“I am black, but comely”
A puzzling quote directly from the bible.
Song of Solomon 1:5–6 KJV :
5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
A new day, a new rationalisation against religion and Christianity.
If you aren’t black or Christian, mild amusement and indifference may be all this piece makes you feel. One or the other, and bewilderment plus the need for clarity may set in. If you’re both — like me — and on your first brush with this bible passage, then what you feel is indecipherable. Aghast. Gobsmacked. Low. Betrayed. Floored.
What do these verses mean?
Comely is used here to mean “pleasant to look at; attractive.” ‘But’ denotes disagreement. As if to say:- If one is to be black, it is contradictory that they are aesthetically appealing.
‘Kedar’ referred to the darker skinned people — the Ishmaelites, the Egyptians, Palestinians and the likes. ‘The curtains of Solomon’ likening here is equivocal since the King’s curtains were very likely purple — the colour of royalty — in those days.
