge us with evil? It is true. I am blackMy own vineyard have I not kept. I am black in myself, by nature. I am black in the eyes of others, because of my actions. I am black in my own eyes. True faith does not defend itself. It does not seek any excuse for sin. True faith acknowledges and confesses sin (Job 40:3-5; Job 42:5-6; Psa 51:4-5).
The believer is a person with two distinct natures, the flesh and the spirit. These two natures are constantly at war with one another so long as we live in this world (Rom 7:14-24; Gal 5:17).
We are sinners by nature. We are sinners by choice. We are sinners by practice. We are sinners at heart. Sin is not to be measured by our actions, but by our attitude. Sin is not to be measured by our deeds, but by our principles. Sin is not so much what we do, but what we are. Sin is mixed with all we do. Old man Adam is still present with us. He is no longer master; but he is still present. That is a fact from which we cannot escape.
Yes, we do love Christ. He has created in us true love for himself. But before you were converted, did you ever think that you could love God so little as you do? We do pray. Grace has taught every believing heart to pray. But before God saved you, did you ever think that prayer could be so difficult as it actually is? We bow to and trust Gods wise, unerring providence. But before God gave you faith in Christ, did you ever think that a believer could grumble so much against the providence of God as you do? Did you ever think that a believer could be so unbelieving? Thank God, he has set our hearts on things above. But before God revealed himself to you and in you in Christ, did you ever think that a person who knows the Lord could be so thoroughly attached to the toys of this world as you are? We are his witnesses. We confess Christ before men. But before you knew the Lord, did you ever think that a believer could be so reluctant and timid about holding up the banner of Christ among his enemies as you are?
Sin is so much a part of us that it is mixed with all we do and all we are. We despise that fact; but we cannot, in honesty, deny it (1Jn 1:10). Truly, we confess, I am black.
Comely
True faith acknowledges and confesses sin, while resting upon the merits of Christ alone. In ourselves we are black; but in Christ we are comely (suitable, beautiful, seemly). In our own eyes we are black; but in the eyes of God we are comely (Son 4:1; Eze 16:9-14).
The Lord Jesus Christ has made us beautiful in the eyes of God, through his righteousness and shed blood; and we trust his merits alone for our acceptance with God. Be sure you understand this. In Christ every true believer is perfect and complete (Col 2:10; Col 1:28). He was manifest to take away our sin; and in him is no sin! Though full of sin in ourselves, in him we have no sin (1Jn 3:5). Through the merits of his own blood and righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ will present us before the Father in the perfection of holiness (Eph 5:25-27).
All who are born of God trust the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ alone for their entire, complete, absolute, and everlasting acceptance with God. We are nothing. We have nothing. We can do nothing in ourselves and by ourselves that God can or will accept. All our hope before God is in Christ (Lam 3:22-26; 1Co 1:30). He is our only Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption. That means he is our only hope before God.
Loves
True faith acknowledges and confesses sin, while looking to Christ alone for acceptance with God. And true faith loves Christ supremely. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Beloved. He is that One who is loved by all who trust him. It is written, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha (1Co 16:22). All believers love the Son of God.
Notice the title which is here given to our Lord, Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth. This is every believers humble, but honest acknowledgement. We love him because he first loved us (1Jn 4:19). His love for us precedes our love for him. His love for us is infinitely greater than our love to him. His love for us is the cause of our love to him. But if we know the Lord Jesus Christ, we love him.
Our love for Christ is something the world can never understand, because they do not know our Lord (1Jn 3:1-2). We love him because of all that he has done for us. We love him because of all that he has given us. We love him because of himself, because he is who he is. And we love him supremely (Mat 10:37-39). Our love for Christ grows as our knowledge of him grows. Our love for Christ is the motive of our actions (2Co 5:14). Our love for Christ is the governing principle of our lives.
Even Peter, in the teeth of his horrible sin, honestly and truthfully confessed, Thou knowest that I love thee. Like Peter, we err greatly, fall often, and act presumptuously. But, like Peter, ever true believer, at the very core of his being, loves Christ.
Does this seem confusing? It really shouldnt. If we would learn to quit playing religion and be honest with ourselves and honest with God, we would acknowledge these things. A man who truly loves his wife, a truly faithful husband, often acts as though he does not love her at all. A woman who truly loves her husband, one who is a faithful wife often acts as though she does not love him at all. No one else may perceive it; but ask the man or the woman. They well tell you it is so with weeping eyes and broken heart.
So it is with Gods saints in this world. We love our Savior. We seek to serve him and honor him in all things. Yet, we often think, and say, and do things that are totally contrary to that love. Yet, with Peter, with weeping eyes and broken hearts, we confess, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.
Seeks
True faith seeks Christ continually. This is what we see in verse seven.Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
True faith is never self-confident and self-sufficient. It continually seeks Christ (Heb 12:1-4; Php 3:7-14). Faith is not an act of life. Faith is a way of life. We seek him, not just what we might hope to get from him. We seek him because we need him, because we know we must have him. We seek him earnestly, continually, in the place where he has promised he will be found, in his Word, in his house, among his people. And we seek him with this confidence: — All who truly seek him shall find him (Jer 29:10-13).
Let us never seek to grow beyond simple, childlike faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him (Col 2:6). This is the only way we can walk with him. We must ever seek him and walk with him as sinners needing to be bathed in his blood, robed in his righteousness, and saved by his grace. May God give us grace to do so.
black: Isa 53:2, Mat 10:25, 1Co 4:10-13, 1Jo 3:1
comely: Psa 90:17, Psa 149:4, Isa 61:10, Eze 16:14, Mat 22:11, Luk 15:22, Rom 13:14, 2Co 5:21, Eph 5:26
O ye: Psa 45:9, Luk 13:34, Gal 4:26
as the tents: Psa 120:5
Reciprocal: Gen 25:13 – Kedar Jdg 6:5 – tents 1Ch 1:29 – Kedar Psa 45:14 – virgins Psa 48:11 – daughters Son 2:7 – O ye Son 2:14 – thy countenance Son 3:11 – O ye Isa 21:16 – Kedar Jer 8:21 – I am Jer 49:28 – Kedar Eze 27:21 – Kedar Luk 23:28 – daughters
Son 1:5. I am black I confess, as to myself, I am contemptible and deformed. She alludes to the complexion of Pharaohs daughter; but comely Yet I am glorious within, Psa 45:13; and comely, through the beauty which my husband hath put upon me, by his graces conferred upon me, in justification and sanctification. O ye daughters By which she understands particular believers, whose mother Jerusalem is called, Gal 4:26. As the tents of Kedar Of the wild Arabians, the posterity of Kedar, (Gen 25:13,) who dwelt in tents, which were black and uncomely. As the curtains of Solomon As the hangings wherewith Solomons house was furnished, which none can doubt were most beautiful and glorious. So these two last clauses answer to the two first, and that in the same order in which they lie.
1:5 I [am] {f} black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of {g} Kedar, as the {h} curtains of Solomon.
(f) The Church confesses her spots and sin, but has confidence in the favour of Christ.
(g) Kedar was Ishmael’s son, of whom came the Arabians that dwelt in tents.
(h) Which within were all set with precious stones and jewels.
2. The girl’s insecurity 1:5-8
The young lady felt embarrassed because she had very dark skin as a result of having to tend her family’s grapevines. Her skin was dark because of the sun’s rays, not primarily because of her race. Female courtiers did not work outdoors, so their skin was lighter than women’s who labored in the fields. The "tents of Kedar" (Son 1:5) were apparently black and were probably animal skins. The Kedarites were nomads who lived in northern Arabia southeast of Damascus (cf. Gen 25:13; Isa 60:7).
"These words express humility without abjectness." [Note: Delitzsch, p. 25.]
Her "own vineyard" (Son 1:6) refers to her personal appearance. [Note: Carr, The Song . . ., p. 79.] "Vineyard" is a frequent metaphor for the physical body in this poem (cf. Son 1:14; Son 2:15 [twice]; Son 7:12; Son 8:11 [twice], 12)
"She had not had available to her the luxurious baths and toiletries or fashionable clothing of the court. There had been no opportunity for her to take care of her hair, skin, or hands according to the obvious courtly style." [Note: Patterson, p. 37.]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)