Cânticos 3

BLIVRE · Chapter 3/8

1[Ela] :Durante as noites busquei em minha cama a quem minha alma ama; busquei-o, mas não o achei.

2Por isso me levantarei, e percorrerei a cidade, pelas ruas e pelas praças; buscarei a quem minha alma ama; busquei-o, mas não o achei.

3Os guardas que rondavam pela cidade me encontraram. [Eu lhes perguntei] : Vistes a quem minha alma ama?

4Pouco [depois] de me afastar deles, logo achei a quem minha alma ama. Eu o segurei, e não o deixei ir embora, até eu ter lhe trazido à casa de minha mãe, ao cômodo daquela que me gerou.

5Eu vos ordeno, filhas de Jerusalém: jurai pelas corças e pelas cervas do campo que não acordeis nem desperteis ao amor, até que ele queira.

6Quem é esta, que sobe do deserto como colunas de fumaça, perfumada com mirra, incenso, e com todo tipo de pó aromático de mercador?

7Eis a cama móvel de Salomão! Sessenta guerreiros estão ao redor dela, dentre os guerreiros de Israel;

8Todos eles portando espadas, habilidosos na guerra; cada um com sua espada à cintura, para [o caso de haver] um ataque repentino de noite.

9O rei Salomão fez para si uma liteira de madeira do Líbano.

10Suas colunas ele fez de prata, seu assoalho de ouro, seu assento de púrpura; por dentro coberta com [a obra do] amor das filhas de Jerusalém.

11Saí, ó filhas de Sião, e contemplai ao rei Salomão, com a coroa a qual sua mãe o coroou, no dia de seu casamento, no dia da alegria do seu coração.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The beloved dreams of or experiences searching for her lover through the city at night until she finds him. Afterward, Solomon's royal litter is described, surrounded by sixty mighty warriors, used perhaps in a wedding procession.

Explanation

The scene of nighttime searching through the streets reflects the anxiety and deep longing for reunion between lovers, a common theme in ancient Near Eastern love poetry. The description of Solomon's litter, with its armed guard, likely depicts a royal wedding procession, highlighting the grandeur of marriage celebrations in Israelite culture, where weddings could last for days and involved public processions. Application for today: the genuine desire to be with the one you love is natural, and publicly celebrating the commitment of marriage has real value and meaning.

Fun facts

  • The "daughters of Jerusalem," mentioned repeatedly throughout the book, function as a chorus that interacts with the beloved, a device common in ancient dramatic poetry.
  • The Hebrew word for Solomon's "litter" or "carriage" (appiryon) is rare and may be a loanword from another language, suggesting an imported or specially crafted luxury item.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Cânticos 3:1The scene of the young woman going out at night through the city looking for her beloved, unable to find him right away, expresses the longing and anguish of missing someone, a theme that returns in similar form later in the book.
  2. Cânticos 3:2Going out alone at night through the city streets to look for someone was unusual and even risky behavior for a woman in ancient society, which gives the scene a tone of urgency and courage, not just romance.
  3. Cânticos 3:3Meeting the city’s night watchmen, whose job was to guard against dangers, makes her question even more unexpected — she is clearly out of place and out of the expected hour, driven only by the wish to find him.
  4. Cânticos 3:4Taking him to “the chamber” of her own mother, not her father, is a specific cultural detail: in some readings, it pointed to a space of family intimacy tied to marriage preparations, under the mother’s authority.
  5. Cânticos 3:5This refrain about not stirring up love before the right time already appeared in chapter 2 and returns here, working as a kind of formal pause between different scenes of the poem.
  6. Cânticos 3:6The scene suddenly shifts to a procession arriving from the desert wrapped in incense smoke, likely introducing the wedding party described in the following verses, with all the pomp of a royal celebration.
  7. Cânticos 3:7The description of Solomon’s litter surrounded by sixty armed warriors shows the standard of luxury and protection used in the royal processions of the time, contrasting with the simplicity of the couple’s meetings elsewhere in the book.
  8. Cânticos 3:8Armed guards escorting the litter at night reflect a real concern for safety on night journeys in antiquity, when robbers or wild animals posed concrete threats along the way.
  9. Cânticos 3:9Wood from Lebanon, probably cedar, was a luxury material also used in building the Jerusalem temple — choosing that same material for the litter reinforces the scene’s royal standard.
  10. Cânticos 3:10Describing the inside of the litter as “paved with love” by the young women of Jerusalem themselves suggests they contributed embroidery or decorative fabrics, making the object even more personal and affectionate.
  11. Cânticos 3:11The crown that the king’s mother places on him on his wedding day is mentioned as a symbol of that day’s joy, a scene of royal celebration that serves as a poetic backdrop for the chapter’s love verses.

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