Cantar de los Cantares 1

VBL · Chapter 1/8

1Cantar de los cantares de Salomón.

2Bésame, bésame con tu boca una y otra vez, porque tu amor es más dulce que el vino.

3Me encanta cómo hueles con los aceites perfumados que utilizas. Tienes un gran renombre—se extiende como el aceite perfumado derramado. No es de extrañar que todas las jóvenes te adoren.

4¡Tómame de la mano, corramos! (El rey me ha llevado a su dormitorio). Seamos felices juntos y encontremos placer en tu amor. Tu amor es mucho mejor que el vino. ¡Las mujeres tienen razón en adorarte tanto!

5Soy negra, pero soy hermosa, mujeres de Jerusalén, como las tiendas de Cedar, como las cortinas de Salomón.

6No me desprecies porque soy negra, porque el sol me ha quemado. Mis hermanos se enojaron conmigo y me obligaron a cuidar las viñas, y no pude cuidar mi propia viña.

7Mi amor, por favor, dime a dónde vas a llevar tu rebaño. ¿Dónde los harás descansar al mediodía? Porque ¿por qué tengo que llevar un velo mientras te busco entre los rebaños de tus compañeros?

8Si realmente no lo sabes, tú que eres más hermosa que cualquier otra mujer, sigue las huellas de mi rebaño, y deja que tus cabras pasten cerca de las tiendas de los pastores.

9Querida, para mí eres como una yegua entre los caballos del Faraón que tiran de sus carros,

10Tus hermosas mejillas adornadas con adornos, tu cuello con cordones de joyas.

11Hagamos para ti unos adornos de oro con incrustaciones de plata.

12Mientras el rey estaba tumbado en su lecho, mi perfume de nardo desprendía su fragancia.

13Mi amor es como una funda de mirra, tumbada toda la noche entre mis pechos.

14Mi amor es como un ramo de flores de henna fragantes en los viñedos de Engedi.

15¡Mira qué hermosa eres, querida, qué hermosa! Tus ojos son suaves como palomas.

16Y tú, mi amor, eres tan guapo, ¡qué encantador eres! La hierba verde es nuestra cama,

17con cedros como vigas para nuestra “casa”, y árboles de pino para las vigas.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The beloved declares her love for her lover, longing for his kisses and desiring to follow him. She describes herself as darkened by the sun and speaks of laboring in her brothers' vineyards. The couple exchange words of mutual admiration.

Explanation

Song of Songs is a poem of married love attributed to Solomon, written as a dialogue between a couple in love and a chorus of "daughters of Jerusalem." In Hebrew culture, human love and desire within marriage were seen as good gifts from God, worthy of poetic celebration rather than something shameful. The mention of being "dark" reflects outdoor labor, something socially looked down on at the time, yet it does not diminish her beauty in her beloved's eyes. Application for today: genuine love celebrates the whole person, including their circumstances and apparent imperfections.

Fun facts

  • The Hebrew title is "Shir ha-Shirim" (Song of Songs), a grammatical construction that expresses the superlative — that is, "the most beautiful of songs."
  • Jewish tradition read this book at Passover (Pesach), interpreting it allegorically as the love between God and Israel; Christians historically read it as a picture of the love between Christ and the church.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Cantar de los Cantares 1:1“Song of Songs” is a Hebrew superlative construction, like “Holy of Holies” or “King of Kings” — the phrase itself announces that this is considered the highest of all songs, not just one more among others.
  2. Cantar de los Cantares 1:2The book opens straight into a request for a kiss, with no preamble or introduction, making clear from the first line that this is love poetry between two lovers, not a disguised parable. It is a physical, direct tone that continues from beginning to end of the text.
  3. Cantar de los Cantares 1:3Comparing the beloved’s name to poured-out perfume plays on the sound similarity between the two words in Hebrew — a compliment that combines scent, reputation, and physical attraction in a single image.
  4. Cantar de los Cantares 1:4Calling the beloved a “king” and mentioning “chambers” here is probably the language of romantic fantasy and exaggerated praise, common in ancient love poetry, not a claim that he is literally a monarch.
  5. Cantar de los Cantares 1:5Comparing her tanned skin to the dark tents of the Kedar Bedouins, made of black goat hair, and to Solomon’s royal curtains combines two images: one humble and one luxurious, both admired in their own way.
  6. Cantar de los Cantares 1:6The young woman explains that she became “black” because the sun beat down on her while she tended her brothers’ vineyards, having neglected her own vineyard, an image that describes both her skin and, indirectly, her own person and body.
  7. Cantar de los Cantares 1:7The question about where to find the flock at noon suggests a secretly arranged meeting, away from other shepherds — a request for privacy typical of a love affair that may have needed discretion.
  8. Cantar de los Cantares 1:8The playful reply that she should simply follow the sheep tracks to the shepherds’ tents has a tone of ironic charm, almost as if he already knew exactly where she could find him.
  9. Cantar de los Cantares 1:9Comparing the beloved to the mares of Pharaoh’s chariots sounds strange today, but it was a compliment of status: those mares were adorned with gold and silver and known for their refined beauty, so the comparison praised her elegance, not anything demeaning.
  10. Cantar de los Cantares 1:10Describing jewelry as rows framing the face and neck suggests real ornaments of gold and stones, praising both her natural beauty and the effect of the adornments worn over it.
  11. Cantar de los Cantares 1:11The promise to make custom gold ornaments with silver details is a gesture of generous courtship: promising luxurious gifts made especially for her.
  12. Cantar de los Cantares 1:12Spikenard was an expensive perfume imported from far away, usually from India — using it while at the king’s table is a detail of sensory luxury that reinforces the banquet atmosphere and physical closeness of the poem.
  13. Cantar de los Cantares 1:13A small bag of myrrh was worn as a personal perfume attached to clothing or the body overnight — comparing the beloved to this object is saying that his presence is as constant and intimate as a scent that never fades.
  14. Cantar de los Cantares 1:14En-gedi was a famous oasis near the Dead Sea, known for rare aromatic plants in the middle of a desert — comparing the beloved to this place is saying that he is a rare and precious surprise in any setting.
  15. Cantar de los Cantares 1:15Comparing the eyes to doves probably refers to the soft, gentle movement of the gaze, not to the color or shape of the eyes themselves — an image of tenderness more than of exact physical appearance.
  16. Cantar de los Cantares 1:16“Also our bed is green” suggests an outdoor meeting, on the grass, rather than a closed room — nature serves as the direct setting for the romance throughout much of the book.
  17. Cantar de los Cantares 1:17Describing a “house” made of cedar and fir, noble woods used in temples and palaces, while the lovers are outdoors, is more a poetic image of grandeur than an actual building.

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