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.