SECTION VIII.—EXEGETICAL HELPS.
ANCIENT VERSIONS.
1. The Septuagint, being the oldest version, occupies the first place; its deviations from the Hebrew have generally been noticed in the Commentary.
2. The Vulgate, which chiefly follows the Septuagint.
3. The Syriac, which is far superior to the Vulgate.
JEWISH COMMENTATORS.
4. Rashi, found in Buxtorf’s Rabbinical Bible.
5. Rashbam, recently printed for the first time.
6. Ibn Ezra; found in Rabbinical Bible.
7. Immanuel, MS. in the British Museum.
8. An Anonymous MS. Commentary in the Bodleian.
9. Philippson, an excellent modern commentator.
CHRISTIAN COMMENTATORS.
10. Wilcock, an old writer.
11. Bishop Lowth, Praelect. xxx., xxxi.
12. Bishop Percy, Commentary and Annotations.
13. Michaelis, Notes to Bishop Lowth’s Praelect.
14. Jacobi, Das Gerettete Hohelied.
15. Durell, Critical Remarks on Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles.
16. Williams, The Song of Songs.
17. Good, The Song of Songs.
18. Umbreit, Lied der Liebe.
19. Ewald, Das Hohe Lied Salomonis, &c.
20. Döpke, Philologisch-critischer Comment.
21. Rosenmüller, Scholia in Vet. Test.
22. Hirzel, Das Lied der Lieder.
23. Magnus, Kritische Bearbeitung und Erklärung des Hohen Liedes.
24. Noyes, A New Translation of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Canticles.
25. Heligstedt’s Continuation of Maurer’s Commentary, which, by an oversight, is omitted in the Historical Sketch, deserves special mention: Leipzig, 1847.
26. Delitzsch, Das Hohe Lied untersucht und ausgelegt.
27. Hengstenberg, Das Hohe Lied Salomonis.
28. Meier, Das Hohe Lied in deutscher Uebersetzung.
29. Friedrich, Cantici Canticorum.
30. Hitzig, 16th Lief. des Kurzg. Exeg. Handb.
For a further description of the dates and places of these commentaries, see the Historical Sketch. [[127]]
[1] אמר ר״ש בן עזאי מקובל אני מפי שבעים ושנים זקנים ביום שהושיבו את ר׳ אליעזרבן עוריה בישובה ששיר השירם וקהלת מטמאים את הירים. אמר ר׳ עקיבה חם ושׁלום לא נחלק אדִם מישראל עדֹ שיר השיריﬦ שלא תטמא את הידים שאין כל העולֹם כדאי כיום שכתן בו שיר השירים לישראל, שכל הכובים קרש ושיר השירים קדש קושים. As the phrase מטמא את הידים, polluting the hands, has recently been quoted by Dr. Davidson (The Text of the Old Testament, &c. p. 796), in direct contrariety to its meaning, we shall here give an explanation of it. Let it be observed, that in the Mishna, whence the above passage is quoted, the phrase is applied to all the Holy Scriptures (כל כתבי הקדש מטמאין את הידים). The reason of this is given in the Talmud, (Sabbath, 14 a,) where the question is asked, why Holy Writ is reckoned among the eighteen subjects which are decreed as polluting the hands? The answer there given is, because the Theruma-food and the Thorah, both being regarded as holy, used to be placed near each other. When it was afterwards discovered that the sacred books were thereby exposed to danger (damage by mice), the Rabbins decreed that they should henceforth be regarded as unclean, in order to prohibit them from coming in contact with those sacred eatables. Hence the decree כל כתבי הקדש מטמאין את הידים, all Holy Scripture pollutes the hands, which exclusively applies to holy, i.e. inspired books. Wherever, therefore, it is said that a book is מטמא את הידים, polluting the hands, it affirms that it is canonical; and when it is said אין מטמא את הידים, it does not pollute the hands, it means that the book is not canonical. Thus we are told שיר השירים מטמא את הידים שנאמר ברוח הקדש, “the Song of Songs pollutes the hands because it is inspired.” And of the non-canonical ספר בן סיר׳ וכל הספרים שנכתבו מכאן ואליך אינן מטמאין את הידיﬦ, “The book of the Son of Sirach, and all the books written from that time and afterwards, do not pollute the hands.” [↑]
[3] Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. iv. 26. [↑]
[4] For a full elucidation of this verse, see Henderson, “Divine Inspiration,” pp. 219–224. [↑]
[5] See Gesenius, Lexicon in voce. [↑]
[7] Ælian, V. H. iv. 1. Strabo, xvi. 745. [↑]
[8] Homer, Odyss. viii. 318, &c.; Pausanias, iii. 12, 2. [↑]
[10] Michaelis, the Laws of Moses, § 85; Rosenmüller, Orient. i. p. 132, &c.; Grant’s Nestorians, p. 214; Perkins, Eight Years in Persia, p. 236. [↑]
[11] Est. ii. 3, 14, 15; iv. 4; Joseph. Ant. lib. xv. c. 7, 4. [↑]
[12] Plutarch’s Lives. Themistocles. [↑]
[13] Alexander, History of Women, Introd. p. vii. [↑]
[14] Lane, Arabian Nights, Vol. I. pp. 38, 39. [↑]
[15] Euripides, Iphi. in Aulis. [↑]
[16] Ant. lib. iv. c. 8, 15. [↑]
[17] Hilochoth Eduth, c. ix. 1. [↑]
[18] This is the date according to Aristobulus, which has, however, been questioned. See Frankel, Vorstudien zu der Septuaginta; De Wette, Einleitung, §§ 40, 41; Herzog, Real-Encyklopädie für protestantische Theologie, art. Alexandrinische Bibelübersetzung; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit., under Septuagint. [↑]
[19] Hävernick’s Einleitung Dritter Theil, p. 475. [↑]
[20] Ewald, p. 34. Döpke, philologisch-critischer Commentar zum Hohenliede, p. 34. [↑]
[21] Vide Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit., art. Wisdom of Jesus; De Wette, Einleitung, § 316. [↑]
[22] Keil, in Hävernick’s Einleitung Dritter Theil, p. 476. [↑]
[23] Das Hohelied Salomonis, p. 254. [↑]
[24] Vide Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit., under, Wisdom of Solomon; De Wette, Einleitung, § 314. [↑]
[25] Rosenmüller, Scholia, p. 270, sqq. Delitzsch, Das Hohelied, p. 66. [↑]
[27] Kleuker, Samlung der Gedichte Salomon’s, p. 54. Hengstenberg, p. 255. [↑]
[28] Vide Stuart on the Old Testament Canon, sect. 12, p. 245. Davidson’s Edit. Henderson, Divine Inspiration, p. 349. [↑]
[30] Torath Cohanim. Tosiftha Synhedrin, c. 7. Aboth di R. Nathan, c. 27. Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, Dritter Band, p. 211. [↑]
[31] Vide Jost, Allgemeine Geschichte des Israelitischen Volkes (1850), Zweiter Band, pp. 63, 130, sqq. 153, Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, Dritter Band, p. 210. Vierter Band, pp. 243–246, 441–443, 446, 473. Zunz, Vorträge, p. 52. [↑]
[32] א״ר יהושע בן לוי מאי דכתיב צרור המור רודי לי בן סרי ילין אמר׳ כגסת ישׁראל לפגי הקב״ה רב״שע אף ע״ס שמיצר ומימר לי דורי גף שרי ילין אשכול הכופר דודי לי בכרמי עפ גדי מי סהכל טלו מכפר לי על עון גדי סכרמתי לי מאי משמע דהאי כרמי לישגא דמכניש הרה אמר בר זוטרא בריה דרב נחמן כדתנן כסא של כינס שכורמי עליו את הכלימ: וא״ר יהושע בן לוי מאי דכתיב לחייר כערגת הבושם כל דיבור ודיבור שיצא מפי הקב״ה נתמלא כל העולם כולו בשמים וכּיון שמדיביר ראשון נתמלא דיבור שני להכין הלך חוציא הקב״ה חרוח מאוצרותיו והיה מעביר ראשון ראשון שו״א שפתותיו שושנים נוטפות מור עובר אל היקרי שושנים אלא ששונים: וא״ר יהושע בן לוי כל דיבור וריבור שיצא מפי הקב״ה יצתה נשמתן של ישראל שנ״א נפשי יצאה בדברו ומאחר שמדיבור ראשון יצתה נשמתן דיבור שני היאן קיבלו הוריד טל שעתּיד להחיות בו מתים והחיה אותם שנא״ נשם נרבות חניף אלהים נחלת. ונלאה אתה כוננתה. מסנת שבת פח [↑]
[33] Daily Bible Illustrations, the Song of Songs, p. 449. [↑]
[34] Einleitung in das Alte Testament, Zweite Auflage, Erster Theil, Erste Abtheilung, § 82, p. 401. [↑]
[35] The Hebrew word יין, consisting of two יי 20, and ן 50, caused this explanation. This mode of interpretation is called גֵימַטְרִיָּא, Gematria, γεωμετρία, each letter of the word being taken according to its numerical value and the text interpreted accordingly. [↑]
[36] This interpretation is derived from reducing the word בך to its numerical value, 22. See note on verse 1. [↑]
[38] Hieros. Berach. p. 3. b. [↑]
[41] Comp. Wolfii Bibl. Rabbin. Vol. i. pp. 932–936; Ewald und Dukes, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Alten Auslegung und Spracherklärung des Alten Testamentes, Zweites Bändchen, p. 5, seqq. We must confess that Dukes’ arguments, here produced against the genuineness of this commentary, appear inconclusive. Such an allegorical exposition is just what might have been expected from Saadias, judging from his predilection for Rabbinisms and allegorising, which appears in his translation of the Pentateuch. Moreover, רבים מההלקים does not necessarily imply commentaries written before Saadias, but may refer to the opinions of some of his contemporaries. It is, however, probable that the translator of it into Hebrew has omitted some verbal explanations, deeming them unnecessary for his purpose. [↑]
[42] שיר השירים דע אחי כי תמצא רבים מתחלקים בפירוש שיר השירים ובאמת הם מתהלקימ שנמשל שיר השירים למנעולים שברחו מפתחותיהן ויש אומרים שהוא נאמר על מלכות בני ישראל ויש אומרים על ימות המשיח ויש אומרים בעבור הגלרת ומשיה ואומרים כי דודי הוא משיח וכלה התורה וזה חטא [[37]]וטעות גדול וראש כפרנות, אבל האמת כי דודי הק״בה שנאמר אשירה נא לידידי שירת דודי לכרמו ו פרש אותו ישעיה הנביא ואמר כי כרם ה׳ צבאות בית ישראל וזכר שלמה בזה הספר מיציאת מצרים עד אחר ימות המשיח והמשיל לישראל עם הק״בה לחתן עם כלה שהוא קרוב אליה והיא קרובה אליו וכשבא עמה בראשונה מבית אביה קראה רעיתי וכשהגיע עמה לביתו קראה כלתי וכשמצאה חן בעיניו קרא אותה אחותי ושבח אותה מהראש ועד הרגלים וכשקצף עליה אחר כך שבה היא והללה אותו מהראש ועד הרגליﬦ אחר כך שב הוﬡ והלל אותה פעם שניה ובשלﬡ נכון לבﬡ החתן עﬦ הכלה אלﬡ בשטר ועדיﬦ לכך תחלﬨ דבור שלמה אמר ישקני מנשיקוﬨ פיהו הטעﬦ הﬦ המצות והחקיﬦ שנתן הק״כה לישראל ל ידי מושה ואהרן ומדים הצדיקים והוא תורה שבכתב ותורה שבל פה ד שיבא לישראל שם טוב בערלם בחכמתם שנאמר ויבא לך שם בגוים ביופיך כי כליל הוא עד שרבו אומות העולם להכנס תהת כנפי חשכינה ולהתגייר והם ערב רב ויתרו ואהרים ולכך אמר לריח שמניך טובים והטעם שנסה הק״בה ממצרים עד בּואם בארץ כנען אם הולכים בדרכיו שנאמר לכתך אחרי במדכר כארץ וגו״.
משכני הטעם אומר בזה הפסוק הילוך ישרﬡל בירﬡת קב ׳ה וכיון ששמעו עשר דברות בששה כסיון ועשיית העגל בי ׳ז בתמוז תמה שלמה ואמר בעבורם
שחורה אני הטעם שחורה ונﬡוה שחורה בעבודת העגל ונאוה בשומען עשר דברות ואמרו ישראל ששכח עונם בשלשת אלפי איש רשעי ישראל שעבדו ע ׳ז שהרגו נגד השמש לכפר חטא גדול שנאמר כ, אתה עשית בסתר ואני ﬡעשה נגד כל ישראל ונגד השמש והאומות שמוני נוטרת עבודת אלהים אחרים שעבדתי עבודה זרה שנאנמר וימירו את כבודם בתכנית שור אוכל עשב [↑]
[43] Vide Sachs, Religiöse Poesie der Juden in Spanien, p. 267. Zunz, die Synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters, pp. 63, 64. [↑]
[44] This refers to the giving of the Law, and God’s speaking face to face. Compare the Chaldee on the verse. [↑]
[45] Through receiving the law Israel was anointed, i.e., became wise, and the fame of their wisdom was diffused abroad. Compare Saadias on the passage. [↑]
[46] i.e., Let the guiding Pillar allure us in the path of obedience. [↑]
[47] i.e., Swarthy through the sin of the calf, comely through the reception of the Law. Compare the Chaldee. [↑]
[48] Zunz, Zeitschrift für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums, 1823, p. 272, seqq. Jost, Allgemeine Geschichte des Israelitischen Volkes, Zweiter Band, p. 374. [↑]
[49] Introduction to the Commentary. [↑]
[50] Introduction to the Commentary. [↑]
[51] Commentar zu Kohelot und dem Hohen Liede von R. Samuel ben Meier herausgegeben von Adolph Jellineck. Leipz. 1855. This Commentary has just been published for the first time, edited by the learned Adolph Jellineck, [[43]]who constantly enriches the Hebrew literature by bringing before the public some ancient writings. [↑]
[52] See Zunz, zur Literatur und Geschichte, i. 70, 71. [↑]
[53] Introduction to the Commentary. [↑]
[54] See Reland, Analecta Rabbinica, Vitæ celeberrimorum Rabbinorum, p. 69–80. Fürst, Biblioth. Judaica, i. p. 251–257. Herzog, Realencyklopädie, art. Aben Ezra. [↑]
[55] Introduction to the Second Gloss. [↑]
[56] Introduction to the First Gloss. [↑]
[57] Preface to the Commentary. [↑]
[58] פירוש ׳ן כספי. אמר יוסין כספי אחר שקדﬦ לזו פי׳ קהלת ומשלי שהבר שלמה ע״ה בחכמתו ראוי לנו שנכתוב דברים מה בפי׳ שיר השירים שחבר גם כן שלמה ע ״ה, ואין אני צריך לפרש המלות כי כבר פירשוﬦ לפני, לכן לﬡ אדבר רק על כונת הספר הזה בכלל, וארמוז רמזים בפרטיﬦ, זגם זאת הכוונה לא מלבי, כי המאור המאיר לאדץ האיר עינינו בזה כשהודיעו זה ובפרט פרק נ״ﬡ משלשי, ודי בו באוהו רמז לנו ולדומ׳ לנו, ולכן אומר שאין ספק אצלי שזה הספר הוא מן ממין השוי מן המשלים שזכר המורה ז״ל בתחלת ספרו שאיז כל מלה יש במשל לענין הנמשל כמו שהוﬡ הענין באותה הפרשה שזכר שגﬦ הוﬡ מעניני החשוק והחשוקה כמו שהוﬡ ענין זה הספר, רק שאין העניניﬦ שוים בוה, כי אותו הספור הוﬡ משל לדבוק החמרי והצורה הטכעית, וזה הספר הוﬡ משל לדבוק השכל הפועל עם שכל האדם, שהוא נחלק לד׳ מינים, זהנכבד שבם הוא השכל הנאצל, ולכן כוון שלמה ע״ה לרמזו בכל זה הספר בפרט ואם הענין נאות לכלל, ולכן היותר מדוקדק הוא שקרא היפה בנשים זה הכח היותר יקר, וקרﬡ הרוד הנעים השכל הפעל. אבל ג״כ כוון לרמוז על כלל הנפש המדברת, פי זה צריך במשלנו בכמה מקומות בזה הספר, וידוע כי זה השכל הפועל הוﬡ [[48]]המניע המעורר ואת הנפש עד שיבﬡ מן הכח אל הפועל, כמו שירוע ליודע החכמות, וגם תצטרך הנפש שתדרוש אותו שכתו״, אם תדרשו וימצﬡ לך, ואחר שיבארנו וה הענין בכלל, אין לנו צורך מבאר פרטי המאמרים ואין טעﬦ מיוחר במכוון רק במעט מהם להעיר על זה ער שרובו שהוﬡ כללו אינו רק יפויים ותקויים דרך מלאכת השיר וידועת הגיון וזה הודיענו שלמה ע״ה בראש ספרו וﬡ׳ שיר השירים, יודע עוד ענין כולל והוא כי שלמה ע״ה חבר ג, ספרים הנמצאים בידינו, ובעבור שדבור הנביאים ע״ה הוﬡ על ג, מינינ שכלו נגלה ופשוטו אין בו תוך כלל, וזה נקרﬡ כלו כסף, והאחד שכלו נסתר אין בו גנלה רק משל ודמיון נמור, וזה כלו זהב, והאחד שיש בו נסתר וגננלה, אשר זה יכונה תפנחי זהב, לכן תבר שלמה ע״ה נ׳ הספרים, והיה קהלת מן המין הראשון, ושיר השירימ מן המין הב׳ ומשלי מן המין השלישי, וזכור זה והקש על זה בתורה ובכל כתבי הקדש והנביאים ע״ה אך במאמר ובמאמר בסכנה נדבר בזה נחליף מין במין עד שנחליף חי במות, כי זה יביאנו לא׳ מב׳ טעיות אם הניתם במאמרם מה שהוא כזב ושקר, ומה שלא היה כוונת האומר אותו ולא יהיה א״כ מה שנא׳ אנחגו גקרא פירש אבל הוא חביר ותדוש ספר, ולא אקרא אגי פירש אלא א״כ נכא עד תכלית כווגת המחבר הספר, ופני הספר יוכיחו במין מין בחינת זכי המוח וטובו השכל המתישבים כי לא נוכל לעשות מופתים נמורי על זה, ודיכי האמת עד לעצמו, עוד דע עגין יקר והוא כי בזה כוון למשה ע״ה כמו שכוון ביתר ספריו, וכן כל הנביאים ע״ה לפרש מלות ושמות נפררות שבאו בתורת משה ובפרט ממה שכתוב בתורה כעגין מעשה בראשית ומעשה מרכבה שזהו עקר התירת, נשמע הפלנת [[49]]תחבולת המלאכה שעשו הנביאים ע״ה ואחריהם ר׳ז׳ל בספריהם כאשר רצן להעמיק רמז לא יזכדו שם למלה כמו שהם בתירה אבלל ימירוהו בשם ומלה אחרת שהוה כמו נרדף לראשון ע״ד יין וחמר פ־דס, ומזה המין הפלגת בדבר ר׳ז׳ל כי לא נעלמה מהם חכמה, אבל ׳לא צריכים אנחנו בזה ודי באלו הע־ות זה הספר לפי כוונתינו, ולאל ההודאה ית׳ שמ אמן. [↑]
[59] שיר השירים אשר לשלמה אמר עמגואל ב׳כ׳ר שלמה ז׳צ׳ל אחרי הודות ל׳ה ית׳ על טוב גמולותיו, אומר כי הספר הזה על דעה רבותי׳ ז׳ל דוא מבתר הספרימ שנאמרו ברוח הקודש. ונחלקו המפרשים בבארו, והתחלפו דעותיהם בו כפי התחלפות הכרתם, כי קצתם והﬦ אותם [[50]]שלא נפרדו מהמורגש, והתכלית אשר אליו עיניהם נשואות וכלות אליו כל היום, הוא יקר העולם הזה ותפארתו, והגמול הגדול אשר אליו ייחלו חלף עבודתם ומשכורתם מאת האלהים, שובם לגדולתם אל ארץ זבת חלב ודבש, ולמלאות כריסם מבשר לויתן, ומורם מן היין המשומר בענביו יפרשו הספר הזה הנכבד, שידבר מספור מעשי האבות, ורדתם למצרים, וצאתם משם ביד חזקה ובזרוע נטויה, וקבולם התורה, ובואם אל ארץ זבת חלב ודבש, ועמידת ישראל בארץ, וגלותם ממנה, ושובם אל הארץ בבנין בית שני, וגלותם משם שנית, והגאולה העתידה, והם יחשבו שיהיה הספר הזה שהוא קודש קדשים, כאחד מן הספרים ההמונים, וכספרי דברי הימים אשר לאחד מן המלכים אשר תועלתם מועט והקריאה בהם אבוד הזמן. וקצת מן החכמים האלהים אשר השיגו מעלת החכמה האמיתית, ונפרדו מהמורגש, ובזו לענינים הזמנים, ונכספה גם כלתה נפשם לחצרות ה׳, וכשתהיינה עומדות רגליהם בירושלם שלמעלה, ולבם ובשרם ירננו אל אל חי, פשטו לבושי הכסילות מעליהם, ולבשו מחלצות השכל, וחקרו בדעתם סודות הספר הזה היקר, וראו דרך נקבי משכיות הכסף, אשר אל תפוחי משל הזהב הטמון בקרבו, ועברו ימיו באני שכלם, והוציאו פשטו מתהומותיו, וגזרו אומר שהספר הזה חובר לבאר ולגלות בו אפשרות שוב השכל הנפרד המעורר צורת הנפש המשכלת והמשפיע עליה שפע טובו, והרעיה משל אל השכל החמרי, המשתוקק אל שפה השכל הפועל, וכוסף להדמות אליו כפי היכולת להדבק בו, ולשוב במדרגתו שהוא התכלית המכוון ממנו. והחכמים האלהים אשר קדם זכרם, זכרו כוונת הספר הזה בכלל, ובארו קצת פסוקיו דרך העברה, ולא בארו הספר הזה על הסדר [[51]]מראשו לסופו, עד שבא החכם המפורשם ר׳ משה אבן תיבון, ובאר הספר הזה על דרך החכמה, והוא מלא חכמת וכליל יופי, אלא שעבר על קצת פרטיו, ולא הזכיר המכוון בהם. ובראות חכמי דורינו מה שכתב החכם הנזכר, נכספו לבוא אל חדריו, והפצירו בו בגזירת האהבה, לחבר באור הספר הזה על הדרך אשר דרך החכם הנזכר, ולהעמיק על פרטיו, ולחדש בהם חדושים לא נזכרו בספרו, ולהעמיד פשטי הספר הזה גם כן על מתכונתם, ביד ה׳ הטובה עלי. ובראתי כי ידם עלי חזקה, ולמלאות בקשתם חובה, אזרתי בעז מתני, וחברתי באור הספר הזה כפי קוצר השגתי, ודרכתי דרך החכמה הנזכר, והזכרתי קצת מדבריו, ושניתי בקצתם, והותרתי וחסרתי כפי מה שהראוני מן השמים, וזה החלי לעשות. וראוי שנזכר בתחלה כונת הספר הזה בכללו וחלוק פרשיותיו. ואומר כי כל החכמים האמתיים, אשר נדבה רוחם אותם לדבר בבאור הספר הזה על דרך החכמה, ראו בעין שכלם שהספר הזה נחלק לשלשה חלקים ראשונים. החלק הראשון הוא מתחלת הספר עד על משכבי בלילות. החלק השני הוא מן על משכבי בלילות עד אני ישנה. החלק השלישי הוא מן אני ישנה ולבי ער עד סוף הספר. והשלוש פרשיות הנזכרות הם רמז לשלשה מיני בני אדם ובאור זה.
הפרשה הראשונה והיא מתחלת הספר עד על משכבי בלילות, הוא המשל על האדם שהיה בגן עדן בכח או בפעל, קודם שחטא, כל זמן שלא הוציא לפועל בחירתו לטוב או לרע, באמרו ויטע האלהים גן בעדן מקדם וישם שם את האדם אשר יצר ויצמח ה׳ אלהים מן האדמה כל עץ נחמד למראה וטוב למאכל ועץ החיים בתוך הגן ועץ הדעת טוב ורע, והרשהו י״ת וצוהו מכל עץ הגן, ויורהו ה׳ עץ לבלתי אכול ממנו פן ימות באמרו ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו [[52]]כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות ואם היה בבחירת האדם לאכול מעץ החיים ואכל וחי לעולם בלא פצע ובלא פגע רע באמרו ראה נתתי לפניך את החיים ואת הטוב ואת המות ואת הרע ובחרת בחיים למען תחיה וזה משל על מי שישתדל ללמוד החכמה על סדר וירא פן יחרד מהביט אל האלהים בראותו שאין פירותיו מבושלים והוא אמרו בפרשה הזאת הראשונה סוב דמה לך דודי לצבי או לעפר האילים על הרי בתר ואמרו אחזו לנו שועלים קטנים מחבלים כרמים וכרמינו סמדר וזה מורה כי עדיין לא נתבשלו הפירות ולא הזכירה הרעיה הנזכרת בזאת הפרשה הראשונה שאכלה מהפירות כי אמרה בצלו חמדתי וישבתי ופריו מתוקי לחקי הוא ספור חשקה והעד חמדתי וטעם פריך דבריו וחכמתו ומוסרו ובכל זאת הפרשה הראשונה מדברת בענין שכל האדם בעודו נער שלא הוציא לפועל מיציאותו המכוון ממנו וכחות הגוף גוברות עליו ושלא השתדל כי אם בלימודיות ובטבעיות וזאת הפרשה הנזכרת נחלקת לשני חלקים החלק הראשון הוא מתחילת הספר ער קול דודי זה בא והוא משל למי שהוא ירא ה׳ וסר מרע ויורע השם י״ת דרך קבלה ואין בו שום חכמה ומן קול דודי הנה זה בא עד סוף הפרשה הראשונה משל אל מי שלמד חכמת הלמודים וחכמת הטבע
והפרשה השנית שהיא מן על משכבי בלילות עד אני ישנה הוא משל אל מי שמצא אשת חיל אל אישה תשוקתה מבקשת דודה על משכבה ואשר בטח בה לב בעלה והוציא לפועל מה שהיה בו בכח ושלח ידו ולקח גם מעץ החיים ואכל וחי לעולם הוא אמרו בזאת הפרשה השנית כמעט שעברתי מהם עד שמצאתי את שאהבה נפשי אחזתיו ולא ארפנו עד שהבאתי אל בית אמי ואל חדר הורתי והזכיר יום חתונתו ויום שמחת לבו שהוא יום הנשואים [[53]]והדבוק האמתי, ושהיה לו מטה באמרו הנה מטתו שלשלמה, ושעשה לו אפריון, ושהגיע למלוכה, ואמר׳ המלך שלמה ובמלך שלמה מה שלא הזכיר בן בשאר הפרשיות, כי לא הזכיר בהם כי אם שלמה ושולמית בלשון נקבה לפחיתותה והדוד העיד על רעיתו שמצאה גן נעול ושהיו שלחיה פרדס רמונים עם פרי מגדים כלומר אפי׳ מה שהרוב מהם הוא חמוץ הוא מתוק וערב ומבושל, והעיד כי כֻלָּהּ יפה ומום אין בה, וקראה כלה ששה פעמים מה שלא עשה כן בשאר, כלל כי היא אשתו האמיתית והמיוחדת לו מכל וכל, וחלתה פני דודה שיבוא לגנו ויאכל פרי מגדיו, כלומ׳ הפירות שלו והראוים לו, והוא שהזכיר הוא באמרו שלהיך פרדס רמונים עם פרי מגדים, לא שתתן היא לבעלה ותאכילהו מהפירות הראוים לאשה הנשמעת לדברי הנחש והנסתת לו. והדוד העיד על עצמו שבא לגנו, ואכל ושתה ושהאכיל והשקה רעיו, ושעשה להם משתה, כי במשול צדיקים תעלוז קריה, והוא אמ׳ באתי לגני אחתי כלה אריתי מורי עם בשמי אכלתי יערי עם דבשי שתיתי ייני עם חלבי אכלו רעים שתו ושכרו דודים. וזה שלח ידו ולקח מעץ החיים ואכל וחיי לעולם, בלא פצע ובלא מכה, ועבר שלשתם על הסדר ונכנס בהם בשלום ויצאה בשלום. והענין שעבר כולם והשלימם על סדר בלא הריסה ובלא טעות, וכחותיו החמריות, והם השומרים הסובבים בעיר, וכל שכן השכליות, והם שומרי החומות, כלם כאחד טובים ומישרים אליו הדרך, לא שיעותו דרכה ויבטלו או יאחרו [[54]]פעלתה, עד כי שאלה משומרי העיר את שאהבה נפשי ראיתם, ולרוב ישרם ושלמות דעתם כאלו הם רואים ומראים, ואמנם לא הושיבו לה דבר, כי אין מטבעם להראותו, אבל כמעט שעברה מהם ורחקה מהם רוחק מועט, מצאה דודה והתחברה עמו, באמרה כמעט שעברתי מהם עד שמצאתי את שאהבה נפשי אחזתיו ולא ארפנו עד שהביאתיו אל בית אמי ואל חדר הורתי. יעשר מטה ואפיריון וחדוה, ושמחה ומשתה כאשר בארנו. וזאת הפרשה השניה גם כן נחלקת לשני חלקים. החלק הראשון הוא מן על משכבי בלילות עד מי זאת עולה מן המדבר והחלק השני הוא מן מי זאת עולה עד אני ישנה והחלק השני הוא באור החלק הראשון.
והפרשה השלישית שהיא מן אני ישנה עד סוף הספר הוא משל אל אדם שיש לו אשה חוטאת, הנסתת לנפש המתאוה, והנשמעה אליו, ואשר אכלה מעץ הדעת טוב ורע, ותתן גם לאישה עמה ויאכל, ואמרו עמה, כי האדם לא יוכל לאכול ממנו, כי אם עמה, כי לא גלה הקב״ה אותו לאדם, ולא עתיד לגלותו, ואין לו בו שליחות יד, כי אם על יד האשה כי היא אשר תמצאהו ואש׳ תקחהו, והיא אשר תרדוף ההנאות, ונמשכת אחר התאות, זאת אישה לא בקשה לפני משכבה, ולא המתינה לו, והלכה לישן והפשיטה בגדיה ורגליה רחצה ואצבעותיה מבושמים במור עובר לנצחי וקיים גם התעצלה לפתוח מהר, וקול דודה דופק, ואמ׳ פתחי לי אחותי רעיתי וגו׳. ואמנם אחר כן משל בה אישה, והיתה בעלת תשובה, כי לא נשקעה בשינה, אבל היה לבה ער, ופתחה לדודה בעצלותה הגדול, והנה דודה חמק עבר ובקשותהו ולא מצאתהו וקראתהו ולא ענה אותה, ומצאוה שומרי החומות והשומרים הסובבים בעיר והכוה ופצעוה ונשאו את רדידה מעליה, והענין שכולם עותו דרכה ומנעו אותה [[55]]מהשיג דודה, כי קשה להם לפרוש אחרי אשר טעמו טעם חטא, עד כי לא נזכר בתורה באדם אחרי שגורש מגן עדן ששלח ידו ולקח מעץ החיים ושב ורפא לו, א׳ע׳פ שהיה לו היכולת בזה באמרו ועתה פן ישלח ידו ולקח גם מעץ החיים ואכל וחי לעולם, ש׳ר׳ל הלואי ישלח ידו כי צדיק ה׳ צדקות אהב ולא אל חפץ רשע הוא באמרו חי אני נאום ה׳ אם אחפוץ במות הרשע כי אם בשוב רשע מדרכו וחי, ועם כל זה לא נזכר בתורה שאכל מעץ החיים אחר כך, ואולי הוא רמז כי קרוב הוא לנמנע, למי שאכל מעץ הדעת טוב ורע לאכול עוד מעץ החיים ”כי זוג שני קשה לזוגו בקריעת ים סוף“ שהוא שנוי טבע, א׳ע׳פ שאינו נמנע לגמרי לפי האמת וכן השאיר שלמה הדבר סָתוּם ואם ספר גורל חשקם אחרי כן, ושבח כל אחד מהם את חבירו כדרך חושקים, לא נמצא בהם שנדבקו עולם, ושעשו חתונה ומטה ואפיריון ומשתה ושמחה כדרך איש ואשתו, ואחרית דבריה שהיה דודה מזהיר אותה, ואומר לה חברים מקשיבים לקולך ואין דרך האשה להשמיע קולה לבחורים ”כי קול באשה ערוה“ וחלה פניה להשמיע לו קולה ולא לאחר, והיא העזה פניה ותאמר לו, ברח דודי ודמה לך לצבי או לעופר האיילים על הרי בשמים, כאלו היו החברים הבעלים, והדור היה החושק מסתתר ובורה מפניהם פן יפגעו בו. והפרשה הזאת גם כן נחלקת לשני חלקים, החלק האחד הוא מאני ישנה ער מי זאת עולה והחלק השני מן מי זאת עולה עד סוף הספר, והחלק השני באור לחלק הראשון. זאת היא הלוקת הספר לפי מה שהסכימו החכמים אשר דברו בבאור הספר הזה. [↑]
[60] De Rossi, pp. 114–117. Fürst, Bibl. Jud., vol. i. pp. 82–84. [↑]
[61] ויהי כאשר האליצוני ומתרדת שנתי הקיצוני התבוננתי בפירושים אשר הגיעו לידי ואמתיק סודו והנם חלוקים ואם להתכוין את המשל כולם דבקים, מהם מי שפירש אותו בדקדוק מלותיו ונעם מליצותיו וחשק האהבה הכלולה כי יבעל בחור בתולה והניח המשל מגזר מכל סביביו היין השומר בענבו, מהם מי שפרש אותו בין הגוף והנשמה, אשה אות חכמה המעורות אל הדרך הישרה להיות לו מגן ועורה, וזכר האריך לדבר הוסיף וגרע ודרש וחבר, מהם מי שפירש אותו על דרך המדרש והסתום אספ ודרש ובכל אשר לעשות הפליא כאלי הריק מכלי אל כלי, מהם מי שפירש אותו על דרך ענין הפסוקים לכונתו בצע אמרתו באמרו כי כולו דמיובים ביציאת השכלים מן הכח אל הפועל אשובו על ירמיון הדוד הוא השכל הפועל בחכמה והחשוקה היה הנפש השלימה והנריל גוף הספר במאמריו ונכרים באו שעריו עד אשר הקורא בו בלשונו רכל נלאתי כלכל לא אוכל ואם זה היתה כונת החכם שלמה בשירו מה הועיל שבחו וזמרו יתר מזה ראש הפלוסופים בקצר ענין ובנה עליו בנין על כל יאמר בעזני בספר מלחמות ה׳ אין זה כונת השיר ותפארתו אשר היתה באמנג אתו.
From a MS. in the possession of the Bodleian. Oppenheim Collection, No. 261. [↑]
[62] De Rossi, pp. 294, 295. [↑]
[63] Fürst, Bib. Jud. vol. i. p. 187. [↑]
[64] This commentary is erroneously called Tamach’s, the euphemic expression תמ״ך, i.e. תְּהִי מְנוּחָתוֹ כָבוָר, used for the departed, being mistaken for a proper name. Vide Fürst, Bib. Jud. vol. ii. p. 243. [↑]
[65] Ibid. vol. i. p. 314. [↑]
[66] Ibid. vol. i. pp. 41, 42. [↑]
[67] Vide Magnus, Das Hohe Lied Salomo’s, p. 26. [↑]
[68] De Amore dial., c. iii. Delitzsch im Literaturblatt des Orients, 1840, No. 6, &c. [↑]
[69] Melizat Jeshurun. Vienna, 1816. [↑]
[70] Gottesdienstliche Vorträge. Berlin, 1832, p. 334. [↑]
[71] 1834—Dr. Zunz also wrote a valuable introduction to Rebenstein’s Commentary on the Song of Songs (Berlin, 1834), in which he gives a catalogue of Hebrew writers on this book, existing in MS. I am sorry that all my exertions to obtain it have proved abortive. [↑]
[72] Vierter Band., p. 367. [↑]
[73] Israelitische Bibel, Dritter Theil. 1854, pp. 660, 661. [↑]
[74] The following is a list of the names of some of the commentators and their works, selected from a large number of authors who have written upon this book, and which we could not analyse in our historical sketch.
Abi-Simra, מִכְתָּם לְדָוד (printed, according to de Rossi, at Constantinople). Affendopulo, סֵ׳ עֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת (Dod Mordechai, c. 3, Vienna, 1830). Allemanno, חֶשֶׁק שְׁלֹמֹה. Almosneno, יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה (Venice, 1597). Arepol, שַׂר שָׁלוֹם (Ssafet, 1579). Asulai, נַחַל אֶשְׁכּוֹל, and פְּנֵי חַמָּח (Leghorn, 1800.) Bär. b. Naphtali, מַתְּנוֹת כְּהֻנָּה (Amsterdam, 1725). Baruch b. Isaac, זָרַע בַּרַכְ (Amsterdam, 1730). Birs, שִׁירָה לְדָוִד (Grodno, 1797). Chiquitilla, in MS. Cohen, זְקַן אַהֲרֹן (Venice, 1657). Eliezer b. Judah, יֵין הָרֶקַח (Lublin, 1608). Elijah b. Salomon-Abraham, בִּ אוּר עַל ג׳מְגִלּוֹת, in MS. Gensburg, נַסְתָּלִי שְׂבַע רָצוֹן (Hamburg, 1708). Jaabez, קֹדָשׁ הִלּוּלַים (in Frankfurter’s Bible, Amsterdam, 1724–27). Ibn Jaehaj (in the Amsterdam Rab. Bible, 1724). Ibn Jaish, מָקוֹר בָּררּך עַל שה״ש (Constantinople, 1576). Jacob b. Isaac, צְאָינָה וּרְאֶינָה (Berlin, 1709). Jacob b. Joel, שְׁאֵרִית יַעֲקֹב (Altona, 1727). Jacob-Lissa, אִמְרֵי יֹשֶׁר (Dyrhenfurt, 1815–19). Joseph-Jossel, פּוֹרָת יוֹסֵף (Wandsbeck, 1727). Kara, in MS. Dav. Kimchi, in MS. Landsberger, שׁוֹמֵר אֱמוּניִם (Offenbach, 1724). Lando, נִקֻדוֹת הַכֶּסֶף (Venice, 1619). Libowitzer, סֵ׳ אַיֶּלֶת אֲהָבִים (Korez, 1791), [[61]]Loanz, surnamed Baal Shem, רִנַּת דּוֹדִים (Basle, 1606). Löw b. Joshua, לֵב אַרְיֵה (Wilmersdorf, 1674). Saul Löw, בִנְיַן אֲרִיאֵל (Amsterdam, 1778). Meyer (Frankfort on the Main, 1679). Solomon Ibn Melech, מִכְלַל יֹפִי (Amsterdam, 1661). Salomon b. Jacob (Prague, 1628). [↑]
[75] Origenes Selecta in Psalmos 1. Hieronymus Apologia adversus Rufinum. See on this subject Frankel, Monatschrift, 1852, p. 219, and Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, Vierter Band, p. 279. [↑]
[76] Davidson, Introduction to the Old Testament, &c., p. 790. [↑]
[77] Comp. Hieronymus ad Pamachium; Prefacio in Paralipomena, in Tobiam, in Job. To his ingratitude and bitter vituperations against the Jews, this people may trace many of their subsequent sufferings from so-called Christians. (Com. Hiero. adversus Rufinum ii., Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, Vierter Band, p. 462.) [↑]
[78] Bernardi Oper. vol. ii. (Paris, 1719), p. 276, et seqq. [↑]
[79] “Ecclesia humilis et abjecta inter hostes saeculi, et hoc fuit usque ad tempus Constantini.” [↑]
[80] Comment. in Cant. Canticor. [↑]
[82] Bib. Sac., book vi. haer. xiii. p. 664. [↑]
[83] An Exposition upon the Book of Canticles. London, 1624, p. 2. [↑]
[84] A Commentary on the Canticles. Amsterdam, 1644, p. 2. [↑]
[85] Annotations upon the Five Books of Moses, the Book of the Psalms, and the Song of Songs (London, 1639), pp. 4, 5. [↑]
[86] Est ὀαριστὺς inter Salomonem et filiam regis Aegypti, interloquentibus etiam choris duobus tum juvenum tum virginum, qui in proximis thalamo locis excubabant. Nuptiarum arcana sub honestis verborum involucris hic latent: quae etiam causa est, cur Hebraei veteres hunc librum legi noluerint nisi a jam conjugio proximis. Creditur autem Salomon, quo magis perennaret hoc scriptum, ea arte id composuisse, ut sine multa distorsione ἀλληγορίαι in eo inveniri possent; quae Dei amorem adversus populum Israeliticum exprimerent; quod et sensit et ostendit Chaldaeus hic paraphrastes, nec aliter accepit Maimonides. Ille autem amor typus cum fuerit amoris Christi erga ecclesiam, Christiani ingenia sua ad applicanda ad eam rem hujus carminis verba exercuerunt laudabili studio. Nam et Apostoli Christi cum ecclesia conjunctionem matrimonio comparaverant. Eph. v. 32; 2 Cor. ii. 2; Apoc. vii. 8. Annot. in Vet. Test. [↑]
[87] Vide Opera Cocceii, Tom. viii. fol. Amstel. Tom. ii. Synopsis et Medulla prophet. Cantici. [↑]
[88] A brief Exposition of the whole book of Canticles (London, 1648), p. 4. [↑]
[89] A Commentary upon the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs (London, 1650), pp. 174, 175. [↑]
[90] Comm. Apocalypticus in Canticum Canticorum, 1688. [↑]
[91] Praef. in Cant. Paris, 1693. [↑]
[92] Paraphrase and Annotations on the Song of Songs, in loco. [↑]
[93] Preface to the Exposition of the Song of Solomon. [↑]
[94] Clavis Cantici, or an Exposition of the Song of Solomon (Edinburgh, 1723), pp. 11, 12. [↑]
[95] Exposition, pp. 103, 106. [↑]
[96] A Supplement to Whiston’s late Essay towards restoring the true text of the Old Testament (London, 1723), pp. 5, 7. [↑]
[97] An Exposition of the book of Solomon’s Song, &c. (London, 1854), p. 10. [↑]
[98] See Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, Lect. xxx.; p. 345, Gregory’s Translation, Third Edition. [↑]
[99] Preface to the Song of Solomon, newly translated from the original Hebrew, with a Commentary and Annotations, London, 1764. [↑]
[100] Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, by John Wesley, (Bristol, 1765.) Vol. III. p. 1926. [↑]
[101] The Outlines of a new Commentary on Solomon’s Song, London, 1768; second edition, 1775, pp. 74, 75, 81. [↑]
[102] Notes to Bishop Lowth’s Praelectiones. [↑]
[103] Das durch eine leichte und ungekünstelte Erklärung von seinen Vorwürfen gerettete Hohelied, 1771. [↑]
[104] Vide supra, pp. 46, 56. [↑]
[105] Critical Remarks on Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles, 1772. [↑]
[106] Umschreibung des Hohenliedes, oder die Gemeine mit Christo und den Engeln im Grabe, nebst andern biblischen Erklärungen. Herausgegeben von D. Conrad Heinrich Runge. Bremen, 1776. [↑]
[107] Salomon’s Lieder der Liebe, &c. Herder’s Sämmtliche Werke in vierzig Bänden, Dritter Band, pp. 82, 83. Stuttgart und Tübingen, 1852. [↑]
[108] Sammlung der Gedichte Salomons, &c. Hamm, 1780. [↑]
[109] A poetical Translation of the Song of Solomon, London, 1781. [↑]
[110] Solomon’s Song, translated from the Hebrew, by Bernard Hodgson, LL.D. Principal of Hertford College, Oxford, 1786. [↑]
[112] Neueste Uebersetzung des Hohen Liedes, Basel, 1789; see Magnus, Comment, p. 26. [↑]
[113] Salomon’s verschmähte Liebe, oder die belohnte Treue. Leipzig, 1790. [↑]
[114] The Song of Songs, a new translation, with a Commentary and Notes. London, 1801, pp. 54, 55. [↑]
[115] Song of Songs, &c., translated from the original Hebrew, with Notes, critical and explanatory. London, 1803, Preface pp. xii. xiii. xiv. [↑]
[116] Das Hohelied, in einer noch unversuchten Deutung. Freyburg, 1803. [↑]
[117] Lied der Liebe, das älteste und schönste aus dem Morgenlande. Göttingen, 1820, second edition, 1828, pp. 20, 21. [↑]
[118] Das Hohelied, ein Collectiv-Gesang auf Serubabel, Ezra und Nehemia, als die Wiederhersteller einer Jüdischen Verfassung in der Provinz Juda. Erlangen, 1825. [↑]
[119] Das Hohelied Salomo’s übersetzt mit Einleitung, Anmerkungen, &c. Göttingen, 1826. [↑]
[120] Philologisch-critischer Commentar zum Hohen Liede Salomo’s. Leipzig, 1829. [↑]
[121] Rosenmüller, Scholia, ix. 2, p. 270. [↑]
[122] Script. Test. to the Messiah, vol. i. book i. chap. ii. note A; and Congregational Magazine for 1837, p. 415. [↑]
[123] Congregational Magazine for 1837 and 1838. [↑]
[124] For 1838, p. 471, et seq. [↑]
[125] Das Lied der Lieder oder Sieg der Treue. Zürich, 1840. [↑]
[126] Kritische Bearbeitung und Erklärung des Hohen Liedes Salomo’s. Halle, 1842. [↑]
[127] Critical History and Defence of the Old Testament Canon, p. 360, ed. Davidson. [↑]
[128] A New Translation of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Canticles. Boston, 1846, p. 119. [↑]
[130] Article in the Biblical Repository for April, 1847, reprinted in the Journal of Sacred Literature for 1852, p. 338. [↑]
[131] Hävernick’s Einleitung in das Alte Testament. Dritter Theil, p. 504. [↑]
[132] Das Hohelied untersucht und ausgelegt von Franz Delitzsch. Leipzig, 1851, pp. 31, 175. [↑]
[133] Das Hohe Lied von Salomo, übersetzt und erklärt von Heinrich Augustus Hahn. Breslau, 1852, p. 7. [↑]
[134] Das Hohe Lied Salomonis ausgelegt von W. Hengstenberg. Berlin, 1853, p. 239. [↑]
[135] A Commentary on the Song of Solomon, by the Rev. George Burrowes, Professor in Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. Philadelphia, 1853, pp. 87–90. [↑]
[136] Das Hohe Lied in deutscher Uebersetzung, Erklärung, und kritischer Textausgabe, von Ernst Meier, Professor der Morgenländischen Sprachen. Tübingen, 1854. [↑]
[137] Cantici Canticorum poetica forma; dissertatio Ernesti Fred. Friedrich. Königsberg, 1855. [↑]
[138] Das Hohe Lied erklärt von Ferd. Hitzig. 16te Lieferung des Kurzgef. exegetischen Handbuch’s zum Alten Testament. Leipzig, 1855. [↑]
[139] Monatschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums, herausgegeben vom Oberrabbiner Dr. Frankel. Leipzig, 1856, p. 215, et seq. [↑]
[140] Geschichte der poetischen National-Literatur der Hebräer von Dr. Ernst Meier. Leipzig, 1856, p. 215, et seq. [↑]
[141] The Text of the Old Testament considered, &c., by Samuel Davidson, D.D. London, 1856, p. 806. [↑]
[142] Herzog’s Real-Encyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche. Stuttgart, 1856, vol. vi. p. 220. [↑]
[143] Stuart, Critical History and Defence of the Old Testament Canon, pp. 342, 343, ed. Davidson. [↑]
[144] Song of Songs, &c., Preface, p. 19. [↑]
[145] An Article on Solomon’s Song, by the Rev. C. E. Stowe, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature, reprinted in Kitto’s Journal of Sacred Literature, 1852, pp. 331, 332. [↑]
[146] Reply to Dr. Pye Smith, Congregational Magazine for 1838, pp. 148, 149. [↑]
[147] Praef. in Canticum Canticorum, Œuvres, tom. i. p. 467, 4to. edit. [↑]
[148] Lecture xxxi. p. 350, third edition. [↑]
[149] Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 215, et seqq. [↑]
[150] The author of the poem. The singer sometimes puts his own name in the place of this. [↑]
[151] Tá-Há is a name of the Arabian prophet. [↑]
[152] Crishna continues to this hour the darling god of the Indian women. The sect of Hindoos, who adore him with enthusiastic and almost exclusive devotion, have broached a doctrine which they maintain with eagerness, and which seems general in those provinces, that he was distinct from all the Avatars, who had only an ansa, or portion of his divinity; while Crishna was the person of Vishnu himself in a human form.—Sir W. Jones, Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 260. [↑]
[153] Noyes, A New Translation of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles, pp. 130–132. [↑]
[154] Historia Crit. Vet. Test. l. i. c. iv. p. 28. [↑]
THE SONG OF SONGS,
WHICH IS SOLOMON’S. [[129]]
THE SONG OF SONGS,
WHICH IS SOLOMON’S.
SECTION I.
CHAPTERS I.–II. 7.
The scene of this division is in the royal tent of Solomon. The Shulamite, separated from her beloved shepherd, longs to be reunited with him whom she prizes above all things (2, 3). She implores him to come and rescue her; for, though brought by the king into his royal tent, her love continues the same (4). She repels the scornful reflection of the court ladies when they hear her soliloquy (5, 6). She implores her lover to tell her where she may find him (7). The court ladies ironically answer this request (8). Meanwhile the king comes in, and tries to win her affections by flatteries and promises (9–11). This attempt fails, and she opposes to the king’s love her unabated attachment to her beloved shepherd (12–ii. 6). In an ecstasy she adjures the court ladies not to attempt to persuade her to love any one else (7).
THE SHULAMITE.
2 Oh for a kiss of the kisses of his mouth!
For sweet are thy caresses above wine. [[130]]
3 Sweet is the odour of thy perfumes,
Which perfume thou art, by thy name diffused abroad, [[131]]
Therefore do the damsels love thee.
4 Oh draw me after thee! Oh let us flee together! [[132]]
The king has brought me into his apartments,
But we exult and rejoice in thee,
We praise thy love more than wine,
The upright love thee.
5 I am swarthy, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, [[133]]
As the tents of Kedar,
But comely as the pavilions of Solomon.
6 Disdain me not because I am dark, [[134]]
For the sun hath browned me.
My mother’s sons were severe with me,
They made me keeper of their vineyards,
Though my own vineyard I never kept.— [[135]]
7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,
Where thou feedest thy flock,
Where thou causest it to lie down at noon,
Lest I should be roaming
Among the flocks of thy companions.
[[136]]
DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM.
8 If thou knowest not, O fairest among women,
Go in the footsteps of the flocks,
And feed thy kids
By the tents of the shepherds.
SOLOMON.
9 To my steed in the chariot of Pharaoh
Do I compare thee, O my love. [[137]]
10 Beautiful is thy countenance in the circlet,
Thy neck in the necklace!
11 A golden circlet will we make thee,
With studs of silver.
[[138]]
THE SHULAMITE.
12 While the king is at his table
My nard shall diffuse its fragrance.
13 A bag of myrrh resting in my bosom [[139]]
Is my beloved unto me.
14 A bunch of cypress-flowers from the garden of En-gedi
Is my beloved unto me.
THE SHEPHERD.
15 Behold, thou art beautiful, my love; [[140]]
Behold, thou art beautiful,
Thine eyes are doves.
THE SHULAMITE.
16 Behold, thou art comely, my beloved,
Yea thou art lovely;
Yea, verdant is our couch;
17 Our bower is of cedar arches, [[141]]
Our retreat of cypress roof:
1 Chap. II. I am a mere flower of the plain,
A lily of the valley.
THE SHEPHERD.
2 As a lily among the thorns,
So is my loved one among the damsels.
THE SHULAMITE.
3 As an apple-tree among the wild trees,
So is my beloved among the youths. [[142]]
I delight to sit beneath its shade,
For delicious is its fruit to my taste.
4 He led me into that bower of delight,
And overshaded me with love.
5 Oh, strengthen me with grape-cakes, [[143]]
Refresh me with apples,
For I am sick with love!
6 Let his left hand be under my head,
And his right hand support me!
7 I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles, or the hinds of the field, [[144]]
Neither to excite nor to incite my affection
Till it wishes another love.
SECTION II.
CHAPTER II. 8–III. 5.
Here we have a second scene, which is also in the royal tent. The speakers are the Shulamite and the court ladies. The Shulamite, to account for the cause of the severity of her brothers, mentioned in ii. 6, relates that her beloved shepherd came one charming morning in the spring to invite her to the fields (8–14); that her brothers, in order to prevent her from going, gave her employment in the gardens (15); that she consoled herself with the assurance that her beloved, though separated from her at that time, would come again in the evening (16, 17); that seeing he did not come, she, under difficult circumstances, ventured to seek him, and found him (ch. iii. 1–4). Having narrated these events, and reiterated her ardent affection for her beloved, she concludes as before, by adjuring the court ladies not to persuade her to change her love.
THE SHULAMITE.
8 Hark! my beloved!
Lo, he came
Leaping over the mountains,
Bounding over the hills. [[145]]
9 My beloved was like a gazelle,
Or the young one of a hind.
Lo! there he stood behind our wall,
He looked through the window,
He glanced through the lattice.
10 My beloved spake, he spake to me,
“Arise, my love, my fair one, and come!
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over, is gone.
12 The flowers appear upon the fields, [[146]]
The time of singing is come,
The cooing of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.
13 The fig-tree sweetens her green figs,
The vines blossom,
They diffuse fragrance;
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come! [[147]]
14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,
In the hiding-place of the cliff,
Let me see thy countenance,
Let me hear thy voice,
For sweet is thy voice,
And thy countenance lovely.”
THE BROTHERS OF THE SHULAMITE.
15 Catch us the foxes, the little foxes
Which destroy the vineyards,
For our vineyards are in bloom.
[[148]]
THE SHULAMITE.
16 My beloved is mine, and I am his,
His who feeds his flock among the lilies.
17 When the day cools,
And the shadows flee away,
Return, haste, O my beloved,
Like the gazelle or the young one of the hind,
Over the mountains of separation. [[149]]
1 Chap. III. When on my nightly couch,
I still sought him whom my soul loveth;
I sought him, but found him not.
2 I must arise now and go about the city,
In the streets and in the squares;
I must seek him whom my soul loveth:
I sought him, but found him not.
3 The watchmen who patrol the city found me:
“Have you seen him whom my soul loveth?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them,
When I found him whom my soul loveth;
I seized him and would not let him go
Till I brought him to the house of my mother, [[150]]
Into the apartment of her who gave me birth.
5 I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or the hinds of the field,
Neither to excite nor to incite my affection
Till it wishes another love.
SECTION III.
CHAPTERS III. 6.–V. 1.
The royal tent in the country is broken up, and the royal train comes up to Jerusalem. Some of the inhabitants of the capital, as they behold it at a distance, hold a dialogue respecting it (6–11). The shepherd, coming up to rescue his loved one, obtains an interview with her, and expresses his delight in her charms (ch. iv. 1–5). The Shulamite moved, modestly interrupts his description, and tells him that she is ready to escape with him that very evening (6). He immediately proffers his assistance, declaring that her charms had inspired him with courage sufficient for the occasion (7–9); he describes her charms (10, 11) and her faithfulness (12–16). The Shulamite declares that all she possesses shall be his (16). Some of the court ladies sympathize with them (ch. v. 1).
ONE OF THE INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM.
6 What is that coming up from the country,
As in columns of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh, with frankincense,
And all sorts of aromatics from the merchants?
[[151]]
ANOTHER.
7 Lo! it is the palanquin of Solomon,
Around it are threescore valiant men
From the valiant of Israel:
8 All skilled in the sword, expert in war,
Each with his sword girded on his thigh
Against the nightly marauders.
[[152]]
A THIRD.
9 A palanquin hath king Solomon made for himself,
Of the wood of Lebanon.
10 Its pillars he hath made of silver,
Its support of gold, its seat of purple, [[153]]
Its interior tesselated most lovely
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
A FOURTH.
11 Come out, ye daughters of Zion,
And behold King Solomon;
The crown with which his mother crowned him
On the day of his espousals,
On the day of his gladness of heart.
[[154]]
THE SHEPHERD, ADVANCING TO THE SHULAMITE.
1 Chap. IV. Behold, thou art beautiful, my loved one,
Behold, thou art beautiful!
Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil;
Thy hair is like a flock of goats,
Springing down Mount Gilead. [[155]]
2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which come up from the washing-pool,
All of which are paired,
And not one among them is bereaved.
3 Like a braid of scarlet are thy lips,
And thy mouth is lovely: [[156]]
Like a part of the pomegranate
Are thy cheeks behind thy veil;
4 Thy neck is like the tower of David,
Reared for the builder’s model:
A thousand shields are hung upon it, [[157]]
All sorts of bucklers of the mighty.
5 Thy bosom like two young fawns,
Twins of a gazelle, feeding among lilies.
THE SHULAMITE.
6 When the day cools
And the shadows flee away,
I will go to the mount of myrrh,
To the hill of frankincense.
THE SHEPHERD.
7 Thou art all beautiful, my loved one, [[158]]
And there is no blemish in thee.
8 With me, with me, my betrothed,
Thou shalt go from Lebanon;
Thou shalt go from the heights of Amana,
From the summit of Shenir and Hermon,
From the habitations of lions,
From the mountains of panthers.
9 Thou hast emboldened me,
My sister, my betrothed,
Thou hast emboldened me, [[159]]
With one of thine eyes,
With one of the chains of thy neck.
10 How sweet is thy love, O my sister, my betrothed! [[160]]
How sweet is thy love above wine!
And the fragrance of thy perfumes above all the spices!
11 Thy lips, O my betrothed, distil honey:
Honey and milk are under thy tongue,
And the odour of thy garments is as the smell of Lebanon.
12 A closed garden art thou, my sister, my betrothed,
A closed garden, a sealed fountain. [[161]]
13 Thy shoots like a garden of pomegranates,
With precious fruits,
Cypresses and nards,
14 Nard and crocus,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all sorts of frankincense trees, [[162]]
Myrrh and aloes;
15 With all kinds of excellent aromatics,
With a garden-fountain,
A well of living waters,
And streams flowing from Lebanon.
16 Arise, O north wind! and come, thou south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its perfumes may flow out!
[[163]]
THE SHULAMITE.
Let my beloved come into his garden
And eat its delicious fruits!
THE SHEPHERD.
1 Chap. V. I am coming into my garden, my sister, my betrothed:
I am gathering my myrrh with my spices,
I am eating my honeycomb with my honey,
I am drinking my wine with my milk.
SOME OF THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM.
Eat, O friends!
Drink, and drink abundantly, O beloved!
[[164]]
SECTION IV.
CHAPTER V. 2–VIII. 4.
The Shulamite relates to the court ladies a dream which she has had, in which she manifests great attachment for her beloved (2–8). The court ladies, surprised at this extraordinary enthusiasm, ask what there is particular in his person to cause such an attachment (9). The Shulamite then gives a description of him (10–16). Whereupon the court ladies inquire where he is, and offer to seek him (ch. vi. 1). The Shulamite, suspecting their intention, gives an evasive answer to their inquiry (2, 3). The king, having heard the Shulamite’s beloved mentioned, immediately comes forward and seeks to win her affections (4–9); in exalting her beauty, he repeats how the court ladies had praised her when they first saw her (10). The Shulamite, having explained how she came to be seen by the court ladies, withdraws (11, 12.) The king calls her back (ch. vii. 1); and, as she returns, describes her charms, and wishes to enjoy the love of one so beautiful (2–10). The Shulamite refuses the king’s desire, stating that her affections were espoused (11); then addressing herself to her beloved, she asks him to go home with her, and descants upon their rural pleasures (12–14). Remembering, however, that circumstances even at home prevented the full manifestation of her love, she longs for those obstacles to be removed (ch. viii. 1, 2). Overcome by her feelings, she wishes that none but her beloved may support her (3), and with the little strength she has left, adjures the court ladies not to persuade her to change her love (4).
THE SHULAMITE.
2 I was sleeping, but my heart kept awake,
Hark! my beloved! he is knocking!
Open to me, my sister, my love!
My dove, my perfect beauty! [[165]]
For my head is filled with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.
3 I have put off my tunic,
How shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet,
How shall I soil them?
4 My beloved withdrew his hand from the door hole,
And my heart was disquieted within me.
5 I immediately arose to open to my beloved,
And my hands dropped with myrrh, [[166]]
And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
Upon the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had withdrawn, was gone!
My soul departed when he spoke of it!
I sought him, and found him not;
I called him, and he answered me not.
7 The watchmen who patrol the city found me:
They beat me, they wounded me; [[167]]
The keepers of the walls stripped me of my veiling garment.
8 I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
If ye shall find my beloved,
What will ye tell him?
Tell him that I am sick of love.
DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM.
9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved,
O thou fairest among women?
What is thy beloved, more than another beloved,
That thou thus adjurest us?
THE SHULAMITE.
10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
Distinguished above thousands; [[168]]
11 His head is as the finest gold,
His flowing locks are black as the raven. [[169]]
12 His eyes, like doves in water streams,
Are bathing in milk, sitting on fulness;
13 His cheeks are like beds of balsam,
Elevations of aromatic plants;
His lips are like lilies distilling liquid myrrh.
14 His hands like golden cylinders, inlaid with chrysolite, [[170]]
His body is like polished ivory, covered with sapphires.
15 His legs are like pillars of marble
Based upon pedestals of gold.
His aspect is like that of Lebanon. [[171]]
He is distinguished as the cedars.
16 His voice is exquisitely sweet;
Yea, his whole person is exceedingly lovely.
Such is my beloved, such my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM.
1 Chap. VI. Whither is thy beloved gone,
O thou fairest among women?
Whither is thy beloved turned away?
Say, that we may seek him with thee.
[[172]]
THE SHULAMITE.
2 My beloved is gone down into his garden,
To the beds of aromatics,
To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine;
He who feeds his flock among the lilies.
SOLOMON.
4 Graceful art thou, O my love, as Tirzah,
Beautiful as Jerusalem,
Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts!
5 Turn away thine eyes from me, [[173]]
For they inspire me with awe!
Thy hair is like a flock of goats
Springing down Mount Gilead;
6 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep,
Which come up from the washing-pool;
All of which are paired,
And not one among them is bereaved.
7 Like a part of the pomegranate
Are thy cheeks behind thy veil.
8 I have threescore queens,
And fourscore concubines,
And maidens without number;
9 But she is my only one, my dove, my perfect beauty,
She, the delight of her mother,
She, the darling of her parent! [[174]]
The damsels saw her and praised her;
The queens also, and the concubines, and extolled her thus:
10 “Who is she that looks forth as the morn,
Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts?”
THE SHULAMITE.
11 I went down into the nut-garden,
To look among the green plants by the river,
To see whether the vine was budding,
Whether the pomegranates were in bloom. [[175]]
12 Unwittingly had my longing soul brought me
To the chariots of the companions of the prince.
(She goes away).
[[176]]
SOLOMON.
1 Chap. VII. Return, return, O Shulamite,
Return, return, that we may look at thee.
THE SHULAMITE.
What will you behold in the Shulamite?
SOLOMON.
Like a dance to double choirs. [[177]]
2 How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O noble maiden!
The circuits of thy thighs like ornaments,
The work of a master’s hands.
3 Thy navel is like a round goblet,
Let not spiced wine be wanted in it; [[178]]
Thy body is like a heap of wheat,
Hedged round with lilies.
4 Thy bosom is like two young fawns,
Twins of a gazelle. [[179]]
5 Thy neck is like an ivory tower;
Thine eyes are as the pools in Heshbon,
By the populous gate;
Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon,
Looking towards Damascus.
6 Thy head upon thee as purple, [[180]]
And the tresses of thy head as crimson.
The king is captivated by the ringlets:
How beautiful and how charming,
O love, in thy fascinations!
7 This thy growth is like a palm-tree,
And thy bosom like its clusters. [[181]]
8 I long to climb this palm-tree,
I long to clasp its branches.
May thy bosom be unto me
As the clusters of the vine,
And the odour of thy breath
As that of apples;
9 And thy speech as delicious wine, [[182]]
Which to my friend flows down with mellowed sweetness,
And causes slumbering lips to speak.
THE SHULAMITE.
10 I belong to my beloved,
And it is for me to desire him.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go into the country, [[183]]
Let us abide in the villages.
12 We will go early to the vineyards,
We will see whether the vine flourishes;
Whether the buds open;
Whether the pomegranates blossom;
There will I give thee my love.
13 The mandrakes diffuse fragrance,
And at our door are all sorts of delicious fruit, [[184]]
Both new and old;
I have reserved them, O my beloved, for thee!
1 Chap. VIII. Oh that thou wert as my brother,
As one who had been nourished in the bosom of my mother!
If I found thee in the street I would kiss thee,
And should no more be reproached.
2 I would lead thee thence,
I would bring thee into the house of my mother; [[185]]
Thou shouldst be my teacher,
I would cause thee to drink
Of the aromatic wine,
Of my pomegranate juice.
3 Let his left hand be under my head,
And his right hand support me!
4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Neither to incite nor to excite my affection
Till it desires another love.
[[186]]
SECTION V.
CHAPTER VIII. 5–14.
The Shulamite, released from the palace, returns to her native place with her beloved (5). On their way home they visit the spot where they had been first pledged to each other; and there they renew their vows (6, 7). On their arrival at the Shulamite’s home, her brothers are reminded of the promise they had made to reward their sister’s virtue (9, 10). The Shulamite mentions the greatness of her temptations, and her victory over them (11, 12). The shepherds visit her, to whom she declares, according to request, her unabated attachment to her beloved shepherd (13, 14).
THE COMPANIONS OF THE SHEPHERD.
5 Who is it that comes up from the plain,
Leaning upon her beloved?
THE SHULAMITE.
Under this apple-tree I won thy heart, [[187]]
Here thy mother travailed,
Here labouring she gave thee birth.
6 Oh, place me as a seal upon thy heart,
As a seal upon thine hand! [[188]]
For love is strong as death,
Affection as inexorable as Hades.
Its flames are flames of fire,
The flames of the Eternal.
7 Floods cannot quench love;
Streams cannot sweep it away.
If one should offer all his wealth for love,
He would be utterly despised.
ONE OF THE BROTHERS OF THE SHULAMITE.
8 Our sister is still young, [[189]]
And is not yet marriageable.
What shall we do for our sister,
When she shall be demanded in marriage?
ANOTHER BROTHER.
9 If she be like a wall,
We will build upon her a silver turret.
But if she be like a door,
We will enclose her with boards of cedar.
THE SHULAMITE.
10 I am like a wall,
And my bosom is as towers!
Then I was in his eyes [[190]]
As one that findeth favour.
11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hammon;
He let out the vineyard to tenants;
Each of whom yielded for the fruit of it
A thousand shekels of silver.
12 I will keep my own vineyard: [[191]]
Be the thousands thine, O Solomon,
And the two hundreds to the keepers of its fruit!
THE SHEPHERD.
13 O thou that dwellest in the gardens,
My companions are listening to thy voice,
Let me hear thy voice!
THE SHULAMITE.
14 Haste, O my beloved,
And be like the gazelle, as the young one of the hind,
Over the mountains of spices.
[[129]]
[2]. Oh for a kiss, &c. That the speaker is a Shulamite shepherdess who had been separated by king Solomon from her beloved, and that she desires to be reunited with him, is evident from verses 4, 7, 8; vii. 1, &c. Excited by the pain of separation, the damsel wishes that her beloved were present, that he could kiss her, for his caresses would cheer her fainting heart more than the best of wines. Wine, either pure or mixed (see infra, vii. 3), is often spoken of by the sacred and profane poets as delighting the hearts of both gods and men, and reviving their drooping spirits. (Judges ix. 13; Ps. civ. 15; Prov. xxxi. 6; Eccl. x. 19.) Hence Helen gave a bowl of mixed wine to her guests oppressed with grief, to raise their spirits. (Hom. Odyss. iv. 220.) Yet the Shulamite declares that she preferred the caresses of her beloved to this highly prized cordial.
The imperfect form יִשַּׁקֵנִי is used optatively or voluntatively, “Oh that he would kiss me!” (Gesen. § 127, 3 b; Ewald, § 224 a); i.e. a kiss: the subject, either in the singular (Gen. xxviii. 11, compare v. 18; Exod. vi. [[130]]25; Ps. cxxxvii. 3), or plural (Gen. xxx. 14; Exod. xvii. 5; 2 Sam. xi. 17), is to be supplied from the plural noun מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת, as indicated by the partitive מִן. (Compare Gesen. § 154, 3 c; Ewald, § 217, b, i. b.) The singular, however, is preferable, for the Shulamite does not wish so much for a number of kisses as for the presence of her beloved; one would be sufficient if he could only come. We thus obtain a phrase נָשָׁק נְשִׁיקָה, to kiss a kiss, i.e. to give a kiss; corresponding to יָעַץ עֵצָה, to counsel a counsel, i.e. to give counsel, 2 Sam. xvi. 23; חָלָה חֳלִי, 2 Kings xiii. 14. This construction is of frequent occurrence in Hebrew, and is also found in Greek and Latin; (Compare νοσεῖν νόσον, pugnam pugnare; Gesen. § 138 i., Rem. 1; Ewald, § 281 a.) The rendering, therefore, of מִן by with (Luther, English Version, Good, Williams, &c.) is incorrect. Ewald’s and Herxheimer’s translation, Let one of the kisses kiss me, is both incongruous and ungrammatical; for in the first place, it is not the kiss that kisses, but the individual; and secondly, נְשִׁיקָה is feminine, which would require תִּשַּׁקֵנִי, the third fem. דוֹדִים, prop. love, the abstract, which, as in Greek and Latin, is in Hebrew frequently expressed by the plural, (comp. חַיִּים, life, מַמְתַּקִים, sweetness, מַחִמַדִים, beauty; vide infra, v. 16; Gesen. § 108, 2 a; Ewald, § 179 a), here metonomically for the expressions of it—love-tokens, caresses. So Lee, Magnus, Noyes, Fürst, Philippson, &c. This rendering is demanded by the context, for this clause gives the cause of the statement in the preceding one. The change from the third person יִשַּׁקֵנִי, to the second דֹדָיךָ, or from the second to the third person, is an enallage of frequent occurrence in sacred poetry. (Deut. xxxii. 15; Isa. i. 29; Jer. xxii. 24; Gesen. § 137, 3, Rem. 3.) The Sept. and Vulg. have דַּדֶּיךָ, thy breasts, instead of דֹדֶיךָ, thy caresses. That this is a gross error is evident from the fact that a man and not a woman is here addressed. To appeal to the catachresis in Isa. lx. 16, would be preposterous.
[3]. Sweet is the odour, &c. Ointments, like wines, were used by the ancients as cordials (Prov. xxvii. 9), and as restoratives in consequence of their supposed sanative properties. Hence the anointing of the sick. (Isa. i. 6, &c.; Jer. viii. 22.) The fainting Shulamite, therefore, mentions this second cordial. The ל in לְרֵיחַ signifies in, as regards, quoad, and is frequently used for the sake of giving prominence to an idea. Thus “Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth לְעֹשֵׁר וּלְחָכְמָה, in or as regards riches and wisdom.” (1 Kings x. 23.) Compare also Exod. xx. 5, 6; Ewald, § 217 a. Fürst, Lexicon, ל 5, f. The Sept. has ו instead of ל; or it may be, favours the view of Döpke, Heiligstedt, Meier, &c., that the ל introduces the nominative; but this requires another anomaly, viz., to refer טוֹבִים, to the nomen rectum, instead of regens, and does not at all improve the sense. The Syriac, Ibn Ezra, Authorized Version, Percy, Williams, Noyes, &c., take the ל in the sense of לְמַעַן, because, and connect it with עַל כֵּן, therefore, of the last clause; but these words are never used together for cause and effect. Besides, this explanation, like the former, interrupts the sense; for the fainting damsel evidently refers here to the second restorative. Luther strangely renders this clause, dass man deine gute Salbe rieche. Kleuker, Rosenmüller, Ewald, Delitzsch, Philippson, &c., translate לְרֵיחַ to the smell; but this is contrary to the usus loquendi, as רֵיחַ is never used for the organ which inhales, but invariably means something exhaled or emitted. Hodgson renders לְרֵיחַ, like the scent; but ל never signifies like. The instance in Deut. xi. 18, adduced in support of his assertion, is gratuitous, for the ל in לְטוֹטָפֹת has not that meaning. [[131]]
Which perfume thou art, by thy name, &c. This clause is explanatory of the preceding one, “Sweet is the odour of thy perfumes, because thou art that perfume.” The comparison of an agreeable person to perfumes arose from the great requisition of aromatics in the East. In warm climates perspiration is profuse, and much care is needful to prevent its offensiveness. Hence the use of perfumes particularly at weddings, feasts, on visits to persons of rank (2 Sam. xii. 20; Ps. xlv. 8; Prov. vii. 17; Amos vi. 6), and most of the occasions which bring people together with the intention of being agreeable to one another. Hence the pleasant odours diffused by perfumes soon became a metaphor to express the attractions which an agreeable person throws around him (Eccl. vii. 1), just as an offensive smell is used to express the contrary idea. (Gen. xxxiv. 30; Exod. v. 21.) The word תּוּרַק, being taken as the third person fem., has greatly perplexed interpreters. For neither שֶׁמֶן, to which the Sept., Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Immanuel, &c., refer it, nor שֵׁם, to which it is referred by Ewald, Gesenius, &c., ever occurs as feminine. Others, to overcome this difficulty, have either taken תּוּרַק as a proper name (Syria. R. Tobiah) or as an appellative (Bochart, Hieron. ii. 4, 26.) The true solution seems to be that the word in question is not the third person feminine but the second person masculine. So Rashi, Michaelis, Hengstenberg, &c. The words literally translated would be, like oil art thou poured forth, with regard to thy name. שִׁמְךָ, is the second accusative, comp. Ps. lxxxiii. 19; Ewald, § 281, 3 c. The words שֶׁמֶן and שֵׁם form a paranomasia. This figure, which consists of words ranged together of similar sound, but differing in sense, is frequently used in the Old Testament; and also occurs in the New. (Compare λιμοὶ καὶ λοιμοὶ, Luke xxi. 11, and Acts xvii. 25.)
Therefore do the damsels love thee. How natural for a woman, greatly admiring, and dotingly attached to her beloved, to think that every damsel must be enamoured of him! The most probable derivation of the much-disputed עַלְמָה, is from עָלָה = עוּל, to come up, to grow up; hence the Poel עוֹלֵל, a growth, a child, עֶלֶם, one growing up; with the termination –ֶם, (Compare Alma, in Latin, from alo, ἄλδω, and Fürst, Lexicon, מ 2 c,) and the feminine עַלְמָה, a growing damsel, without any reference to the idea of virginity, for which בְּתוּלָה is invariably used; Joel i. 8, not excepted. בַּעַל is here used, not to indicate that the marriage was consummated, but because the Jews regarded parties consecrated to each other from the very moment they were betrothed. Hence Mary is called the wife of Joseph, and he her husband. (Compare Matt. i. 19, 20, &c.) Other derivations assigned to עַלְמָה, such as עָלַם = חָלַם, to be fat, full, ripe, marriageable (Gesenius, &c.), or being excited, hence youth as being peculiarly subject to it (Lee); or עָלַם, to hide, be concealed, unrevealed, unknown; hence עֶלֶם and עַלְמָה, persons of a youthful age who were destitute of the knowledge which springs from sexual intercourse (Henderson) are exceedingly forced. Jerome’s assertion, as also Wordsworth’s, on Matt. i. 23, that עַלְמָה, is the designation of a virgin, because it signifies kept secret, as a virgin is under the care of her parents, is gratuitous, for עַלְמָה, is formed from עֶלֶם, a young man, of whom this cannot be said.
[4]. Oh draw me, &c. The Shulamite wishes that her beloved should not only come and cheer her fainting heart with the tokens of his love, but take her away altogether. אַחֲרֶיךָ belongs to מָשְׁכֵנִי. (Compare Job xxi. 33.) So the Chaldee, Immanuel, Luther, Mendelssohn, Kleuker, Percy, Hodgson, Ewald, Meier, Hitzig, Philippson, &c. The Septuagint renders מָשְׁכֵנִי, by εἵλκυσάν σε, mistaking it for מְשָׁכוּךָ, and adds לְרֵיחַ שְׁמָנֶידָ after אַחֲרֶיךָ, evidently [[132]]an interpolation from the first clause of the third verse, which the Vulgate, Percy, &c., follow.
The king has brought me, &c. It was the king, she tells us, who brought her into his apartments, and thus separated her from her beloved, in whom, however, she still delights. That this is the import of this clause is obvious from the words and connexion. The Shulamite began with invoking her absent beloved in the third person; but no sooner had she expressed her desire to be with him, than he is, as it were, present to her mind, and she forthwith, dropping the third person, addresses him in the second, and so continues to speak to him throughout the third verse. She begins the fourth verse in the same way, imploring her beloved, in the second person, to take her away, telling him that “the king, ‘HE,’ has brought her into his apartments” (mark the change from the second to the third person); and then continues and finishes her address to her beloved in the second person. Now we ask, do not the words הֱבִיאַנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ חֲדָרָיו, the king, “HE,” has brought me into his apartments, placed between מָשְׁכֵנִי אַחֲרֶיךָ, do “THOU” draw me after thee, and נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ וגו׳, we exult and rejoice in “THEE,” &c., clearly show that the king here referred to is a separate person from the beloved to whom the maiden is addressing herself? We venture to affirm that few readers of the original Hebrew, whose minds are not biassed by a preconceived theory, can carefully peruse these three verses without observing that TWO persons are here introduced—viz. the beloved to whom, and the king of whom, the damsel speaks. Ibn Ezra, Immanuel, the Anonymous MS. Commentary, &c., could not help seeing this, and explained the passage, “Were even the king to bring me into his apartments, I should rejoice and be glad in thee” (the shepherd). The Septuagint, which is followed by the Vulgate, has again דַּדֶּיךָ, thy breast, instead of דֹדֶיךָ, thy love; but see supra, ver. 2.
The upright love thee. The word מֵישָׁרִים, is explained by Rashi, Rashbam, Döpke, De Wette, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, &c., by sincerely, uprightly; Ibn Ezra, who is followed by Houbigant, takes it as an adjective for wine, i.e. יַיִן הֹלֵך לְמַישָׁרִים, wine that glides down smoothly; and Ewald, Boothroyd, Magnus, Hitzig, &c., render it deservedly, justly. As for אֲהֵבוּךָ, it is either referred to עֲלָמוֹת, the damsels love thee more than wine (Ibn Ezra); or is taken impersonally, i.e. thou art sincerely or deservedly beloved. (Ewald, Magnus, &c.) But this is against the structure of these verses. For the second and third verses, consisting of five members, form one stanza, finishing with the words עֲלָמוֹת אֲהֵבוּךָ; and it is evident that the fourth verse, also consisting of five members, is of the same structure, and that the concluding words מֵישָׁרִים אֲהֵבוּךָ, are intended to correspond to those at the end of the first stanza. מֵישָׁרִים, therefore, must be taken as a parallelism with עֲלָמוֹת, and means the upright. So the Septuagint (εὐθύτης ἠγάπησέ σε, the abstract for concrete), Symmachus, (οἱ εὐθεῖς οἱ αγαπῶντές σε,) the Vulgate (recti diligant te), the Chaldee (צַדִּיקָיָא רְחִימוּ), English Version (margin), Mendelssohn, Philippson, &c. מֵישָׁרִים, the upright, is designedly chosen in preference to עֲלָמוֹת, damsels, in order to give an indirect and gentle blow to him who had separated her from her beloved. “Thee, the upright, and not the seduced love.”
[5]. I am swarthy, &c. The court ladies, indignant at this statement, looked with affected disdain upon the [[133]]discoloured rustic girl. The Shulamite repels these disdainful looks, for she knows that, though swarthy, she is comely, else the king would not have noticed her. A similar idea occurs in Theocritus (Idyl. x. 26–29), where Bambyce, though sun-burnt, is called beautiful.
Βομβύκα χαρίεσσα, Σύραν καλέοντι τὸ πάντες,
Ἰσχνὰν, ἁλιόκαυστον· ἐγὼ δὲ μόνος μελίχλωρον.
Καὶ τὸ ἴον μέλαν ἐντὶ, καὶ ἁ γραπτὰ ὑάκινθος.
Ἀλλ’ ἔμπας ἐν τοῖς στεφάνοις τὰ πρᾶτα λέγονται.
“Charming Bambyce, though some call you thin,
And blame the tawny colour of your skin;
Yet I the lustre of your beauty own,
And deem you like Hyblaean honey-brown.
The letter’d hyacinth’s of darksome hue,
And the sweet violet a sable blue;
Yet these in crowns ambrosial odours shed,
And grace fair garlands that adorn the head.”
Compare also Virgil, Eclog. x. 38. The comparison between the dark complexion and the tents of the Kedareens, and between the comeliness and the pavilions of Solomon, arose from the custom of nomades and travellers in the East of carrying with them moveable tents, which were temporarily pitched for the purpose of the pernoctation or protection against meridian sun. The tents of the Kedareens, a nomadic tribe of North Arabia (Gen. xxv. 13; Isa. xxi. 17), were and still are to this day made of coarse cloth, obtained from the shaggy hair of their black goats (Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 939; Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, Erster Theil, p. 63). Whereas, the curtains of which Solomon’s pavilion was constructed were, most probably, very fine and beautiful. From this passage, confirmed by chap. iii. 6, and vi. 12, we see that this scene took place in the royal tent of Solomon, pitched in the open air of some favourite spot to which the king resorted in the summer. It is still the custom of Oriental potentates to go once a-year to some attractive neighbourhood, where they erect their magnificent tents, which serve as their temporary abodes. (Morier, Zweite Reise in Persien, p. 223; Jaubert, Voyage, p. 334). שְׁחוֹרָה, swarthy, refers to ﬡָהֳלֵי קֵדָר, the tents of Kedar, and נָאוָה, comely, to יְרִעוֹת שְׁלֹמֹה the pavilion of Solomon. נָﬡוָה, a contraction of נָﬡֲוָה, from the root נָﬡָה, is formed from the Pilel. The third radical, which this conjugation requires to be doubled, appears in this and in two other words, under the form וה. Compare שָׁחַה, to bow, Pilel, שָׁחֲוָה, hence the reflexive הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה, to bow, or prostrate oneself; מְטַחֲוִים, archers, Gen. xxi. 16; Gesen. § 75, Rem. 18; Ewald, § 121 c. יְרִעָה, prop. a vail, a curtain of a tent, Exod. xxvi. 12, and metonomically for the tent itself, 2 Sam. vii. 2; 1 Chron. xvii. 1, and like here, in parallelism with אֹהֶל, Jer. iv. 20; x. 20; xi. 29. The Septuagint, followed by the Vulgate, erroneously renders כִּירִיעוֹת שְׁלֹמֹה, ὥς δέῤῥεις Σολομὼν, as the skins of Solomon, and Bishop Foliot refers it to the beautiful skin of Solomon’s body, with which the Church compares herself to set forth her comeliness. Hodgson, misunderstanding the figure, absurdly renders כְּאָהֳלֵי קֵדָר, like the spices of Kedar, and makes the Shulamite compare herself to the odoriferous trees and beautiful figures in the (יְרִיעוֹת), fine tapestry.
[6]. Disdain me not. In repelling these disdainful looks the Shulamite states first that her dark complexion is adventitious, being merely sun-burnt, and as Rashi remarks, נוח להתלבן כשיעמוד בצל, will be white again under the protection of the shade: and secondly, how she came to be so much exposed to the sun, and this she ascribes to the anger of her brothers. This anger, however, as it appears from ii. 8–17, was merely a fraternal solicitude for her reputation, which induced them to give her employment in the vineyards, in order to prevent her meeting her beloved in the field. אַל תִּרְאוּנִי (i.q. אַל תִּרְאֲֽינָה אֹתִי, Ewald, § 248), [[134]]is well explained by the Chald., Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Immanuel, &c., אלֹ תבזוני, do not disdain me. רָאָה, to see, is also used for looking down upon any one, Job. xli. 26. Instead of תִּרְאֻנִי, four of Kennicott’s MSS., two of De Rossi’s, and two more, originally read תיראוני, fear me not, which is adopted by Döderlein; but the reading of the received text is both more supported, and suits the connexion better; for it can hardly be possible that the damsel was actually so black as to inspire terror; or that the court ladies were so highly nervous as to be so easily frightened. Hodgson’s rendering, mind me not, is incorrect. The ש in שֶׁאֲנִי, stands for אֲשֶׁר, the א being rejected by aphaeresis, and the ר assimilated; Gesen. § 36. שְׁחַרְחֹר, blackish; adjectives denoting colour have frequently the last two stem letters repeated to render them diminutives; as אֲדַמְדָּם, reddish, Lev. xiii. 19; יְרַקְרַק, greenish, Lev. xiii. 49. So Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Immanuel, Gesen. § 84. 23; Ewald, § 157 c. שָׁזָף, i.q. שָׁדַף, to scorch, to burn, Gen. xxiii. 17; xli. 6. So the Syriac, Aquila, Theodotion, Ewald, Gesenius, Meier, Hitzig, &c. The ז and ד frequently interchange, compare גָזַע and גָדַע, to cut down; and are even found to do so by the same inspired writer; compare נִדְעֲכוּ, Job. vi. 17, with נִזְעֲכוּ, xvii. 1. בְּנֵי אִמִּי, not step-brothers, (Houbigant, Ewald, Good,) who would not have such power over their sister, but poetically used for אַחַי, my brothers. Comp. Gen. xxvii. 20; Ps. l. 20; lxix. 9. נִחָרוּ is the Niphal of חָרַר, to burn, (comp. Ps. cii. 4; Gesen. § 6, 7, 8, Rem. 5; Ewald, § 140 a. § 193 c.), and not from חָרָה (Kimchi, Ibn Ezra, Immanuel, &c.) which would be נֶחֱרוּ, Is. xli. 11.
Though my own vineyard, &c. The word כַּרְמִי, is either taken to denote the Shulamite’s personal appearance, or to mean her beloved: and the phrase is explained, “Through the constant watch which my brothers made me keep over their vineyard, I could not take care of (כַּרְמִי) my complexion; or could not attend to (כַּרְמִי) my beloved.” But it is a hazardous mode of interpretation to take an expression in the same verse in an ordinary and in an extraordinary sense, which ought never to be done unless required by absolute necessity, which is not the case here. Dr. Good indeed escapes this inconsistency by assigning a spiritual meaning to כֶּרֶם, (viz. personal estate, one’s own person) in both clauses; and he submits that “the bride asserts that she had been compelled to neglect her own person, through the perpetual attention which was demanded of her by her brothers or sisters in decorating themselves, or in assisting in their concerns.” But apart from the unnecessary and unjustifiable deviation from the literal meaning, this interpretation is entirely at variance with the context. For in the words, “They have made me keeper of their vineyards,” the Shulamite evidently means to explain how she came to be exposed to the tanning sun. Whereas, the supposition of her perpetual attention to the adornment of her brothers, fails to account for the brown complexion. If however, with Ibn Ezra, we take these words to explain the severity of her brothers, everything will be plain and unforced. The damsel says, “My brothers were so angry—so severe with me that, resolved to carry out their purpose, they made me keep their vineyards, ובתחילה קורם זה אפילו כרמי שלי לא נטרתי, a thing which I had never done before, even to my own vineyard. It is utterly inconceivable how those who maintain that this Song celebrates the marriage of Solomon with [[135]]the daughter of Pharaoh can reconcile it with the facts that the damsel’s dark complexion is here described as adventitious; whereas the Egyptians, even of the highest and most secluded classes, are naturally dark, and that she has been made keeper of the vineyards, which would ill agree with any prince’s daughter. כֶּרֶם is most probably derived from כָּרָה = כּוּר, to dig, hence a garden cultivated by means of axes and spades in contradistinction to fields worked with ploughs and harrows. (Compare Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, vol. i. p. 119.) For the term. –ֶם vide supra, p. 131. שֶׁלִי, i.q. אֲשֶׁר לִי is used emphatically after כַּרִמִי, to mark the contrast, and not, as Houbigant erroneously supposes, in the sense of בשלי, tranquillè, mine own vineyard I kept not quietly.
[7]. Tell me, O thou, &c. Having repelled the disdainful looks of the court ladies, the Shulamite now resumes her address to her beloved; so that this verse is intimately connected with the fourth; and verses five and six are, as it were, parenthetical. Is it not surprising that some can read this verse, and yet believe that the king was the object of the damsel’s attachment, when this shows so clearly that it was a shepherd? The violent heat of noonday compels people in the East to desist from labour, and recline in some cool part of the house (2 Sam. iv. 5). Shepherds especially, being more exposed to the burning rays of the sun, lead their flocks under some shady tree near wells and streams. (Gen. xxix. 7; Ps. xxiii.; Isa. xix. 10.) We have beautiful descriptions of the same custom by Greeks and Romans. Thus Virgil, Georg. iii. 331—
Aestibus at mediis umbrosam exquirere vallem,
Sicubi magna Jovis antiquo robore quercus
Ingentis tendat ramos, aut sicubi nigrum
Ilicibus crebris sacra nemus adcubet umbra.
“When noon-tide flames, down cool sequester’d glades,
Lead where some giant oak the dell o’ershades,
Or where the gloom of many an ilex throws
The sacred darkness that invites repose.”
Compare also Theocritus, i. 14, 15: vi. 1, 16, 38, 39. אֵיכָה prop. how, but also of place, where, 2 Kings xvi. 13. Twenty-eight MSS. of Kenn. and De Rossi, read וְאֵיכָה, but this weakens the sentence. We must supply צֹאנְךָ after תִּרְעֶה, and –ם after תַּרְבִּיץ, see Ezek. xxxiv. 15. Immanuel accounts for the dual, צָהֳרַיִם, because שזה השם נופל לא על חצות היום בלבד אלא גם על חלק מהיום קרוב לחצות וחלק מהיום מעט אחר חצות, it speaks of that part of the day immediately preceding noon as well as of that part which immediately follows noon. שֶׁלָמָה, i.q. אֲשֶׁר לָמָה, Dan. i. 10, ut ne, well rendered by the Sept. μήποτε, Vulg. ne. אֲשֶׁר is used as a conjunction, the ל to express design, or purpose, and מָה for negation, Ewald, § 337, 6. כְּעֹטְיָה has caused much perplexity to interpreters. It is explained to mean like one veiled (ὡς περιβαλλομένη, Sept.), as a sign of mourning (Rashi, compare 2 Sam. xv. 30; xix. 5); of harlotry (Rosenmüller, comp. xxviii. 5); of shame (Umbreit, Hengstenberg, comp. Jer. xiv. 3; Mal. iii. 7); and of wandering or roaming (Philippson, comp. Jer. xliii. 12). But wherever covering is used to signify mourning or shame, the part of the body usually covered, in order to indicate the existence of the emotion, is invariably stated. Equally untenable is the rendering of harlot; for Tamar covered her face, not as a sign that she was a prostitute, but to disguise herself, so that she might not be recognised, and Judah took her to be a harlot because she sat by the way side, Comp. Jer. iii. 2. Ewald renders it like one unknown; but this, to say the least, is remote from the context; [[136]]Gesenius, like one fainting; but this incurs the same objection. The explanation of Philippson would have been the most plausible, if Rashbam and the anonymous MS. had not shown that עָטַה itself means to roam, to wander, by referring to Isa. xxii. 17, where, according to its parallel, טוּל, to cast down, it must signify to roll about. This meaning bests suits the context here, and is confirmed by Symach., Vulg., Syriac, Chald.
[8]. If thou knowest not. The court ladies, hearing the rustic girl say that she wished to be with her shepherd, tell her ironically to go, and be employed in the low and toilsome occupation of a shepherdess, rather than enjoy the exalted and easy life of a royal favourite. Some have put this answer into the mouth of the beloved; but it is evident from v. 9, and vi. 1, the only two places where the appellation “fairest of women” occurs, that it is the reply of the court ladies, which even Döpke, Good and Noyes, the defenders of the fragmentary theory, admit. Nothing can be more plain and incontrovertible than the statement in this verse, that the damsel is a shepherdess, and the beloved a shepherd, whom, she is told, she would find among his fellow-shepherds. It is for those who maintain the theory that this Song celebrates the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh, or some other prince’s daughter, to get over this fact. לֹא יָדָע is unnecessarily and incorrectly rendered by Ewald, Meier, Hitzig, &c., unwise. The Sept., which is followed by Luther, mistaking the usage of לָדְ, translates this clause ἐὰν μὴ γνῷν σεαυτήν, as if the original were אִם לֹא תֵדְעִי אֶת נִפְשֶׁךָ. The prepo. בּ in בַּנָּשִׁים gives to הַיָּפָה the force of the superlative. Besides the several modes of expressing the superlative adduced by Gesenius, § 119, 2, this degree is sometimes also expressed by the positive and the prepo. ב prefixed to the noun designating the class to which the person or thing compared belongs: thus אַלְפִי הַדַּל בִּמְנַשֶׁה, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, Judg. xvi. 5; Prov. xxx. 30, comp. also εὐλογημένη συ ἐν γυναιξίν, thou art the most blessed of women, Luke i. 28, Ewald, § 313 c.
[9]. To my steed, &c. The court-ladies having turned from her and told her to go back to her menial employment, her severest trial begins. The king, having watched his opportunity, enters at that moment, and thus begins his flattering address. He first praises her beauty and gracefulness by comparing her to his stately and noble chariot steed. The anonymous MS. commentary rightly remarks, מוסב למעל שאמרה שחורה אנו והוא אמר לה דמיתיך לסוסתי ברכבי פרעה שהם שחורים וסוס השחור יפה הוא יותר משאר סוסים, that this simile was suggested by the reference which the damsel has made in the preceding verse to her dark complexion. The king, therefore, compares her to his noble steed, whose dark colour renders it more beautiful than the other horses. Such a comparison must have been very striking and flattering in the East, where this animal was so much celebrated for its preeminent beauty. “A young chestnut mare,” says Layard, Nineveh, [[137]]i. 91, “belonging to the sheik, was one of the most beautiful creatures I ever beheld. As she struggled to free herself from the spear to which she was tied, she showed the lightness and elegance of the gazelle. Her limbs were in perfect symmetry; her ears long, slender, and transparent; her nostrils high, dilated and deep red, her neck gracefully arched; and her mane and texture of silk.… No one can look at the horses of the early Assyrian sculptures without being convinced that they were drawn from the finest models.” Compare also the exquisite and inimitable description of this noble animal in Job xxxix. 19, &c. and Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 941. The same comparison is used by the Greek and Roman poets. Thus Theocritus, Idyl. xviii. 30, 31:—
ἢ κάπῳ κυπάρισσος ἢ ἅρματι Θεσσαλὸς ἵππος,
ὧδε καὶ ἁ ῥοδόχρως Ἑλένα Λακεδαίμονι κόσμος.
“As towers the cypress mid the garden’s bloom,
As in the chariot proud Thessalian steed,
Thus graceful rose-complexion’d Helen moves.”
Compare also Horace, Ode iii. 11. This shows the futility both of those who affirm that the strangeness of the simile is against the literal meaning of this Song, and of those who accuse the writer of uncouthness. Besides, is this comparison more strange or uncouth than that of a man with a bony ass? (Gen. xlix. 14.) Mark also the other comparison used in the same chapter, such as of an ox, serpent, &c. סוּסָה is not equitatus, (Vulg. Rashi, Rashbam, English Version,) but as Ibn Ezra and Immanuel rightly remark, נקבת סוס, mare, the regular feminine of סוּס. The –ִי in לְסוּסָתִי is the suffix of the first person, as the ancient versions have it; and refers to a well-known and celebrated mare which Solomon possessed and highly prized, and which he always put into one of Pharaoh’s chariots. בְּרִכְבֵי פַרְעֹה, one of Pharaoh’s chariots, like בְּעָרֵי גִלְעָד, one of the cities of Gilead. Judg. xii. 7.
10, 11. Beautiful is thy countenance, &c. The flattering praises are followed by enticing promises. “Thou art indeed beautiful,” says the tempting king, “even in humble ornaments, but thou shalt have more costly adornments, which will show off thy beauty to greater advantage.” The mention of the noble steed which was adorned with costly trappings, contributing so much to its stately and elegant appearance, naturally suggested the reference here made to the damsel’s ornaments. The reader will not fail to observe that it is not the shepherd, but the king who is speaking in verses 9–11. The poor shepherd had no prancing steed, no Egyptian chariots; he could not promise the shepherdess such costly ornaments as are here described. תּוֹרים (from תּוּר, to go round, hence תּוֹר, something round, a circle, Esth. ii. 12, 15,) small rings or beads strung upon threads, worn as a head-dress. It is customary in the East for women to wear strings of beads hanging down from the temples over the cheeks. Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 942. Niebuhr, Reise nach Arab. i. 163. לְחָיַיִם, cheeks (dual of לְחִי), by a synecdoche for the whole face. חֲרוּזִים (from חָרַז, to pierce, to perforate), little perforated balls, or beads strung upon a thread and worn around the neck; i.q. a necklace. תּוֹרִים and חֲרוּזִים are plurals, because the circlet and necklace consisted of many composite parts. Whether the circlet was of gold or brass, or whether the necklace consisted of real pearls, corals, or steel, the etymology of the words does not at all intimate. The context alone must decide this. The fact that the Shulamite was a humble rustic girl, and that Solomon promises to present to her a golden circlet with silver studs, proves that they were of a common [[138]]description. This is another proof that the bride was not a prince’s daughter; since her ornaments were not even of gold or silver, notwithstanding the impassionate desire of Eastern ladies for costly adornments. The Sept. and Vulg. have ὡς τρυγόνες, i.e. “thy neck is as beautiful as doves, כַּתּוֹרִים; they have also כַּחֲרוּזִים, like a necklace; but they have evidently mistaken the ב for כ, as well as the meaning of תּוֹר.
[12]. While the king is at his table. Here we see how signally the first attempt of Solomon failed to win the affections of the Shulamite. For no sooner did he go to his repast than the damsel indulges in sweet expressions of love with her beloved shepherd. Two distinct persons are here spoken of; the king at the table, and a beloved shepherd, called “nard.” That by the expression נִרְדִי, my nard, the Shulamite means her beloved is evident from the following verse, where, led on by the figure of this odorous plant, she continues to call him by the fragrant names, “bag of myrrh,” “bunch of cypress flowers,” &c. עַד שֶׁ, as long as, while, Sept. ἕως, Vulg. dum. מֵסַב (from סָבַב to sit round a table, to recline. 1 Sam. xvi. 11, comp. Sept., Chald., Syriac, Arabic, Vulg. in loco,) seats set round, couches set in a circle, for reclining at the repast, according to the Oriental custom, (see Rosenmüller, Orient. iii. 631;) so the Sept. ἀνάκλισις. Vulg. accubitus, Rashbam, בהסיבות אכילות המשתה, in the couch at the partaking of the repast; and comp. Ps. cxxviii. 3. The reading of במסכו, in aulaeo, tentorio, instead of במסבו, proposed by Houbigant, is both needless and unauthorized. נֵרְדְּ, spikenard or nard, νάρδος, is the Valeriana Jatamansi, a plant peculiar to Hither India. It was obtained from India by way of Arabia and Southern Asia. The perfume extracted from it was highly prized. Thus we are told (Mark xiv. 31), when the Saviour sat at meat in Bethany, “there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious, and she broke the box, and poured it upon his head,” (comp. also John xii. 31,) which Judas, the betrayer, estimated at three hundred pence, about eight pounds ten shillings. The Romans considered this perfume so precious that Horace promises Virgil a whole cadus, about nine gallons, of wine for a small onyx-box full of spikenard. See Pliny, Hist. Nat. xiii. 2; Sir W. Jones, Asiatic Researches, vol. ii. p. 416; Rosenmüller, Mineralogy and Botany of the Bible, p. 166; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit.; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v.
[13]. A bag of myrrh, &c. This appellation is a continuation of the figurative expression “nard,” under which the Shulamite described her beloved in the preceding verse. The Hebrew women were in the habit of wearing little bags or bottles filled with perfumes, especially with myrrh, suspended from the neck, and hanging down between their breasts, under the dress. Comp. Mishna, Sabbath vi. 3; Schroeder de Vestit. Mulier. p. 155; Hartmann, Hebr. ii. 235. The Shulamite says that her beloved is to her what this delightful perfume is to others; having him she did not require any other fragrance. צְרֹר (from צָרַר, to tie up, to close), is a leather smelling-bag or bottle, i.q. בֵּית נֶפֶשׁ, tied up, or closed at the top. מֹר, σμύρνα, μύῤῥα, Balsamodendron myrrha, (from מָרַר, to flow,) myrrh, so called from its flowing down, is a perfume obtained from a shrub growing in Arabia, and much more profusely in Abyssinia. It formed an article of earliest commerce, was highly prized by the ancients, and is still much esteemed both in the East and in Europe. This aromatic liquid either exudes spontaneously [[139]]from cracks in the bark, and is called מוֹר עֹבֵר, מוֹר דְרוֹר, stilicidious or profluent myrrh (vide infra, v. 5; Exod. xxx. 23), and on that account is esteemed superior; or is elicited artificially by bruises or incisions made with stones, and is therefore regarded as inferior. It was used for incense (Exod. xxx. 23), for perfuming dresses (Ps. xlv. 9), and couches (Prov. vii. 17), for the purification of women (Esth. ii. 12), for embalming dead bodies (John xix. 39), and was worn by women in the bosom. See Pliny, lib. xii. cap. 35; Rosenmüller, Altherth. iv. 1, 159; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v. בֵּן שָׁדַי יָלִין is a relative clause, with אֲשֶׁר implied (See Gesen. § 123, 3; Ewald, § 332), and refers to צְרֹר הַמֹּר. This is evident from בְּכַרְמֵי עֵין נֶּדִי, which refers to אֶשְׁכֹּל הַכֹּפֶר; comp. also iv. 4. The verb לוּן is not here, “lie all night,” but to abide, to rest, like Job xix. 4, אִתִּי תָלִין מְשׁוּגָתִי, where even the Authorized Version has “mine error remaineth with myself.” Ps. xlix. 13.
[14]. A bunch of cypress flowers, &c. כֹּפֶר is unanimously regarded by the ancient versions and the Rabbins to denote the plant called κύπρος by the Greek, and Al-henna by the Arabs. This plant, which grows in many places, both in Palestine and Egypt, (Plin. Hist. Nat. xii. 24,) is a tall shrub, growing from the height of eight to ten feet; it is exceedingly beautiful and odoriferous. “The dark colour of its bark, the light green of its foliage, the softened mixture of white and yellow, with which the flowers, collected into long clusters like the lilac, are coloured, the red tint of the ramifications which support them,—form a combination the effect of which is highly agreeable. The flowers, whose shades are so delicate, diffuse around the most grateful odours, and embalm with their strong fragrance the gardens in which they grow, and the apartments which they beautify.… The women take pleasure in adorning their persons and apartments with those delightful blossoms.” See Pliny, lib. xii. c. 14; Rosenmüller, Bib. Miner. and Bot.; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v. The flowers grow in dense clusters, whence אֶשְׁכֹּל הַכֹּפֶר, cluster of cypress flowers. En-gedi, more anciently called Hazezon-Tamar, which modern explorers identify with the present Ain-Jidy, abounded with the best of those delightful shrubs, (Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v.; Robinson, Palest, ii. 209–216.) Hence this beautiful appellation, “a bunch of cypress flowers,” than which nothing could be more expressive of sweetness and beauty to an Oriental. The word אֶשְׁכֹּל is most probably derived from אָשַׁךְ, to bind, to twine together; hence אֶשֶׁךְ, a bundle, a string, with the addition of –ֹל like גִבְעֹל, חַרְגֹּל, Gesen. § 30, 3; Ewald, § 163 f. This is confirmed by the Talm. אַשְׁכּוֹלֶת, disciples, (Sota 47, a), i.e. a combination of youths; comp. חֶבֶר, and Fürst, Lexicon, s.v. כֶּרֶם here is a field cultivated as a garden; comp. כֶּרֶם זָיִת, an olive-yard. Judg. xv. 5; Job xxiv. 18, and supra, ver. 6.
[15]. Behold, thou art beautiful. That is, “It is not I who possess such attraction, it is thou who art beautiful, yea superlatively beautiful!” The repetition of הִנָךְ יָפָה enhances the idea. “Thine eyes are doves,” i.e. “Thine eyes, in which ‘the rapt soul is sitting,’ beams forth the purity and constancy of the dove.” As the eye is the inlet of ideas to the mind, so it is also the outlet of inward feelings. Thus it expresses many of the passions, such as pity, mildness, humility, anger, envy, pride, &c.; hence the phrases עַין טוֹב (which we also have), to look with an eye of compassion, Prov. xxii. [[140]]9; עַיִן רַע, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρὸς, an evil eye, Deut. xv. 9, Mark vii. 22. The dove is the emblem of purity and constancy. Ps. lvi. 1; Matt. x. 16. עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים are taken by the Syriac, Vulg., Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Immanuel, Luther, Authorized Version, Kleuker, Percy, Gesenius, Döpke, Rosenmüller, Meier, &c. as an ellipsis for עֵינֶיךָ עֵינֵי יוֹנִים, thine eyes are doves’ eyes. Gesen. § 144, Rem. Ewald, § 296, b. But such an ellipsis can be tolerated only in extreme emergencies, whereas here the natural construction yields an excellent sense. Besides, v. 2 proves that the doves themselves, and not the eyes, are the point of comparison, just as the hair and the teeth are (iv. 1, 2) compared to the goats and sheep themselves, and not merely to their hair and teeth. And עֵינַיִךְ בְרֵכוֹת (vii. 4), which does not mean, thou hast fish-ponds eyes, but, thine eyes are like the fish-ponds themselves. Hence the Sept., Chald., Rashi, Mendelssohn, Hodgson, Ewald, Umbreit, Magnus, Williams, Hengstenberg, Philippson, Hitzig, rightly reject this elliptical construction.
[16]. Behold, thou art comely. The Shulamite, refusing to receive all the praise, responds: “It is thou who art lovely and attractive;” and referring to their meeting-spot, she adds, “Lovely is our flowery couch; the arches of our bowers are formed of the spreading and interweaving branches of the majestic and odoriferous cedars and cypresses.” נָעִים is to be mentally supplied before עַרְשֵׂנוּ רַעֲנָנָה; comp. Prov. iii. 11, i.e. Yea, lovely is our verdant couch. The adj. רַעֲנָנָה is formed from the Pilel of the verb רָעַן. This conjugation, which is formed by doubling the third radical (see supra, 5), is used to describe permanent states or conditions, or some striking property; comp. Job xii. 5; Gesen. § 55, 2; Ewald, § 120 a. קוֹרָה, beam, roof (Gen. xix. 8), here arch, vault. רָהִיט, i.q. רָחִיט in the כְּתִיך (the ה is sometimes pronounced harshly like the ח, comp. רָהִיט, Exod. ii. 16, where the Samaritan has רָחִיט, and Gesen. § 7, 4), is rendered by the Sept., Vulg., Ewald, Gesenius, &c. fretted ceilings; by Kimchi galleries; and the anonymous manuscript explains it bolt, and adds, והנה נקרא רהיט לפי שרץ הנה והנה, “it is called bolt because it runs backward and forward.” But this is not in keeping with the structure of the verse. רָהִיטֵנוּ stands evidently in parallelism with בָּתֵּינוּ, and accordingly is of a similar import. Rashbam has therefore rightly rendered it אחד מבניני הבית, one of the apartments of the house. As however the house here described is a bower, רָהִיט would be an arbour. The etymology of the word is in keeping with this sense. רָהָט, i.q. רְהַט = רוּץ, to run, to flow, hence רַהַט, 1. a gutter, from the water running down, Gen. xxx. 38; 2. a curl, from its flowing down (vide infra, vii. 6), and 3. רָהִיט, a place upon which one runs, a charming spot much frequented; just like שׁוּק, a place where people run, a street, from שׁוּק, to run. It is now pretty generally agreed that בְּרוֹת, the Aram. for בְּרוֹשׁ, is not the fir, but the cypress. It is quite natural that this lofty tree, which grows to a height of from fifty to sixty feet, of so hard and durable a nature, and so highly esteemed among the ancients, (Virg. Georg. ii. 443,) should be placed together with the majestic cedar. Comp. Sirach, xxiv. 13; Virg. Georg. ii. 44; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Rosenmüller, Bib. Miner. and Bot. p. 260; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v. [[141]]
[1]. I am a mere flower of the plain. “As for me,” the Shulamite modestly insinuates, “my beauty is not peculiar, but is of an ordinary character, like these flowers which are found in great profusion in the plain and in the valley. The word חֲבַצֶלֶת, which occurs only once more (Isa. xxxv. 1), is variously explained. The ancient versions vary in their rendering of it. Thus the Sept. and Vulg. have here ἄνθος, flos, flower; the Chald., נַרְקוֹם, narcissus; so Saadias: whereas in Isa. the Sept., Vulg., Chald., render it lily. Modern critics are no less divided. Kimchi, Ibn Ezra, &c., explain it rose; Michaelis, Ewald, Gesenius, Döpke, Henderson, Meier, &c., take it to be autumn crocus, colchicum autumnale; De Wette, Rosenmüller, Royle, Winer, &c., narcissus; Professor Lee, lily. The etymology of the word is likewise disputed. Some derive it from בָּצַל, a bulb, with ח prefixed, as ח like א is sometimes put before triliterals, in order to form a quadriliteral, (Gesenius, Lehrg. p. 863, Rosenmüller, Henderson, Hengstenberg, &c.,) and others take it as a compound of חָבַץ and בָּצַל, acrid bulb. (Ewald, Heiligstedt, &c.) The most probable derivation, however, seems to be חָבַץ = חָמַץ, to be bright, to shine; hence חֲבַצֶל (with the termination –ֶל like כַּרְמֶל, עֲרָפֶל), a flower; as most verbs which signify shining are used also to denote verdure and bloom. Compare נִצָן, a flower, from נָצַץ, to shine; and Simonis Arcanum Formarum, p. 352. The word שָׁרוֹן (for יְשָרֹוֹן, like סוֹר for יְסוֹר, from יָשַׁר, to be straight, plain, with the termination –וֹן, comp. Gesen. § 84, 15), is here best translated a plain, or field; so the Sept., Vulg., Percy, &c. render חֲבַצֶלֶת הַשָּׁרוֹן, a flower of the field; and this admirably suits the שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים, lily of the valley—a flower common in the valley.
[2]. As a lily among the thorns. Beautifully and ingeniously does the shepherd take up this humble figure of the Shulamite, and, by a happy turn, make it symbolical of her surpassing beauty. “It is true, that thou art a lily, but as a lily surrounded by a multitude of brambles; so thou appearest among all the damsels.” The expressions בֵּן and בַּת are not merely used for son and daughter, but also, idiomatically, denote lad and lass, youth and damsel. Gen. xxx. 13; Judg. xii. 9; Prov. vii. 7.
[3]. As an apple-tree, &c. The Shulamite returns the compliment: “As the charming apple-tree, covered with beautifully tinged and sweetly smelling fruit, appears amidst the wild and barren trees, so doest thou, my beloved, look among the youths. I delight,” continues the Shulamite, “to repose beneath the shady tree, because of its charming fruit.” The comparison between the delight which she had in the company of her beloved, and the agreeable enjoyment which a shady tree affords, will especially be appreciated by those who have travelled in the East, and had the opportunity of exchanging, in the heat of the day, their close [[142]]tents for an airy and fragrant bower. Comp. Gen. xviii. 4, 8; 1 Sam. xxii. 6; Rosenm. Morgenl. i. 49; iii. 528. תַּפוּחַ is taken by the Chald. for אָתְרוּנָא, citron; by Rosenmüller and others, for quince. The expression occurs only six times in the Scriptures; four times in this book (besides the present instance, see also ii. 5; vii. 9; viii. 5); once in Prov. xxv. 11; and once in Joel i. 12. It is used in three passages out of the six for the tree itself, and in the other three for its fruit. But in all these places the common apple-tree or apple is quite in keeping with the context, and the etymology of the word, viz., נָפַח, to breathe, to breathe sweetly; hence תַּפּוּחַ, from its fragrant breath, is an appropriate description of the common apple in Syria (Ovid. Met. viii. 675), and, indeed, in all other countries. It is evident from proper names (Josh. xii. 17; xvi. 8), that this tree was much cultivated in Palestine at a very early period. In the Talmud we frequently meet תַּפוּחַ, used to denote the common apple. It is worthy of notice that the shepherd calls his beloved שׁוֹשָׁנָה, fem., whilst she calls him תַּפּוּחַ, mas. The second verb וְיָשַׁבְתִּי is subordinated to the חִמַּדְתִּי, by means of the ו and the two words are well rendered by the Chald. רְגִינַת לְמֵיתַב, I delight to sit; comp. אֵיכָכָה אוּכָל וְרָאִיתִי, how shall I endure and witness, for how shall I endure to witness, Esth. viii. 6. This subordination also occurs without the ו; comp. infra, vii. 8; viii. 2; Job x. 16; xix. 3; Gesen. § 142, 3 a, b; Ewald, § 285.
[4]. He led me, &c. Having represented her beloved, in the preceding verse, as a tree, forming with its widely-spread branches and rich foliage a shady bower, in which she delighted to repose and enjoy its delicious fruit, the Shulamite here narrates, in the same metaphorical language, how he took her into that bower of delight, that arbour of love. The words בֵּית הַיָּיִן mean bower of delight, wine being frequently used in this book for delight; and are but a designation of the manifestations of love denoted in the preceding verse by תַּפוּחַ, delicious apple-tree. So also the word דֶגֶל, from דָּגַל, to cover, retaining here its primary meaning, cover, shade, corresponds to צֵל, shade, in the last verse. The Sept., Sym., Syriac, Arab., which are followed by many moderns, read הֲבִיאֻנִי, and דִגְלוּ, bring me, and cover me, imper., arising most likely from a wish to produce uniformity in this and the following verses.
[5]. Oh, strengthen me, &c. The rehearsal of their past union and enjoyment kindled the Shulamite’s affections, and made her wish again for that delicious fruit, i.e. the tokens of his love. The cakes here mentioned were held in high estimation in the East; here, however, both the cakes and the apples are to be taken figuratively as expressions of love. This is obvious from the preceding verse, and from the words, “for I am sick with love,” for no real cake or apple could cure a heart suffering from this complaint. אֲשִׁישָׁה (from אָשָׁשׁ, to burn, to fire; hence אֵשׁ, fire, like אֵם, mother, from אָמַם, to join, to unite), something made by fire, a sort of sweet cake prepared with fire, and is most probably the same which in Hos. iii. 1 is written more fully אֲשִׁישֵׁי עֲנַבִים, grape-cakes. The meaning, cake, is retained in the Sept. in all the passages (except Isa. xvi. 7, where the Sept. reads אֲנְשֵׁי, instead of אֲשִׁישֵׁי, see the parallel place, Jer. xlviii. 31), where this word occurs. Thus λάγανον ἀπὸ τηγάνου, a cake from the frying-pan, 2 Sam. vi. 19; and in [[143]]the parallel passage, 1 Chron. xvi. 3, ἀμορίτης, a sweet cake; in Hos. iii. 1, πέμμα, a baked cake; and ἀμόραις, sweet cakes, in the passage before us. This meaning is supported by the Chald. on Exod. xvi. 31, where אֲשִׁישְׁיָן is used for the Hebrew צַפִּיחִית, and Mishna Nedarim, vi. 10. Gesenius, Hitzig, Henderson, Fürst, &c., derive it from אָשַׁשׁ, to press, to compress, whence, they say, אֲשִׁישָׁה, a cake made of dried grapes pressed together, and אֲשִׁישׁ, a foundation (Isa. xvi. 7), which is pressed down by treading on it. But as the transition from cake to foundation is not so easily conceived, and especially as the meaning to press, attached to אָשׁשׁ, is nowhere to be found in Hebrew (the word in Isa. xvi. 7 is to be translated cake, see Hengstenberg, Christ. i. p. 315), it is far better to derive this word as above from אָשַׁשׁ, to burn. The Rabbinical explanation, נִרְבָא דְחַמְרָא, flagons of wine, which the Authorized Version follows, is not borne out by the etymology, nor does it suit the passages in which this word occurs, and is therefore rightly abandoned by modern lexicographers. The rendering of Hodgson, “Support me with cups, around me strew apples;” and that of Michaelis, “Support me with verdant herbs, spread fragrant fruits under me,” are contrary to the meaning of the words.
[6]. Let his right hand, &c. The pressure of the attempts to alienate her affections from him whom her soul loveth, and the burning desire to be re-united with him, though well sustained by her noble mind, yet overcame her body; and whilst momentarily sinking beneath the weight, the Shulamite desires that no other hand should raise her drooping head, no other arm support her exhausted frame than that of her beloved. This verse is to be taken in the optative mood. Comp. Ps. vii. 9; xlv. 2; Ewald, § 329 a.
[7]. I adjure you, &c. Having evinced her warm and undiminished attachment to her beloved shepherd, the Shulamite adjures the court ladies, who, as we have seen, tried to gain her affections for the king, by everything dear and lovely, not to excite her love for anyone else till her own (אהבה) affections wish (דוד אחר) for another object. The gazelle, צְבִי, so called from the beauty of its form, is an animal of the antelope kind, of very graceful and elegant figure, has very slender limbs, large and soft eyes. The great admiration in which this animal was held in the East, made the Hebrews use it as an emblem of everything beautiful (Prov. v. 19); and from its being charming and lovely, it also became an object by which to swear. Such adjurations are frequently used in the East. Comp. Reland, de Religio Mah. ii. p. 164: Rosenmüller, Orient. i. 146; v. 22. Dio, in the Æneid, lib. iv. 314; Bochart, Hieroz. i. p. 899. אֶתְכֶם, mas., for אֶתְכֶן, fem. Both masculine pronouns and verbs are sometimes used in reference to objects which are feminine. See Gesenius, § 121, Rem. i. § 137, 1; Ewald, § 184 c. אִם, after formulæ of swearing, has the effect of a negative particle (Isa. xxii. 14; Prov. xxvii. 14). This is owing to a part of the oath being omitted. Comp. 2 Sam. iii. 35; Gesen. § 155, 2 f.; Ewald, § 356 a. עוּר, here, is not to arouse, to wake from sleep (Gesen.), but to rouse, to excite the passions, affections; thus הֵעִיר קַנְאָה, he will arouse his zeal, Isa. xlii. 13; Prov. x. 12. The repetition of the same verb in the Hiphil and Piel expresses intensity, [[144]]Isa. xxix. 9; Zeph. ii. 1. אַהֲבָה is the abstract, love, affection, iii. 10; vii. 7. After שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ supply דוֹד אֲחַר. Similarly, Rashbam. The Sept. strangely renders בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַילוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה, ἐν δυνάμεσι καὶ ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ, by the powers and virtues of the field. Thus in this scene, the first attempts, both on the part of the king and the court ladies, to win the Shulamite’s affections, signally failed. The same formula re-occurs iii. 5, and viii. 4, to mark, at the end of the trials, her successful resistance.
[8]. Hark! my beloved! Having alluded in the preceding Section (i. 6) to the ill-treatment which she had received from her brothers, the Shulamite now relates the cause of that treatment. Thus whilst this narrative forms the connecting link between this and the preceding Section, it also gradually acquaints us with her history. The description given of the arrival and conduct of her beloved is very graphic and beautiful. She first sees him at a distance, bounding over the hills with the speed of the swift-footed gazelle, and presently he is found behind the wall, peeping through the window, and imploring her in the sweetest language imaginable to go with him into the fields and enjoy the beauties and charms of nature. קוֹל is not קוֹל רַגְלָיו, the sound of his feet (Ibn Ezra, Hitzig), which could not be heard at such a distance from the mountains; nor the voice of his song (Döpke, Philippson), for he could not very well sing when running at such a speed as here described; but simply means hark! (Ewald, Magnus, Meier), [[145]]and is used in animated descriptions to arrest attention, Ewald, § 286 f.
9 My beloved is like, &c. To describe the speed of his approach the Shulamite compares him to the swift-footed gazelle, and nimble fawn. This comparison is also used in other parts of Scripture. Thus Asahel is called light-footed as a gazelle. 2 Sam. ii. 18; Prov. vi. 5; Hab. iii. 19. “The Eastern buildings generally surround a square inner court; the beloved is described as gradually making his approach, first to the wall, then looking through the window.” Here is another incontestable proof that the object of the damsel’s affection, whom she describes as coming to her, is not the king, but a shepherd, for the king could not consistently be represented as bounding over the hills. Though אַיָּל has a feminine, אַיָּלָה, which is used in ver. 7, yet instead of its being here לְעֹפֶר אֲיָלוֹת, we have הָאַיָּלִים: see also Ps. xlii. 2. This is owing to the neglect on the part of the writer to avail himself of the forms established by usage, Gesen. § 107, 1. Or it may be that such names were still of a common gender, and the feminines were only in the process of formation, but not as yet fixedly established, Ewald, § 175 b. כֹּתֶל occurs only here, but it is evident from Dan. v. 5, and the Targum, Josh. ii. 15, where it stands for the Hebrew קִיר, that it means a wall forming a part of the house. The Sept. has here עַל הָרֵי בָתָר, from ii. 17.
10, 11. Arise, my love, &c. The Shulamite introduces here her beloved as speaking. He urges her to go, since the rain is over, and everything without is charming. עָנָה is idiomatically used in reference even to the person speaking first, without any antecedent interrogation. (Deut. xxvi. 5; Isa. xiv. 10; xxi. 9.) The meaning of the word seems to be simply to impart information, either asked for or not. In the former case עָנָה obtains the additional idea of a reply, whereas in the latter it merely means to inform, to tell, like ἀποκρίνομαι in the New Testament. Comp. ἀποκριθεῖς εἶπε, Matt. xvii. 4; Mark ix. 5. On the use of the dative לָךְ, see Gesen. § 154, 3 e. Ewald, § 315 a. The ἅπα. λέγ. סְתָו properly denotes the winter = the rainy season, at the end of which, viz. February or March, the spring advances with surpassing quickness; it excludes the autumn, and thus differs from חֹרֶף. The form סְתָו (from סָתָה, to winter), is, according to the analogy of חֲגָו, מְדָו, קְצָו, see Fürst, Lexicon, under חֲגָו. The Sept. has mistaken the dative לָךְ for the imp. לְכִי, and adds יוֹנָתִי, my dove, after יָפָתִי, my beauty.
[12]. The flowers appear, &c. The gradual development is exceedingly beautiful; the description unfolds with the season. After the graphic delineation of the meadows strewed with a profusion of variegated flowers; of the men in the fields, and the birds hovering over them, joining to pour forth a volume of various sounds; of the delicious odour of the embalmed fig, and fragrant vine, the beloved [[146]]exclaims: “Nature has prepared a rich banquet; come, let us go and enjoy it!” The Sept., Aquila, Sym., Vulg., Chald., Rashbam, render עֵת הַוָּמִיר, by the season for the pruning of vines: Gesenius defends this rendering, but against the usage of the word זָמִיר, and the connexion. Wherever זָמִיר occurs, either in the singular (Isa. xxv. 5), or plural (2 Sam. xxiii. 1; Isa. xxiv. 16), it invariably means song or singing. Moreover, the parallelism, and the whole of the description, demand that it should be rendered so here. All the pleasures and charms here depicted are gratifications for the senses, and are adduced by the beloved as the invitation of nature to enjoy her banquet; whereas the pruning of the vines would be a summons to engage in toil. Besides, the vine is mentioned afterwards in its rotation (v. 13), and it would mar the gradual progression of this minute description to suppose that it has been uselessly repeated. Hence it has been rightly rendered singing by Rashi, Kimchi, Ibn Ezra, Anonymous Oxford Manuscript, Mendelssohn, Kleuker, Ewald, Döpke, Rosenmüller, De Wette, Magnus, Hengstenberg, Philippson, Fürst, Meier, Hitzig, &c. The objection that זָמִיר, singing, means the song of men, is obviated by referring it here to the season when both man and bird begin to sing. זָמִיר, like other words of the form קָטִיל, expresses the time of the action; comp. אָסִיף, harvest; properly the time when the fruit is gathered. חָרִישׁ, the time of ploughing. Gesen. § 84, 5; Ewald, § 149 e.
The cooing of the turtle, &c. The turtle-dove is a migratory bird (Jer. viii. 7; Arist. Hist. Anim. viii. 3, 12, 16; Pliny, Hist. Nat. x. 36; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v.); it resides in the winter farther south than Palestine, and returns in the spring, when its cooing voice in the woods announces the return of that season.
[13]. The fig-tree sweetens her green figs. The word חָנַט is now rendered by many commentators, according to the example of Ibn Ezra, to sweeten, to embalm, to spice; i.e. the fig-tree sweetens her fruit by filling it with aromatic juice. This rendering is confirmed by the use of חָנַט, to embalm (Gen. l. 2, 26), which was done with spices and aromatic plants (2 Chron. xvi. 14; John xix. 40). The Sept., Aquila., and Vulg. render חָנַט, puts forth, but this signification cannot be deduced from the root. Ewald, Magnus, Hitzig, have “the fig-tree reddens,” &c., but the verb is not used in this sense in Hebrew. פָּג (from פָּגַג immature), an unripe fig, Sept. ὄλυνθος, Vulg. grossus; so in the Talmud and Ibn Ezra, פרי טרם שיתבשל, the fruit before it is ripe.
The vines blossom, &c. It is well known that the blossoming vine smells sweetly; comp. Pliny, Hist. Nat. xiv. 2. וְהַנְּפָנִים סְמָדַר, lit. the vines are in blossom, i.e. the vines blossom; so Sym. οἰνάνθη, Vulg. florentes. Substantives are frequently used in Hebrew instead of adjectives to express properties; thus וְהַפִּשְׁתָּה גִבְעֹל, the flax was bolled. Exod. ix. 31; Ezra. x. 13. This peculiarity is to be accounted for by supposing either that the adjectives were not as yet formed, or if formed were still not currently used. Gesen. § 106, 1; Ewald, § 296 b. לָכְי stands for לָךְ; comp. ver. 10; the י has been occasioned by the preceding form קוּמִי, and succeeding words רַעֳיתִי יָפָהִי, which terminate in י. This is not unfrequently [[147]]the case, see Job xix. 29; Eccl. viii. 17; Prov. viii. 35; Mich. i. 8. The Sept. has here again לְכִי for לָךָ, and יֹונָתִי after יָפָיָתִי.
[14]. My dove in the clefts, &c. Having described the charming aspect of nature, he repeated his invitation to her to go with him into the fields. Impatient at her apparent delay, the beloved, whilst calling her by the endearing epithet “dove,” delicately ascribed to her the timorous character of that bird. Doves in the East make their nests in the clefts of elevated rocks and cliffs (Jer. xxviii. 28), which they are exceedingly afraid to leave when once frightened. Thus Homer, Iliad, xxi. 493:
Δακρυόεσσα δ’ ὕπαιθα θεὰ φύγεν, ὥστε πέλεια,
Ἣ ῥά θ’ ὑπ’ ἴρηκος κοίλην εἰσέπτατο πέτρην,
Χηραμὸν, οὐ δ’ ἄρα τῇ γε ἁλώμεναι αἴσιμον ἦεν.
“As when the falcon wings her way above,
To the cleft cavern speeds the frighten’d dove,
Straight to her shelter thus the goddess flew.”
See also Virg. Æn. v. 213. חֲגְוֵי is the plural construct. of חֲגָוְ (from the root חָגָה, to make incisions in, to split or perforate rocks); according to the analogy of קַצְוֵי, plural const. of קְצָו and מַדְוֵי from מְדָו, vide sup. ii. 11. מַדְרֵגָה, (from דָּרָג, cognate with דָּרַךְ, to ascend,) a place reached by climbing or ascending, a steep, a precipice. The Mazora marks the י in מַרְאֵיךְ as superfluous, evidently to avoid the apparent incongruity between the adjective נָאֲוָה, which is in the singular, and the noun מַרְאֵיךְ, apparently plural. But the י here may be retained, and the word may still be singular. For many nouns from roots ל״ה preserve in the singular before a suffix the original י of the root, and thus have the appearance of the plural: e.g. מִקְנֶיךָ, thy castle (Isa. xxx. 23), from מִקְנֶה, מַרְאָיו, the same expression, Job xli. 1; Gesen. § 93, 9; Ewald, § 256 b.
[15]. Catch us the foxes, &c. The Shulamite here quotes the words of her brothers, who had overheard the invitation. To prevent the meeting of the lovers, the brothers gave the damsel employment in the vineyard, to catch and keep out the foxes. To this she refers in i. 6, when, repelling the disdainful looks of the court ladies, and accounting for her brown complexion, she mentions the severe treatment of her brothers. שׁוּעָלִים, foxes, as well as jackals, were very numerous in Palestine (Judg. xv. 4; Lam. v. 18; Ps. lxiii. 11; Neh. iv. 3). There was a district actually called אֶרֶץ שׁוּעָל, from the abundance of these creatures, 1 Sam. xiii. 17. These animals are gregarious, found in packs of two or three hundred (Boch. Hieroz. lib. iii. 12), and are described, both by sacred and profane writers, as destructive to vineyards, Sam. i. 17, 18; and Theocritus, Idyl. v. 112:
Μισέω τὰς δασυκέρκος ἀλώπεκας, αἳ τὰ Μίκωνος
Αἰεὶ φοιτῶσαι τὰ ποθέσπερα ῥαγίζοντι.
“I hate those brush-tail’d foxes, that each night
Spoil Micon’s vineyards with their deadly bite:”
also Idyl. i. 47–50. The young foxes are especially injurious to the vineyards, because they burrow in holes in the ground, Neh. iv. 3. The brothers, in the last clause, assign a reason for their proposal; the ו in [[148]]וּכְרָמֵינוּ is therefore to be rendered for, Gesen. § 155, 1 c. The Sept. inadvertently omits the word שׁוּעָלִים.
[16]. My beloved is mine, &c. The Shulamite tells the court ladies how she had consoled herself under these circumstances of separation: “Though my brothers succeeded in separating us bodily by assigning to me this post of keeping the vineyards, yet our affections are inseparable; and though still separated from me, my beloved is mine and I am his; his who tends his flock in the meadows abounding with flowers.” It seems as if the words, “he who feeds his flock among the lilies,” were designedly added, whenever the damsel speaks of her beloved, to show unmistakably that he was a shepherd. How such passages can be reconciled with the supposition that the king is the object of the maiden’s attachment, or, according to others, that the maiden is the daughter of Pharaoh, is difficult to divine.
[17]. When the day cools, &c. She also relates how she had comforted her beloved, telling him that this state of separation would not last long; that he must come in the evening, when unobserved, with the same swift-footed speed as he came in the morning. עַד שָׁיָפוּחַ הַיּוֹם, i.q. עַד שֶׁיָפוּחַ רוּחַ הַיּוֹם, when the day breeze blows, i.e. in the evening, shortly before sunset, when a gentle and cooling breeze blows in the East (see Pliny, Hist. Nat. ii. 47); hence רוּחַ הַיּוֹם, Gen. iii. 8, opposed to חוֹם הַיּוֹם, xviii. 1. That this is the sense of שֶׁיָפוּחַ הַיּוֹם, and not day-break (English Ver.), or morning-breath (Good), is evident from the immediately following וְנָסוּ הַצְלָלִים, which expresses the same idea in other words, i.q. evening; comp. Job xiv. 2. The shadows are said to flee away when at sunset they become elongated and stretched out; thus as it were run away from us, further and further, till they eventually vanish in the dark of night. Hence David, speaking of the approaching sunset of his life, says, יָמַֹי כְּצֵל נָטוּי, My days are like an elongated shadow, Ps. cii. 12; cix. 23. Comp. also Virg. Eclog. i. 84, and ii. 66. So Herder, Kleuker, Ewald, Gesen., Döpke, Rosenmüller, Magnus, Heiligstedt, Fürst, Philippson, Meier, Hengstenberg, Hitzig. The rendering of Hodgson, Good, &c., “till the day-breath,” and their reference to the passage of Milton, “Sweet is the breath of morn” (Par. Lost, iv. 641), is gratuitous. The words הֶרֵי בָתֶר are rendered by the Sept. ὄρη τῶν κοιλωμάτων, mountains of cavities, i.e. decussated mountains, from בָּתַר, to divide, to cut, which Gesenius and Heiligstedt explain, a region divided by mountains and valleys, but very unsatisfactorily. The Syriac and Theodo. have θυμιαμάτων, taking בָּתֶר for בְּשָׂמִים, which is adopted by Meier; but this emendation is unsupported by MSS., and has evidently arisen from viii. 14. The Vulg. and Rashbam take בָּתֶר as a proper name, montes Bether; but neither place nor mountain is known by such name. The Chald., Ibn Ezra, Rashi explain הָרֵי בָתֶר by mountains of separation, i.e. mountains which separate thee from me: this is followed by Luther, Ewald, De Wette, Hengstenberg, Philippson, Hitzig, and is most [[149]]consonant with the context. We have seen (ver. 9), that there were mountains separating the houses of the lovers, which the shepherd had to cross to reach the Shulamite; and as she told him to go back and return in the evening, it was evident that he had to cross again those separating mountains.
[1]. When on my nightly couch, &c. Through some means or other her beloved did not come in the evening according to request, and, unable to wait any longer, she retired. Her thoughts, however, kept her awake, and her confidence in him made her look for him even when on her couch. The words עַל מִשְׁכָּבִי וְגו״ do not mean, “I sought him in my bed,” at which unnecessary umbrage has been taken, but “Even when I reclined upon my nocturnal couch, I could not give him up; I still sought to find him.” מִשְׁכָּבִי בַּלֵילוֹת means my couch used at nights, i.q. מִשְׁכַּב הַלֵּילוֹת, in contradistinction to מִשְׁכַּב הַצָהֳרַיִם, a couch used at noonday, 2 Sam. iv. 5. This is evident from the plural בַּלֵילוֹת, in the nights, and from ver. 8, where the same plural is used to describe nocturnal marauders. The affirmation of Harmer, therefore, that no reasonable doubt can be made that these are the words of one to whose bed the beloved was no stranger, falls to the ground. The Sept. adds, ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐχ ὑπηκούσεν ἐμὲ, from chap. v. 6.
[2]. I must arise now, &c. Seeing, however, that her beloved did not come, and apprehending that some disaster might have befallen him on his way, the Shulamite determined to go and find him. The –ָה in אֲקוּמָה is expressive of self-summons and determination: “I said to myself, Come! I must arise now!” Comp. Ps. ii. 3; lv. 3; Gesen. § 128, 1; Ewald, § 228 a.
[3]. The watchmen, &c., found her whilst engaged in seeking her beloved, and she at once inquired of them whether they had seen him. The interrogative particle is here omitted. This is sometimes the case when the whole sentence, as here, is interrogative, in which case it is distinguished by the prominence given to the word upon which the force or weight of the interrogation more especially falls; as by the tone in which it is uttered, e.g. זֶה חַסְדְּךָ אֶת־רֵעֶךָ, “This thy kindness to thy friend!” 2 Sam. xvi. 17; xviii. 29; Gesen. § 153, 1; Ewald, § 324 a.
[4]. Scarcely had I passed them, &c. The abruptness of the description here is very characteristic. She informs us that she had put a question to the watchmen, but, in her hurry to find her beloved, does not tell us the answer which she received. The construction [[150]]כִּמְעַט שֶׁ—עַד, scarcely when, is nowhere else to be found in the Old Testament; it may be resolved to זמן אשר עברתי מהם כמעט, the time that I passed them amounted to a little while.
[5]. I adjure you, &c. Having expressed her deep attachment to her beloved shepherd, she again adjures the court ladies not to persuade her to love any one else. Comp. ii. 7. The Sept. has again צְבָאוֹת, powers, and אֵילוֹת, virtues; vide supra, ii. 7.
[6]. What is that, &c. The situation changes. The state tents have been broken up in the neighbourhood of the Shulamite’s home, and the royal train travels towards Jerusalem. Some of the inhabitants, as they see at a distance the procession almost enveloped in the fragrant cloud of smoke arising from the incense profusely burned, exclaim, “What is that coming up from the country?” “The burning of perfumes in the East, in the preceding part of processions, is both very ancient and very general. Deities (images) were probably the first honoured with this ceremony, and afterwards their supposed vicegerents, human divinities. We have a relic of the same custom still existing among ourselves, in the flowers strewed or borne in public processions, at coronations, &c., and before our great officers of state: as the Lord Chancellor, the Speaker of the House of Commons; and in [[151]]some corporations, the mace, as an ensign of office, has the same origin, though now reduced to a gilded ornament only.” See Calmet, Dictionary, and Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 948. מִי is properly used of persons, but also of things, especially when the notion of person or persons is in them, e.g. מִי לְךָ כָּל הַמַּחְנֶה הַזֶּה, “What is all this company with thee?” Gen. xxxiii. 8; Mich. i. 5. That this is here the meaning of מִי, is evident from the answer, הִנֵּה מִטָּתוֹ, Behold, it is the palanquin. מִדְבָּר (from דָבַר, to range in order, to guide, to drive flocks), here is not desert, but, as frequently, an uninhabited plain or country, where flocks are tended, in contradistinction to town, where people dwell. Comp. Isa. xlii. 11; Jer. xxiii. 10; Joel ii. 22. תִּימְרוֹת, the plur. of תִּמָרָה, like צִדְקוֹת, from צְדָקָה, columns or clouds, only occurs once more, Joel iii. 3, and is most probably derived from תָּמַר, to ascend, to rise up like a column or cloud. The י has merely been inserted to help the pronunciation (comp. Exod. xxv. 31; Ps. xix. 4.), and, indeed, nineteen MSS. and originally another omit the י, which is undoubtedly the correct reading. The כּ in כְּתִּימְרוֹת signifies as in. Comp. Isa. v. 17; xxix. 7; Gesen. Gram. § 118, 3, Rem. כֹּל is used for a plurality comprising, or consisting of, divers single things or objects, and is to be rendered all kinds. Comp. Lev. xix. 23; Neh. xiii. 16; Fürst, Lexicon, under כֹּל 5; Gesen. § 108, 4, § 111, 1. לְבֹנָה (λίβανος, λιβανωτὸς, arbor thuris, thus), frankincense, so called from its white colour, was early known and extensively used by the Jews (Exod. xxx. 34; Lev. ii. 1, 2; Isa. lxiii. 23) and other nations (Tibull. Lib. Eleg. ii.; Ovid. Trist. Lib. V. Eleg. v. 11) in sacrifices for fumigation. It is represented as a shrub, growing on mountains, and thorny, both in Arabia (Isa. lx. 6; Jer. vi. 20) and in Palestine, according to the passage here; reaches a height of about five feet, and resembles in its leaves and fruit the myrtle. The frankincense is obtained by incisions which are made twice a year; the first in the beginning of autumn, which is white and pure (לְבֹנָה זָכָּה, Exod. xxx. 34), and is regarded as superior; and the second incision is made in the winter, when the resin thus obtained is reddish, and considered much inferior. Comp. Winer, Bibl. Dict. p. 681, et seq.; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxxii. 14.
[7], [8]. Lo! it is the palanquin, &c. Another bystander, recognizing it at a distance, exclaims that it is the cortége of Solomon, consisting of his palanquin and guard. מִטָּתוֹ שֶׁלִשְׁלמֹהֹ, i.q. מִטַּת שְׁלֹמֹה; comp. Gesen. § 121, 5, note; Ewald, § 309 c. This construction, however, has no real analogy in the Scriptures; it frequently occurs in latter Hebrew writings. Comp. תהתיתו של ההר, the bottom of the mountain, in Rashbam on the Song of Songs, iv. 1. The גִבּרִֹים here mentioned, were a separate class of the body-guard formed by David; and, as co-religionists (גִבֹּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל), seem to have been chosen to protect the monarch on his excursion against any attack of nocturnal marauders, so frequent and so much dreaded in the East. Comp. Job i. 15, with Gen. xvi. 12. The מ in מִגִּבֹּרֵי is used partitively, vide supra, i. 2. אֲחוּזֵי חֶרֶב, skilled in the sword. אָחַז, to take hold, also to handle artfully, like תָּפַשׂ, to take hold, to handle skilfully. The participle אָחוּז, though [[152]]of a passive form, has an active signification; this is not unfrequently the case, especially when it belongs to an intransitive verb. Comp. בּטוּחַ בַּיהוָֹה, he trusted in Jehovah, Ps. cxii. 7; Gesen. § 50, 3, Rem. 2; Ewald, § 149 d. This removes the apparent contradiction caused by the Authorized Version, “They all hold swords;” when in the next clause, as Hodgson and Good remarked, we are told that each had his sword on his thigh. אִישׁ, a man is used as a distributive for each, every. Comp. Gen. xv. 18; xlii. 25; Gesen. § 124, 2, Rem. 1; Ewald, § 278, b. We must supply חָגוּר after אִישׁ. Comp. Exod. xxii. 27; Ps. xlv. 4. פָּחַד, fear, metonymically for the object of fear (Gen. xxxi. 42, 53), here marauders. This is evident from Ps. xci. 5; Prov. iii. 24. בַּלֵילוֹת, in or during the nights, i.e. nocturnal marauders. Vide supra, iii. 1.
[9]. A palanquin, &c. As the train draws nearer, a third person recognizes it as the newly-made palanquin, of which he gives a circumstantial description. Palanquins were and are still used in the East by great personages. They are like a couch, sufficiently long for the rider to recline, covered with a canopy resting on pillars at the four corners, hung round with curtains to exclude the sun; they have a door, sometimes of lattice-work, on each side. They are borne by four or more men, by means of strong poles, like those of our sedan-chairs; and in travelling great distances, there are always several sets of men to relieve each other. The materials of which these palanquins are made, and the style of their construction, depend upon the rank and wealth of the owners. The word אַפִּרְיֹון is most probably derived from פָּרָה, to run, to be borne quickly. Comp. τρόχος, from τρέχειν, φορεῖον, from φέρω, currus from currendo, ferculum from fero. The form אַפִּרְיּוֹן is, according to the analogy of דִּמְיוֹן, likeness (Ps. xvii. 12), and פִּדְיֹון, ransom (Exod. xxi. 30); comp. Gesen. § 84, 15; Ewald, § 163 c. with a prosthetic א (Gesen. § 19, 4; Ewald, § 162 c,) followed by a Dagesh forte like אַפֶּדֶן, a palace, Dan. xi. 45; see Fürst, Lexicon. Ewald, however, derives it from פרה = ברה, to work out, to build, to form, hence אֲפִּרְיוֹן, ein Prachtstück. Kimchi derives it from פָּרָה, to be fruitful, and says it is called אַפִּרְיוֹן, because שפרין ורבין עליה, people increase and multiply therein. But this is contrary to the description here given of the procession. Besides, a bridal bed has no (מֶרְכָּבָה) seat. עָשַׂה, to make, means also to have made, to order to be made. A person is frequently described in Scripture idiom as doing that which he orders to be done. 2 Sam. xv. 1; Gal. ii. 5, 6. The מִן in מַעַצַי denotes the material of which the frame-work was made. Ps. xlv. 4. The wood of Lebanon, i.e. cedars and cypresses, Zech. xi. 1, 2; 1 Chron. ii. 8.
[10]. Its pillars he hath made, &c. The description here given of the costly construction of this magnificent palanquin is by no means a mere poetic embellishment. A similar litter was presented by the British government in 1766 to the Nabob of the Carnatic, of which the following account is given by Williams in loco, from the public prints of the time: “The beams are solid gold, the inside beautifully decorated with silver lining and fringe throughout; the panels are painted in the highest style of finishing, and represent various groups and heads of animals, after the manner of Asia, beaded with gold richly raised above the surface, and engraved. The stays and different other ornaments are of embossed silver.” Curtius (viii. 9, 23) [[153]]gives us a description of the procession of an Indian potentate, which strikingly resembles the one here depicted. “When the king shows himself in public, his servants go before him with silver censers, which fill the air, throughout the way along which he is borne in the palanquin, with delicious odour. He himself is reclining upon a golden couch, covered with pearls and veiled with purple curtains, embroidered with gold; the life-guard bring up the rear.” רְפִידָה (from רָפַד, to support, ii. 5), that which supports the back when sitting; so the Sept. ἀνάκλινον; Vulg. reclinatorium; Döpke, Rosenmüller, Hitzig, &c. מֶרְכָּב, a seat, comp. Lev. xv. 9. The words תּוֹכוֹ רָצוּף אַהֲבָה מִבְּנוֹת יְרוּשָּׁלַיִם, are either to be translated: its centre is tesselated most lovely, by the daughters of Jerusalem;—the noun אַהֲבָה may be used adverbially for lovely, charmingly, comp. אֹהֲבֵם נְדָבָה, “I will love them freely,” Hos. xiv. 4; Ewald, § 279 c, § 204; so Luther, Kleuker, Herder, De Wette, Rosenmüller, Philippson, &c.; and the מִּן in מִבְּנוֹת may denote the author or instrument, see Isa. xxii. 3; xxviii. 7; Eccl. xii. 11; Gesen. Gram. § 143, 2;—or they may be rendered, the middle thereof is wrought, as expressive of their love, by the daughters of Jerusalem; taking אַהֲבָה, love, for the effect, or proof of it; comp. דוֹדִים, i. 2, and ἀγάπη in Greek; so Le Clerc, Bp. Percy, Drs. Good and Clark. The interior of these couches is generally painted with baskets of flowers and nosegays, intermixed with short sentences or mottoes, expressing the power of love.
[11]. Come out, O ye daughters, &c. As the royal train begins to enter the city, a fourth bystander calls the daughters of Zion to come out and see the monarch in his joyful attire. Thus the inspired writer beautifully puts into the mouth of several spectators the description he desires to give. The crown here mentioned is not the symbol of royalty, but the emblem of happiness (Job xix. 9). Crowns or chaplets of flowers were worn in ancient times on occasions of festivity and rejoicing; comp. Apocryp. Wisdom, ii. 7, 8. Conjugal life being regarded as the most happy, it became a custom among the Jews, as well as among other nations, to put crowns on the heads of the newly-married people. Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 196. “In the Greek Church in Egypt,” says Maillet, “the parties are placed before a reading-desk on which is the book of the Gospels, having two crowns upon it of flowers, cloth, or tinsel. The priest, after benedictions and prayers, places one on the bridegroom’s, the other on the bride’s head, covering both with a veil.” (See also Talmud, Sotha, ix. 14; Selden, Uxor. Hebr. II. xv. 139; I. F. Hirt, de Coronis apud Hebraeos nuptialibus sposi sposaeque). The Jews still call the bridegroom מֶלֶךְ, and the bride מַלְכָּה. The design of Solomon in putting on this crown is evidently to dazzle the rustic girl. The arrival and entrance of the royal train in the capital, recorded in verses 6–11, evidently show that the circumstances narrated in the preceding sections took place out of Jerusalem, and that the apartments into which the king brought the damsel, as stated in ch. i. 4, were not in the capital, but, [[154]]as we see from ch. vi. 11, 12, in the neighbourhood of the Shulamite’s home. The abnormal צְאֶינָה is here intentionally used instead of the normal צֵאנָה, to correspond in form with רְאֶינָה; just as מוֹבָא, entrance (Ezek. xliii. 11), is employed instead of מָבוֹא, to correspond with מוֹצָא, see also Jer. l. 20; Ezek. xvi. 50; infra, viii. 5; Gesen. § 59, Rem. 3; Ewald, § 118 d. The female inhabitants of the town are designedly called בְּנוֹת צִיוֹן, to distinguish them from the בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, which is the appellation of the court ladies.
[1]. Behold, thou art, &c. The shepherd, who had followed afar off the royal train in which his beloved was conveyed to the capital, obtains an interview with her, and is now addressing her. Thine eyes are doves; see supra, i. 15. Thy hair is like a flock of goats, i.e. the tresses, dangling from the crown of her head, are as beautiful as Mount Gilead covered with the shaggy herd. The hair of Oriental goats is exceedingly delicate, soft (Gen. xxvii. 16), long, and black (1 Sam. xix. 13); and when the sun shines upon it, reflects such a glare that the eye can hardly bear the lustre (see Boch. Hieroz. i. 2, 51. Rosenmüller, Orient. i. 85). הַר גִּלְעָד is the name of a chain of limestone mountains beyond Jordan, intersected by numerous valleys (Gen. xxxi. 21; Jer. l. 19). This ridge extends over the regions inhabited by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the northern part of Manasseh (Numb. xxxii. 40; Deut. iii. 13; Josh. xvii. 1–6). It was famous for its luxuriant verdure, aromatic simples, and rich pastures; and hence attracted the flocks (Numb. xxxii. 1); and animals from this region were regarded as of a superior quality, like gold from Ophir. Nothing, therefore, could more beautifully express the curly hair of a woman, dangling down from the crown of her head, than the sight, at a distance, of a flock of goats running down from the summit of this verdant hill on a beautiful day. צַמָּה (from צָמַם, i.q. Chald. צַמְצַם, צָמַם, to bind, to twine, to veil), is well explained by Rashbam, ענין עילוף ומעטה היא, a kind of cover, or veil; so Sym., Sept., Isa. xlvii. 2, Michaelis, Döpke, Gesenius, De Wette, Lee, Percy, Williams, Hitzig, &c. The rendering of the Sept. here, ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου, behind thy silence, which is followed by the Syriac and Arabic, is both contrary to the etymology of the word, and meaningless. The other translations, viz. locks (Auth. Vers., Ewald), a plait of hair (Hengstenberg), cannot be substantiated. The word גָּלַשׁ, which occurs only here and vi. 5, is of difficult interpretation, and has produced a variety of renderings. The Sept. has here ἀπεκαλύφθησαν, and vi. 5, ἀνεφάνησαν, the Syriac ܣܠܰܩ, the Vulg. here ascenderunt, and vi. 5, apparuerunt. The Rabbins also differ in their interpretations. Rashi explains it שנקרחו, that make bare, i.e. quit or descend the mountain. Ibn Ezra, שנשקפו, which look down; Rashbam, שנראו, which are seen, i.e. while coming down from the mount. Modern commentators are not less at variance. Luther translates it shorn; Houbigant, which hang down; Kleuker, Ewald, which shows itself; Döpke, Gesenius, Hitzig, Philippson, which lie down; Magnus, which climb up; Percy, Hengstenberg, which come up, i.e. from Jerusalem. Amidst these conflicting opinions, it appears best to take גָּלַשׁ, like its kindred פָּלַשׁ, in the sense of rolling down, running down; see Fürst. Lexicon, s.v. This meaning [[155]]accords best with the comparison here used, and leaves to the preposition מִן its natural signification. The omission of הַר in the Sept., Arabic, and a few MSS., is evidently owing to the carelessness of a transcriber.
[2]. Thy teeth, &c. The compliment passed upon the black hair is followed by another on the white teeth: “Thy teeth resemble in whiteness woolly sheep just washed.” This comparison will appear more striking when we remember that the wool of Scripture is proverbial for its whiteness, and is placed in juxtaposition with the colour of snow, Isa. i. 18; Dan. vii. 9; Rev. i. 14; Book of Enoch xlvi. 1. The Sept., which is followed by many modern commentators, takes the comparison to be between the shorn skin of the sheep and the teeth; but this is untenable. For, 1. The skin of shorn sheep can never have the whiteness which the context here demands; 2. Shorn sheep would yield a very incongruous figure, if teeth were compared with them; 3. Sheep, as now, were generally washed before and not after they were shorn; 4. The passage in vi. 6, shows that קְצוּבוֹת is merely a poetical epithet for רְחֵלִים, not because they were then shorn, but because they are periodically shorn. The explanation of קְצוּבוֹת by well numbered (Rashi), or by יש להן מדה אחת כאילו נחצבת כל אחת כמו חברתה, same size (Kimchi, Ibn Ezra), are against vi. 6.
All of which are paired. That is, each upper tooth has its corresponding lower one; thus they, as it were, appear in pairs, like this flock of white sheep, each of which keeps to its mate, as they come up from the washing-pool. And no one of them is deprived of its fellow, i.e. no tooth is deprived of its corresponding one, just as none of the sheep is bereaved of its companion. The Hiphil of תָּאַם, to be double, to be pairs (Exod. xxvi. 24; xxxvi. 29), is to make double, to make pairs, to appear paired. שַׁכֻּלָּה is deprived, bereaved, Jer. xviii. 21. On the masculine suffixes in כֻּלָּם and בָּהֶם, referring to קְצוּבוֹת, fem., see supra, ii. 7. The words שֶׁכֻּלָּם and שַׁכֻּלָּה form a paranomasia; see i. 2. The rendering of מַתְאִימוֹת by כלם יולדות תאומים, all bearing twins (Kimchi, &c.), which some try to justify by submitting that sheep as well as goats in the East frequently bear twins (Arist. Hist. Anim. i. 6, 19; Theocret. i. 25; iii. 34), is incompatible with the figure. The teeth surely, which are here compared to the flock, cannot be said to bear twins like the sheep. Those who attempt to get over this difficulty by referring it to the rows of the teeth, are, to say the least, guilty of introducing a new subject.
[3]. Thy mouth is lovely. מִדְבָּר is translated by the Sept., Syriac, Vulg., Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, speech, language; but this is incompatible with the description here given, which depicts the members of the body, and not their actions. It is therefore more consonant with the context to take מִדְבָּר as a poetical expression for the instrument of speech; not the tongue (Schultens, Kleuker, Döpke), which is kept within the mouth, and not when put out (נָאֲוָה) beautiful; but the mouth itself, (Ewald, Gesenius, De Wette, Umbreit, Rosenmüller, Meier, Philippson, &c.) The objection of Magnus (who translates it voice), and of Hitzig (who translates it palate), that the rendering of mouth would produce tautology, inasmuch as the mouth consists of the lips, and these have already been described, is [[156]]gratuitous: for an individual may have lips like scarlet, and yet not have a lovely mouth. The מ in מִדְבָּר, added to the root דָבַר, to speak, in order to form the noun, denotes the instrument with which one speaks: compare מַזְלֵג, an instrument with which to draw out = a fork, from זָלַג, to draw out; מַפְתֵּחַ, an instrument for opening = a key, from פָּתַח, to open, Gesen. § 84, 14; Ewald, § 160, 6. This corroborates the rendering we defended.
Like a part of, &c. That is, the rosy cheeks visible beneath the veil resemble the vermilioned part of the pomegranate. Eastern poets frequently compare the colour of the cheeks with pomegranates and apples. Thus in a Persian ode quoted by Sir William Jones: “The pomegranate brings to my mind the blushes of my beloved, when her cheeks are covered with a modest resentment:” and Ibn Challecan, as adduced by Magnus in loco: “Believest thou that the apple can divert my looks from thee, when I behold thy cheeks?” Ibn Ezra, who is followed by some modern commentators, explains פֶּלַח by ציץ הרמון האדום, the red flower of the pomegranate; but this is contrary to 2 Kings iv. 39, where the root פלח is used for dissecting fruit, and 1 Sam. xxx. 12. Others again take the simile to be between the interior of the pomegranate, when cut or burst open, and the cheeks; but this being flat would by no means represent the round form of the coloured cheek here referred to. The comparison appears natural, striking, and beautiful, according to Rashi’s explanation of פֶּלַח, viz. חצי רמון שבחוץ שהוא אדום, that external half of the pomegranate which is red, one half of the pomegranate being brown, and the other beautifully vermilioned, intermixed with yellow and white; and it is to the latter part to which reference is here made. So the Sept. λέπυρον, the peel, or the external. Rashbam, Döpke, Hitzig.
[4]. Thy neck is like, &c. That is, “The erect and bold carriage of thy neck, decked with ornaments, resembles that high, commanding tower, adorned with trophies.” Though the text supplies us with no clue for finding out what tower this was, yet the comparison implies that it must have been one well known and celebrated for its imposing aspect and symmetrical proportions. Sandys (iii. 137), who is followed by others, identifies this tower with some ruins still found in the uttermost angle of Mount Zion, which bears that name. תַּלְפִּיּוֹת is rendered by the Sept. Θαλφιώθ, as a proper name; but there is no place known by such a name. Aquila has εἰς ἐπάλξεις: so Vulg. cum propugnaculis, battlements, Sym. ὕψη, heights; but it is difficult to divine how these renderings are to be made out from the form and meaning of the word. The Talmud Jerushalmi, Berachoth, section 4, and Saadias explain it תל שהכול פונים לו, an elevation towards which all look, i.e. by which they are guided. Ibn Ezra seems to favour the view that לְתַלְפִּיּוֹת is a compound of לְתַלוֹת פִּיוֹת, for the suspension of arms. But the Talmudic explanation rests upon the favourite whim of making a word of every letter. Ibn Ezra’s explanation incurs the objection that פִּיוֹת, by itself, never means swords or arms. Besides, it is evident that this interpretation owes its origin to the immediately following clause, אֶלֶף הַמָּגֵן תָּלוּי עָלָיו. Gesenius derives it from the Arabic תָּלַף, to destroy; hence תַּלְפִּי, destructive, deadly; poetically, for arms. But, apart from the difficulty of making תַּלְפִּיּוֹת, even according to this derivation, to mean weapons, according to this rendering there is no connexion between this clause and the figure. [[157]]It is therefore better, with Rashi and Rashbam, to take תַּלְפִּיּוֹת as a contraction for תְּאַלְפִּיּוֹת from the root אָלַף, to teach. The radical א in the feeble verbs פ״א, does not unfrequently fall away: thus וַתַּזְרֵנִי, 2 Sam. xxii. 40, for וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי, and in the same verb, מַלְּפֵנוּ for מְאַלְּפֵנוּ, Job xxxv. 11; Gesen. § 68, 2; Ewald, § 54. תַּלְפִּיּוֹת (plur. of תלפית, according to the analogy of תַּבְנִיוֹת, from תַּבְנִית, תַּרְמִיוֹת, from תַּרְמִית), would therefore signify instruction; the plural being here used for the abstract, see supra, i. 2. This derivation is confirmed by the Chald., which periphrases תַּלְפִּיּוֹת by אוּלְפַן דְּאֹורַיְתָא, instruction of the law, and bears out the figure, and yields a beautiful sense. The Shulamite’s neck is not compared to some common turret, but to that splendid tower which was built for a model, that, as Rashbam rightly remarks, כל אומנין בנאים מתלמדים ממנו, all architects might learn their designs from it.
A thousand shields, &c. It was customary to adorn the walls of towers and castles with all sorts of splendid arms, Ezek. xxvii. 11. The castles of the maritime people, whose conquest is recorded by the Kouyunjik bas-reliefs, and distinguished by the shields hung round the walls. Layard’s Nineveh, ii. 296. אֶלֶף, thousand stands for a round, large member, Isa. xxx. 17; lx. 22; Ps. cv. 8; Eccl. vi. 6. כֹּל, all kinds, all sorts, see supra, iii. 6.
[5]. Thy bosom, &c. The point of comparison is the lovely sight which these objects present. The gazelles, as we have seen (ii. 7), are the symbol of beauty. To add however to their native charms, they are represented here as browzing in pasture-ground abounding with lilies. To this lovely spectacle, than which nothing could be more beautiful to an Oriental, her breasts are compared. The explanation which Bochart, Patrick, Henley, Percy, Good, give of this comparison, viz. “The two paps rise upon the breast like lilies from the ground; among which, if we conceive two red kids feeding, that were twins and perfectly alike, they appeared like the nipples or teats upon the paps, to those that behold them afar off,” is extravagant.
[6]. When the day cools, &c. Transported with joy at the sight of her beloved shepherd, the Shulamite interrupts the praises of her personal charms, which, on seeing her again, he began to pour forth, by exclaiming: When the day cools, that is, “this very evening, as soon as it gets dark, I will quit the royal abode, and go to our beautiful and open country, to the flowery meads, where are found aromatic plants growing in abundance.” For an explanation of the first part of this verse, see ii. 17, also spoken by the Shulamite. That such mountains of myrrh and hills of frankincense actually existed, is evident from Florus, Epitome Rerum Rom., lib. iii. c. 6., where Pompey the Great is said to have passed over Lebanon, and by Damascus, “per nemora illa odorata, per thuris et balsami sylvas.”
7, 8. Thou art all beautiful, &c. Gladdened [[158]]with her declaration, the shepherd, crowning and closing his description in the words, “Thou art a perfect beauty,” responds, “Thou shalt go with me, I will help thee to quit these lofty heights, the abode of lions and panthers—the royal residence; and safely conduct thee to the place whither thou wouldst go.” Lebanon is the name of a long range of mountains on the north of Palestine (Deut. ii. 24; Josh. i. 4), consisting of two parallel chains, which run from south-west to north-east. Though the Scriptures have only one name, viz. Lebanon, for both these chains, yet the present inhabitants of that country, as well as modern Travellers, have found it convenient to call the westermost chain, facing the Mediterranean,—Lebanon; and the eastern one, facing the plain of Damascus,—Anti-Libanus, from its being at Tyre, parallel with and opposite to the Syrian Lebanon. Amana, אֲמָנָה, is the name of the southern part of Anti-Libanus, at the root of which, it is supposed, issues the river of the same name; see 2 Kings v. 12. Hermon, חֶרְמֹון, is the name of the highest summit of a chain at the northernmost boundary of Palestine, and belongs also to Anti-Libanus (Josh. xi. 17; xiii. 5), and is now identified with Jebel-el-Sheikh. It consists of several mountains, viz. Sirion, שִׁרְיוֹן, Shenir, שְׁנִיר, and Sion, שִׂיאֹן; whence its plural name חֶרְבוֹנִים, see Fürst, Lexicon, s.v. Lebanon, Amana, Shenir and Hermon are here not intended to denote various parts of the range of mountains, but are merely different names of the royal residence. The word תַּשׁוּרִי is well rendered by the Sept., Syriac, &c., thou shalt go; comp. Isa. lvii. 9. The Common Version look is incompatible with the context and parallelism. Surely no one would invite his beloved to go with him to dangerous mountain-tops, to take a view of the country! Persons are generally anxious to avoid perilous places. The lions and panthers denote the king and his courtiers, Ezek. xix. 7; xxii. 25; Nahum ii. 12. כָּלָה, rendered spouse in the Authorized Version, is taken by some to denote a newly-married woman. The word however only means betrothed = a female under an engagement to marry. This is the sense in which the Jews still use the expression. The Sept., which is followed by the Vulg. and Luther, translates אִתִּי, δεῦρο, mistaking it for אֲתִי, the imp. of אָתָּה, to come. The Vulg. rendering of תָּשׁוּרִי by coronaberis, evidently savours of allegorism. For the Septuagint’s rendering of אֲמָנָה, by πίστις, see Introduction, p. 21.
[9]. Thou hast put heart into me, &c. This extraordinary amount of strength and courage which he feels, to enable him to rescue her from the abode of the lion, and to lead her safely home, has been infused into his heart, he says, by the sight of his beloved one. So the Anonymous Oxford Manuscript, שבשביל אהבתך נתגברתי ונבוא לי לב חדש שיש לי כח ללחם עם האריות והנמרים. As the Piel has sometimes an intensive, and sometimes a privative meaning (see Gesen. § 52, 2; Ewald, § 120), a difference [[159]]of opinion exists as to the signification of לִבֵּב here. The Sept. has ἐκκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς, thou hast unhearted us; the Vulg. Vulnerasti cor meum; Ibn Ezra, לקחת לבי, thou hast taken away my heart; Gesenius, De Wette, &c. adopt this rendering. Against this however it is urged, that it is incompatible with the context. The beloved here accounts for his extraordinary strength and courage, which would enable him to rescue his beloved one from her critical position; and to say, “Thou hast deprived me of all heart,” would be a positive contradiction. To be in such an unusually courageous frame, the individual must have been full of heart, and not disheartened. Hence Herder, Ewald, Döpke, Lee, Meier, &c., translate לִבַּבְתִּנִי, thou hast put heart into me; thou hast made me bold. This is confirmed by Sym., Syriac, Arabic, and Chald. אַחוֹתִי, my sister, does not imply that the betrothed was related to her beloved, but is used as an expression of endearment, Prov. vii. 14; Tobit vii. 12; the Apoc. Esth. xv. 8, and soror in Latin. Good’s rendering of אַחֹתִי כַלָּה by my sister-spouse, and his remark that the pronoun “my” between the two substantives, being a useless interpretation of the versions, are gratuitous. כָּלָּה has no suffix here, not because it is to be joined with אֲחֹתי, but because this word, like אָב in Chald., never takes the suffix 1 pers.; and versions therefore made in languages whose idioms allow of the suffix are right in so expressing it.
With one of thine eyes, &c. It is customary with Eastern women to unveil one of their eyes in conversation, in which case a part of their neck ornaments becomes also visible. Niebuhr, Travels in Arabia, i. 262; see Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. Art. Veil, figure 536, and infra, viii. 9. The Anonymous MS., however, explains בְּאֶחַד מֵעֵינַיִךְ by בהבטה אחת שאת מבטת בי באחד מעיניך, one look of thine eyes. The rendering at once (Hodgson, Good) is incongruous. The attempt of the Masorites to substitute בַּאַחַת, fem., for בְּאֶחַד, mas., having evidently arisen from their anxiety to avoid the apparent incongruity of coupling a masculine numeral with a feminine noun, is unnecessary. The true solution lies in the fact, that members of the human body, although usually feminine, are most of them employed occasionally as masculine. Job xxi. 20; Zech. iv. 10; and infra, vi. 5; Gesen. § 107, 4 b; Ewald, § 174 d. עֲנָקָ is not look (Vulg.), nor turn (Percy, Good), nor stone (Ewald, Magnus), but chain. This is evident from Judg. viii. 26, and Prov. i. 9, the only two passages where this word occurs again (except as a proper name), and is translated by the Sept. (Judg. and Prov.) κλοιός, necklace, Aquila, περιτραχήλιος, πλόκαμος, neckband, neck-work; Sym. κλοιός, ὁρμίσκος, necklace; Vulg. (Judg. and Prov.) torques. So Ibn Ezra, מני חלי קשוריﬦ על הצואר, a kind of ornamental band, tied round the neck, Rashi, Rashbam, Gesenius, De Wette, Döpke, Lee, Philippson, Meier, Hengstenberg, &c. The objection urged by Hitzig, that an inanimate ornament could not effect such great things, is obviated by a reference to the Book of Judith, xvi. 9, where we are informed that the fair one succeeded in captivating even the savage Holofernes with her sandals: τὸ σανδάλιον αὐτῆς ἥρπασεν ὀφθαλμὸν αὐτοῦ. Besides, the meaning here is, that the slightest view of her is sufficient to inspire him with vigour and courage. The termination –וֹן in צַּוָּרוֹן, like וּן, in Syriac, forms the diminutive; and, like diminutives in other languages, is expressive of affection; Gesen. § 86, 2, 4; Ewald, 5, 167 a. The plur. termination –ָיִךְ in מִצֲוְּרֹנָיִךְ, is to be accounted for on the score that the Hebrews sometimes use plural forms for certain members of the body. Comp. פָּנִיﬦ, face, Gesen. § 108, 2 a; Ewald, § 178 a.
[10]. How sweet is thy love, &c. Here [[160]]the lover tells his loved one why the sight of her is so animating and emboldening. For the comparison of love with wine, see i. 2, 3. The Sept., which is followed by the Syriac, Vulg., Arabic, and Luther, has here again דַדֶּיךָ, thy breasts; but see i. 2. The Sept. has also ὀσμὴ ἱματίων σου, וְרֵיחַ שִׂמְלֹתַיִךְ, for וְרֵיחַ שְׁמָנַיִךְ, evidently taken from the following verse.
[11]. Thy lips, O my betrothed, &c. Every word which falls from her lips is like a drop from the honeycomb. This comparison is used in other parts of Scripture, and by the Greeks and Romans. Thus Prov. v. 3:—
“The harlot’s lips distil honey,
And her palate is smoother than oil.”
Theocrit. Idyl. xx. 26:—
τὸ στόμα καὶ πακτᾶς γλυκερώτερον· ἐκ στομάτων δὲ
ἔῤῥεέ μοι φωνὰ γλυκερωτέρα ἢ μέλι κήρω.
“More sweet my lips than milk in luscious rills,
Lips, whence pure honey, as I speak, distils.”
Also Idyl. i. 146, 8, 82; Homer, Iliad, i. 249; Hor. Epist. i. 19, 44. That we are to understand by distilling honey, “lovely words,” and not saliva oris osculantis, is evident from Prov. xvi. 24, where pleasant words are compared to a honeycomb, and the passage already quoted, just as slanderous words are represented as poisons, Ps. cxl. 3.
And the odour of thy garments, &c. The Orientals were in the habit of perfuming their clothes with aromatics. Thus we are told that the garments of Jacob emitted a pleasant smell, Gen. xxviii. 27; Ps. xlv. 9; Rosenmüller, Orient. i. 122. In consequence of the odoriferous trees which abounded on it, Lebanon became proverbial for fragrance. Hence the prophet Hosea (xiv. 7), describing the prosperous state of repenting Israel, says וְרֵיחַ לוֹ כַּלְבַנוֹן, and his odour shall be as that of Lebanon. This passage is sufficient to show the error of the Vulg. in rendering כְּרֵיחַ לְבָנוֹן by sicut odor thuris, as if it were כְּרֵיחַ לְבוֹנָה. The perfumed attire which the Shulamite had on, and which the shepherd here praises, is evidently not the humble clothes which she had brought with her, but some splendid apparel recently given to her by the king.
[12]. A closed garden, &c. The trees of Lebanon, referred to at the end of the last verse, suggested this beautiful metaphor of a garden, under which the shepherd describes the unsullied purity and chastity of the Shulamite. Gardens in the East were generally hedged or walled in, to prevent the intrusion of strangers (Isa. v. 5; Joseph. De Bell. Jud. vii.). From this arose the epithet, “closed garden,” for a virtuous woman, shut up against every attempt to alienate her affections. The contrary figure is used in viii. 9; there accessibility is described as “a door,” i.e. open to seduction.
A sealed fountain, &c. Another metaphor to express the same idea. The scarcity of water in arid countries renders fountains very valuable. To secure them against the encroachment of strangers, the proprietors formerly fastened their fountains with some ligament, and the impression of a seal upon clay, which would quickly harden in the sun, that would soon dissolve wax. This mode of rendering pits safe is found in Dan. vi. 18; Matt. xxvii. 66. A fountain sealed in this manner indicated that it was private property. Hence its metaphorical use, to represent chastity as an inaccessible [[161]]fountain. It is better, with the Sept., Syriac, Arabic, Chald., Vulg., upwards of fifty of Kennicott’s MSS., and many modern commentators, to read גַּן, instead of גַּל. This is confirmed by the intensive phraseology of the shepherd, used in his addresses, which is produced by a repetition of the same words. Comp. supra, vv. 8, 9.
[13]. Thy shoots, &c. Having compared his loved one to a garden, the shepherd is anxious to show that the one she resembled is not of an ordinary character. It is an orchard full of the most costly trees, and producing the most delicious fruit. שְׁלָחַיִךְ, well rendered by the Sept. ἀποστολαί σου: and Kimchi, התפשטות, thy shoots, branches (Gen. xlix. 21; Ps. lxxx. 12) is figuratively used for the members of the body, and not for “the children who shall spring from her,” as Hodgson supposes. פַּרְדֵּס, found elsewhere only Eccl. ii. 5; Neh. ii. 8, has been derived by some from the Persian, and by others from the Sanscrit. There is no necessity, however, for seeking its etymology in other languages. The Hebrews, who had gardens at so early a period, would surely not borrow names for them from other nations. פַּרְדֵּס, according to the analogy of the quadriliteral פַּרְשֵׁז, is a compound of פָּרַד, to divide, and פָּרַס, to separate, to enclose; hence a protected, an enclosed place, a garden. This is corroborated by the fact that גַּן, a garden, is also derived from a root (גָּנַן), which means to separate, to enclose. Compare also the German and English, Gärten, garden, and Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, vol. i. p. 117. And like many other Hebrew expressions, this word was adopted in other languages. רִמּוֹנִים, pomegranate-trees: the Hebrews frequently use the same expression to denote the tree and its fruit, see supra, ii. 3. פְּרִי מְגָדִים, i.q. פִּרְיֵיְ מֶגָד, precious fruits: when a compound idea is to be expressed in the plural, the governed noun only is often put in the plural form; e.g. בֵּית אָבוֹת, ancestral houses, Numb. i. 2; Gesen. § 108, 3. The precious fruits are those of the pomegranate-tree. The words כְּפָרִים עִם נְרָדִים, are still genitives to פַּרְדֵּס. For כֹּפֶר, and נֵרְדְּ, see supra, i. 12, 13.
[14]. Nard and crocus, &c. Both the ancient versions and modern commentators generally agree that by the word כַּרְכֹּﬦ, which occurs only here, the well-known saffron plant is meant. Calamus (קָנֶה, reed, also written קְנֵה בשֵֹׁם and קָנֶה הַטּוֹב, sweet calamus, Exod. xxx. 23; Jer. vi. 20, κάλαμος ἀρωματικός, Calamus odoratus), was well known and highly prized among the ancients, and was imported to Palestine from India (Jer. vi. 20; xxvii. 19); it was, however, also found in the valley of Mount Lebanon, (Polyb. v. 46; Strabo, xvi. 4). It has a reed-like stem, of a tawny colour, much jointed, breaking into splinters, and its hollow reed filled with pitch, like the web of a spider. The best, which, according to Pliny (Hist. Nat. xii. 12 or 48), grows in Arabia, diffuses around a very agreeable odour, and is soft to the touch (see Rosenmüller, Bib. Bot.; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v.) Cinnamon (קִנָּמוֹן, κίναμον, Laurus cinnamomum), indigenous to Ceylon in the East Indies, and is called by the natives Karonda-gouhah; it is now, however, also cultivated on the Malabar coast, in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, in China and Cochin-China. The cinnamon-tree, which grows on the coast, is generally about twenty or thirty feet high, and reaches a still greater height in groves: it is adorned with numerous boughs, bearing oval and laurel-like leaves, of a scarlet [[162]]colour when young, but changing to bright green, and growing to the length of from four to six inches when matured, and putting forth whitish blossoms, which ripen into fruit, resembling those of the juniper-tree in June: the fruit, though possessing neither the smell nor the taste of the cinnamon, when boiled secretes an oil, which, after cooling, becomes hard, white, and fragrant. The wood itself, which is white, inodorous, and soft as fir, is used for a variety of purposes. It is the rind which, when peeled off and dried in the sun, yields the much-valued cinnamon. (See Rosenmüller, Bibl. Bot.; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v.) Aloe (אָהָל, Ἀλοή. John xix. 39. ἀγάλλοχον, ξυλαλοή, arbor alois), a tree which grows in India and the Moluccas, the wood of which is highly aromatic. The stem of this tree is as thick as a man’s thigh; the top is adorned with a bunch of thick and indented leaves, broad below, and narrowing gradually towards the point, and are about four feet long: its blossoms—which are red, intermixed with yellow, and double like a pink—yield the pod, producing a red and white fruit, about the size of a pea. This tree, in consequence of its singularly beautiful appearance and odoriferous wood, which is used as a perfume, is very gratifying both to the sight and smell, and is held by the Indians in sacred veneration. (See Rosenmüller, Bib. Bot.; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v.) רֹאשׁ, head metaph., chief, most excellent. Exod. xxx. 23; Ps. cxxxvii. 6; Ezek. xxvii. 22.
[15]. With a garden-fountain, &c. To finish the picture of this charming garden, the shepherd introduces into it fountains, streams, rills, and cooling breezes, to rouse and waft the balmy fragrance through its delightful retreats. The fact that the Shulamite has been called a sealed fountain proves that this verse is not descriptive of her. For it would be contradictory to call her in one verse a sealed fountain, and in the other a stream flowing from Lebanon, i.e. an open stream. מַעְיַן גַּנִּים a fountain of gardens, i.e. a fountain belonging to gardens, usually found in gardens to irrigate them. נֹזְליִם, a part. noun plur., denoting flowing streams. The מִן indicates the place whence these streams issue. מַיִם חַיִּים living water, i.e. perennial; waters, gushing forth from fountains, or moving along, appear as if they were living; whilst those in a stagnant condition seem dead. Gen. xxvi. 19; Jer. ii. 13; Zech. xiv. 8; see also ὕδωρ ζῶν, Rev. vii. 17, and flumen vivum, Virg. Æn. ii. 719.
[16]. Arise, O north wind! These are still the words of the shepherd, who, to complete the picture, invokes the gentle breezes to perflate this paradise. Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, Williams, Good, Ewald, Delitzsch, Philippson, &c., take this clause to begin her reply; but this is incompatible with the figure. She herself, and not anything separate, has been described as this charming garden. She could, therefore, not say “blow through MY garden” (גַנִּי), which would imply that this garden of hers was something apart from her person. Moreover, the expression גַנּוֹ, his garden, which she uses, shows that גַנִּי, my garden, is spoken by him. So Rashi, Döpke, Magnus, Hitzig, &c. That the south and north winds are merely poetical [[163]]designations for a gale generally, without any particular reference to the peculiarities of the wind when blowing from these respective regions is evident from a comparison of Numb. xi. 31 with Ps. lxxviii. 26. This does away with the conflicting conjectures which have been hazarded, to account for the invocation of the wind from these opposite quarters of the earth. צָפוֹן and תֵּימָן, prop. the north and southern quarters, are poetically used, רוּחַ צָפוֹן, and רוּחַ תֵּימָן, the north and south wind. Ps. lxviii. 26. בְּשָׂמִים, spices, here their odours.
Let my beloved come, &c. The Shulamite, continuing this beautiful apostrophe, responds: “If my person really resembles such a paradise, this garden is yours; yours are all its productions.” פְּרִי מְגָדָיו, literally the fruit of his deliciousness, i.e. his delicious fruit. When a compound idea is expressed by one noun followed by another in the genitive, a suffix which refers to this whole idea is sometimes appended to the second of the two nouns. Comp. אֱלִילֵי כַּסְפּוֹ, his silver idols, Isa. ii. 20; Gesen. § 129, b; Ewald, § 291, b; גַן being of a common gender, the suffix in מְגָדָיו may either refer to garden, or to beloved; it is more in keeping with the construction to refer it to the beloved, just as the suffix in גַּנְּוֹ refers to him. The fruit is the beloved’s because the garden is his, and therefore he may enjoy it.
[1]. I am coming into my garden, &c. The shepherd, as he embraces his beloved, expresses his unbounded delight in her charms. The perfect forms, בָּאתִי שָׁתִיתִי, אָכַלְתִּי, אָרִתִי, are used for the present, Gesen. § 126.
Eat, O friends, &c. Some sympathizing court ladies, at a distance, seeing the mutual happiness of the lovers, urge them to take their fill of delight. The explanation of Rashbam and others, that this address is to the companions of the beloved to partake of a friendly meal; or, as others will have it, that it is an invitation to the marriage feast, is against the context. The expression אִכְלוּ, eat ye, must be taken in the same sense as אָכַלְתִי, I eat; and it would be most incongruous to suppose that the beloved, who enjoys the charms of his loved one, would call on his friends to do the same. Dr. Geddes, who is followed by Dr. Good, alters the text into אכל רעי שת ושכיר דודי, Eat, O my friend! drink, yea, drink abundantly, O my beloved! and puts it into the mouth of the Shulamite; thus making it an answer to what the beloved said in the preceding clause. But such conjectural emendations ought to be repudiated. It is most in accordance with the context to take these words as an epiphonema of some sympathizing court ladies. The parallelism and the accents require us to take דוֹדִים as a concrete, synonymous with רֵעִים, friends; so the Sept., Vulg., Syr., Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, Rashi, Mendelssohn, &c. [[164]]
[2]. I was sleeping, &c. The sympathies manifested by some of the court ladies for the Shulamite, at the close of the last section, encourage her to relate to them a dream which she recently had. The purpose of this narration is the description of the shepherd to which it leads, and which is necessary to the completion of the whole drama. יְשֵׁנָה, like the participle form generally, may be used to express all the relations of time. Comp. כִּי כֻלָּם יְשֵׁנִים, for all were sleeping, 1 Sam. xxvi. 12; 1 Kings iii. 20. Gesen. § 134, 1; Ewald, § 306 d. לֵב, heart, here the seat of thought. The Hebrews regarded the heart, not only as the seat of the passions, but also of the intellectual faculties of the mind. The whole clause is merely another way of saying בַּחֲלֹמִי, Gen. xli. 17. The circumlocution is chosen in preference to בַּחֲלמִי, to indicate that the powers under which the exhausted frame succumbed, could not keep her mind from dwelling upon the object of her affections. קֹל, hark; vide supra, ii. 8. דֹפֵק is best taken with the Sept., Syriac, Vulg., and many modern commentators, as a separate clause, he is knocking. The Sept. adds ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν, at the door, after דֹפֵק, he is knocking.
Open to me, &c. She introduces him speaking. To make his request the more urgent, he pleads that he had [[165]]been drenched with dew. The dew falls so copiously in the East, during certain months, that it saturates the clothes like rain. See Judges vi. 38; Rosenmüller, Orient. i. 122; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v. A similar passage occurs in Anacreon, iii. 10, where love is represented as standing at night behind the door, begging for admittance, and pleading the same excuses.
Ἄνοιγε, φησί
Βρέφος εἰμί, μὴ φόβησαι
Βρέχομαι δέ, κἀσέληνον
Κατὰ νύκτα πεπλάνημαι.
“ ‘Fear not,’ said he, with piteous din,
‘Pray ope the door and let me in:
A poor unshelter’d boy am I,
For help who knows not where to fly:
Lost in the dark, and with the dews,
All cold and wet, that midnight brews.’”
Comp. also Propert. i. 16, 23; Ovid Amor. ii. 19, 21. תַמָּתִי, my perfect one, is well explained by Rosenmüller by מוּם אֵין בָּךְ, there is no fault in thee, iv. 7; 2 Sam. xiv. 25.
[3]. I have put off my tunic; was the answer she gave in her dream. כֻּתֹּנֶת, χιτών, tunic, is an inner garment, commonly of linen, descending to the ankles, which is taken off when one retires. On the costume of the Hebrews, see Rosenmüller, Orient. ii. 19; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v.; Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, vol. i. c. 2.
I have washed my feet, &c. In the East, where people wear sandals, which protect the soles only, or go barefoot, as in the passage before us, the feet soon get dirty and parched; it is therefore essential and refreshing to wash the feet after much walking (Gen. xviii. 4; xix. 2), or before retiring to rest: remembering this, we can appreciate the hospitality shown to travellers in providing for the washing of their feet, Judges xix. 21. On the masculine suffix in אֲטַנְּפַם, referring to the feminine רַגְלַי, see iv. 9.
[4]. My beloved withdrew his hand, &c. Hearing her excuses for not getting up, he at last grew weary and ceased knocking, which immediately caused her uneasiness. The words שָׁלַח יָדוֹ מִן הַחוֹר are better translated, he sent away his hand from the hole = withdrew; so the Sept. and Rashbam, ההזירה לעצמו מן החור בדלת, he took his hand back from the hole in the door. The expression מֵעִים, like רַחֲמִים, has not the modern sense of bowels, which is restricted to the lower viscera, but denotes, like τὰ σπλάγχνα in Greek, the upper viscera, comprising the heart, lungs, liver, &c. Hence it is used for the heart alone as the seat of passion, Isa. lxiii. 15; Jer. xxxi. 20; and for נֶפֶשׁ, soul, Job xxx. 27; Ps. xl. 9. הָמָה, to hum, to make a noise, which is frequently used for the roaring produced by the waves of the troubled sea (Isa. li. 15; Ps. xlvi. 4; Jer. v. 22), is employed to denote the motion of an agitated heart. With upwards of fifty MSS. and several editions we read עָלַי, in me, instead of עָלָיו, to him; the phrase thus exactly corresponds to תֶּהֱמִי נַפְשִׁי עָלָי, Ps. xlii. 6, 12.
[5]. My hands dropped with myrrh, &c. Alarmed at his ceasing to knock, she flew at once to open the door, and in trying to unfasten it, her hands came [[166]]in contact with the liquid myrrh which her beloved had poured upon the bolts, and which dropped from her fingers. So Immanuel, כי שרצתי לפתח לדודי ונגעתי בידי במקום אשר נגע בו דודי כששלח ידו מן החור נתבשמו ידי וקבלו מן הריח שהיה בידי דודי עד שעבור Lovers, in ancient times, whilst suing for admission, used to ornament the door with wreaths, and perfume it with aromatics. Thus Lucretius, iv. 1171,
At lacrimans exclusus amator limina sæpe
Floribus, et sertis operit, posteisque superbos
Unguit amaracino, et foribus miser oscula figit.
“Then, too, the wretched lover oft abroad
Bars she, who at her gate loud weeping stands,
Kissing the walls that clasp her; with perfumes
Bathing the splendid portals, and around
Scattering rich wreaths and odoriferous flowers.”
Comp. also Tibul. i. 2, 14. So Herder, Kleuker, Ewald, Döpke, Rosenmüller, Philippson, &c.; Rashbam however is of opinion that the liquid myrrh which distilled from the Shulamite’s hand, was the perfume with which she had anointed herself after washing. Whilst Percy supposes that “she got up in such haste, that she spilt upon her hand the vessel of liquid myrrh, which she had brought to anoint and refresh his head, after having been exposed to the inclemencies of the night.” מוֹר עֹבֵר, liquid myrrh, see i. 2; and not, as Le Clerc erroneously supposes, current myrrh, that kind of myrrh which is most passable in traffic. The Vulg. has, Et digiti mei pleni myrrha probatissima, evidently mistaking the prep. עַל for מָלְאוּ, and takes the words כַּפּוֹת הַמַּנְעוּל over to the following verse, Pessulum ostii mei aperui dilecto meo.
[6]. My beloved had withdrawn, &c. To her great grief she found, when opening, that her beloved had gone. The asyndeton חָמַק עָבַר is very expressive, and the use of the two synonymous terms strengthens the sense. This figure, which is effected by the omission of the conjunctive particle, is used in animated descriptions, both by sacred and profane writers. Comp. Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο, Mark iv, 39. Winer, New Testament Gram. § 66, 4. The phrase יָצָא נֶפֶשׁ, properly denoting the departure of the soul from the body, (Gesen. xxxv. 18; Ps. cxlvi. 4,) like יָצָא לֵב, is used to express the momentary loss of the senses, i.e. to faint. בְּדַבְּרוֹ, in his speaking, i.e. when he had spoken of it, (Judg. viii. 3; 1 Sam. xvii. 28), i.e. of his going away: so Rashi, שאמר לא אבא אל ביתך כי מתחילה לא אבית לפתוח, “Because he said I will not now enter thy house, for thou didst at first refuse to open me,” and Immanuel, נפשי יצאה בדברו אלי הנני הולך לדרכי אחרי שלא תפתחתי הדלת. “My soul departed when he told me, Now I am going away, because thou wouldst not open me the door.” We must employ a finite verb with a conjunction to express in English the Hebrew construction of the infinitive with a preposition, and the relation of time must be gathered from the connection, Gesen. § 132, 2, 3.
[7]. The watchmen who patrol the city, &c. That the seeking and calling mentioned in the last verse were not confined to the door, is evident from this verse. פְצָעוּנִי, הִכּוּנִי are again an asyndeton. רָדִיד, which occurs only once more, Is. iii. 23, is a kind of veil-garment, which Oriental ladies still wear, and denotes more properly an out-door [[167]]cloak. See Schroeder, Vestit. Mul. p. 368; Gesen. on Isa. iii. 23; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v.; Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, vol. i. p. 28.
[8]. I adjure you, &c. Having mentioned the indifference with which she had treated her beloved, the Shulamite is anxious to impress upon the court-ladies that this was in a dream, and that in reality, so far from her affections being abated, she was as dotingly attached to him as ever; and begs of them, if they should see him, to tell him so. For the masculine termination in תִּמְצְאוּ אֶתְכֶם and תַּגִּידוּ, see ii. 7. We must supply הַגִּידוּ לוֹ, tell him, after מַה תַּגִּיודוּ לוֹ, what will you tell him? The omission is designedly made, to give animation to the request. The emendation proposed by Houbigant, to read הגידנו, instead of חגידו, is gratuitous, like all his emendations. The Sept. adds ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσιν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσιν τοῦ ἀγροῦ, “by the powers, and by the virtues of the field,” the false rendering of בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה, from the preceding formula of adjuration.
[9]. What is thy beloved, &c. The great solicitude manifested by the Shulamite for her beloved, induces the court ladies to ask what peculiar attractions there were in him more than in an ordinary lover, to cause such an unusual manifestation of feeling, and thus an opportunity is afforded her to give a description of him. It is evident from this question of the court ladies that Solomon is not the beloved of whom the Shulamite has been speaking in the preceding verses. For surely these court ladies knew the aspect and character of Solomon better than the Shulamite. This is, moreover, established beyond doubt from ch. vi. 2, 3, where the damsel, at the end of the description, designedly states that the object of her delineation and attachment, is the shepherd. The particle מִן, prefixed to דוֹד, with which the comparison is made, expresses the comparative, Gesen. § 191, 1. For הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים, see i. 8, and for the form הִשְׁבַּעְתָּנוּ, Ewald, § 249, d.
[10]. My beloved is white, &c. The Shulamite answers this question by giving a very graphic description of her beloved. The colour of his countenance and body is such a beautiful mingling of white and red as is seldom seen, and by which he is distinguished above thousands. A similar description is found in Virg. Æn. xii. 65, seq.
Flagrantes perfusa genas: cui plurimus ignem
Subjecit rubor, et calefacta per ora cucurrit.
Indum sanguineo veluti violaverit ostro,
Si quis ebur, aut mixta rubent ubi lilia multâ
Alba rosâ; tales virgo dabat ore colores.
“At this a flood of tears Lavinia shed;
A crimson blush her beauteous face o’erspread.
Varying her cheeks by turns with white and red.
The driving colours, never at a stay,
Run here and there, and flush and fade away.
Delightful change! thus Indian ivory shows,
Which, with the bordering paint of purple glows;
Or lilies damask by the neighbouring rose.”
Comp. also Ovid. Am. ii.; Eleg. v. 39; [[168]]Hor. Od. i. 13, v. 2; iv. 10; v. 4; Tibul. Eleg. III, 4; vv. 29, 30. צַח, bright, white; compare Lam. iv. 7, where it stands in parallelism with זַךְ, clear; from the same passage we also see that the predicates צַח, white, and אָדַם, red, are not restricted to the countenance, but refer to all the parts of the body which the Oriental costume left exposed, to the carnation as it were of the picture. דָּגוּל denom. from דָּגֶל, banner; prop. to be furnished with a banner, i.e. his singular beauty renders him as distinguished above multitudes, just as a standard-bearer is marked above all other soldiers. מִן, more, above, vide supra, ver. 9, רְבָבָה indefinitely for a large number, see Gesen. xxiv. 60.
[11]. His head is as pure gold. That is of consummate excellency. Having characterized his whole person as charming, the Shulamite describes the beauty of the individual parts of his body, and begins with his head. Gold is frequently used, both in Scripture and in profane writers, to denote consummate excellency and beauty. Thus the illustrious personages are called gold and fine gold in Lam. iv. 1; and Theocritus (Idyl. iii. 28.) calls the beautiful Helen golden. The words כֶּתֶם פָּז are variously rendered. The Sept. has χρυσίου καιφάζ, gold of Cephaz, Aquila and Sym. λίθεα τοῦ χρυσίου, so the Syriac ܒܐܦܷܐ ܕܕܰܗܒܳܐ, a precious stone of gold. The Chald. has דְהַב טָב; so the Vulg. aurum optimum. The Rabbins too vary in their explanations of these words. Ibn Ezra takes כֶּתֶם to be a diadem, and פָּז, precious stones. Rashi indefinitely סגולת מלכים, choice things, which kings treasure up. Rashbam explains כָּתֶם by a heap of gold, and פָּז by זהב מופז, and says it is called פָּז, “because its colour is like pearl.” The majority of modern commentators, after the Sept., Vulg., Chald., take כֶּתֶם as a poetical expression for gold, and derive it from כָּתַם, to hide, to conceal; like סְגוֹר, gold (Job. xxviii. 15), from סָגַר, to shut up, to conceal, because precious metals are generally kept shut up or concealed. This meaning and derivation of the word are supported by the fact that treasures and precious things are generally expressed in Hebrew by words whose roots signify to conceal; comp. אוֹצָר, a treasure (1 Kings vii. 51; xiv. 26), from אָצַר, to shut up; מַטְמוֹן, a treasure, gold (Isa. liv. 2; Prov. ii. 4), from טָמַן, to hide; צָפוּן, riches (Job xx. 26), from צָפַן, to conceal. As for פָּז, it is translated by some purified, pure, from פָּזַז, to separate, to purify (Gesenius, &c.); and by others solid, massy, from פָּזַז, to be strong, solid (Rosenmüller, &c.). But פָּז never occurs as an adjective to כֶּתֶם, or to זָהָב (זָהָב מוּפָז, 1 Kings x. 18, is a contraction of זָהָב מְאוּפָז, comp. Jer. x. 9); the word itself invariably means gold (see Job xxvii. 17; Ps. xix. 11; xxi. 4; cxix. 27; Prov. viii. 19; Cant. v. 15; Isa. xiii. 12; Lam. iv. 2.); and accordingly ought to be rendered so here: “thy head is as gold, gold.” As this, however, would produce tautology, it is therefore best to take פָּז as a contraction of אוּפָז (a variation of אוֹפּיר; see Gesenius, s.v.; Henderson on Jer. x. 9, and Stuart on Dan. x. 5), with which this word goes together, 1 Kings x. 18; Jer. x. 9; Dan. x. 5. As אוּפָן = כֶּתֶם אוֹפִיר, is regarded as the best gold; hence the rendering of the Vulg. aurum optimum, and Chald. דְהַב טָב.
Black as the raven, i.e. of the purest and most jet black, so highly esteemed by the Orientals as well as by the classical writers. Thus Hafiz, as quoted by Dr. Good:—
“Thy face is brighter than the cheek of day.
Blacker thy locks than midnight’s deepest sway.”
And Ossian, Fingal, 2: “Her hair was the wing of the raven.” Comp. also Anac. xxix.; Ovid. Am. El. xiv. 9. תַּלְהַּלִּים, is rendered by the Sept. ἐλαταί, the young leaves of the palm; so the Vulg. sicut elatæ palmarum; similarly [[169]]Gesenius, De Wette, &c., pendulous branches of the palm; but this signification does not lie in the root תָּלַל, which simply means waving, hanging, or flowing down; hence תַּלְתַּלִּים (according to the analogy of זַלְזַלִּים and סַלְסַלִּים, comp. Ewald, § 158, b) flowing curls, locks.
[12]. His eyes, like doves, &c. The vivid and black pupils of his eyes, sparkling forth from the encircling lactean white, in which they are, as it were, bathing and sitting on the fountain of tears, resemble doves bathing gaily in pellucid streams. The doves themselves, and not their eyes, are the point of comparison (vide supra, i. 15, and iv. 1.) Doves are very fond of bathing, and hence choose for their abode regions abounding with streams (Boch. Hieroz. ii. 1, c. 2.) The deep blue or grey dove, reflecting the lustrous dark hue about its neck when bathing in the limpid brook, suggested this beautiful simile. A similar figure occurs in the Gitagovinda: “The glances of her eyes played like a pair of water-birds of azure plumage, that sport near a full-blown lotos in a pool in the season of dew.” The words רֹחֲצוֹת בֶּחָלָב, bathing in milk, referring to the eyes, are descriptive of the milky white in which the black pupils of the eyes are, as it were, bathing. עַל מִלֵּאת, on the fulness, also referring to the eyes, correspond to the עַל אֲפִיקֵי מַיִם, by the brooks of water, which are predicated of the doves. Hodgson’s rendering of יֹשְׁבוֹת עַל מִלֵּאת, by “and dwell among the ripe corn,” is absurd.
[13]. His cheeks are like beds of balsam, &c. His round cheeks with the pullulating beard, resemble beds growing aromatic plants. The Sept., Arabic, Æth., Chald., read מְגַדִּלוֹת, the part. Piel, instead of מִגְדְּלוֹת, which many modern commentators follow, but without MS. authority. The lily here referred to is most probably the crown imperial, of a deep red colour, whose leaves contain an aqueous humidity, which gathers itself in the form of pearls, especially at noon, and distils clear and pellucid drops; see Rosenmüller, Alther, iv. 138; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v. There is, however, no necessity for referring the words “distilling liquid myrrh,” to the lilies. Indeed, it seems to be more consonant with the context, to take them as predicated of the lips, expressing the sweetness of his conversation. Comp. iv. 11.
[14]. His hands are like, &c. His rounded arms and fingers tipped with well-shaped nails, as if inlaid with precious stones, resemble golden cylinders: and his white and smooth body, covered with a delicate blue vest, resembles polished ivory. גָּלִיל (from גָּלַל, to roll), a roller, a cylinder. Kleuker, Gesenius, Döpke, &c., translate יָדָיו גְּלִילֵי זָהָב וגו״, his hands are like golden rings, adorned with gems of Tarshish, comparing the hand when closed or bent to a golden ring, and the dyed nails to the gems in the rings. But גָּלִיל never occurs in the sense of a ring worn on the finger; the word so used is טַבַּעַת, which would have been used here had the figure meant what Kleuker, &c. understood by it. תַּרְשִׁישׁ, according to the Sept., Aquila, Josephus, and modern writers, is the chrysolite, and owes its Hebrew name to the circumstance that it was first found in Tartessus, that ancient city in Spain, between the two mouths of the river Baetis (Guadalquiver). The chrysolite, as its name imports [[170]](χρυσός, gold, and λίθος, a stone), is of a yellow or gold colour, and pellucid. Being of a glass lustre, the chrysolite is beautifully chosen to represent the nails. The words מְמֻלָּאִים בַּתַּרְשִׁישׁ refer to יָדָיו. The expression מֵעִים, prop. the internal parts of the human frame (v. 4), is here used for the external = the body; so Dan. ii. 32. עֶשֶׁת is taken by most modern commentators to denote something fabricated, or wrought; an artificial work; thus deducing this sense from the secondary meaning of עָשַׁת, which the Syriac (ܥܰܒܕܳܐ, work,) seems to favour; but this is incompatible with the description here given of the beloved. The Shulamite, throughout the whole of this delineation, depicts the splendour and colour of the body as they dazzle the eye, but makes no reference to the wondrous construction of the frame, which could have been discerned only by the exercise of the intellect. It is therefore better, with Ibn Ezra, Kimchi, Rashi, Rashbam, Luther, Auth. Version, Mendelssohn, Kleuker, Williams, Good, Hengstenberg, &c. to take עֶשֶׁת, from עָשַׁת, in its primary meaning, to shine, to be bright, in the sense of brightness, polish; comp. Jer. v. 28.
Covered with sapphires. These words refer to his body, and describe the purple tunic covering the snowy white skin. Good, Meier, &c. take it to describe the blue veins which were seen through his clear snowy skin, like a sapphire stone through a thin transparent plate of ivory. But this is against the meaning of מְעֻלֶּפֶת, which signifies covered, and not inlaid; the external covering, and not the internal seen through the outer cover. Commentators are not agreed whether that which we call the genuine sapphire, a transparent stone of a beautiful sky-blue colour, in hardness and value next to the diamond, is meant by סַפִּיר; or the sapphire of the ancients, which, according to Pliny, (Hist. Nat. xxxvii. 39; Theophrast. De Lapid. 231,) is a stone of a pure blue colour, and has frequently pebble spots of a golden yellow hue, which were formerly thought to be really gold, and is evidently our lapis lazuli, lazure-stone. As the latter does neither suit Job xxviii. 6, for the lazure-stone is not very precious; nor Exod. xxviii. 18, since it is too soft to bear engraving, it is more probable that the real sapphire is meant by סַפִּיר in the Scriptures. This stone is often found in collections of ancient gems; see Rosenmüller, Bib. Bot. and Miner.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v. The Syriac, which translates מְעֻלֶּפֶת סַפִּירִים by ܥܰܠ ܡܰܦܚܳܐ ܣܦܻܝܐܳܐ, upon the sapphire breathing, must have had another reading.
[15]. His legs are like pillars of marble, &c. His white legs, standing upon beautiful feet, resemble the purest marble columns based upon golden pedestals. שׁוֹק, as Kimchi well explains it, מה שהוא על הרגל חליל ויגיע עד הברכים, is that part of the limb from the knee to the foot. That אַדְנֵי פָז refers to his feet (Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Kleuker, Meier, Hitzig, &c.), and not to his sandals (Good, Williams, &c.), is evident from ver. 11 and 14, where the head and the hands, the visible parts of the body, are described as golden; and it is but natural that the feet, the only remaining exposed parts, should also be described as golden.
His aspect is like that of Lebanon. Having depicted the single parts of his body, the Shulamite now joins them together, and presents them in one whole, the appearance of which impresses the mind with a sense of beauty and majesty, like that of Lebanon. “That goodly mountain, [[171]]even Lebanon” (Deut. iii. 25), being so luxuriant in its vegetation and rich in scenery, appeared very beautiful and majestic at a distance. “Lebanon is a noble range of mountains, well worthy of the fame it has so long maintained. It is cultivated in a wonderful manner, by the help of terraces, and is still very fertile. We saw on some of its eminences, more than 2,000 feet high, villages and luxuriant vegetation; and on some of its peaks, 6,000 feet high, we could discern tall pines against the clear sky beyond. At first the clouds were on the lofty summit of the range, but they cleared away, and we saw Tannin, which is generally regarded as the highest peak of Lebanon. There is a deep ravine that seems to run up the whole way, and Tannin rises to the height of 10,000 feet. The rays of the setting sun gave a splendid tint to the lofty brow of the mountain.”—Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, p. 240, &c.; comp. also Isa. xxxv. 2; Rosenmüller, Alterth. i. 2. p. 239; Volney, Travels, i. 293.
He is distinguished as the cedars, i.e., in his stature. The lofty cedar, towering above all other trees, is easily distinguished from the rest (Ezek. xxxi. 3–16; Amos ii. 9). A similar comparison occurs in Theocritus, xviii. 30, as quoted above, i. 9. The Chald., Ewald, Magnus, Philippson, &c., take בַּחוּר for young man, youth; comp. Ruth iii. 10; Isa. lxii. 5, “A young man like the cedars;” but the point of comparison is lost in this case. Besides, we should then expect the sing. אֶרֶז, and not the plur. אֲרָזִים. Moreover, 2 Kings xix. 23, and Jer. xxii. 7, where the same phrase מִבְחַר אֲרָזִים is used, is against it.
[16]. His voice is exquisitely sweet, &c. The members, after being analysed separately, have been viewed as a whole; but the beautiful person thus described is inanimate, like the splendid marble columns or the lofty cedars, to which she had compared him. In this verse the Shulamite represents the charms of his speech; and thus affirms his whole person, bodily and mentally, as most lovely. “Such,” she triumphantly exclaims, “is my friend; and now, ye daughters of Jerusalem, judge for yourselves wherein my beloved is more than another beloved.” חֵךְ, prop. palate, is used for the organ of speech, and speech itself, Job vi. 30; xxxi. 10; Prov. v. 3. That חֵךְ here does not mean any part of the body, is evident from the context; for it would be preposterous to recur to the palate or mouth after the whole person had been described. מַמְתַּקִּים and מַחֲמַדִּים are abstracts (see i. 2), adjectively used (Gesen. § 106, 1, Rem. 1), to give intensity to the idea; comp. Gen. i. 2. כֻּלּוֹ, his whole person, bodily and mentally.
[1]. Whither is thy beloved gone, &c.? The court ladies, moved by this charming description, inquire of the Shulamite what direction he took, and offer to seek him. The word הַגִּדִי is omitted after דֹודֵךְ, for the sake of brevity and pathos. For the superlative force of הַיָפָה בַּנָּשִׁים, vide supra, i. 8. [[172]]
[2], [3]. My beloved is gone down into his garden, &c. The Shulamite, knowing that the court ladies are anxious to induce her to transfer her affections to the king, replies in a vague manner, that he is gone to his garden, he is not lost, nor has her affection to him abated, though they are now separated, nor does she fear that his love for her is diminished. This incontestably proves that the object of the damsel’s affection, of whom she gave a description in the preceding, is not the king, but, as she herself tells us here most unequivocally, a shepherd. For ver. 3, comp. chap. ii. 16.
[4]. Graceful art thou, O my love, &c. Just as before (i. 9), Solomon made his appearance as soon as the Shulamite inquired after her beloved, so here he comes forward again when she speaks of her absent lover; thus endeavouring to show his own attachment to her. He addresses her, as before, in the most flattering terms: “Thou art as graceful as the delectable Tirzah, as charming as the delightful Jerusalem, as striking and conquering as an imposing army in full battle array.” Tirzah was the royal residence of the kings of Israel after the revolt of Rehoboam, and retained that distinction till the time of Omri, who built Samaria (1 Kings x. 15–21; xvi. 14; 2 Kings xv. 4). It was a city of fascinating appearance, as its name, תִּרְצָה, delightful, indicates; and hence yielded a very flattering comparison. The Sept. takes תִּרְצָה as an appellative, ὡς εὐδοκία; so Aquila, κατ’ εὐδοκίαν, Sym. εὐδοκήτη, Syriac, ܐܝܰܟ ܨܶܒܝܳܢܳܐ The Chald. paraphrases it בִּזְמַן דצְבוּתֵךְ, in the time of thy willingness, and Rashi inclines to it; the Vulg. has suavis et decora. But there can be no doubt, as Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, and all modern commentators take it, that it is a proper name, Tirzah, the capital of Jeroboam’s kingdom. It may be that the ancient versions resorted to the expediency of taking תִּרְצָה as an appellative, because they wished to avoid the contrast of the two capitals, since this would speak against Solomon being the author of this book. Jerusalem, “the perfection of beauty” (Lam. ii. 15), afforded another excellent figure.
Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts! The fascinating power of a woman is frequently compared to the prowess of an armed host. Comp. Prov. vii. 26. אָיוֹם, which occurs once more in connexion with נוֹרָא, Hab. i. 7, means awful, awe-inspiring, imposing. נִדְגָּלוֹת, Niph. part. prop. bannered, people furnished, or arrayed with banners, hence armies, hosts. The feminine is here used to express a collective idea; comp. אֹרְחוֹת, caravans, Isa. xxi. 13; Gesen. § 107, 3 d; Ewald, § 179 c.
[5]. Turn away thine eyes from me, &c. These awe-inspiring hosts are described as concentrated in her eyes, which [[173]]Solomon implores the Shulamite to remove from him. “The artillery of the eyes,” says Dr. Good, in loco, “is an idea common to poets of every nation.” Thus Anacreon, xvi.
Σὺ μὲν λέγεις τὰ Θήβης,
Ὁ δ’ αὖ Φρυγῶν ἀϋτάς·
Ἐγὼ δ’ ἐμὰς ἁλώσεις.
Οὐχ ἵππος ὤλεσέν με,
Οὐ πεζὸς, οὐχὶ νῆες·
Στρατὸς δὲ καινὸς ἄλλος,
Ἀπ’ ὀμμάτων με βάλων.
“Sing thou of Thebes—let others tell
How Troy’s foundations rose and fell;
My numbers shall alone repeat
My own rencounters and defeat.
Me fleets and armies ne’er appal—
’Tis to a different host I fall:
A host within thine eyes, my fair,
That lurk and ply their arrows there.”
Comp. also Ode ii. רָהַב, in Kal, to tremble (Isa. lx. 5), and Hiphil, to cause to tremble or fear, to frighten, to awe. Similarly the Sept. ἀνεπτέρωσάν με. Vulg. me avolare fecerunt, “they make me flee for fear;” and the Syriac ܐܰܪܗܶܒ, they make me fear. The explanation of Ibn Ezra, חזקו ממני, which is followed by the Authorized Version, cannot be deduced from the root; nor does it suit the context. Equally untenable is the explanation הגיסו לבי, Rashi and Rashbam. For הֵם, mas, with עֵינַיִךְ, fem. see supra, iv. 9.
[6], [7]. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep, &c. For the interpretation of the second half of ver. 5 and vers. 6, 7, see iv. 1–3, where the same description is given, with the exception that there קְצוּבוֹת is used for sheep, and here רְחֵלִים, and that the first half of ver. 3 is here omitted in the Hebrew, which is here given by the Sept. We cannot refrain from quoting the beautiful explanation of these figures from the manuscript commentary of Immanuel: תלתלי שערך ושורותיו נופלים זה על זה לדמיון עדר העזים שהם נתלים זה על זה בהרים ושניך הﬦ לבניﬦ ושויﬦ לדמיון עדר הרחליﬦ, שצמדם לבן והם עולים מן הרחצה שכלם מתאימות שב אל שניה שהם שוות, ושכולה אין בהם שאין שן משניה נגרע ונחסר או הם תואר הרחלים שהם שוות ואין בהם שכילה וכן שניה דומות אליהם. The Septuagint adds after וְשַׁכֻּלָּה אֵין בָּהֶם, and not one among them is bereaved, in ver. 6; ὡς σπαρτίον τὸ κόκκινον χείλη σου, καὶ λαλιά σου ὠραία, like a braid of scarlet are thy lips, and thy mouth is lovely, from chap iv. 3.
[8], [9]. I have threescore queens, &c. The flattery and praise here exceed all that have been previously offered. Solomon protests that, though he is surrounded by a numerous retinue of women of all ranks, the Shulamite is the sole possessor of his heart: she who is the [[174]]best beloved of her mother, and whose consummate beauty has elicited the highest praises from the queens, concubines and maidens. The discrepancy between the number of Solomon’s wives and concubines here stated, and that described in 1 Kings xi. 3, maybe reconciled by taking שִׁשִׁים, שְׁמֹנִים and אֵין מִסְפָּר for indefinite and large numbers: many, very many, without number: so Kleuker, Rosenmüller, Magnus, &c. “We must supply לִי, to me, after הֵמָּה, there. For הֵמָּה, mas, instead of הֵנָּה, fem., see ii. 7. The pronoun הִיא, she, is the subject in all the three clauses, and אַחַת in the first and second clause, and בַּרָה in the third are predicates. We must supply לִי after אַחַת הִיא, she is my only one; just as אַחַת הִיא לְאִמָּה. The word אֶחָד is used for the only one of its kind (Job xxiii. 13; Ezek. ii. 64; vii. 5), favourite; comp. גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ, 2 Sam. vii. 23.
[10]. Who is she that looks forth, &c. That Solomon quotes here the eulogy mentioned in the preceding verse, which the court ladies pronounced upon the superlative beauty of the Shulamite when they first beheld her, has long been recognised by the Rabbins, and is now admitted by most interpreters. This is, moreover, confirmed by Prov. xxxi. 28, where the same words, אִשֵּׁר and הַלֵּל, are used, and the following verse contains the eulogy which the husband utters. The rising morning, with its red light looking down from heaven over the mountains (Joel ii. 2); the beautiful and placid complexion of the moon, and the refulgent and resplendent appearance of the sun, have often afforded, both to the Oriental and to the Greek and Latin writers, exquisite similes for beauty and grandeur. Thus Sirach (l. 5, 6), describing the High Priest, says:—
“How splendid he was in his interview with the people.
In his coming out from the house of the veil!
As the morning star amid the clouds,
As the moon when full in her days,
As the sun when beaming upon the temple of the Most High.”
Comp. also Rev. i. 16; Theocritus’ description of Helen, xviii. 26–28; Lane’s Arabian Nights, i. 29. חַמָּה and לְבָנָח are poetical epithets for the sun and moon, Isa. xxiv. 23.
11, 12. I went down into the nut-garden, &c. As Solomon had referred, in uttering his encomium, to her first coming within sight of the court ladies, the Shulamite here instantly interrupts the king, in order to explain how that came to pass. “I did not go to meet the king, to exhibit myself and be admired by him or his royal retinue; I merely went into the garden with the intention of seeing whether there were any herbs to take home for use, and whether the fruit promised well; and this (נַפְשִׁי) intention of mine brought me unawares near the monarch and his cortége.” Though אֱגוֹז, nut-tree, (so Sept., Vulg., Chald.,) nut occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament, yet its meaning is established from the cognate languages, and its frequent usage in the Talmud and latter Hebrew writers, רָאָה ב, to look among (Gen. xxxiv.), with the intention of choosing [[175]]that which pleases, Gen. vi. 2. אִבֵּי הַנָּחַל, the green or vegetables growing by the river side; so the Sept. γενήματι τοῦ χειμάῤῥου, and Rashbam, על שפת הנחל. The Sept. has here שָׁם אֶתֵּן אֶת דּוֹדַי לָךְ, from chap. vii. 14, which the Arabic, Æthiopic, and several modern commentators wrongly follow, as it has no MS. authority, and has evidently arisen from a misunderstanding of this passage.
[12]. Unwittingly, &c. This verse has caused much perplexity to interpreters. The ancient versions, finding the sense obscure, have altered almost every word, and hence increased the difficulty. Thus the Sept. has οὐκ ἔγνω ἡ ψυχή μου· ἔθετό με ἅρματα Ἀμιναδάβ, which Luther follows: “Meine Seele wusste es nicht, dass er mich zum Wagen Aminadib gezetzt hatte:” They take נֶפֶשׁ as the subject, alter לֹא יָדַעְתִּי, the first person com., into לֹא יָדְעָה, the third fem., to agree with נֶפֶשׁ, a fem. noun, שָׂמַתְנִי, the third fem., into שַׂמְנִי, the third masc. referring it to Solomon, and regard עַמִּי נָדִיב as a proper name. The Vulg. has Nescivi, anima mea conturbavit me propter quadrigas Aminadab; altering שָׂמַתְנִי, the Kal of שׂוּם, to put, to place, into the Hiphil of שָׂמֵם, to be astonished, מַרְכְּבוֹת into מֵרִכְבוֹת, the plural of רֶכֶב, with the preposition מ, and taking עַמִּי נָדִיב as a proper name. Passing over these textual alterations, and the emendations proposed by modern commentators, as unauthorized, we shall first examine the words as they are in the text, and then the most plausible interpretations deducible therefrom. לֹא יָדַעְתִּי are rightly taken by most, though differing in their opinion as to the rendering of the remainder of the verse, as adverbial, in the sense of suddenly, unwittingly, and as subordinate to נַפְשִׁי שָׂמַתְנִי, my soul has unwittingly put me, or placed me; comp. Job v. 9; Isa. xlvii. 11; Jer. l. 24. The verb שׂוּם, to put, to place, may be construed with two accusatives, one of the person, and the other of the thing; and מַרְכְּבוֹת may be taken as the second accusative (comp. Ps. xxxix. 9; 1 Sam. viii. 1; Mich. i. 7), or מַרְכְּבוֹת may be taken as a designation of place after שׂוּם, a verb of motion; comp. Isa. xl. 26. מֶרְכָּבָה, a chariot, used for warlike purposes, or for state or pleasure, Gen. xlvi. 29; Exod. xv. 4; 2 Sam. xv. 1. The expression עַמִּי may either mean populares mei—(the Hebrews having no separate word for “countryman,” use this expression to denote one of their own people (Gesen. xxiii. 11; Lam. ii. 11), and נָדִיב may be an adjective for הַנַּדִיב, as the article is sometimes omitted through following a noun with suffix)—or עַמִּי may here be used, like עִישׁ, for companions, attendants, followers, (Eccl. iv. 16,) the י in עַמִּי not being a suffix, but paragogic, and a mark of the const. state (Deut. xxxiii. 16; Lam. i. 1), and נָדִיב, a noun in the genitive of the king or prince. As to how much stress there is to be laid on the Sept., which takes עַמִּי נָדִיב as a proper name, and is followed by the Arabic, Æthiop., Vulg., and which also produced some variations in the orthography of these words, we need only refer to vii. 2, where the same version renders בַּת נָדִיב by θυγάτηρ Ἀμιναδὰβ. The verse, therefore, may either be translated: “My soul has unwittingly made me the chariots of my noble countrymen,” or, “My soul has unwittingly placed at, or brought me to the chariots of my noble people, or to the chariots of the companions of the prince.” Now against the first rendering we urge, in the first place, that if the chariots be taken in the accusative, and hence in a figurative sense, we are unavoidably led into a bewildering maze of conjectural and fanciful opinions. The following may serve as a specimen. Rashi takes the chariots to be a sign of ignominy. נפשי שמתני להיות מרכבות להרכיב עלי נדיבות שאר אומות, “My soul has made me to be chariots for foreign princes to ride upon”; i.e. I have willingly brought upon me a foreign yoke. Ibn [[176]]Ezra takes the chariots as a figure for swiftness, לא ידעתי שהייתי הולכת במרוצה אליך כמו מרכבות עמי נדיב הגדול שיש בעמי, “I did not know that I was hurrying on to thee with the rapidity of the chariots of the great prince who is among my people;” which the Syriac, ܐܳܐ ܝܶܕܥܰܬ ܢܰܦܫܝ ܣܳܡܬܰܥܝ ܒܡܳܪܒܳܒܬܐ, though sharing somewhat in the errors of the Sept. and Vulg., seems to favour. Herder takes the chariots as a symbol of martial power, guard, and protection (Ps. xx. 8; 2 Kings ii. 11, 12). Hengstenberg affirms that the chariots signify champion, guard, defence. And secondly, this translation interrupts the connexion of this verse with the preceding one. Now the second rendering avoids all this. Solomon has repeated in verse 10 the praise which the court ladies had pronounced on the Shulamite when they first saw her; the Shulamite (in ver. 11, 12), in reply, explains how she came to the carriages of the court ladies.
[1]. Return, return, &c. Here we see how little all the persuasions, promises, and eulogies of the king and courtiers affected the sincere and deeply rooted affections of the Shulamite for her beloved shepherd. No sooner had she explained (as she incidentally informs us) how she came to be noticed and taken up by the king, than she actually started off. But the king entreated her to return, that he might look at her once more. The Shulamite, pausing a little, turns round and modestly asks:
What will you behold in the Shulamite? That is, what can ye see in a humble rustic girl? הַשּׁוּלַמּית, as is evident from the article, is a gentile noun, according to the analogy of הַשּׁוּנַמִּית, (1 Kings i. 3; 2 Kings iv. 12, 25.) Ewald, § 156 c: and a female inhabitant of Shulem, i.q. Shunem. Shulem still exists as a village, now called Sôlam, about three miles and a half north of Zerîn, (Jezreel), and lies on the declivity, at the western end of the mountain of Duhy, the so-called Little Hermon. “There is little room for doubt that it is the ancient Shunem of the tribe of Issachar, where the Philistines encamped before Saul’s last battle, (Josh. xix. 18; 1 Sam. xxviii. 4.) From the same place, apparently, Abishag the Shunammite was brought to the aged David; and here it was probably that Elisha often lodged in the house of the Shunammite woman, and afterwards raised her son from the dead (1 Kings i. 3; 2 Kings iv. 8–37; viii. 1–6). Eusebius and Jerome describe it in their day as a village lying five Roman miles from Mount Tabor, towards the southern quarter, and they write the name already Sulem.” Robinson, Palestine, iii. 169, &c. The transition of ל into נ is of frequent occurrence; comp. לָחַץ and נָחַץ, to burn. (Gesen. Lexicon, ל a; Ewald, § 156, c.) שׁוּלַמִּית is not the feminine of the name שְׁלֹמֹה, which would be שְׁלֹמִית; comp. Lev. xxiv. 11; 1 Chron. iii. 19; Ewald, § 274, f.
Like a dance to double choirs, replies the king, i.e. “to see thee is like gazing at the charming view of a festive choir expressing their merriment in a sacred dance. The Hebrews, in common with other nations (Strabo, 10), used sacred dancing, accompanied by vocal and instrumental music, as expressive of joy and rejoicing (Exod. xv. 20; 2 Sam. vi. 15; Ps. cxlix. 3). [[177]]A sight of such an assemblage of various beauties, all swelling their voices into one song of joy, and blending their several forms in one choral dance of joy, must have afforded a delightful picture. No wonder that such a scene is described by Homer (Iliad, xviii. 590,) as portrayed on the famous shield of Achilles, and that
“On either side spectators numerous stood,
Delighted.”
To this charming scene, therefore, does the captivated monarch compare the view of the Shulamite. מְחוֹלָה, from חוּל, to turn round, a dance, the joyous dancing on a festive occasion. ַחְנֶה, prop. a camp, also a multitude, a band of people, Gen. l. 9. מַחֲנַיִם is the regular dual, and not the plural (Sept., Vulg., Gesenius, Döpke, &c.), and is here used because this dance consisted of a band arranged in a double line, something like our country dance. On the different kinds of Oriental dances, see Rosenmüller, Orient. ii. 19–22; Wilkinson, Manners, &c., ii. 328–340. Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, vol. i. 302. The words כִּמְחֹלַת הַמַּחֲנַיִם have elicited a variety of interpretations. Some take מַחֲנַיִם as a proper name, and say that reference is here made to some particular mode of worship practised in that place in consequence of Jacob’s sojourn there; but this is purely imaginary. Others again suppose that an allusion is made to Gen. xxxii. 2, 3, and hence render מַחֲנַיִם by מַחֲנֵי אֱלֹהִים or צְבָאוֹת; but this is unfounded, since we have not the slightest intimation in that passage that the angels were engaged in dancing.
[2]. How beautiful are thy feet in sandals! The Shulamite, in obedience to the king’s request, returns, and as she advances, Solomon is arrested by her beautiful feet, with which he begins his last highly flattering delineation of her beauty, and his last attempt to win her affections. נְעָלִים, Chald. סַנְדְלִין, sandals, formed an important part of an Oriental costume (Ezek. xvi. 10; Judith xvi. 9). The ladies bestowed great pains upon, and evinced much taste in ornamenting this article of dress, which attracted the notice of the opposite sex. בַּת נָדִיב does not mean a descendant of a titled family, but, according to a common Hebrew idiom, which applies בַּת בֵּן, and other terms of human kindred to relations of every kind, expresses that she herself was of a noble character. Comp. 1 Sam. i. 16; Gesen. § 106, 2 a; Ewald, § 287 f.
The circuits of thy thighs like ornaments, &c. To describe the beautiful appearance of an object, the Orientals frequently compared it to some precious metal or gem; see supra, v. 11; Prov. xxv. 12. The simple metal or gem, however, seems not to suffice here to express the exquisite symmetry of these parts of the body; they are, therefore, compared with some beautifully-wrought and highly-finished ornaments, formed of such materials. The rendering of פְּעָמִים by steps (Sept., Vulg., Ewald, Döpke, Hengstenberg, &c.), and חַמוּקֵי by Schwingungen, movements (Hengstenberg), is contrary to the scope of the description, which obviously depicts the several members of the body (beginning with the feet and gradually ascending to the head), and not their actions. חֲלָאִים is not the dual (Luther), but the plural; according to the analogy of צְבִי, צְבָאִים; פְּתִי, פְּתָאִים. The א in the plural is preferred to the י in consequence of the preceding A sound. Gesen. § 93, 66; Ewald, § 186 e.
[3]. Thy navel is like a round goblet, &c. The reference and the import of the figure are obvious. מֶזֶג, i.q. מֶסֶךְ, mixture, mixed wine. The ancients were in the habit of mixing wine with spices, to make it more stimulating and exciting. Wine thus mixed was called יַיִן הַרֶקַח, viii. [[178]]2, the vinum aromatites of the Greeks and Romans. (Comp. Ps. lxxv. 9; Prov. ix. 5; Isa. v. 22; Mishna, Maaser sheni, ii. 1; Baba Mez. v. 2; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xiv. 15; Gesen. Thesaurus, p. 808; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v.) שָׁרְרֵךְ is one of the few instances in which עע״ are resolved before suffixes, owing to the broadness of the vowels when preceding ל, or ר. Comp. גַּל with suffix גַּלְלוֹ: צִלְלוֹ צַל: הַרֲרָם הַר, Ewald, § 265; Fürst, Lexicon, s.v. –גַל. The particle אַל expresses a subjective wish, Gesen. Lexicon, אַל, ii. 6, Ewald, § 320.
Thy body is like a heap of wheat, &c. The point of analogy seems to subsist between the appearance of the body and that of a quantity of corn heaped up, עֲרַמָה, which Ibn Ezra well explains עבה מלמטה ודקה מלמעלה; so also Rashbam. Remembering that corpulency was deemed essential to an Eastern beauty, this comparison will appear obvious. Selden, who is followed by others, takes this passage as a prediction of the bride’s fertility: as:—“Wheat and barley were among the ancient Hebrews emblems of fertility; and it was usual for standers-by to scatter these grains upon the married couple, with a wish that they might increase and multiply.” Uxor Hebraica, lib. ii. cap. 15. “A custom,” adds Williams, “which might probably originate from this passage, or vice versâ.”
But though it is true that it was a common practice among the Jews at marriages to distribute among the company dried seeds (Talm. Chethuboth, ii. 1), probably to indicate a wish that the newly-married couple might be fruitful, it does not follow that it was the practice at so early an age, or that it is the meaning here. Were this the sense here, we should expect that the Jewish commentators, who well knew and practised the manners and customs of their own people, would have recognised it. Whereas, Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, &c., explain this figure as referring to the appearance.
Hedged round with, &c. The threshing-floors in ancient times were in the open air; and when the wheat had been threshed out, fanned and heaped up, each heap was stuck round with thorns, in order to keep off the cattle. (Hos. ii. 5, 6.) To render the figure more beautiful, and the compliment more flattering, the enamoured king changes the hedge of thorns into a fence of lilies. Others, however, refer these words to a robe embroidered with lilies, covering her body; and others, again, to some ancient custom of surrounding or covering the newly-threshed heap of wheat with a sort of garland of flowers, indicating the joy of the husbandman at the return of the harvest.
[4], [5]. Thy bosom is like, &c. These verses, with a little variation arising from the fact that a different person is the speaker here, contain the same figures as iv. 4, 5. The comparison between the beautiful symmetry, erect bearing, and ivory colour of the neck, and between the elegant structure, lofty altitude, and white colour of a tower, appears more striking and apposite from the description given by Josephus of the towers of Jerusalem: “They were so very tall, they appeared much taller by the place on which they stood; for that very old wall, wherein they were, was built on a high hill, and was itself a kind of elevation that was still thirty cubits taller, over which were the towers situated, and thereby were made much higher to appearance. The largeness also of the stones was wonderful; for they were not made of common small stones, nor of such large ones only as men could carry, but they were of white marble, cut out of the rocks: each stone was twenty cubits in length, and ten cubits in breadth, and five in depth. They were so exactly united [[179]]to one another, that each tower looked like one entire block of stone, so growing naturally, and afterwards cut by the hand of the artificer into the present shape and corners; so little, or not at all, did their joints or connexion appear.” (Jewish War, book v. chap. iv. 4.—Whiston’s translation.) The comparison of the neck with ivory is also used by Anacreon (Ode xxix. 28, 29), in his description of Bathyllus:—
Τὸν Ἀδώνιδος παρελθὼν
ἐλεφάντινος τράχηλος.
“But never can thy pencil trace
His ivory neck of Paphian grace.”
Thine eyes, &c. That is, are as bright and serene as the celebrated translucent pools of this city. Heshbon, a town in the southern parts of the Hebrew territory, about twenty miles east of the point where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea, originally belonged to the Moabites (Numb. xxi. 25), and afterwards came into possession of the Amorite king Sihon (ibid.; Deut. ii. 24; Josh. iii. 10). It was conquered by Moses shortly before his death (Numb. xxi. 25), and was first assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Numb. xxxii. 37; Josh. xiii. 17), and afterwards to the tribe of Gad, and became a Levitical city (Josh. xxi. 39; 1 Chron. vi. 81). It was retaken by the Moabites when the ten tribes were carried into exile (Isa. xv. 4; xvi. 9; Jer. xlviii. 2), but the Jews conquered it again afterwards (Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiii.) The ruins of Heshbon, the name by which the place is still known, have been visited and described by modern travellers. (Burckhardt, Travels, p. 365; Biblical Repos. for 1833, p. 650; Robinson, Palestine, ii. 278.) Heshbon was the pride of Moab, was famous for its fertility, verdure of plantation, and beautiful reservoirs. Hence the simile here. A similar comparison is used by Ovid, De Arte Ama. ii. 722:—
“Adspicies oculos tremulo fulgare meiantes,
Ut sol a liquida saepe refulget aqua.”
בַּת רַבִּים is well explained by Rashbam, the populous, שרוב בני העיר יוצאין ונכנסין בה, “because, through it a multitude of the inhabitants of the town walk in and out;” שהרבים באים להסתכל שם, “because it is the chief place of concourse.” בַּת, daughter, like בֶּן, son, is idiomatically used in Hebrew to express quality. Compare בֶּן־שֶׁמֶן, a son of fatness, i.e. fat; Isa. v. 1, and supra, vii. 2. The Septuagint, which is followed by the Vulgate, not understanding this idiom, renders it literally ἐν πύλαις θυγατρὸς πολλῶν, by the gates of the daughter of many.
Thy nose, &c. This tower must have contained a projection or an overhanging part, celebrated for its great symmetry and elegance. Hence the comparison between the beautifully projecting tower and the well-proportioned nose.
[6]. Thy head upon thee, &c. כַּרְמֶל stands here for כַּרְמִיל, purpura; so Ibn Gamach, Ibn Ezra, Fürst, &c. This shell-fish is of a spiral form, and “the exquisite juice which is so greatly sought after for the purpose of dyeing cloth is situate in the middle of the throat. This secretion consists of a tiny drop contained in a white vein, from which the precious liquid used for dyeing is distilled, being of the tint of a rose, somewhat inclined to black.” Pliny, Hist. Nat. ix. 60, 61; Arist. Hist. Anim. lib. v. c. 14. The simile here subsists between the spiral form of this shell-fish and the pyramidal shape in which the hair was anciently tied up on the top of the head. The Chinese and other Eastern women still wear their hair rolled up into a knot or bunch at the top of the head; and [[180]]even in this country ladies used to dress their hair in a somewhat similar manner. The rendering of the ancient versions of כַּרְמָל, by Mount Carmel, which the majority of modern interpreters follow: they take the simile to be between the beautiful appearance of the bride’s head and the charming, luxuriant, and picturesque summit of this celebrated mountain; but this is against the parallelism and 2 Chron. ii. 16, 13; iii. 14. כַּרְמֶל = כַּרְמִיל is derived from כָּרַם, to be shiningly red, with –ִיל appended, according to the analogy of פְּתִיגִיל; vide Fürst, Lexicon in voce; or it may be that this shell-fish was so called because it was found on the shore near Carmel. At all events, there is no need to look for the etymology of this word out of the Shemitic family.
And the tresses, &c. Fine hair is frequently compared by the Greeks and Romans with purple. Thus Anacreon, xxviii. 11, 13.
γράφε δ’ ἐξ ὅλης παρειῆς
ὑπὸ πορφύραισι χαίσταις
ἐλεφάντινον μέτωπον.
Then paint, from her full cheeks,
Beneath her purple hair,
Her ivory forehead.
Compare also Virgil, Georg. i. 405; Tibul. i. 4, 63. The purple here referred to is that kind which Pliny describes as “nigrans adspectu idemque suspectu refulgens.” אַרְגָּמָן, the costly colour extracted from the shell-fish, is from רָגַם, kind. רָקַם, to colour, with the prostetic א and termination –ָן; vide supra, chap. iii. 9.
The king is captivated, &c. The ringlets, like the lashes of the eyelids, are frequently represented as the net of love. Prov. vi. 25; Sirach ix. 3, 4. Thus Jami, in his Joseph and Zuleikha, chap. i., as quoted by Dr. Good, says:—
“When Love in graceful ringlets plants his toils,
The fool he catches, and the wise man foils;
But, thence released, the sage his snare discerns,
And Reason’s lamp with wonted lustre burns.”
מֶלֶךְ stands for הַמֶּלֶךְ; the article is not unfrequently omitted in poetry; comp. Ps. ii. 2; xxi. 2; Gesen. § 109; Ewald, § 277, b. רָהִיט, a ringlet, so called from its flowing down over the shoulders; vide supra, chap. i. 16. The construction of מֶלֶךְ with אַרְגָּמָן, i.e. royal purple (one of the Greek translators in the Hexapla, Vulgate, Syriac, Luther, Houbigant, &c.), is against the punctuation and the evenness of the metre, interferes with the interpretation of the remaining words, and has evidently arisen from a misunderstanding of the passage. Besides, no people is known by such a name. It was owing to a feeling of being consistent that the editor of Calmet felt himself constrained to take אַרְגָּמָן as a proper name, Argamen, to correspond with the parallel כַּרְמֶל; and to explain this clause as alluding to a particular mode of plaiting the hair, like the weaving of Arech, a city in Babylonia, supposed to be famous for its weaving manufactories.
How beautiful, &c. The captivated king, having described the beauty of the several parts of the body, now combines the separate members into one lovely form, and endows it with life and fascination, which none of the inanimate beauties to which he had compared her, however admirable, possessed. אַהֲבָה, love, abstract for concrete, loved one, vide supra, chap. v. 1. תַּעֲנוּג, charm, attraction, such as living beings possess. Aquila and the Syriac, separating the word בְּתַּעֲנֻגִים, render it θυγάτηρ τρυφῶν, בַּת עֲנֻגִים.
[7]. This thy growth, &c. The beautiful growth of the palm-tree, like that of the cedar and cypress, supplied a forcible image to the ancients. [[181]]Thus the Son of Sirach, xxiv. 13, 14:—
“I grew up as a cedar of Lebanon,
And as a cypress upon Mount Hermon;
I grew up as a palm-tree in En-gedi,
And as a rose-tree in Jericho.”
Comp. also Homer, Odyss. vi. 162, and supra, chap. v. 15. אֶשְׁכֹּל, bunch, cluster, of grapes, dates, or flowers; the context must decide which. Here, from its close proximity to תָּמָר, palm-tree, dates are most probably intended. For the etymology of אֶשְׁכֹּל, see supra, chap. i. 14; and for its form, both here and in ver. 9, Ewald, § 212 d.
[8]. I long to climb, &c. After this flattering description Solomon tells the Shulamite how greatly he desires, and how happy he should be to enjoy, the affections of one so lovely and charming. We earnestly request those who maintain the allegorical interpretation of the Song seriously to reflect whether this verse, and indeed the whole of this address, can be put into the mouth of Christ as speaking to the Church. Would not our minds recoil with horror were we to hear a Christian using it publicly, or even privately, to illustrate the love of Christ for his Church?—אָמַר, to speak, also to wish, to desire, Gen. xliv. 28; Exod. ii. 14; 1 Sam. xx. 4. אָמַרְתִּי does not express the past, but the present; comp. דָמְתָה in the preceding verse; Gesen. § 126, 3; Ewald, § 135 b. The second verb אֶעֱלֶה is subordinate to the first, vide supra, chap. ii. 3. גֶּפֶן is added to אֶשְׁכֹּל, to distinguish it from the dates in ver. 7.
And the odour of thy breath, &c. That is, be as sweet and as quickening as that of apples. אַף is used in preference to פֶּה, because the nostril, or the breathing (which אַף literally means) is regarded by the Hebrews as that which in distension betokens pleasure, anger, &c. The appropriateness of this expression will be more manifest when we remember that hitherto all that the Shulamite showed towards Solomon were resistance and independence. There is also a play of words here, אַף being derived from אָנַף, to breathe, and תַּפּוּחַ, from נָפַח, to breathe. Hodgson strangely renders וְרֵיחַ אַפֵף, “the fragrance of thy face,” because several MSS. read אפיך with a yod.
[9]. And thy speech, &c. That is, Let thy language to me be as the sweetness of delicious wine. Rosenmüller, Döpke, De Wette, Noyes, Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, &c., put these words into the mouth of the maiden. But it is incredible that this modest woman would approve of these expressions with regard to her own person, and that she would continue the words דּוֹבֵב שִׂפְתֵי יְשֵׁינִים. חֵךְ, palate, metonymically for speech; vide supra, chap. v. 16. טוֹב is used as a substantive, and placed in the genitive after יַיִן; comp. Ps. xxi. 4; Prov. xxiv. 25; Ewald, § 287 b. The phrase הֹלֵךְ לְמֵישָׁרִים describes the smooth or mellow wine, which is of a very superior quality, and highly prized, Prov. xxiii. 31. The expression לְדוֹדִי is added in order to describe still more forcibly the nature of the wine, and affords a more striking illustration of the pleasantness of the damsel’s speech. Her voice is not merely compared to wine, valued because it is sweet to everybody; but to such wine as would be sweet to a friend, and on that account is more valuable and pleasant. Ammon, Ewald, Heiligstedt, Hitzig, &c. regard לְדוֹדִי as having erroneously crept in here [[182]]from ver. 11, whilst Velthusen, Meier, &c. point it לְדוֹדַי in the plural; but this is unsupported by MSS. Hodgson, taking לְדוֹדִי for לְדוֹדִים, translates it ad amores, delightfully, corresponding to לְמֵישָׁרִיﬦ in the next clause. But this rendering, to say the least, is contrary to the general meaning of this word. The rendering of Williams, “which I sent to those whom I love for their integrity,” is preposterous.
And causes slumbering lips, &c. The wine is of such an animating nature, that it even causes silent lips to speak. Thus Horace, Epist. lib. i. Ep. v. 19:—
Fecundi calices quem non fecere disertum?
“Whom have not soul-inspiring cups made eloquent?”
Others, however, with less probability, explain these words to mean wine of so excellent a flavour, as to induce those who have indulged in it to dream of it, and converse about it; or wine so delicious and tempting that it leads to excess, in consequence of which the drinkers fall asleep, and then either disclose the subject of their dream, or mutter unintelligible words. דּוֹבֵב is not gently flowing, suffusing (Ewald, Döpke, Gesenius, De Wette, Lee, Magnus, Noyes, Meier, Philippson, Hitzig, &c.), but causing to speak (Vulg., Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Mendelssohn, Kleuker, Hengstenberg, Fürst, Delitzsch, &c.) This is corroborated by the derivative דִּבָּה, which primarily means something spoken, a report, either good or bad, as is evident from Gen. xxvii. 2; Numb. xiv. 37, where the adjective רָעֳה, evil, is joined to it; and from Ezek. xxxvi. 3, where it stands in parallelism with שְׂפַת לָשׁוֹן, and by the frequent usage in the Talmud and other Hebrew writers of the word דָּבַב, for speaking. דּוֹבֵב is the Poel of דָּבַב, a form frequently used in verbs ע״ע (comp. הֹולֵל, Eccl. vii. 7; סוֹבֵב, Ps. lix. 7; Gesen. § 67, 8), and, like the Piel, is often the causative of Kal, Gesen. § 55, 1. The Sept., Vulg., Sym., Syr., read שְׂפָתַיִﬦ וְשִׁנַּיִﬦ, the lips and the teeth, instead of שִׂפְתֵי יְשֵׁנִיﬦ; but this is neither supported by MSS., nor yields a better sense.
[10]. I belong to my beloved, &c. The Shulamite gently but decidedly refuses the wishes of the king, declaring that her affections are fixed on one whom she ardently loves, and on whom alone it is her sacred duty to look. Even Ibn Ezra and Rashbam, though explaining it differently, admit that the maiden here refuses the petitioner of the last verse on the plea that she belonged to her beloved. עָלַי, lit. on me, i.e. it is upon me as a duty. עַל is frequently used to denote duty or obligation, which rests upon one like a burden, and must be discharged. Thus עָלַי לָתֵת, “it was my duty to give,” 2 Sam. xviii. 11; זִבְחֵי שְׁלָמִיﬦ עָלַי, “peace-offerings are due from me,” Prov. vii. 14; Gesen. Lexicon, עַל A. 1, α γ. Ewald, § 217, 4 γ. The suffix in תְּשׁוּקָתוֹ expresses the object, i.e. the desire for him. This is often the case; comp. יִרְאָתוֹ, his fear, i.e. the fear for him, Exod. xx. 20; Gesen. § 121, 5; Ewald, § 286 b. We thus obtain the same sense of this clause which Hodgson gives it, without changing the words into זעליו תשוקתי, upon the slender authority of one MS. to support the first, and three MSS. to support the second alteration.
[11]. Come, my beloved, &c. Having distinctly and finally refused the king, who forthwith quitted her, the Shulamite now addresses her beloved shepherd, who approached her, urging their departure from the royal palace for their festive bowers in Nature’s [[183]]hall. The want of separate names, or initial letters of names, generally used in profane composition to indicate the speaker or the person spoken to, is amply supplied here by the skill of the inspired poet in putting into the mouth of the Shulamite such rural language as shows most plainly that she was a rustic maiden, and that her beloved, whom she here addresses, is a shepherd. Comp. also chap. i. 7; ii. 8; v. 2, 4, &c. To ascribe these words to a princess addressing king Solomon is preposterous. Döderlein, Ewald, Meier, &c., take כְּפָרִיﬦ as the plural of כֹּפֶר, cypress, vide supra, i. 14; iv. 13; but 1 Chron. xxvii. 25, where כְּפָרִיﬦ, like here, coupled with שָׂדֶה, field, forms a contrast to עִיר, city, is against it. הַשָּדֶה is the accusative of place, 1 Sam. xx. 11; Gesen. § 118, 1.
[12]. We will go early, &c. Transported with the thought of her speedy arrival at her mother’s house, the Shulamite vividly depicts to her beloved the scenes of home, where they will again together enjoy rural life. It may be that Milton thought of this passage when he wrote the words:—
“To-morrow, ere fresh morning streak the east
With first approach of light, we must be risen,
And at our pleasant labour, to reform
Yon flowery arbours, yonder alleys green,
Our walks at noon with branches overgrown.”
Paradise Lost, iv. 623, &c.
נַשְׁכִּימָה לַכְּרָמִים is constructio praegnans, and is well explained by Rashbam, נשכימה לטייל בכרמיﬦ, “we will rise early to stroll in the vineyards.” Comp. Gen. xliv. 33; Numb. xiv. 24; Gesen. § 141.
There will I give, &c. The shepherd, gladdened with the fact that his loved one is restored to him, is desirous of expressing his joy and affection, but the Shulamite, anxious to get off as quickly as possible, tells him that at home, amidst the charms of nature, they may indulge in sweet effusions of love. The Sept. and Vulg. have here again דַּדַּיִם, breasts, instead of דֹודִים, love. But in addition to what has already been remarked, we would state that whenever breasts are mentioned in this Song, שָׁדַיִם is invariably used.
[13]. The mandrakes diffuse, &c. Another reason for hastening away from the royal prison into the rural home. There nothing will be wanting; they have there the highly prized apples, they have all sorts of precious fruit, which she left on the trees for him. A similar passage occurs in Virgil, Ecl. i. 37, where the loved one kept fruit on the tree for her lover:—
Mirabar, quid moesta deos, Amarylli, vocares;
Cui pendere suâ patereris in arbore poma:
Tityrus hinc aberat.
“We stood amazed to see your mistress mourn;
Unknowing that she pined for your return:
We wonder’d why she kept her fruit so long,
For whom so late th’ ungather’d apples hung:
But no, the wonder ceases, since I see
She kept them only, Tityrus, for thee.”
דּוּדָאִים, which occurs only once more, (Gen. xxx. 14), is, according to the testimony of the ancient versions, the mass of commentators and modern travellers, the mandrake-plant, Atropa mandragora, called yabrochack by the Arabs, the fruit of which is highly valued by the Orientals for its supposed exhilarating, aphrodisiac, and procreative properties. “It grows low, like lettuce, to which its leaves have a strong resemblance, except that they have a dark green colour. The flowers are purple, and the root is for the [[184]]most part forked. The fruit, when ripe, in the beginning of May, is of the size and colour of a small apple, exceedingly ruddy, and of a most agreeable flavour.” See Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit.; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v. Here, however, this plant is mentioned merely to fill out the picture of charming and highly prized plants, without reference to any supposed internal properties, and has evidently been suggested by the preceding דּוֹדִי, beloved. דּוּדָאִים, lit. love-apples, is the plural of דּוּדַי, from the root דּוּד, to love, with the termination –ַי, like לוּלָאוֹת, the plural of לוּלַי, from the root לוּל. Gesen. § 93, 6, 6; Ewald, § 189 g. וְעַל פְּתַחֵינוּ is well explained by Rashbam, אצל פתח פרדס שלנו, “in our garden, close to our door,” &c. עַל has not unfrequently the sense of neighbourhood and contiguity. Gesen. Lexicon, עַל 3. Others however render עַל, over, i.e. “and over our doors grow,” &c.; others again translate in, i.e. “in our house are,” &c., taking פֶּתַח in the sense of house; comp. Prov. xiv. 19, but with less probability. Houbigant’s transposition of letters, viz. על תפחינו, in nostris malis aureis, instead of על פתחינו, is an idle conjecture.
[1]. Oh that thou wert as my brother, &c. The charming description which the Shulamite gave of their happiness when at home, recalled to her mind the obstacles which they met with, even there; and hence she is led to wish that he had sustained to her the relation of a brother, that, whether in the street or the house, none might misinterpret or interrupt the manifestation of their attachment. מִי יִתֵּן is used to express the optative. Comp. Deut. v. 29; xxviii. 67; Ps. xiv. 7; Job vi. 8; Gesen. § 136, 1; Ewald, § 329 c. כְּאָח is the accusative. The rendering of the Septuag., Τὶς δῴη σε, ἀδελφιδέ μου, θηλάζοντα μαστοὺς μητρός μου; and Luther, “O dass ich dich, mein Bruder, der du meiner Mutter Brüste saugest, draussen fände,” are wrong. יֹונֵק שְׂדֵי אִמִּי, does not mean “an infant still sucking the breasts.” (Grotius, Gill, Good, Williams, &c.), but “one who had sucked and is now a youth;” it is the second accusative to מִי יִתֶּנְךָ, and stands in parallelism with אָח, brother; like the participle יֹולֶדֶת (which does not mean one who just gave birth), and אֵﬦ, vide supra, chap. vi. 9. אֶמְצָאֲךָ is conditional, with the particle אִﬦ implied, Judg. xi. 36; Prov. xxiv. 10; Ewald, § 367 b. גַם is used poetically for וְ, and, Judg. v. 4; Joel i. 12. יָבֻזוּ: the third person is used to express the indeterminate third person, the passive in English. Gen. xli. 14; Gesen. § 157, 3. For לִי, me, five MSS. and two editions read לָךְ, thee, which Ewald adopts. But this is against the majority of MSS. and all the versions, and does not at all improve the sense.
[2]. I would lead thee, &c. As a brother, she could unreservedly bring him from the spot, where she met him in the street, to her mother’s house. We must supply מִשָּׁם, thence, before אֱנְהָגְךָ; so Rashbam. Simple as the word תְּלַמְּדֵנִי seems to be, it has nevertheless produced a variety of renderings. The Septuagint and Syriac, followed by Percy, entirely omit it, and interpolate here וְאֶל חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִי, and into the apartment of her who gave me birth, from chap. iii. 4; after בֵית אִמִּי, [[185]]the house of my mother. Ibn Ezra, the Authorized Version, Kleuker, Döderlein, Hitzig, &c., supply אֲשֶׁר, who, before תְּלַמְּדֵנִי, and refer it to אִמִּי, my mother. But this interrupts the construction, and, against the scope of the description, introduces the mother as an actress. Hodgson and the editor of Calmet, strangely enough, render it Talmudni, as a proper name of the maiden’s mother. The most natural way seems to be to take it with the Vulgate, Chaldee, Rashbam, Luther, Ewald, Döpke, De Wette, Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, Philippson, &c., as the second person masculine.
I would cause thee to drink, &c. On the aromatic wine, see supra, chap. vii. 3. The pomegranate-juice was and still is a favourite beverage in the East. “The Orientals,” says Dr. Kitto, “indulge largely in beverages made with fresh juice of various kinds of fruits. Among these, sherbet made with pomegranate-juice is particularly esteemed, and, from its agreeable and cooling acidity, the present writer was himself accustomed to prefer it to any other drink of this description.” יַיִן, is either an anomalous construct (Gesenius; Fürst, Lex. s.v.), or the absolute, and הַרֶקַח, apposition in the accusative. Compare מַיִם לַחַץ, 1 Kings xx. 27; Gesen. § 116, 6, Rem. b; Ewald, § 287 h. אֶשָׁקְךָ and אֲשְׁקְךָ are a paranomasia, vide supra, chap. i. 3. עַסִיס רִמֹּנִי, my pomegranate-juice, i.e. which I myself have prepared. The noun in the genitive, expressing the quality of the nominative, has the suffix; compare הַר קָדְשִׁי, my holy mountain, Ps. ii. 6; Gesen. § 121 b; Ewald, § 291 b. From an oversight of this most probably arose the readings of רמנים or רמונים (several MSS.), רִמֹּנַי (Vulgate, Syriac), the supposition that רִמֹּנִי is an adjective (Schultens), and the opinion that it is an abbreviated plural from רִמֹנִים, like מִּנִּי for מִנִּים, (Ps. xlv. 9, Meier, Fürst, Lexicon, מ, 3 b.)
[3]. Let his left hand, &c. Exhausted with the attempt to describe her unfailing attachment for her beloved shepherd, an attachment far deeper than external circumstances permit her to manifest, the Shulamite desires that no other hand should raise her drooping head, no other arm support her enfeebled frame, than those of her beloved; compare chap. ii. 6.
[4]. I adjure you, &c. This last affecting scene, having brought the Shulamite’s struggle to a successful termination, is closed by her adjuring the court ladies as before (ii. 7, and v. 3), to make no more attempt to draw her affections away from her beloved to any one else, since they were unalterably fixed. The Septuagint, which is followed by Good, &c., supplies here בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה, from ii. 7, and v. 3. It is obvious, from the change of אִם into the more urgent negative particle מַה, (comp. Job xxxi.; Ewald, § 325 b), that the variation is designedly made; and indeed the haste in which the Shulamite is to depart with her beloved does not permit her to use the lengthy adjuration. [[186]]
[5]. Who is it that comes up, &c. The last successful resistance secured for the Shulamite her liberty. Convinced that even the blandishments of a king cannot overcome the power of virtuous love in the heart of a rustic damsel; satisfied that “all the wealth of his house” could not buy it, Solomon dismisses her. Then, reunited to her beloved shepherd, the happy pair immediately depart for home. As they approach their native place the inhabitants, beholding them at a distance, exclaim, “Who is it that comes up from the plain, leaning upon her beloved?” הַמִּדְבָּר, the plain (vide supra, iii. 6), most probably the plain of Esdraelon, at present known by the name of Merij Ibn ’Amir, lying between Jezreel and Sulem (Robinson, Palestine, iii. 169), which the lovers had to cross on their way home. מִתְרַפָּקֶת (from רָפַק, to lean; hence מַרְפֵּק, an arm, on which one leans, Talm. Sabbath, 92), supporting herself, being weary with so long a journey. So the Sept. ἐπιστηριζομένη; the Vulg. innixa, &c. As for the additional λελευκανθισμένη in the Sept., and deliciis affluens in the Vulg., the one most probably arose from the word בָּרַה, used in chap. vi. 10, where a similar question occurs, and the other from a marginal gloss, מתפנקת or מתנענעת.
Under this apple-tree, &c. As they drew nearer home they beheld the endeared spot—the memorable shady tree under which the shepherd was born, and where their mutual love was first kindled. These sweet musings are at length terminated by the Shulamite, who joyfully recounts the pleasing reminiscences of that place. The frequent meetings of shepherds and shepherdesses under shady trees, (vide supra, chap. i. 7), often resulted in the formation of a sacred tie. The solemn vow of love was then engraven on the bark of the tree, as a witness of their union. Thus Theocritus, Idyl. xviii. 47, 48:—
γράμματα δ’ ἐν φλοιῷ γεγράψεται, ὡς παριών τις
ἀννείμῃ, Δωριστὶ, σέβου μ’· Ἑλένας φυτὸν εἰμί.
“——and on the bark,
In Doric, shall be engraven for all to mark,
‘To me pay honour—I am Helen’s tree.’ ”
Compare also Idyl. xxiii. 46; Propert. I. xviii. 22; Virg. Ecl. x. 53; and Pope, Past. iii. 66, 67. [[187]]
Here thy mother, &c. Confinements in the open air are of frequent occurrence in the East (Gen. xv. 16). “There are in Asia,” says Dr. Chardin in his manuscript notes, “large districts in which no midwives are to be found, and even if some live there they are little known, for mothers assist their daughters, and often female relatives or neighbours fill the place of the former. In Kurman, I saw a woman who was delivered without any assistance in the open fields, three hours from a village, and to my great surprise, she arrived not much later in town where I was. The people there smiled at my astonishment, remarking that similar cases were very frequent in their country.” (See Rosenmüller, Orient. i. 188; Paxton, Illustrations of Scripture, i. 462; Kalisch on Exod. p. 18.) עוֹרֵר, to excite, to move to love, vide supra, ii. 7; iii. 5; viii. 4. חִבְּלָתְךָ does not mean conceived thee (Aquila, Schultens, Hitzig, &c.), which the Shulamite could not know, nor plighted, or engaged thee, (Houbigant, Michaelis, Percy, Kleuker, Good, Williams, Boothroyd, Magnus, Meier, &c.), which is contrary to the Piel signification of this verb, but signifies laboured with thee, (Sept., Syriac, Chaldee, Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, Luther, Ewald, De Wette, Gesenius, Philippson, &c.); compare Ps. vii. 15, and Hupheld in loco. To put these words into the mouth of the bridegroom as addressing his bride, (Percy, Good, Williams, Boothroyd, Delitzsch, Hitzig, &c.), is contrary to the words in the text, which have masculine suffixes. The form חִבְּלָתְךָ is used instead of חִבְּלַתְךָ, to correspond in sound with יָלְדָתְךָ in pause, vide supra, iii. 11. יָלְרָתְךָ, i.q. יָלְדָה אוֹתְךָ. The Vulgate, which seems here to savour of allegorism, translates שָׁמָּה חִבְּלָתְךָ אִמֶּךָ שָׁמָּה חִבְּלָּה יְלָדָתְךָ, ibi corrupta est mater tua, ibi violata est genitrix tua. “The tree,” the Roman Catholics explain of the cross; “the individual” excited to love under it, the Gentiles redeemed by Christ at the foot of the cross; and “the deflowered and corrupted mother” means, the synagogue of the Jews (the mother of the Church), which was corrupted by denying and crucifying the Saviour.
[6]. Oh, place me as a seal, &c. That is, “Let me be near and dear to thee.” The Shulamite, having shown her faithfulness during a period of extraordinary trials, could now look up to the witnessing tree with an inward satisfaction. It is therefore very natural that she should remind her beloved, in the presence of this witness, of his vows. In ancient times, when the art of writing was confined to a very few, and writing materials were not so easily procurable, rings or signets, with names engraven upon them, were generally used as manual signs. This contrivance for a signature soon became used as an ornament. People who could afford it had these seals or signets made of silver or gold, inlaid with precious stones. Being indispensable articles of use, and highly prized as decorations, they were carried in the bosom, suspended from the neck by a string (Gen. xxxviii. 15), or were worn on the right hand (Jer. xxii. 24; Sirach xlix. 11), and thus became a symbol of what is dear and indispensable. Jehovah himself uses this metaphor, Jer. xxii. 24:—
“Though Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
Were as a seal on my right hand,
Yet I would pluck thee thence.”
Comp. also Hag. ii. 23; Sirach xvii. 22; Rosenmüller, Orient. vi. 252; i. 183; iv. 190; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v. [[188]]
For love is strong as death, &c. True love seizes with a tenacious grasp. Like death, it rules with resistless sway; like Hades, it is never moved to give up its object: neither power nor prayer can overcome it. קָשָׁה, hard, firm, inexorable. קִנְּאָה is not jealousy (Sept., Vulg., Authorized Version, Percy, Kleuker, Good, Williams, &c.), but devout affection, ardent love (Ewald, Gesenius, De Wette, Noyes, Meier, Hitzig, Philippson &c.); it is here used as an intensitive term for love, as is evident from the parallelism and the connexion.
The flames of the Eternal. These words are exegetical of “flames of fire;” i.e. the flames of love, though having the same energy as those of fire, are not of the same origin; they emanate from the Eternal, the source of all love. Whether, with Ben Asher, we read שַׁלְהָבָתְיָהּ, conjointly, like מַאֲפָלְיָהּ, Jer. ii. 31; or with Ben Naphtali, שַׁלְהֶבָת יָהּ, separately, which is followed by most editions, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and the majority of modern critics, and which is required by the parallelism; this predicate does not state that the flames of love are “most vehement,” but affirms that they emanate from the Eternal. יָה, an abbreviation of יַהֲוֶה (see Kalisch on Exod. iii. 14; xi. 2; Fürst, Lexicon, s.v.), like אֵל, Isa. xiv. 13, is the genitive of cause or origin. Comp. ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔστι, 1 John iv. 7. שַׁלְהֵב, flame, may either be a quadriliteral, formed from שַׁהֵב, Arabic, to burn, with the insertion of the ל after the first radical, according to the analogy of זַלְעַף, violent heat, (Ps. ii. 6), from the root זָעַף, to be hot; or, which is more probable, is the Shaphel conjugation of לָהַב, to burn. Fürst, Lexicon, s.v.; Gesen. § 55, 6; Ewald, § 122 a. The Sept. has φλόγες αὐτῆς, שִׁלְהָבֹתֶיהָ. That the original reading of the text was שַׁלְהֲבֹתֶיהָ שַׁלְהֲבֹת יָהּ (Ewald, Döpke, Hitzig, &c.) is purely conjectural.
[7]. Floods cannot quench love. Being a flame of celestial origin no terrestrial influence, however great, can destroy or wash it away; it is not subjected to means resorted to for the extinction of ordinary fires. מַיִם רַבִּים, prop. much water, i.e. a great quantity of it (Numb. xx. 11), floods. שָׁטַף, to wash, or sweep away, Job xiv. 19; Isa. xxviii. 17.
If one should offer all, &c. Such divine love spontaneously flows from the heart, and cannot be purchased with money; though one offered all his riches for it, they would be utterly despised. This affirmation, whilst true in itself, is levelled against the king, who attempted to gain love by flatteries and praises (vide supra, i. 11; vi. 8), but was utterly rejected (vii. 11). אִישׁ any one, one, Gen. xiii. 16; Exod. xvi. 29; Gesen. § 122, Rem. 2. בּוֹז, the infinitive absolute, is employed before the finite verb יָבוּזוּ, to express intensity, Gen. xliii. 3; 1 Sam. xx. 6; Gesen. § 131, 3 a; Ewald, § 280 b. יָבוּזוּ, the third person plural, is used for the passive, see supra, chap. viii. 1.
[8]. Our sister is still young, &c. The [[189]]brothers are here introduced, on the arrival of the Shulamite, as repeating the promise which they had once given to their sister if she kept virtuous, and, when espoused, remained true to her vows. One of the brothers inquires of the others what they should do for the Shulamite when she reached womanhood, and is demanded in marriage. אֲחוֹת לָנוּ, i.q. אֲחוֹתֵינוּ, our sister, and is well rendered by the Sept. ἀδελφὴ ἡμῶν, the Vulg. soror nostra, Luther, unsere Schwester. The adjective קָטוֹן, like גָדוֹל, prop. denoting size, is also used with reference to age. Gen. ix. 24; xxvii. 15; Judg. xv. 2. שָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ, i.e. she has not yet reached puberty. בְּיוֹﬦ, when, Gen. ii. 4. דִבֵּר בְּ, to speak for, to demand in marriage, 1 Sam. xiii. 9; xxv. 39.
[9]. If she be like a wall, &c. To this inquiry the second brother replied, that if, having reached that age, she should firmly resist every allurement as a battlement resists the attack of an enemy, they would decorate her as an impregnable wall; i.e. highly reward her. The expression “wall” is figuratively used for impregnability, Jer. ii. 18; so Immanuel, שעמדה הזקה כהומה. The silver turret here mentioned most probably refers to the silver horn, a highly prized ornament which women wear on their heads. “One of the most extraordinary parts of the attire of their females” (Druses of Lebanon), says Dr. Macmichael, “is a silver horn, sometimes studded with jewels, worn on the head in various positions, distinguishing different conditions. A married woman has it affixed to the right side of the head, a widow to the left, and a virgin is pointed out by its being placed on the very crown. Over this silver projection the long veil is thrown, with which they so completely conceal their faces as to rarely have more than one eye (vide supra, chap. iv. 9), visible.” Comp. also Bowring, Report on Syria, p. 8.
But if she be like a door, &c. That is, accessible (vide supra, chap. iv. 12), she shall be barricaded with cedar planks—be punished by being locked up. The word “door” is metaphorically used for open to seduction. The cedar wood is mentioned because it is exceedingly strong, and increases the idea of strict vigilance. Similarly Immanuel, ואם דלת שכבר נפתח נצור עליה לרח ארז כלמ׳ נביאה במצור ונסגור בעדה שלﬡ תראה, וכלוה אדז שהוה הזק ותקיף.
[10]. I am a wall, &c. The Shulamite now triumphantly responds, that she had proved impregnable as a wall, and had now reached womanhood, and therefore the promised reward was due to her. שָׁדַי כַּמִּגְדָלוֹת, i.q. שָׁדַי נָכֹנוּ, Ezek. xvi. 7, is well explained by Rashbam, הגיע זמני להינשא, my time for marriage has arrived, and is an answer to שָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ, in the preceding verse.
Then I was in his eyes, &c. That [[190]]is, in her brother’s eyes. He now, being convinced of his sister’s chastity, gave her the reward of virtue. The suffix in בְּעֵינָיו, his eyes, does not refer to Solomon (Ewald, Hitzig, Philippson, &c.), whose name has not been mentioned, but to the brother (Ibn Ezra, &c.), who last spoke. שָׁלוֹם, peace, has no reference to the name שְׁלֹמֹה, but is used in the sense of חַן, favour, and refers to chap. i. 6; comp. Gen. xxxiv. 7 with ver. 11.
[11]. Solomon had a vineyard, &c. Having been obliged, when demanding her promised reward, to describe her virtue as an impregnable wall, the Shulamite now relates more circumstantially how she had resisted the attempt to gain her affections. Solomon had a large vineyard in Baal-hammon, which he offered to consign to her if she granted his request; but the Shulamite refused his offer, telling him he might keep his large estate to himself, for she was quite satisfied with her humble possession. Many are the conjectures hazarded as to the locality of Baal-hammon, which occurs nowhere else, and no place is known by this name. It is taken for Baal-Gad, or Heliopolis (Rosenmüller, Bib. Geog. ii. p. 253), for חַמּוֹן, Hammon, a place in the tribe of Asher, Josh. xix. 28 (Ewald), and for Βελαμὼν or Βαλαμὼν, Belamon or Balamon, a place mentioned in the book of Judith, viii. 3, not far from the plain of Esdraelon, Judith iii. 9 (Meier, Hitzig). It is, however, more probable, according to Rashi, that Baal-hammon was in or near Jerusalem, and was called בַּעַל הַמּוֹן, place of the multitude, because its beauties and charms attracted a multitude of people, thus presenting a greater temptation for the Shulamite. The Vulgate strangely renders כֶּרֶם הָיָה לִשְׁלֹמֹה בְּבַעַל הַמּוֹן, vinea fuit pacifico in ea, quae habet populos.
He let out the vineyard, &c. This is intended to show the value of the vineyard. It was so extensive that it was leased out to a number of tenants, and every one of them paid a thousand shekels annually, and yet had two hundred shekels left for himself. נֹטְרִיﬦ, an indefinite number of keepers or farmers. אִישׁ each, vide supra, ver. 7. The suffix in בְפִרְיוֹ, his fruit, refers to כֶּרֶם, vineyard, which is masculine. כֶּסֶף, silver, stands for שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף, silver shekel: substantives denoting weight, measure, or time, are frequently omitted. Gen. xx. 16; xxxvii. 28; Acts xix. 9; Gesen. § 120, 4, Rem. 2; Ewald, § 287 i. The amount of a shekel is supposed to be about two shillings and sevenpence. The shekel of the sanctuary, however, like all the weights and measures of the Temple, was computed at double the ordinary. See Ezek. xlv. 12; 1 Kings x. 17; comp. with 2 Chron. ix. 16; Mishna, Shekalim, Maaser Sheni; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v. A thousand shekels, therefore, would be about one hundred and thirty pounds. Remembering that each of these farmers had to pay this sum annually, and that money in those days had fifteen or twenty, nay, according to Michaelis (Mos. Rech. § 243), fifty times its present value, we shall be able to judge of the allurement which this ample estate offered.
[12]. I will keep my own vineyard, &c. And yet, notwithstanding all this, the Shulamite prefers to keep her little vineyard, and be with her beloved shepherd, rather than unfaithfully give him up for riches and honours. כַּרְמִי שֶׁלִּי, my own vineyard, the vineyard which belongs to me; vide supra, chap. i. 6. לְפָנָי lit. is before me; it is [[191]]mine, and I will keep it: this is obvious from the immediately following לְךָ, thine, keep thou it. The words הָאֶלֶף לְךָ וגו״ are to be taken as an exclamatory phrase, Ewald, § 329 a. אֶלֶף is here used collectively for all the thousands put together, which come in annually from the farmers; so מָאתַיִם, the two hundreds. The Vulgate translates here again the proper שְׁלֹמֹה, mille tui pacifici.
[13]. O thou that dwellest in the gardens, &c. The companions of the shepherd, who had manifested their joy at the successful arrival of the happy pair (vide supra, ver. 5), and rejoice that one of their humble occupation has brought such honour upon the whole class, visit the Shulamite, to hear from her own mouth her avowed attachment to her beloved. The shepherd, therefore, requests her to gratify this desire. She is no more הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת בְּחַדְרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ, sitting in the apartments of the king, vide supra, chap. i. 4, but has the honourable appellation of הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּגָנִים, dwelling in the gardens. חֲבֵרִיﬦ, companions, i.e. my companions, fellow-shepherds, i. 8.
[14]. Haste, O my beloved, &c. The Shulamite complies with the request. In the presence of all, she calls the shepherd her beloved, and tells him always to hasten to her with the speed of the swift-footed gazelle; vide supra ii. 9, 17. He has no more to cross “the mountains of separation” (see ii. 17), for they are united. These rugged mountains have now given place to the much-wished-for aromatic hills, iv. 6.
Reed and Pardon, Printers, Paternoster Row, London. [[193]]