> [[song-of-songs-05|← Previous]] | [[song-of-songs-00|TOC]] | [[song-of-songs-07|Next →]] --- # Song of Songs, Chapter 6 ## Chapter 6 ### The Lost Lover Found 1 D Where has your lover gone, ^song-of-songs-06-1 most beautiful among women? Where has your lover withdrawn that we may seek him with you? 2 W My lover has come down to his garden, ^song-of-songs-06-2 to the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens and to gather lilies. 3 I belong to my lover, and my lover belongs to me; ^song-of-songs-06-3 he feeds among the lilies. ### The Beauty of the Woman 4 M Beautiful as Tirzah are you, my friend; ^song-of-songs-06-4 fair as Jerusalem, fearsome as celestial visions! 5 Turn your eyes away from me, ^song-of-songs-06-5 for they stir me up. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. 6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes ^song-of-songs-06-6 that come up from the washing, All of them big with twins, none of them barren. 7 Like pomegranate halves, ^song-of-songs-06-7 your cheeks behind your veil. 8 Sixty are the queens, eighty the concubines, ^song-of-songs-06-8 and young women without number— 9 One alone is my dove, my perfect one, ^song-of-songs-06-9 her mother’s special one, favorite of the one who bore her. Daughters see her and call her happy, queens and concubines, and they praise her: 10 “Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, ^song-of-songs-06-10 beautiful as the white moon, pure as the blazing sun, fearsome as celestial visions?” ### Love’s Meeting 11 W To the walnut grove I went down, ^song-of-songs-06-11 to see the young growth of the valley; To see if the vines were in bloom, if the pomegranates had blossomed. 12 Before I knew it, my desire had made me ^song-of-songs-06-12 the blessed one of the prince’s people. \* (6:1) The Daughters of Jerusalem are won by this description of the lover and offer their aid in seeking him (cf. [5:6], [9]). \* (6:2] – [3) The woman implies here that she had never really lost her lover, for he has come down to his garden (cf. [2:16]; [4:5]). Feed…lilies: the imagery here evokes both a shepherd pasturing his flocks and erotic play between the lovers ([2:16]; [4:5], [12], [16]). \* (6:4] – [9) The man again celebrates the woman’s beauty. Tirzah: probably meaning “pleasant”; it was the early capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ([1 Kgs 16]). Celestial visions: the meaning is uncertain. Military images may be implied here, i.e., the “heavenly hosts” who fight along with God on Israel’s behalf (cf. [Jgs 5:20]), or perhaps a reference to the awesome goddesses of the region who combined aspects of both fertility and war. \* (6:9) One alone: the incomparability of the woman is a favorite motif in love poetry. \* (6:10) “Who…”: the speakers may be the women of vv. [8] – [9]. Moon…sun: lit., “the white” and “the hot,” respectively (cf. [[isaiah-24|Is 24]]:23; [30:26]). Fearsome: see note on [6:4] – [9]. \* (6:11) Walnut grove: also a site of activity in a wedding hymn of the Syrian moon goddess Nikkal (cf. the woman compared to the moon in v. [10]). \* (6:12) The text is obscure in Hebrew and in the ancient versions. The Vulgate reads: “I did not know; my soul disturbed me because of the chariots of Aminadab.” Based on a parallel in [Jgs 5:24], “chariots” is here emended to “blessed one.” a. (6:2) [Sg 4:12]; [5:1]. b. (6:3) [Sg 2:16]; [7:11]. c. (6:5) [Sg 4:9]. d. (6:6] – [7) [Sg 4:1] – [3]. e. (6:10) [Sg 3:6]; [8:5]. f. (6:11) [Sg 4:12] – [5:1]; [7:13]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[song-of-songs-05|← Previous]] | [[song-of-songs-00|TOC]] | [[song-of-songs-07|Next →]]