The following is a specimen of his commentary:—
[1]. The Song of Songs—That is, a song celebrated above all songs, like אלהי אלהיﬦ the great and awful God, above all gods, and ﬡדוני אדניﬦ the great Lord above all lords. Which is Solomon’s. That is, King Solomon composed it by inspiration. Foreseeing the Israelites in their captivity sighing after the Holy One who went away from them, as a bridegroom separates himself from his beloved, Solomon sings this song in the name of the congregation of Israel, who is like a bride to Him (God). אשר לשלמה describes Solomon as the author, compare תפלה למשה, תהלה לדוד.
[2]. Would that, &c.—Would that my Beloved came, and kissed me kisses of His mouth on my mouth in his great love as in the days of old; for the expressions of His love are better, pleasanter, and sweeter than any delicious banquet. Thy caresses. The loved one sometimes addresses herself to her beloved as if he were present, and at other times she speaks of him to her companions, as if he were absent. More than wine, i.e. more than sweet beverages called יַיִן. According to the allegorical meaning, this refers to the law delivered to Israel mouth to mouth.
[3]. Thy perfumes, &c.—Because of Thy good ointment of balsam, the odour of which extended to the end of the earth, and was poured out from vessel to vessel, therefore is Thy name called ointment. Comp. Eccl. vii. 1. “A good name is better than precious ointment.” By the extension of youthful love is meant the wonders which the Holy One performed for the congregation of Israel in Egypt, on account of which His name and power became known among the nations, as it is written, “The priest of Midian heard, &c.” Exod. xviii. 1: and again, what is said by Rahab the harlot, “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water, &c.” Josh. ii. 10. And again, “The people shall hear and be afraid,” Exod. xv. 14.
[4]. Draw me, &c.—Draw me to Thee, and I and my congregation will run after Thee, as in the days of old, when the King, my beloved, brought me into His chambers; and, while running after Thee, we will rejoice and [[44]]be glad in Thee, and celebrate Thy love and the expressions of Thy affection above any banquet of wine and beverages; for all the world loves Thee with upright love. This refers to the congregation of Israel, who sighs and makes supplication before the Holy One, to bring her out from her captivity, as He had formerly brought her out of Egypt, and led her into His chambers, i.e., the tabernacle, where they served Him continually.
[5]. I am swarthy, &c.—Oh, my companions, virgin daughters of Ishmael, do not disdain and deride me on account of my blackness, saying, Because I am black, therefore my Beloved left me; for, although I am black as regards the appearance of my face, like the tents of Kedar, yet I am comely and graceful in body and stature, like the curtains of King Solomon, which are becoming and suitable to royalty. Thus the congregation of Israel, whom the nations reproach on account of her sins and transgressions which she committed, answers: True, I have sinned; and woe to me, for I am wandering in captivity for it; yet I am comely, I am of royal blood, and have the merits of my fathers; and the Holy One, in the latter days, will restore me to my former state, and liberate me from the iron furnace of captivity. The daughters of Jerusalem are the heathen. Compare “I will give them to thee to be thy daughters.” Ezek. xvi. 61. The tents of Kedar are black, because the sons of Kedar sojourn in deserts and dwell in tents, and not in houses.
1093–1168. While Rashi and Rashbam, by means of this allegorical interpretation, assuaged the sufferings of their brethren in France and Germany, the celebrated Abraham Ibn-Ezra ben Meier, also called Ibn-Ezra and Raba, who was born in Toledo in 1093, and died in 1168,[54] administered consolation through the same medium to his suffering brethren in Spain, shewing them that this Song recounts the past wonderful dealings of God with his beloved people from the very call of Abraham, and the blessings reserved for them at the coming of the Messiah, who shall gather them from among all nations, and bring them back to the land flowing with milk and honey.
Thus Ibn Ezra maintains that “This book is allegorical, and describes the history of Israel; commencing with the days of our Father, Abraham, and coming down to the days of the Messiah; just as the Song of Moses (Deut. xxxii.) begins with the dispersion of the human family, and finishes with the final ingathering of Israel, after the battle of Gog and Magog. Do not wonder that [[45]]the Congregation of Israel is here compared to a bride, and the Lord to a bridegroom; for this is the manner of the prophets.” (Comp. Isa. v. 1, lxii. 5, Ezek. xvi. 7, Hos. iii. 1, Psa. xlv. 10.)
The allegory, according to this distinguished Rabbi, is developed in the suppositious attachment contracted between a damsel who kept a vineyard, and a shepherd. The representation of the love of these parties “is suppositious, because such an actual manifestation, in so public a manner as here recorded, would be regarded as highly improper.”[55]
“The beloved” represents God; with the exception of viii. 12, where the Messiah is meant; “the loved one” is the Congregation of Israel; “the companions of the beloved” are the pious ancestors; “the daughters of Jerusalem” are the thoughts of the loved one; “the little sister,” in viii. 8, is the two tribes and a half; “the speaker,” in viii. 13, the shechinah; “the companions,” in the same verse, are the angels.
The commentary consists of three different glosses: in the first, the words are explained; in the second, the suppositious history of the attachment of the shepherd and shepherdess is developed; and in the third gloss, the allegory is evolved from that history. The following is a specimen of the gloss where the allegory is propounded.
[2]. Let him kiss me.—He (i.e. Solomon) begins with Abraham, for he is the root of the Jewish nation. By “the kisses of his mouth” are meant the law and the commandments, as it is written, “Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Gen. xxvi. 5.) Do not wonder that the future (ישקני) is used instead of the past; this is the idiom of the sacred Scriptures, compare ﬡז ישּיר, then he sang (Exod. xv. 1, and Psa. cvi. 19); just as we find the contrary, the past used for the future (Psa. lxxix. 1).—For thy love, &c. i.e., to be loved by thee; as the Scriptures testify of God’s love to his people. Compare “the seed of Abraham whom I love” (Isa. xli. 8); for there is a difference between אוהב, loving, and אהוב, loved.
[3]. Thy perfumes, &c.—Abraham proclaimed the works of God, and instructed his generation; and wherever he went he called on the name of the Lord; this is the meaning of “thy name is poured forth like oil.” Therefore do the damsels love thee.—עלמות are such as have no husbands, and denote the heathen who had no God, and were brought by [[46]]Abraham into union with God; as it is written, “The souls which they had begotten in Haran” (Gen. xii. 5).
[4]. Draw me.—Abraham was drawn after God, and therefore left his native place (Gen. xii. 1). The king has brought me, &c.—God has brought Abraham into the land of Canaan; or it may mean, God has made him wise in his secrets, and the words, we will praise thy love, denote the altars and groves which Abraham erected and planted wherever he came.
[5]. I am swarthy.—This refers to the Egyptian bondage. Although I (i.e. Israel) am swarthy because of some evil deeds committed there; yet I am comely because of my adhesion to the covenant and to the belief in the unity of God.
It has generally been overlooked that Ibn Ezra distinctly states in the second gloss, in which he professes to give the literal meaning of the narrative, that the lovers are a shepherd and a shepherdess, and that the king is a separate and distinct person from the beloved shepherd.
Thus he explains Ch. i. 4, “I rejoice in THEE (the shepherd) more than if THE KING had brought me into his apartments.” Again, verse 12, the shepherdess says to the shepherd, “Though my fragrance is so sweet that THE KING, whilst reclining, desires to smell my nard, yet MY BELOVED (the shepherd), who is a bundle of myrrh, diffuses a still sweeter fragrance.” Compare also Ch. iii. 6–11, Ch. vi. 8, Ch. viii. 11, 12. This is an important step to the right understanding of the Book.