one of my English lit. profs, long ago in grad school told our class that this quote was one of many "borrowed passages" that Shakespeare used in his works; my memory of those far away days (30 YEARS AGO!) is that he said the quote was from the Song of Solomon.
may i suggest that you consult a copy of the Oxford Bible, which is a direct translation from Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek & Latin (most large public libraries will have a copy). Professor Cal Guy of the Religion Department of Southwestern Seminary in Ft Worth once told me that that edition was the most direct/literal translation of the Bible, that is in English.
for dixie LIBERTY,sw
may i suggest that you consult a copy of the Oxford Bible, which is a direct translation from Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek & Latin (most large public libraries will have a copy). Professor Cal Guy of the Religion Department of Southwestern Seminary in Ft Worth once told me that that edition was the most direct/literal translation of the Bible, that is in English.
I would suggest that either your porofessor was wrong, or your recollection is wrong.
I have several translations of the the work in question plus the original Hebrew, and I know enough to view each translation critically. This isn't a question of translation. A word translated as idiot in one version might be translated as fool in another but it won't be translated as cow. The quoted line just isn't in character with Shir Hashirm, which is an allegory for the loving relationship between G-d and the children of Israel.
You are the one who needs to consult whatever translation you want to, and back up your assertion with a citation which would be easy to do if you were correct.
ML/NJ