O daughters of Jerusalem—
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the pavilions of Solomon. (6) Don’t stare at me because I am swarthy,
Because the sun has gazed upon me.
My mother’s sons quarreled with me,
They made me guard the vineyards;
My own vineyard I did not guard.
שְׁחוֹרָה אֲנִי וְנָאוָה וגו'. אַתֶּם רַעְיוֹתַי, אַל אֵקַל בְּעֵינֵיכֶם אַף אִם עֲזָבַנִי אִישִׁי מִפְּנֵי שַׁחֲרוּת שֶׁבִּי, כִּי שְׁחוֹרָה אֲנִי עַל יְדֵי שְׁזִיפַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, וְנָאוָה אֲנִי בְחִתּוּךְ אֵבָרִים נָאִים. אִם אֲנִי שְׁחוֹרָה כְּאָהֳלֵי קֵדָר הַמַּשְׁחִירִים מִפְּנֵי הַגְּשָׁמִים, שֶׁהֵם פְּרוּסִים תָּמִיד בַּמִּדְבָּרוֹת, קַלָּה אֲנִי לְהִתְכַּבֵּס לִהְיוֹת כִּירִיעוֹת שְׁלֹמֹה. ...
I am black but comely, etc. You, my friends, let me not be light in your eyes. Even if my husband has left me because of my blackness, for I am black because of the tanning of the sun, but I am comely with the shape of beautiful limbs. Though I am black like the tents of Keidar, which are blackened because of the rains, for they are always spread out in the wilderness, I am easily cleansed to become like the curtains of Shlomo. ...
by Michael V. Fox
pg. 101
(1:5) Black I am -- but lovely: There would be no point in the Shulammite's complaint if black were the desired color, nor would she need to explain her swarthy complexion by telling what her brothers did to her. ... This blackness, of course, has nothing to do with race. The darkness caused by the sun was associated with a lower social status, for only those who could afford not to work outdoors could retain a fair complexion. She suspects the other girls might look upon her with disdain because she has had to work in the fields. ... Furthermore if the Shulammite wished to defend blackness, she would not need to explain what happened to make her black. Rather, the tone of her words is defiance of the resulting attitudes of her comrades, who do not think as highly of her or take her as seriously as she thinks they should.
śalmah: ... Salmah is an Arab Tribe. The tents of these tribes serve as an image for blackness, not loveliness. The next verse shows that she is now concerned mainly with her swarthiness, and the comparisons in v. 5b are meant to make that point clear.
I see two of my bitches in the club
And I know they know about each other
I think these bitches tryna set me up
Maybe I'm just paranoid
I got a bad light skin from the valley
She be in the club with no panties
Little bitch, she used to be my favorite
But now we don't speak the same language
I love my bitch, I could bang it
From my dark skin, least know how to take it
I got em both the same damn red bottoms
And bought 'em both the same damn fragrance
Both bitches drive Range Rovers
None of my bitches can stay over
Both of my bitches look good as fuck
Your bitch look like booga wolf
The rains are over and gone. (12) The blossoms have appeared in the land,
The time of pruning has come;
The song of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
by Michael V. Fox
pg. 113
in our land: The possessive pronoun conveys with amazing conciseness powerful feelings of ties to the land. These ties are not the national bond of a people to its territory, but rather the bond of the individual to the earth, which is to say, the bond of the individual spirit to nature.
The little foxes
That ruin the vineyards—
For our vineyard is in blossom.
אֶחֱזוּ לָנוּ שׁוּעָלִים. שָׁמַע הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת קוֹלָם, צִוָּה אֶת הַיָּם וּשְׁטָפָם. זֶהוּ: "אֶחֱזוּ לָנוּ הַשּׁוּעָלִים הַלָּלוּ", הַקְּטַנִּים עִם הַגְּדוֹלִים, שֶׁאַף הַקְּטַנִּים הָיוּ מְחַבְּלִים אֶת הַכְּרָמִים בְּעוֹד כְּרָמֵינוּ סְמָדַר, שֶׁהָעֲנָבִים דַּקִּים. כְּשֶׁהָיְתָה בַת יִשְׂרָאֵל יוֹלֶדֶת זָכָר וְהִיא טוֹמַנְתּוֹ, וְהָיוּ הַמִּצְרִים נִכְנָסִים לְבָתֵּיהֶם וּמְחַפְּשִׂין אֶת הַזְּכָרִים, וְהַתִּינוֹק טָמוּן, וְהוּא בֶן שָׁנָה אוֹ בֶן שְׁנָתַיִם. וְהֵן מְבִיאִין תִּינוֹקוֹת מִבֵּית מִצְרִי, וְתִינוֹק מִצְרִי מְדַבֵּר, וְתִינוֹק יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹנֵהוּ מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁטָּמוּן שָׁם, וְהָיוּ תוֹפְשִׂין וּמַשְׁלִיכִין אוֹתוֹ לַיְאוֹר. ...
Seize for us the foxes. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, heard their voice; He commanded the sea, and it washed them away. That is [the meaning of], “Seize for us the foxes,” [i.e.,] the little one with the big ones, for even the [Egyptian] little ones were destroying the vineyards, when our vineyards were still “with tender grapes,” when the grapes were tiny. When a Jewish woman would give birth to a male and hide him, the Egyptians would enter their homes and search for the males, but the baby was hidden, and he was a year or two old. They would bring a baby from an Egyptian home; the Egyptian baby would speak, and the Jewish baby would answer him from the place where he was hidden, and they would seize him and cast him into the river. ...
Little foxes. It is written without a vav שֻׁעָלִים, because He punished them through water, which was measured with the stride [=שַׁעַל of the Omnipresent.
by Michael V. Fox
pg. 114
According to my tentative interpretation of this verse, the Shulammite's reply -- requested in v. 14 -- begins here... Her request is coquettish... She is gently teasing her lover, "tending" or "guarding" the vineyards as she was ordered to do. She is saying: watch out for the little fox out there -- his intentions are clear enough!