(1-11) When he hears this he says to her,1 TURN BACK, TURN BACK, MY PERFECT ONE2 – My friends and I will gaze upon the beauty of your body and the loveliness of your stature.
She replies to him [saying], "Why should you gaze at me, my beauty, and the loveliness of my stature that you might call me 'perfect one'? Why do you tell me to expose myself to everyone as if I were dancing? It would be disgraceful for me to be seen by everyone and, therefore, I will not come back to you." He now answers her in order to appease her and to speak her praises, describing her beauty from head to toe:3
HOW LOVELY ARE YOUR FEET IN SANDALS – Your steps, the ornaments of your shoes, are like those of a princess. The hidden parts of your thighs are lovely and beautiful like jewels. Your ornaments, the work of a master craftsman, are made with skill.
YOUR NAVEL – Your navel is bright and clear like a basin or a goblet full of water that appears white and brilliant inside because of the brightness of the water. The luster of the goblet that does not lack the mixing of water (and wine) is like that of the moon.4
YOUR BELLY – Spread out this way and that like a wave, like a heap of wheat fenced in and hedged about by a border of lilies while other stacks of wheat are bordered by thistles. Now this border of roses around her, and whiteness of wheat, and redness of roses join and make your stomach appear lovely, red and white, beautiful to behold.
YOUR BREASTS – Close to each other and identical like two twins of the gazelle.
YOUR NECK – Lofty like a tower built upon a crag. Lofty, visible to all.
YOUR EYES – Brilliant and lovely like a pool of water in Heshbon, a city of many gates, through which most of the people come and go in order to visit (the city), and through which people come to look and walk around there. Your nose is straight like a tower in Lebanon that looks out facing Damascus.
THE HEAD UPON YOU – in its height like Mt. Carmel. The hair of your head is lovely and beautiful like a purple thread which contains no white within it which is called indes clers [i.e., brilliant purples] in the vernacular.5
And I, the king, your lover, am tangled up in the thread with which you plait the braids of your hair. [I am caught up] because of my love and desire for you.
HOW FAIR YOU ARE, HOW BEAUTIFUL – [How pleasant it is] for me to rejoice in your love.
YOUR STATELY FORM – straight and tall. He likened her to a palm tree which is erect and straight.
YOUR BREASTS – Like two clusters hanging on a vine.
Because I love you and have likened you to a palm tree, I said, "I will climb up the palm and hold its limbs and branches." This should inform you that I will come and love you, kiss you and embrace you. Let your breasts be as lovely to me as two clusters of grapes and your breath sweet like the fragrance of apples.
Your mouth and the taste [of your lips] will be sweeter to me than the taste of fine wine. Come, awake yourself to my affection and love like good and strong wine that gives joy and spirit to those who are tired and weary, as it is said, "wine that cheers the hearts of men"
(Psalms 104:15) and "young women like new wine" (Zech. 9:17).
Now she is appeased by his words and by his words as he tells the praises of her entire body from top to bottom. She is reconciled by his words and answers him,6 I AM MY BELOVED'S – in all his desire his longing is for me. Let him do with me all that he wishes [lit., what is good in his eyes] and all that he desires.
The allegorical meaning of this verse refers to the Holy One who sent His prophets to rebuke the Assembly of Israel while the Temple still stood in order that they might fulfill the (laws of the) Torah. Israel would respond to them, "We are not able to fulfill the commandments or to be occupied with the Torah for such activity is bad for us." The other nations try to appease Israel by saying that she should convert to their faith and worship other gods. Israel responds that she will not turn their way, but still the nations urge her to do so in every manner of appeasement until Israel responds, "I am my beloved's and my desire is for Him." I will not worship or turn to the faith in foreign gods but only the Holy One, Blessed be He, who has been good to me with his abundant mercy and devotion that has lasted from long ago to this very day.
aPERFECT ONE – complete and perfect.
YOUR FEET – The word refers to feet and footsteps.
JEWELS – The term connotes ear rings and ornaments.
MASTER CRAFTSMAN (אמן) – The aleph is pointed with a hataf kamatz and the word means the same as אומן (craftsman). The hataf kamatz and the shuruq are often interchangeable in words such as מאָדָמים – מאוּדמים, גֳדלו – גֻדלו, and many others.
A TOWER OF STONE7 – This phrase is similar to "lodging upon the fastness of a jutting rock"
(Job 39:23).
YOUR NOSE – Your nose. It is very beautiful for a woman to have a straight, symmetrical nose without any crookedness.8
THE LOCKS OF YOUR HAIR – The braids of her hair are called locks because they are drawn into locks at the top of the head.9
LOCKS – The basic meaning of the word has to do with height.10
IN THE HAIR RIBBONS11 – The golden ornaments of her braided hair. It is still the custom of young lovers to collect the hair ribbons of their loved ones as a keepsake of the love between them. The bet in the word ברהטים is pointed with a kamatz12 [indicating the definite article] which proves that this word refers to the same objects described by the words "the locks of your hair are like purple". This is because the letter bet is not pointed with a hirik [which would indicate an indefinite noun].
YOUR STATELY FORM IS LIKE A PALM – There is no tree taller or straighter than the palm.
LET ME TAKE HOLD – The word is a prefixed verb form like the forms אוכלה and אומרה.
LIKE CHOICEST WINE – One familiar with grammar will know that the word יין is usually pointed with a short kamatz when it is not in a construct form such as this.
LET MY AFFECTION FLOW – the word דודי is a noun. The phrase means "flow of my love". It is similar to the verse "Your love is better than wine"
(Song of Songs 1:2).
1. Rashbam connects the end of chapter six with the beginning of chapter seven which he understands to be the continuation of the would be encounter in the orchard.
2. JPS renders this word as Shulamite, taking it as an adjective describing the female character as a native of Shulam. Rashbam, among others, connects the word with the root שלם, whole, complete.
3. The comments that follow are the lover's words that he offers in praise of her.
4. The meaning of Rashbam's words is unclear.
5. Cf. Salters, op. cit., p. 251.
6. As in previous cases, Rashbam has included the words of the following passage to create a commentary that is also a paraphrase. By so doing he creates a unity within the text that forms the framework for the dialogue between the characters.
7. JPS renders the phrase "a tower of Ivory". Rashbam connects the word with a passage in Job and follows the interpretation "stone".
8. This comment is proposed in reaction to Rashi who claims that he does not understand how or why the metaphor of the verse should be understood. Rashi seems to think that the verse means that her nose is "big". Rashbam's comment explains that it is not the size of the nose that is intended but its attractive straightness.
9. The basis of this comment is the different uses of words sharing the root דלת.
10. This comment is based upon that of Rashi, but the material has been condensed, and Rashbam offers the "results" of the longer discussion of the word offered by Rashi.
11. JPS renders the word "tresses" with the note that the Hebrew is uncertain. It seems from this comment that Rashbam was sure about the meaning of this word based both on the customs of his time and the context of the verse.
12. It should be noted that the treatment of vowels in this commentary is consistent with that found in Rashbam's commentary on the Torah.