The primary characters are a king and his bride. She is of noble birth, but presented here as a country girl, familiar with the urban scene, but previously not at home in it. A recurring role is the choir of city girls, not yet married. They often represent the attitudes the bride faces among such women as she enters royal society in the capital city. These are the girls who have hung around the palace since birth.
The chapter opens with the rapturous celebration of the bride, likely a short time after learning she is the chosen. She is wholly enamored with her man, and eager to assume the role. She is not in the least bothered that all the other gals are swooning over him; she’s just awfully glad he chose her over any of them. She’s all too happy to offer herself fully to this man. The girls’ chorus agrees that she’s a good choice and celebrate with her. A final line has the royal groom affirming that all this rejoicing is fully justified.
In a sort of apology, the bride compares herself to the black goat’s hair tents of the Arabic tribes in northern Arabia, known then as Kedar, along with a similar tribe known as Salmah in the vicinity of Petra. Tanning was not in vogue. Unlike the city girls who hide from the sun to keep their skin milky white, the bride has worked outdoors most of her life. There’s a pun here about the burning of the sun compared to the burning anger of her brothers. We aren’t told why they were angry, but it was common enough to find rural nobles demanding the household females earn their keep. In more literal terms, she would have been out there supervising peasants and servants keeping the vineyard. She’s no less attractive for it, but notes her own property suffered from neglect because of it. This is another subtle bit of humor; she was forced to neglect all that urban girly stuff, and developed a no-nonsense management persona.
Guys, don’t be a sucker for mere appearances. Think about how she will contribute to your calling and mission. A gal with strong capabilities can still make you tingle in the bedroom. Ladies, don’t rely on mere femininity as your sole contribution to a man’s life, even if it is primary. The best queen for a king suffers no inflated sense of entitlement, but brings a lot to the altar.
Hebrew culture universally despised whiners. Fresh in everyone’s mind when Solomon wrote this was the image of David, a king who earned his crown as a man who never shrank from getting his hands dirty with work or war. David was the shepherd king and anyone so much as pretending to noble status would be physically present, at least part of the time, when their servants worked in the fields. He fit right into the basic image of the ideal king as shepherding his people. This bride is fully invested in her man’s mission. It’s not a question of keeping an eye on a wayward skirt-chaser, but a powerful interest in what makes him tick. She wants to be involved. His answer is that he won’t be hard to find if she really cares.
Then the groom bursts out in celebration at what a fine lady he chose. Nothing else a man wants could possibly compare. Because she is so very committed to him, he’s willing to give her all the things any woman could want. Her response is to focus on the treasure of his love. In a very public setting where his reputation is everything, she allows her exotic and expensive perfume to symbolize her adoration of him. Let them see her in near worship of him because they don’t know the half of what she enjoys about being his wife. Provoke their envy, if possible. Among such august company, she has eyes only for him. The chapter closes with another back and forth between them, each reaffirming their devotion to the other in terms wholly consistent with common gender types.
