Black But Comely

[KenH]

I am black, but comely."—Song of Solomon 1: 5.

See, my soul, whether thine experience corresponds to that of the church. Hast thou learnt from God the Spirit what thou art in thyself? Art thou truly sensible of the many sins and corruptions which lurk under fair appearances; and that, from carrying about with thee a body of sin and death, as the apostle said he did, in thee, that is, in thy flesh, dwelleth no good thing? Dost thou appear not only black in thine own view, but art thou despised for Christ's sake, and counted the offscouring of all things in the view of the world? Pause, my soul. Now look at the bright side. Art thou comely in Christ's righteousness, which he hath put upon thee? Comely in the sweet sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost dwelling in thee? Comely in the eyes of God the Father, from being accepted in Jesus the Beloved? Comely in church communion and fellowship, walking in the fear of God, and under the comforts of the Holy Ghost? What sayest thou, my soul, to these sweet but soul-searching testimonies? If thou canst now take up the language of the church: "I am black, but comely;" lowly in thine own eyes, self-loathing, self-despising, self-abhorring; but in Jesus rejoicing, and in his salvation triumphing all the day; think, my soul, what will it be when the King, in whose comeliness thou art comely, shall take thee home, as a bride adorned for her husband, and thou shalt then be found, "not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing," but shalt be everlastingly holy, and without blame before him in love.

- Robert Hawker, The Poor Man's Morning and Evening Portions, August 16, Morning

 

[Deacon]

“Know, my brother, that you will find great differences in interpretation of the Song of Songs. In truth they differ because the Song of Songs resembles locks to which the keys have been lost.” Thus the great Jewish savant Saadia began his commentary on the Song of Songs. In proportion to its size, no book of the Bible has received so much attention and certainly none has had so many divergent interpretations imposed upon its every word. A thorough survey of the history of interpretation of the Canticle would require the lifelong labors of teams of scholars.
Marvin H. Pope, Song of Songs: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 7C, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 89.

The allegorical approach erred in two ways, however. First, allegorists suppressed the human love dimension of the Song, and, second, they pressed the details in arbitrary ways in order to elicit specific theological meaning from the text.
Tremper Longman, Song of Songs, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001), 70.

How to Avoid Misinterpretations
(1) The Song is not an allegory; it is a collection of love poems. To allegorize love poetry is to do unnatural things with language and discourse. It is too arbitrary to be legitimate. …
(2) The Song is not a drama. In its original form, there were no stage directions or assignment of speeches to speakers or actors. The entire dramatic framework has been added by modern editors. …
Leland Ryken. Literary Introductions to the Books of the Bible. Crossway, Wheaton, IL. 2015. p. 224.

 

[KenH]

The Song of Solomon is an allegory.

If it is not an allegory, then it should have no place in the Bible, as it would be nothing more than a racy, PG-13, almost R-rated, dime store romance book.

Those who claim that it is not an allegory need to rethink their hermeneutic with regards to the Book of Solomon.

 

[Deacon]

“God forbid!—no man in Israel ever disputed about the Song of Songs [that he should say] that it does not render the hands unclean, for all the ages are not worth the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the Writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.” Akiva ben Joseph c. 50 - 135 AD (as quoted by Tremper Longman in The New International Commentary on the Old Testament)
~~~~~~~~
The subject matter of the Song, love, calls for a rich use of imagery, and, when we turn to the text, we will not be disappointed. Indeed, the Song presents us with perhaps the largest concentration of imagery anywhere in the Bible, and its images are also among the most suggestive and, at times, enigmatic. …
It is of the nature of imagery to be controversial in interpretation. Figurative language is not concerned with precision of content. Indeed, imagery both reveals and conceals the object of comparison.
Longman, Tremper. 2001. Song of Songs. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament.
~~~~~~~~
The five major interpretive approaches to the Song of Songs are the allegorical, typological, dramatic, cultic, and literal/natural. ...

In closing this discussion, it must be admitted that it is unlikely there will ever be full agreement on how the Song of Songs should be interpreted. However, it is fair to say that there currently exists something close to a consensus among at least evangelical scholars that the Song is to be approached in a consistently literal/natural manner.
Luter, A. Boyd. 2013. Song of Songs.
~~~~~~~~
The flexibility and adaptability of the allegorical method, the ingenuity and the imagination with which it could be, and was, applied, the difficulty and virtual impossibility of imposing objective controls, the astounding and bewildering results of almost two millennia of application to the Canticle, have all contributed to its progressive discredit and almost complete desertion. Literal modes of interpretation which take the language of physical, sexual love to mean more or less what it seems to say have developed and gained wide acceptance in the last century.
Pope, Marvin H. 2008. Song of Songs: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 7C. Anchor Yale Bible.
~~~~~~~~
…it is fair to say that the literal/natural approach to interpretation has replaced the allegorical approach as the standard way of understanding the intention of the poem.
Longman, Tremper. 2001. Song of Songs. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament.

 

[KenH]

I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,.... She gives this character of herself, that she was "black" in herself, through original sin and actual transgression; in her own eyes, through indwelling sin, and many infirmities, spots, and blemishes in life; and in the eyes of the world, through afflictions, persecutions, and reproaches, she was attended with, and so with them the offscouring of all things: "but comely" in the eyes of Christ, called by him his "fair one", the "fairest among women", and even "all fair", Song 1:8; through his comeliness put upon her, the imputation of his righteousness to her; through the beauties of holiness upon her; through, the sanctifying influences of his Spirit; and, being in a church state, walking in Gospel order, attending to the commands and ordinances of Christ; and so beautiful as Tirzah, and comely as Jerusalem, Song 6:4; and upon all accounts "desirable" to Christ, and to his people, as the word may be rendered."

- excerpt from John Gill's Bible commentary on Song of Solomon 1:5

 

[Deacon]

Gill interprets black skin to be a characteristic of original sin and transgression.

Examine the text:

I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Look not upon me, because I am black, Because the sun hath looked upon me: My mother’s children were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards; But mine own vineyard have I not kept.
Song of Solomon 1:5–6 (AV 1873)

Why is she darkened?
I remember reading Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936).
After the war, Scarlett bemoaned the fact that her lily-white skin had been darkened by the sun while working the cotton fields of the Plantation.

Here in Song of Songs, we have a similar situation.

Her mother's sons (not 'children' AV) made her work in the vineyards, which caused her skin to darken.
And she's none too happy about it! They kept her so busy that she couldn't even take care of her own needs.

Later in Songs (8:8-9) we find that her brothers were protective of their little sister's maidenhood.

Christological interpretation can be useful for some texts but the Song of Songs it should not be forced upon the text.
There is no "original sin" in this text.
Neither is there 'righteousness' or 'imputation'. Gill is putting into the text what is not there - a weakness of allegorical interpretation.
His theology may be proper, but the text does not support his interpretation.

Rob

 

[KenH]

Song of Solomon 1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

There is a very great beauty in this verse, considered as to the view the Church had of herself as she really was in herself, and as she really was in Christ, and as beheld in him. And I think, if the Reader connects these expressions (as no doubt he ought) with what went before, he will discover a still greater beauty. She had desired the Lord to draw her that she might run after him - this was done. The king had brought her into his very chambers. Overpowered with such condescending grace the Church looks into herself, and sees so much vileness and iniquity that her soul swoons in the view, and cries out "I am black, O ye daughters of Jerusalem:" full of spots, and in myself covered over with the leprosy of sin. But behold, by the clothing of Jesus's righteousness and the washing in his blood, how comely I am in the comeliness which he hath put upon me?

- excerpt from Robert Hawker's Bible commentary on Song of Solomon 1:5

 

[KenH]

Neither is there 'righteousness' or 'imputation'. Gill is putting into the text what is not there - a weakness of allegorical interpretation.
His theology may be proper, but the text does not support his interpretation.

John Gill is spot on. Imputation is at the core of the gospel of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

God's elect are only comely because of the imputation all of their sins to Christ and the imputation of Christ's perfect righteousness to them.

The the gospel of Christ is throughout the Bible; the natural man cannot see it (1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.); God's elect after they have been regenerated and granted the gifts of faith in Christ and repentance of dead works can see it (1 Corinthians 2:12-13 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.)

 

[KenH]

Christological interpretation can be useful for some texts but the Song of Songs it should not be forced upon the text.

God's elect do not need to "force" Christ upon the text. They have been given spiritual eyes to see it, and spiritual ears to hear it, when it is preached and taught.

 

[KenH]

A wondrous contrast in myself I see -
As black as sin can make me by the fall -
As comely in my Saviour as himself.
Like Kedar's tents, unsightly, dark, and vile,
My Adam nature dy'd a sable hue,
By foul transgression, lies degraded low.
But seen in Christ - possessing life divine,
With all the graces of the Holy Ghost,
Not Solomon, in all his costly things -
Embroider'd curtains, or his stately throne,
Displays such comeliness, such beauty shows,
As Jesus puts upon his ransom'd bride.
Conceiv'd in sin - a very mass of guilt,
I am originally vile indeed;
Depravity has spread its darkest shades
O'er all my soul, beclouding all its pow'rs.
But in my Saviour seen as one with him
And clad in his imputed righteousness
The purest white which lilies can unfold
The beauteous curtains of King Solomon gold and purple of his royalty
Portray my comeliness in Jesus sight
I humbly own my base original
And thankfully embrace the righteousness
Of Jesus as my own.

- Joseph Irons, on Song of Solomon 1:5, from Nymphas. Bride And Bridegroom Communing. Paraphrastic Exposition Of The Song of Solomon, In Blank Verse.

I have found it difficult to find this book, so I found it here:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nymphas_Bride_and_Bridegroom_communing_A/HE5VAAAAcAAJ?q=joseph+irons+paraphrastic+exposition

 

[GodisgraciousR325]

That's a wonderful song, first time hearing it, thanks for sharing. Never thought about the idea the black part as referring to sin, make sense.

Take care,

Shawn