Song of Songs 1:9:
I liken you, my darling, to a mare
among
Pharaoh’s chariot horses.
In this verse the speaker draws a comparison between two
things: his beloved and a mare harnessed to a chariot of Pharoah. The difference between the two objects
in the comparison draws our attention and set us thinking. The next step is to identify the
comparison. In this particular case,
some historical background is necessary to understand the impact of the
compliment. Research makes it clear
that the chariots of Egypt used stallions, not mares. The presence of a mare would sexually excite the
stallions. Pope points out in his
commentary (1977, 336-41) that Israel knew of a battle tactic that called for
the release of a mare among the enemy’s chariot horses to divert their
attention.
-from Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Zondervan 2d Ed. 2006), at
page 28, where the authors discuss biblical imagery.
The commentary to which they refer is Marvin H. Pope, Song of Songs: a New Translation with Introdution and Commentary (The Anchor Bible 1966).
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