"I AM BLACK, BUT BEAUTIFUL" (SONG OF SONGS 1:5)

If the above were just a comment made in one of the history books coming from the lips of one of the personages being described, we would think nothing about it since the narrator cannot be responsible for whatever an historical figure happens to say, good or bad. But, unfortunately, this comment appears in a collection of poems composed by an inspired author who felt that they were appropriate for his heroine to say to her lover. As such, it seems to reflect a horribly racist attitude toward those of African extraction. So how is a Christian to respond to such accusations when voiced by unbelievers?

There are several appropriate approaches to resolving this problem. The first is to ask ourselves what the Bible might have to say elsewhere regarding black personages. There was relatively little contact between the biblical world and Africa other than, of course, their time relating to the incredibly xenophobic Egyptians of the time who tended to look down on all other peoples. So the few mentions of specific black Africans in the Bible really stand out.

One problem is to identify what regions are actually indicated by the various names given in the Bible. But it is safe to say that when it uses the word “Cush” (also translated as “Ethiopia” or Nubia), it refers to the region south of Egypt and not at all to present day Ethiopia. Similarly, “Sheba,” (Sabaea) designates the region between S. Arabia and E. Africa with a mixed population comprised of Arabs and blacks. With that in mind, here are the few black personages highlighted in the Bible:

Numbers 12: In this chapter, Miriam openly criticizes her brother Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. God, in response, turns her skin white with leprosy. Commentators have interpreted this as God, in effect, saying to her, “So you don't care for dark skin. Then how about I make your skin even lighter than it is?”

I Kings 10: After the fame of King Solomon began to spread to neighboring countries, the Queen of Sheba makes a visit to his capital to see if it is all true. She asks him difficult questions and is amazed at his wisdom and admires his many accomplishments. They trade generous gifts with one another and even (according to an unreliable later legend) have a brief affair which results in a child being born. Leaving aside the legend, the overall impression that the reader is to get from all of this is that even the important countries around Israel are impressed by this grand king and his kingdom.

Jeremiah 38-39: In these two chapters we are introduced to an “Ethiopian” official in the court of King Zedekiah named Ebed-melech who is instrumental in saving Jeremiah's life after the prophet had been put into the bottom of an empty cistern. In turn, God is directly responsible for saving Eded-melech's life when the Babylonians come conquering.

Acts 8: Although Jews from many countries are saved on the day of Pentacost, from that point on only selected individuals or groups of individuals are specifically mentioned in the book. The outreach of the gospel from the borders of Israel begins in earnest after the stoning of Stephen recorded in Acts 7. From there, Acts 8:4-25 records how the Samaritans (considered by the Jews to be, at best, only half-Jewish) were converted. But before we hear of the impact of the word throughout the Roman Gentile world, we are told of the first true Gentile conversion, carried out by Philip in Acts 8:26-40. It is of an unnamed Ethiopian court official of Queen Candace.

Note that all of these examples involve rather important personages who are only described in the most complementary terms. In two specific cases, God Himself takes a personal interest in defending and blessing them. And only in the first example above, is the color of their skin an issue.

The only other possible negative comment in the Bible related to black Africans is found in Jeremiah 13:23 where the prophet asks poetically:

    “Can Ethiopians change their skin

    or leopards their spots?”

But he is not at all suggesting that either the Ethiopians or the leopards would wish to do such a thing, only pointing out the impossibility of it happening. And just as the most striking and attractive feature of a leopard is its spots, one could argue the same is true of blacks.

So if it is highly unlikely that racism is even suggested anywhere else in the Bible, how else are we to take the comment in Song of Songs 1:5a? The proper translation of the Hebrew wording is the first aspect to investigate. Here are how English versions other than KJV render it:

    “I am black and beautiful.” (NRSV)

    “Black am I and beautiful.” (AB)

    “I am black but lovely.” (JB)

    “I am very dark, but comely.” (RSV)

    “I am dark but beautiful.” (Living Bible)

    “I am dark but beautiful.” (TEV) with a footnote indicating that “but” may also be translated as “and.”

    “Dark am I, yet lovely.” (NIV)

    “I am dark but lovely.” (NEB)

    “I am weathered but still elegant.” (The Message)

Only the Jerusalem Bible sticks fairly closely to the KJV reading. However, a footnote to this verse says that blackness is “symbolic of a serious ordeal, cf. v. 6; Job 30:30; Lamentations 4:8,” rather than a skin color one is born with. I find that a rather far-fetched explanation since there is no such serious ordeal mentioned in Song of Songs.

Interestingly, the two most recent translations above Anchor Bible and NRSV, translate the original Hebrew conjunction as “and” rather than the more common translation of “but.” And TEV gives this as an alternative translation. This approach not only gets away from the accusation of racism in the verse, but even implies that “black is beautiful.” Whether this translation in actually warranted, I will leave up to the linguistic experts.

The more common approach is to translate the Hebrew word “black” as “dark” instead. This translation is certainly justified by the context. In the very next verse, we find out that she is “dark” because her brothers have forced her to work outdoors in the family vineyard until the unrelenting sun has darkened her skin. Thus, The Message comes closest to explaining v. 5a when it says that she is “weathered.” According to this more acceptable understanding, one can certainly not accuse the Bible of being prejudiced against African blacks as a race, since there is no hint in the book that the heroine has African heritage.

However, as long as the more probable translation “but” is utilized, one can certainly imply that the heroine's words indicate that in her society at the time darker skin was not a desirable trait for one wishing to be considered beautiful. And I believe that this is another plausible scenario that deserves explanation since even though there may be no direct racial discrimination stated here, it is certainly implied if the author feels that the darker the skin, the less attractive one is.

At this point, I will jump to modern times for additional examples. Norms of attractiveness within a fairly homogeneous population of people can differ considerably from the norms in another society. Just look at the Samoan communities who at one time fattened up women who wished to be considered as the next queen to the point where they were, to our eyes, obscenely obese. And in terms of skin color, I spent much of my life in mainly urban communities in either the East or West Coast of the USA. When I lived in New York state, one of the supervisors at work would love to take his yearly vacations down in sunny Florida just so that he could make long distance calls to us at work and tell us how hot it was. Then he would come back to show off his new tan. Similarly, a friend of mine when I lived in Southern California went to school at West Point. And when he returned for Christmas vacation, he would insist that we go to the beach so that he could possibly get a tan to impress his friends in New York.

In my last year in high school in the Los Angeles region, I had to meet with the senior adviser they had assigned to me, who happened to also be our track coach. After looking through my transcripts, results of IQ and aptitude tests, and considering my plans for the future, the only advice he could give me was, “You look pale. You need to take up an outdoor sport and get a healthy tan.” In fact, I generally spent every summer either at the local municipal pool or at the beach. And all it got me was a lot of sunburns and present-day battles with skin cancer.

But the general idea at the time, which hasn't changed much, is that those in urban centers who have relatively pale complexions tend to strive to darken their skin even though they may have to pay money at a tanning salon to do it. That way they can give the appearance not only of general health, but more importantly they can tell the world that they are wealthy enough to jet to Cabo or the Caribbean any time they want rather than being cooped up inside toiling at work all the time hoping to make ends meet. It is strictly a cultural view of what is attractive and desirable within a fairly homogeneous population.

The converse is also true. In more rural communities, those who are forced to work outside all the time tend to end up with the darkest complexions. But the more wealthy members of society who do not have to work at all or have the high paying jobs that keep them indoors end up with lighter complexions. Thus, in those societies (like the rural setting of Song of Songs) paler complexions are naturally connected with their ideal of beauty. One could look at the example of Japan. At least in previous times in Japan, it was quite common to see Japanese women going around holding an umbrella to keep from getting any sort of tan. And they would even put on white make-up to enhance their beauty in the eyes of others. The same thing is true in modern times in the area of Palestine, getting back to the specific situation in the Song of Songs.

A good friend and neighbor of mine when I lived in upstate New York was born in Palestine. While he was pursuing his doctorate in America he met a local girl and married her. They had two very cute kids. The boy took after his father in appearance while the girl had a lighter complexion due to her mother. They decided to take a trip back to the Middle East where my friend's family still lived. But he came back from that trip boiling mad and swearing never to return again. It seems that all his many female relatives couldn't stop oohing and aahing over the girl while totally ignoring his boy. They were so impressed with how pale her skin was.

So when the heroine in Song of Songs pleads with her lover to overlook her tanned complexion and try to see that she still is beautiful, that is no more racist than my senior adviser telling me I would look much better if I had darker skin.