I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom. Before I realised it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people. (Song of Songs 6:11-12)

For many - probably most - scholars this describes the Lover's and Beloved's sexual consummation.

For generations this description was ascribed to the Beloved. But in modern translations it has become the Lover's voice.

The erotic euphemisms are suggestive enough. The role of the chariot is, however, especially unclear.

Calling it the most difficult verse of the Song, the Bloch's offer, "And oh! before I was aware, she sat me in the most lavish of chariots."

Another translator allows us the ambiguity, "I knew not my soul, It made me -- chariots of my people Nadib."

Yet another possibility, "And before I fully realized it I was riding hard and fast as if in a noble chariot."