EGYPTIAN PARALLELS TO THE SONG OF SONGS

Nature of the Song of Songs. Translation of Some Egyptian Love-Poems. Comparison with Biblical Passages.

For many centuries the Song of Songs has been interpreted allegorically, but even those who give it an allegorical meaning must admit that its sentiments are couched in the terms of earthly love. Love poems, which sometimes express sentiments that remind us of the Song of Songs, have been discovered on some Egyptian papyri and ostraca. The documents in which they are written range in their dates from 2000 B. C. to about 1100 B. C. Selections from these follow:[582]

I[583]
Thy love has penetrated all within me
Like [honey?] plunged into water,
Like an odor which penetrates spices,
As when one mixes juice in ..........
[Nevertheless] thou runnest to seek thy sister,
Like the steed upon the battlefield,
As [the warrior rolls along] on the spokes of his wheels.
For heaven makes thy love
Like the advance of [flames in straw],
And its [longing] like the downward swoop of a hawk.

II[584]
Disturbed is the condition (?) of [my] pool.
[The mouth] of my sister is a rosebud.
Her breast is a perfume.
Her arm [is a ...... bough?]
[Which offers] a delusive seat.
Her forehead is a snare of meryu-wood.
I am a wild goose, a hunted one (?),
My gaze is at thy hair,
At a bait under the trap
That is to catch (?) me.“Brother” and “sister” are terms frequently applied to lovers in these poems. Perhaps it arose from an ancient custom of marriages between brothers and sisters, which was perpetuated in the royal families of Egypt down to Roman times.

The description of the physical attractions of the loved one reminds one of Cant. 4:1-7.

III[585]
Is my heart not softened by thy love-longing for me?
My dogfoot-(fruit) which excites thy passion,—
Not will I allow it
To depart from me.
Although cudgeled even to the “Guard of the overflow,”[586]
To Syria, with shebÔd-rods and clubs,
To Ethiopia, with palm-rods,
To the highlands, with switches,
To the lowlands, with twigs,
Never will I listen to their counsel,
To abandon longing.

IV[587]
The voice of the wild goose cries,
(Where) she has seized their bait,
(But) thy love holds me back,
I am unable to liberate her.
I must, then, take home my net!
What shall I say to my mother,
To whom formerly I came each day
Loaded down with fowls?
I shall not set the snares today
For thy love has caught me.

This is a vivid description of the power of the tender passion.

V[588]
The wild goose flies up and soars,
She sinks down upon the net.
The birds cry in flocks,
But I hasten [homeward],
Since I care for thy love alone.
My heart yearns for thy breast,
I cannot sunder myself from thy attractions.This is a continuation of the preceding.

VI[589]
Thou beautiful one! My heart’s desire is
To procure for thee thy food as thy husband,
My arm resting upon thy arm.[590]
Thou hast changed me by thy love.
Thus say I in my heart,
In my soul, at my prayers:
“I lack my commander tonight,
I am as one dwelling in a tomb.”
Be thou but in health and strength,[591]
Then the nearness of thy countenance
Sheds delight, by reason of thy well-being,
Over a heart, which seeks thee (with longing).

This poem expresses on the part of the man a longing similar to that expressed by the woman in Cant. 8:1-3.

VII[592]
The voice of the dove calls,
It says: “The earth is bright.”
What have I to do outside?
Stop, thou birdling! Thou chidest me!
I have found my brother in his bed,
My heart is glad beyond all measure.
We each say:
“I will not tear myself away.”
My hand is in his hand.
I wander together with him
To every beautiful place.
He makes me the first of maidens,
Nor does he grieve my heart.

In this poem the loved woman speaks, as in Cant. 8:1-3.

VIII[593]
Sa‘am-plants are in it,
In the presence of which one feels oneself uplifted!
I am thy darling sister,
I am to thee like a bit of land,
With each shrub of grateful fragrance.

Lovely is the water-conduit in it,
Which thy hand has dug.
While the north wind cooled us.
A beautiful place to wander,
Thy hand in my hand,
My soul inspired,
My heart in bliss,
Because we go together.
New wine it is, to hear thy voice;
I live for hearing it.
To see thee with each look,
Is better than eating and drinking.

The figure of the garden, with which this poem begins, is also used in Cant. 5:1 and 6:2, 3.

IX[594]
Ta-’a-ti-plants are in it!
I take thy garlands away,
When thou comest home drunken,
And when thou art lying in thy bed
When I touch thy feet,
(And) children are (?) in thy ..........
........................
[I rise up] rejoicing in the morning
Thy nearness [means to me] health and strength.

In ancient as in modern times wives loved fondly, while husbands gave way to drunkenness.

The poems as a whole make it clear that in Egypt love, which lies at the basis of all home life, and is in the New Testament made a figure of the relation of Christ to the Church (see John 3:29; Rev. 21:2, 9), was as warmly felt as in Israel, and was likewise poetically and passionately expressed.