33:25 The bars of your gates 1 will be made of iron and bronze,
and may you have lifelong strength.
The Lover to His Beloved:
7:1 (7:2) How beautiful are your sandaled 2 feet,
O nobleman’s daughter! 3
The curves 4 of your thighs 5 are like jewels,
the work of the hands of a master craftsman.
3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. 6
He gives me the agility of a deer; 7
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 8
(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) 9
1 tn The words “of your gates” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “bars.”
2 sn Solomon calls attention to the sandals the “noble daughter” was wearing. While it was common for women in aristocratic circles in the ancient Near East to wear sandals, women of the lower classes usually went barefoot (e.g., Ezek 16:10).
3 tn Alternately, “noble daughter” or “magnificent daughter.” The title בַּת־נָדִיב (bat-nadiv, “princely daughter” or “daughter of the prince”; HALOT 673 s.v. נָדִיב; BDB 622 s.v. נָדִיב 2) suggests to some that this woman is not the Israelite country maiden of chapters 1-4 and 8, but the daughter of Pharaoh whom Solomon later married (1 Kgs 11:1). While the term נָדִיב often denotes nobility of position (“nobleman”), it can also denote nobility of character (“noble, willing, magnificent”) (e.g., Prov 17:26; Isa 32:5, 8) (HALOT 673-74; BDB 622 s.v. 2).
4 tn The term ַַחמּוּק (khammuq, “curve”) describes the shapely curvature of her legs (HALOT 327; BDB 330 s.v. 2) rather than a curving, dancing motion (Arabic bridal dance view). Although the verb חָמַק (khamaq, “turn”) appears twice (Song 5:6; Jer 31:22), the noun חַמּוּק is a hapax legomenon. In postbiblical Hebrew it refers to “rundles” (Jastrow 476 s.v. חַמּוּק). The term here has been translated in various ways: “[thigh] joints” (KJV), “rounded [thighs]” (RSV), “curves [of thighs]” (NASB), “graceful [thighs]” (NIV).
5 tn The term יָרֵךְ (yarekh, “thigh”) may refer to (1) the fleshy upper part of the thigh where the leg joins the pelvis (Gen 32:25-32; 46:26; Exod 1:5; Judg 8:30) or (2) the outside of the thigh from the hip down (Exod 32:27; Judg 3:16, 21; Ps 45:4; Song 3:8). The first usage is usually restricted to a figure for the male loins, the source of male procreation (Gen 46:26; Exod 1:5) and the locus of an oath (Gen 24:2, 9; 47:29).
6 tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”
7 tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”
8 tn Heb “he makes me walk on my high places.”
9 tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”
10 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
11 sn With the instructions Hurry! Bring the best robe, there is a total acceptance of the younger son back into the home.
12 tn Grk “hand”; but χείρ (ceir) can refer to either the whole hand or any relevant part of it (L&N 8.30).
13 sn The need for sandals underlines the younger son’s previous destitution, because he was barefoot.