The Song of Songs 1:6

1:6 Do not stare at me because ¹  I am dark,

for ²  the sun has burned my skin. ³ 

My brothers ⁴  were angry ⁵  with me;

they made me the keeper of the vineyards.

Alas, my own vineyard ⁶  I could not keep! ⁷ 

Luke 7:44

7:44 Then, ⁸  turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, ⁹  but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

Luke 15:10

15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels ¹⁰  over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:2

15:2 But ¹¹  the Pharisees ¹²  and the experts in the law ¹³  were complaining, ¹⁴  “This man welcomes ¹⁵  sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 1:10

1:10 Now ¹⁶  the whole crowd ¹⁷  of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹⁸ 

[1:6]  ¹ tn The relative pronoun שֶׁ (she) on שֶׁאֲנִי (she’ani, “because I”) functions in a causal sense, as in the following colon (BDB 980 s.v. שֶׁ 3.b) (e.g., Song 5:2; Eccl 2:18).

[1:6]  ² tn The relative pronoun שֶׁ (she) on שֶׁשֱּׁזָפַתְנִי (sheshshezafatni) functions in a causal sense, as in the preceding colon (BDB 980 s.v. שֶׁ 3.b) (e.g., Song 5:2; Eccl 2:18).

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “the sun has stared at me.” The verb שָׁזַף (shazaf) means “to look at, catch sight of, glance at” (e.g., Job 20:9; 28:7) (HALOT 1456 s.v. שׁזף; BDB 1004 s.v. שָׁזַף). The Beloved personifies the sun (הַשָּׁמֶשׁ, hashshamesh) as having looked at the Beloved too long, that is, it burned her skin.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the sons of my mother.”

[1:6]  ⁵ sn The verb הָרָה (harah, “to burn in anger, to be angry”) creates an interesting wordplay or pun on the preceding line: “The sun burned me (= my skin).” The sun burned her skin, because her brothers had burned (נִהֲרוּ, niharu) in anger against her. This is an example of a polysemantic wordplay which explains the two basic meanings of הָרָה (“to burn, to be angry”) (W. G. E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry [JSOTSup], 241-42).

[1:6]  ⁶ sn The noun כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”) is used figuratively in this line (see following note on the wordplays in this verse). Some suggest that her “vineyard” refers to her virginity, that is, she lost her virginity. However, this runs contrary to the moral purity accorded to the Beloved throughout the Song (e.g., 4:12; 8:8-10). It is better to take the “vineyard” imagery as a reference to her ability to take care of her physical appearance which had been thwarted by being forced to work outside where her skin had been darkened by the scorching rays of the sun, as alluded to throughout 1:4-5[5-6].

[1:6]  ⁷ sn The repetition of the noun כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”) and the verb נָטַר (natar, “to keep, maintain”) creates a series of eloquent wordplays. The first occurrence of כֶּרֶם (“vineyard”) and נָטַר (“to keep”) is literal, the second occurrence of both is figurative (hypocatastasis). Her brothers forced her to work outside in the sun, taking care of the vineyards; as a result, she was not able to take care of her appearance (“my own vineyard I could not keep”).

[7:44]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:44]  ⁹ sn It is discussed whether these acts in vv. 44-46 were required by the host. Most think they were not, but this makes the woman’s acts of respect all the more amazing.

[15:10]  ¹⁰ sn The whole of heaven is said to rejoice. Joy in the presence of God’s angels is a way of referring to God’s joy as well without having to name him explicitly. Contemporary Judaism tended to refer to God indirectly where possible out of reverence or respect for the divine name.

[15:2]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[15:2]  ¹² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “grumbling”; Grk “were complaining, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “accepts,” “receives.” This is not the first time this issue has been raised: Luke 5:27-32; 7:37-50.

[1:10]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And,” but “now” better represents the somewhat parenthetical nature of this statement in the flow of the narrative.

[1:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “all the multitude.” While “assembly” is sometimes used here to translate πλῆθος (plhqo"), that term usually implies in English a specific or particular group of people. However, this was simply a large group gathered outside, which was not unusual, especially for the afternoon offering.

[1:10]  ¹⁸ tn The “hour of the incense offering” is another way to refer to the time of sacrifice.