My dove, my perfect one, is the only one (אחת );
the darling of her mother, flawless to her that bore her. The maidens saw her
and called her happy; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.
(Song of Solomon 6:9 | NRSV)
It is
generally believed that the use of אחת (grammatical feminine of אחד) means “unique,”
without precluding the ontological existence of other wives/women (compare how
Deut 6:4 does not no other G/gods have ontological existence apart from Yahweh);
instead, it is about the incomparability of Solomon’s “dove”:
“Unique” renders the Hebrew אַחַ֥ת (lit. “one”) twice in this verse. To
paraphrase, in the eyes of both Solomon and the Shulammite’s mother, she is
“the one”—apparently the best among all women! Also repeated in 6:9 is the idea
of purity: she is the epitome of purity to both her husband and to “the one who
gave birth to her.” Such assessments delve far deeper than evaluations of
physical beauty! (A. Boyd Luter, Song of Songs [Bellingham,
Wash.: Lexham Press, 2013], Logos Bible Software edition)
Among all these women, this woman
is unique. She is different than all
the others. He calls her by the same combination of epithets (my dove, my flawless one) that he used
in 5:2. He continues by specifying that she is unique to her mother. Perhaps
this is a way of saying that “they broke the (maternal) mold” when she was
born. The term “favored” (bārâ from the root brr), combines the ideas of chosen and pure. This woman is indeed special. (Tremper
Longman, Song of Songs [The New International Commentary on the Old Testament;
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2001], 182)
After the mention of the high
numbers in v 8, the repeated use of ʾaḥat
(“unique, one”) underscores how incomparable and superior this woman is. Such a
tribute is a commonplace in love poetry. In the Egyptian love poems, for
example, the woman boasts that the man has made her “as first of the girls,”
and the man boasts similarly: “She turns the head of every man, all captivated
at the sight of her; everyone who embraces her rejoices, for he has become the
most successful of lovers. When she comes forth, anyone can see that there is
none like that One.” (Roland
E. Murphy, The Song of Songs: A Commentary on the Book of Canticles or the
Song of Songs [Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible;
Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 1990], 178)
6:8–9 As in 2:2, he declares his beloved to be unique; she is
utterly beyond compare. The queens and concubines are included for comparison
only; there is no need to take this as a reference to Solomon’s harem or
hypothesize with Delitzsch that the relatively small (!) numbers reflect a
period fairly early in his reign. Queens and princesses are characteristically
portrayed as stately and beautiful, and concubines are specifically chosen for
their beauty. The increasing numbers (sixty, eighty, a countless multitude) are
a typical wisdom technique. A much more homey device is his praise of her as
the favorite of her mother. The point is that she endears herself to those who
know her best, here brought out by the allusion to her sucking at her mother’s
breast. (Duane A.
Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs [The New American
Commentary 14; Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993], 417)
The NET
renders the first line of the verse as “But she is unique!” In the textual note
for this:
16 tn Alternately, “She alone is my dove,
my perfect one.” The term אַחַת
(’akhat) is used here as an adjective
of quality: “unique, singular, the only one” (DCH 1:180 s.v. אֶחָד
1b). The masculine form is used elsewhere to describe Yahweh as the “only” or
“unique” God of Israel who demands exclusive love and loyalty (Deut 6:4; Zech
14:9). Although Solomon possessed a large harem, she was the only woman for
him. (Biblical
Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes [Biblical Studies
Press, 2006], Logos Bible Software edition)
Unique. Delitzsch took ʾaḥaṯ
here as subject (“one, who is my dove, my perfect one”) and in the following
line as predicate (“one is she of her mother”). Similarly Renan rendered, “l’unique, c’est ma colombe; elle est unique de
sa mère.” Delitzsch explained, however, that this does not mean that
Shulamite was her mother’s only child; ʾaḥaṯ,
unica, is equivalent to unice dilecta, as yāḥîḏ in Prov 4:3 is equivalent to unice dilectus. The citation of Zech 14:7 by Delitzsch is not
relevant, since ʾeḥaḏ there
designates a single (continuous) day without alternation of day and night, a
unique day to be sure, but that goes without saying. The parallel with Prov
4:3, however, is very striking:
For I was my father’s son,
Tender and unique/special, dear
to my mother.
In Gen 22:2 the emphasis is
likewise on the special and unique love and not that Isaac was the only
(legitimate?) son.
my dove, my perfect one. The identical expression is used in 5:2
where JPSV took it as hendiadys, “my
faultless dove,” but here separately:
|
Only one is my dove,
|
My perfect one. |
(Marvin H. Pope, Song of Songs: A New
Translation with Introduction and Commentary [AYB 7C; New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2008], 569-70)