As rare as question-riddles are in the Bible, they’re even rarer in Wisdom Literature – only twice, in a repeated verse (Job 38:2; Job 42:3).
Proverbs tend to be more straightforward in meaning than riddles. I don’t think question-riddles are meant to provide the kind of insight a proverb is supposed to. The purpose behind them is different.
There are riddles whose answer is a proverb, but this doesn’t seem to be the case with the question-riddles we find in the Bible. Give me a little time to go through them all to make sure.
It all brings up what the connection between proverbs and riddles is. I haven’t a clue but would be interested in finding out.
By the way, Chapter 7 explores Prov. 31:10-31, which he sees as a conservative response to the Song of Songs.
CHAPTER 5: A Poetic Portrait: A Study of Song of Songs 6:4-10
This was a very long chapter, so today’s intro is going to be one of many posts.
This poem is a wasf, an Arabic term for descriptive poetry where lovers praise each other’s physical beauty using imagery primarily taken from the natural world.
They are a familiar type of wedding poem in contemporary Arabic folk poetry. Their origin, however, can be traced back to Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. In Mesopotamia they usually described the body of a goddess while in Ancient Egypt they were used in love poems. Most of the descriptions start at the top and move downward. Interestingly enough, Song 7:1-7 begins with her feet and rises to her head.
Besides the Song of Songs, we can see wasfs in Daniel 2:31-33; 10:5-6.
Although they usually describe the entire body, our poem is limited to the head as viewed through a window (Song 6:10). Although the window is not mentioned, the root used regularly describes this (Gen. 26:8; Judg. 5:28; 2 Sam. 6:16; 2 Kgs 9:30, 32), and it is a literary motif seen elsewhere (Josh. 2:15; 1 Sam. 19:12).
Our inability to see anything besides her face piques our curiosity.
The woman is confined to the house, which is supposed to protect her (see Ben Sira 42:11). However, from her perspective it restricts her freedom. Its walls define her world.
The woman in the window is common in Phoenician art. It can be ** you do not have permission to see this link ** in Samaria, Ahab’s capital.
Song 6:4-10
The order of this poem has been somewhat corrupted. The first verse should actually be the question-riddle (v. 10) followed by the answer (v. 4-9). In the answer, we have a description of the woman’s face (v. 4-7) and then how the woman is unique compared to others (v. 8-9).
The first part talks about how the woman’s beauty affects her lover, the second the impact it has on other women.
The woman gazes out at her lover, but the structure of the poem is centered around his point of view. Compare this with Song 2:9 where we have something similar but this time from the woman’s point of view.
There are 10 similes in the poem. Yet, for all the comparisons, it is doubtful we’d be able to identify the woman. Instead, we have views of the city, village, sky, and landscape that show the impact she has had upon him.
The poem has many repeated sounds that create continuity and cohesion. Have a listen to verses 4-9 (Start at 23 seconds and end at 1:20):
** you do not have permission to see this link **
Again, great questions.
No real answers at this point although it is something I’d be interested in looking into.
I think it’s safe to say they started off as erotic love poems and these might have been used in wedding celebrations. Were they sung?
From what I can gather ancient poetry was often sung or set to music, so it is certainly possible that this was as well. One can also think of the Psalms.
This looks of interest:
Here’s part of one of the reviews I saw on Amazon:
“The closest surviving parallel to the Song of Songs from the ancient world is Egyptian love poetry. These poems come from the world of entertainment. They may have been sung, accompanied, enacted, or danced to.”
In the near future I hope to take a look at “Rereading ‘The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs’ Thirty Years Later” that I found on JSTOR by the author. JSTOR lets you read up to 100 free articles a month.
As we read through Song 6:4-10, we may well notice similarities with Song 4:1-7.
The author made use of it, selecting and adapting from it so as to fit the spirit and purpose of the new poem.
We read of eyes in both, but here the man requests his beloved not let him see them, not even through her veil.
Although the parts of the body mentioned are confined to those that can be seen through a window, we don’t read of the woman’s tongue, lips, or mouth since she doesn’t speak. Besides, using crimson for her lips would have detracted from the author’s carefully constructed color correlations found in the question-riddle and its solution. All the references to color are implicit.
The poem will be discussed in its original order, so we’ll be starting with Song 6:10.
The window is not mentioned. If it had been, it would have distracted us from the picture of the sky given by the verse’s similes.
In the verb used we have the sense of gazing down from above either from the heavens or through a window (Lam. 3:50; Exod. 14:24;
Ps. 14:2; 53:2; 102:19; 2 Sam 6:16).
Our perspective is not of someone inside looking out at the sky but rather someone outside looking up at the window and seeing within a vision like the sky.
The woman looking out of the window is compared to the dawn (Job 3:9; Ps. 57:8; 108:2). With dawn’s light, the darkness is driven away (Gen. 19:15; 32:24; Judg. 19:25). One is now able to see both the moon and the rising sun.
With more light, the face of the woman is illuminated and likened to the full moon that fills the window frame.
The white of the moon is soon replaced by the red of the sun (2 Kgs. 3:22).
The simile that follows may imply she is intimidating (Exod. 23:27) and awakens dread (Ps. 55:5; Hab. 1:7). It may also refer to the armies that march with their banners (Num. 1:52; 2:3).
He is an awe of her and admires her beauty, a feeling certainly in accord with attitudes held in antiquity. Were the goddesses of beauty not also the goddesses of war?
Were the goddesses of beauty not also the goddesses of war?
A great point. Song 6:10 is one of those lines that sucks the breath out of your lungs. The NRSVUE* follows the KJV and uses “terrible”. The ESV uses “awesome”. The NIV, “majestic”. The Hebrew word apparently encompasses all those meanings. Has there ever been a genuine vision of the divine that did not include an aspect of terror? What’s always the first thing said at such moments? Fear not.
ps: My books are back home in MD so I will be curious to find out Robert Alter’s choice.
*NRSVUE
It’s been “new”, “revised”, and now, “updated”. What will they call it next time?
Song 6:4
The response to the riddle is to say the woman is beautiful – the same word used to talk about the moon.
Her beauty is compared to cities, which should not surprise us as the prophets likened them to women (2 Kgs. 19:21; Isa. 1:8) and personified them (Ezek. 16; Ezek. 23).
Samaria was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel from the time of King Omri (I Kgs. 16:24). Why was Tirzah chosen? Perhaps, Samaria might have awakened bitter memories among the Judeans, so the capital city that predated it was chosen instead.
In the riddle, there is a progressive intensification of light. Here there is a progression from the lesser Tirzah to the more important Jerusalem (Ps. 48:1-3; Lam. 2:15).
Note at the end of the verse, the riddle’s conclusion is repeated.
Song 6:5
There is no accompanying metaphor for her eyes as there is in Song 4:1 as he has no desire to linger on them. Since they inspire in him fear and overwhelm him, he begs her to turn them away from him.
To soothe his soul, he moves from an urban to a pastoral setting.
His comparison of her hair to a flock of goats matches the (black) dawn (Song 6:10). Her hair blown by the wind can be seen like flocks streaming down a mountain. Streaming, of course, also brings to mind water flowing down a mountain.
The poet’s gaze moves from the sky to the mountaintop cities. Then, he takes a tour of the land of Gilead, a mountainous region east of the Jordan with lush meadows (Num. 32:1).
The land of Israel plays an important role in describing the physical attributes of the female body and as a backdrop for the places where the lovers meet. We can read of the Tower of David (Song 4:4); the vineyards of Ein Gedi (Song 1:14); Carmel (Song 7:5); Heshbon (Song 7:4); Lebanon (Song 4:8, 11, 15; 5:15); Amana, Senir and Hermon (Song 4:8).
Song 6:6
There is a contrast between the black of her hair and the white of her teeth that are sparkling like the ewes that have come up from the washing.
However, it is not only their color that stands out as they are also perfectly aligned, and there are no visible gaps.
Since her teeth can be seen, she hasn’t hidden her entire face and yet his fears have been calmed. Was it a smile that reassured him?
Song 6:7
In describing the final feature of the woman’s face, he says it is like a piece of pomegranate. This fruit is a favorite in love poetry (Song 6:11; 7:12; 8:2).
It has been opened, and we have a rounded half. See the similarly curved shapes of the sun and moon in the riddle. The cheek is the rounded upper part or what we could call her cheekbone.
Her cheeks are red like the pomegranate. We now have the last of the three colors that are alluded to in the riddle.
Song 6:8
As we now look at the palace, we are reminded of the first part of the riddle’s solution, comparing the beauty of his beloved to the cities of the kingdom.
There is a gradual ascent from the darkness of dawn to full sunlight – from Tirzah to Jerusalem.
Also, we move from sixty to eighty to innumerable, although there is a descent from queens to concubines to maidens.
It’s not clear if the maidens are just young women or a category in the harem. Whatever the case may be, there’s no point in trying to count them (for “without number” see Gen. 41:49; Judg. 7:12).
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