Blaz0ej S0trba, «hn#$w#$ of the Canticle», Vol. 85 (2004) 475-502
The term hn#$w#$ is revisited
primarily in the Canticle of Solomon. The most ancient translation –– "lily" ––
of this flower though questioned in recent decades is still widely used. The
LXX’s rendering kri/non is examined and found as the
best translation for the lexeme N#$w#$ –– meaning
"lotus" –– being an Egyptian loan word. This translation fits to the OT
references better than "lily". The textual employment of
hn#$w#$ in the poetry of the Canticle is a chief and commanding proof for
"lotus". The "lily" translation for both hn#$w#$
and kri/non for the majority of the OT cases is seen
as incorrect since it does not pay due attention to the literary and historical
context of the Canticle.
of the Canticle 493
hnvwv
Is it not too little, in this highly descriptive poem of her beloved, to
put the accent only on the colour of his lips? If even this would be
accepted, why is it that scarlet was not rather used to describe the
colour of the precious lips? In 4,3 she said: “Your lips are like a scarlet
threadâ€. In 5,13 says:
13 (a) His cheeks are like bed of spices,
µcbh tgwr[k wyjl
(b) mounds of fragrance
µyjqrm twldgm
(c) His lips are πôπannîm
µynvwv wytwtpc
(d) dripping liquid myrrh
rb[ rwm twpfn
In the first colon (a) the cheek’s attraction is characterised by the
sweet smelling scent. The colon (b) is a resumption of the gradation of
the imagery for the cheeks. As colon (b) suggests, the girl speaks in
general terms about fragrance which comes from the face of her
beloved (79). Similarly, the expression about the lips of the beloved in
colon (c) is intensified in colon (d) by the excellence of the perfume of
the liquid myrrh. In these last two cola we move from the level of
sweet scent to the level of the effect of the scent. In other words, it
does not matter how pleasant the lips smell, but that they are as
attractive as the pleasant smell of “myrrh†(80). Moreover, since myrrh
is a very precious scent, µynvwv must describe not merely the stunning
scent but evoke the great value of the lips of her beloved.
The power of µynvwv in colon (c) therefore is not perceived in terms
of colour. In fact, the images of the previous v. 12 are framed in the
sphere of light (eyes, bathed doves). In verse 13 the imagery is based
on odour. The preciousness of the material is the basis for the imagery
in v. 14. As Keel suggests the metaphor in 5,13(ab) may be inspired by
the Egyptian ointment in the form of a cone as is the case in 4,6 “the
mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense†(81). The cones were
prepared by cooking the oil mixed with the aromatic substances,
primarily myrrh. Having been formed in the shape of a cone they used
to be put on the heads of guests. In the hot climate naturally the
(79) In fact, in 4,14 seven different species are explicitly named, after which
all the remaining fragrances are mentioned by the general term “with all chief
spices†µymcb yvarAlk µ[. In 5,13 none of them appears.
(80) When in the text the sublime aromas µymcb are mentioned alongside the
concretely mentioned myrrh rm it is either in the contest of love (5,1.13; cf. Pr
7,17) or in the cult (Exod 30,23.26).
(81) KEEL, Hohelied, 188.