Sometimes it seems powerfully geeky to get excited about the clever intellectual flourishes of biblical texts, but when a particularly stunning turn of phrase or layered reference pops up in a reading it's just too interesting to ignore. In chapter six of the Song of Songs there is an amazing reference. It's impressive not just because it has a many-layered implication for the poem and the time in which it was written, but also because it's remarkably easy to miss.
The chapter begins with a quick reiteration of where we left Rayati. The women around her are asking where Dodi might be found. Rayati tells them he is in his garden, which segues directly to Dodi in that exact place. Dodi assumes the role of the speaker, which he retains for the remainder of the chapter. His opening line is the most important of this section and perhaps one of the most important for the entire poem. In it, he likens Rayati's beauty to that of Tirzah. Who and/or what is Tirzah? Two things, actually. Tirzah was both a city and a fairly significant, if briefly mentioned, character in the Torah.
The city of Tirzah is potentially another anti-Solomon satirical reference. During Solomon's reign, Tirzah would have been most famous for being a city where the Israelites defeated and killed a king. Specifically, the last of 31 individual kings the Israelites killed under the guidance of Moses as mentioned in the Book of Joshua, Chapter 12. There is no shortage of both cities and biblical characters who were renowned for their beauty. We can't ignore the unsettling implication of invoking the name of a city that infers the deaths of nearly three dozen kings condemned by God. This line is doubly controversial as it ends with the phrase "fearsome as an army with banners". In an otherwise romantic poem, this military, regicidal language stands out. Considering how careful the rest of the poem is, it's hard to believe this line is a mistake.
As for Tirzah the character from the Torah, she was the youngest daughter of Zelophehad, a man whose death brings about an extremely important legal decision just prior to the Israelites' entrance into the Promised Land. Zelophehad had five daughters but no sons. Upon his death, Zelophehad's daughters bring their case before Moses concerning their right to their father's estate. Until this moment, the Torah's law stated that only men could inherit from their family directly. Moses decided it was only fair to give Zelophehad's daughters their family estate, establishing not only a revision to the gender biased rules of economy but also a precedent for the process of changing Toritic laws. For the Song of Songs to reference Tirzah is among its strongest feminist statements. This poem is, among other things, the story of a young woman fighting for her freedom and happiness. What better figure for Rayati's comparison than Tirzah, who went from most disenfranchised to legally uplifted?