Translation
THE PEACEFUL WOMAN TO HER DAUGHTERS
While the king
is at his table,
Go to footnote numbermy nard
Go to footnote numberspreads
Go to footnote numberits fragrance.
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
THE COMPLETE WOMAN TO HER OWN DAUGHTERS
When the king seeks to have his basic needs satisfied, I am the one who can revive his spirit because of our closeness.
Footnotes
1
A table is to people what grazing in the pasture is for the grazing types of animals; it is the meeting of basic needs.
2
Nard was one of several aromatic oils which revives the spirit.
Implications for marriage: For the average man, the meeting of his most basic needs means having sexual relations with his wife quite frequently, but the meeting of her needs is usually more relational in nature. Here we see the role of the relational emphasis (closeness) involved in meeting all types of needs. Without that closeness she would not be able to truly meet his needs; in other words, sexual fulfillment does not stand alone. It is important that we understand our spouse’s basic needs and focus more on meeting their needs than our own.
3: “spreads”
Hebrew does not use verb tenses in the same way that English does. The verb used here seems to carry a past tense idea, whereas the previous phrase assumed an unstated verb which was probably a present idea. This is another example of the mixing of verbal time because symbolism does not “care” much about timing the way prose does.
4
Fragrance reaches and blesses only those who are close by, thus it is a picture of closeness.