Texts in conversation

Compare Papyrus Harris and Song of Solomon 4:9

Ancient Near East, Egyptian · Hebrew Bible

Summary

The Song of Solomon describes lovers who call each other “brother” and “sister,” an ancient Near Eastern expression of intimacy that mirrors Egyptian love songs such as Papyrus Harris. Both use similar imagery to describe desire as joyful and honorable.

Passages

Papyrus Harris

Ancient Near East, Egyptian · BM 10060

My heart desires to go down to bathe before you, that I may let you see my beauty in a tunic of finest royal linen, drenched with fragrant oil. I shall sink down before you, and you shall see how beautiful is my body. I shall appear before you in a tunic of finest royal linen, drenched with fragrant oil. I shall go down to the water to bathe before you, and I shall let you see my beauty in a tunic of finest royal linen. I shall let you see my beauty, my beloved, in this transparent garment. Then I shall go into the water with you, and we shall play together in the water, and you shall see how sweet it is to be with me. When it is evening and we go home together, I shall be with you in your house, and you shall lay your arm on my shoulder. Then you shall see how well we spend the night together, for I am your sister, and you are my brother, and no one will find fault with us.

1200 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Papyrus Harris

Song of Solomon 4:9

Hebrew Bible · Song of Songs

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards. 9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride! You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. 10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine; the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice! 11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Song of Solomon

References

"... The form basic to all the poems is the direct first-person speech of either a young man or a young woman. It is a monologue addressed to the speaker’s own heart. In the seven stanzas of the first Chester Beatty cycle there is a regular alternation of male and female speakers. The other collections do not have this regularity. The lovers refer to each other as “brother” and “sister,” these words being the normal terms of endearment in ancient Egyptian usage. Though sophisticated in the context of their own times, the poems have the conceptual simplicity and the terseness of language that are the hallmarks of ancient Egyptian literature. That simplicity and terseness must be retained in the translations. Some recent renderings of Egyptian love poems exhibit a typically modern lush and mannered eroticism which is quite alien to the ancient Egyptian ..."

Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume II: The New Kingdom (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2006), 181.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Compare Papyrus Harris and Song of Solomon 4:9

Summary

Passages

Papyrus Harris

Song of Solomon 4:9

References

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