Song of Solomon 1:5

Song of Solomon 1:5. I am black, but comely— The word שׁחורה shechorah, rendered black, signifies brown, swarthy, or dark-complexioned, and denotes such a duskiness as that of the morning, when some little light begins to appear. The appellation of fair, which is given to the bride in the sequel, is only meant in the general sense of lovely or beautiful. The tents of the wild Arabs, called in Scripture קדר אהלי ahalei keidar, are to this day of a dark or black colour, being made of the shaggy hair of their black goats.