Cantar de los Cantares 3

VBL · Chapter 3/8

1Una noche, cuando estaba acostada en la cama, anhelaba a mi amado. Lo anhelaba, pero no estaba en ninguna parte.

2Entonces me dije: “Me levantaré ahora y recorreré la ciudad, buscando en sus calles y plazas a aquel que amo”. Lo busqué, pero no lo encontré.

3Los vigilantes me hallaron mientras recorría la ciudad. “¿Han visto a mi amado?” - les pregunté.

4Sólo un poco más adelante, después de haberlos pasado, encontré a mi amor. Lo abracé y no lo dejé ir hasta que lo llevé a la casa de mi madre, a la habitación de la que me concibió.

5Mujeres de Jerusalén, júrenme por las gacelas o los ciervos salvajes que no perturbarán nuestro amor hasta el momento oportuno.

6¿Quién es ese que viene del desierto como una columna de humo, como un sacrificio ardiente perfumado con mirra e incienso, con toda clase de polvos perfumados importados?

7Miren, es la litera de Salomón, acompañado de sesenta de los mejores guerreros de Israel.

8Todos ellos son expertos espadachines con experiencia en la batalla. Cada uno de ellos lleva una espada atada al muslo, preparada para cualquier ataque nocturno.

9(La litera de Salomón fue hecha para él con madera del Líbano.

10Sus soportes estaban cubiertos de plata, y el respaldo estaba cubierto de oro. El cojín del asiento era de color púrpura. El interior estaba decorado con detalle.)

11salgan! ¡Miren, mujeres de Sión! Vean al rey Salomón llevando la corona que su madre le puso en la cabeza el día de su boda, su día más feliz.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The beloved dreams of or experiences searching for her lover through the city at night until she finds him. Afterward, Solomon's royal litter is described, surrounded by sixty mighty warriors, used perhaps in a wedding procession.

Explanation

The scene of nighttime searching through the streets reflects the anxiety and deep longing for reunion between lovers, a common theme in ancient Near Eastern love poetry. The description of Solomon's litter, with its armed guard, likely depicts a royal wedding procession, highlighting the grandeur of marriage celebrations in Israelite culture, where weddings could last for days and involved public processions. Application for today: the genuine desire to be with the one you love is natural, and publicly celebrating the commitment of marriage has real value and meaning.

Fun facts

  • The "daughters of Jerusalem," mentioned repeatedly throughout the book, function as a chorus that interacts with the beloved, a device common in ancient dramatic poetry.
  • The Hebrew word for Solomon's "litter" or "carriage" (appiryon) is rare and may be a loanword from another language, suggesting an imported or specially crafted luxury item.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Cantar de los Cantares 3:1The scene of the young woman going out at night through the city looking for her beloved, unable to find him right away, expresses the longing and anguish of missing someone, a theme that returns in similar form later in the book.
  2. Cantar de los Cantares 3:2Going out alone at night through the city streets to look for someone was unusual and even risky behavior for a woman in ancient society, which gives the scene a tone of urgency and courage, not just romance.
  3. Cantar de los Cantares 3:3Meeting the city’s night watchmen, whose job was to guard against dangers, makes her question even more unexpected — she is clearly out of place and out of the expected hour, driven only by the wish to find him.
  4. Cantar de los Cantares 3:4Taking him to “the chamber” of her own mother, not her father, is a specific cultural detail: in some readings, it pointed to a space of family intimacy tied to marriage preparations, under the mother’s authority.
  5. Cantar de los Cantares 3:5This refrain about not stirring up love before the right time already appeared in chapter 2 and returns here, working as a kind of formal pause between different scenes of the poem.
  6. Cantar de los Cantares 3:6The scene suddenly shifts to a procession arriving from the desert wrapped in incense smoke, likely introducing the wedding party described in the following verses, with all the pomp of a royal celebration.
  7. Cantar de los Cantares 3:7The description of Solomon’s litter surrounded by sixty armed warriors shows the standard of luxury and protection used in the royal processions of the time, contrasting with the simplicity of the couple’s meetings elsewhere in the book.
  8. Cantar de los Cantares 3:8Armed guards escorting the litter at night reflect a real concern for safety on night journeys in antiquity, when robbers or wild animals posed concrete threats along the way.
  9. Cantar de los Cantares 3:9Wood from Lebanon, probably cedar, was a luxury material also used in building the Jerusalem temple — choosing that same material for the litter reinforces the scene’s royal standard.
  10. Cantar de los Cantares 3:10Describing the inside of the litter as “paved with love” by the young women of Jerusalem themselves suggests they contributed embroidery or decorative fabrics, making the object even more personal and affectionate.
  11. Cantar de los Cantares 3:11The crown that the king’s mother places on him on his wedding day is mentioned as a symbol of that day’s joy, a scene of royal celebration that serves as a poetic backdrop for the chapter’s love verses.

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