[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.