His love (Song 4:9-4:11)

Male lover

“You have ravished my heart!

My sister!

My bride!

You have ravished my heart

With a glance of your eyes,

With one jewel of your necklace.

How sweet is your love!

My sister!

My bride!

How much better is your love

Than wine!

The fragrance of your oils is better

Than any spice!

Your lips distil nectar!

My bride!

Honey and milk are under your tongue.

The scent of your garments is

Like the scent of Lebanon.”

This male lover than goes into a praise of her wonders. He calls her a bride and a sister. Sister is a term of endearment in Egyptian poetry. Bride is used as an aspiration term, what he wants to happen. She has ravished his heart. She has stolen his heart with her glancing eyes and jeweled necklace. Her love is sweet and better than wine. Her fragrance is better than any spices. Her lips are like fruity nectar. She seems to have milk and honey under her tongue just like the Promised Land was always full of milk and honey. Her garments smelt like Lebanon. I assume that this was a good smell of cedar wood.

The seduction of the prostitute (Prov 7:10-7:20)

“Then a woman comes toward him.

She is decked out like a prostitute.

She has a wily heart.

She is loud.

She is wayward.

Her feet do not stay at home.

She is now in the street.

She is now in the market squares.

At every corner she lies in wait.

She seizes him.

She kisses him.

With an impudent face

She says to him.

‘I had to offer sacrifices.

Today I have paid my vows.

So now I have come out to meet you.

I seek you eagerly.

I have found you.

I have decked my couch with coverings.

I have colored spreads of Egyptian linen.

I have perfumed my bed with myrrh.

I have perfumed my bed with aloes.

I have perfumed my bed with cinnamon.

Come!

Let us take our fill of love until morning!

Let us delight ourselves with love!

My husband is not at home.

He has gone on a long journey.

He took a bag of money with him.

He will not come home until full moon.”

This is a story of seduction. The young woman was dressed like a prostitute, whatever that means. She was loud and rarely at home, since she was out in the town square as well as in the market places. She then seized this simpleton and started to kiss him. No soft sell here. She said that she had spent her money at the Temple and was looking for him. They may in fact have been friends. Then she explained why he should come with her. She had a decked out couch and a bed with Egyptian linens full of myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon, so that it smelt nice. She wanted to spend the whole night with him in love making until the morning. She explained that her husband was on a long business trip. He would be gone for a while until the end of the month or the full moon. The woman adulteress was the clear initiator, while the male was a young simpleton.

An ode to miners (Job 28:1-28:12)

“Surely there is a mine for silver.

There is a place for gold to be refined.

Iron is taken out of the earth.

Copper is smelted from ore.

Miners put an end to darkness.

They search out to the farthest bound.

They search for the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation.

They are forgotten by travelers.

They sway suspended.

They are remote from people.

As for the earth,

Out of it comes bread.

But underneath it is turned up as by fire.

Its stones are the place of sapphires.

Its dust contains gold.”

Here is a hymn to wisdom. There is no indication of any kind of dialogue or assignment to any person. This is then an insertion of the biblical author or the thought of Job as interpreted by the biblical author. You can explain away many things by showing where they come from. This is like a miner’s prayer. The author points out that you can mine for gold and silver. You can take the iron and copper ore and smelt it. These miners open up shafts in the valley. They dig holes where humans do not live. They are forgotten by travelers, as they go beneath the earth to find sapphires and gold dust. It really is an ode to miners and the work they do. Obviously mining was important over 2500 years ago, although we have sometimes forgotten that.