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.
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!
For my head is filled with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.
I have put off my tunic,
How shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet,
How shall I soil them?
My beloved withdrew his hand from the door hole,
And my heart was disquieted within me.
I immediately arose to open to my beloved,
And my hands dropped with myrrh,
And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
Upon the handles of the bolt.
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But my beloved had withdrawn, was gone!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.
The watchmen who patrol the city found me:
They beat me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls stripped me of my veiling garment.
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.
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.
My beloved is white and ruddy,
Distinguished above thousands;
His head is as the finest gold,
His flowing locks are black as the raven.
His eyes, like doves in water streams,
Are bathing in milk, sitting on fulness;
His cheeks are like beds of balsam,
Elevations of aromatic plants;
His lips are like lilies distilling liquid myrrh.
His hands like golden cylinders, inlaid with chrysolite,
His body is like polished ivory, covered with sapphires.
His legs are like pillars of marble
Based upon pedestals of gold.
His aspect is like that of Lebanon.
He is distinguished as the cedars.
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.
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.
THE SHULAMITE.
My beloved is gone down into his garden,
To the beds of aromatics,
To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine;
He who feeds his flock among the lilies.
SOLOMON.
Graceful art thou, O my love, as Tirzah,
Beautiful as Jerusalem,
Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts!
Turn away thine eyes from me,
For they inspire me with awe!
Thy hair is like a flock of goats
Springing down Mount Gilead;
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.
Like a part of the pomegranate
Are thy cheeks behind thy veil.
I have threescore queens,
And fourscore concubines,
And maidens without number;
But she is my only one, my dove, my perfect beauty,
She, the delight of her mother,
She, the darling of her parent!
The damsels saw her and praised her;
The queens also, and the concubines, and extolled her thus:
“Who is she that looks forth as the morn,
Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts?”
THE SHULAMITE.
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.
Unwittingly had my longing soul brought me
To the chariots of the companions of the prince.
(She goes away).
SOLOMON.
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.
How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O noble maiden!
The circuits of thy thighs like ornaments,
The work of a master’s hands.
Thy navel is like a round goblet,
Let not spiced wine be wanted in it;
Thy body is like a heap of wheat,
Hedged round with lilies.
Thy bosom is like two young fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
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.
Thy head upon thee as purple,
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!
This thy growth is like a palm-tree,
And thy bosom like its clusters.
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;
And thy speech as delicious wine,
Which to my friend flows down with mellowed sweetness,
And causes slumbering lips to speak.
THE SHULAMITE.
I belong to my beloved,
And it is for me to desire him.
Come, my beloved, let us go into the country,
Let us abide in the villages.
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.
The mandrakes diffuse fragrance,
And at our door are all sorts of delicious fruit,
Both new and old;
I have reserved them, O my beloved, for thee!
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.
I would lead thee thence,
I would bring thee into the house of my mother;
Thou shouldst be my teacher,
I would cause thee to drink
Of the aromatic wine,
Of my pomegranate juice.
Let his left hand be under my head,
And his right hand support me!
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Neither to incite nor to excite my affection
Till it desires another love.
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.
Who is it that comes up from the plain,
Leaning upon her beloved?
THE SHULAMITE.
Under this apple-tree I won thy heart,
Here thy mother travailed,
Here labouring she gave thee birth.
Oh, place me as a seal upon thy heart,
As a seal upon thine hand!
For love is strong as death,
Affection as inexorable as Hades.
Its flames are flames of fire,
The flames of the Eternal.
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.
Our sister is still young,
And is not yet marriageable.
What shall we do for our sister,
When she shall be demanded in marriage?
ANOTHER BROTHER.
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.
I am like a wall,
And my bosom is as towers!
Then I was in his eyes
As one that findeth favour.
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.
I will keep my own vineyard:
Be the thousands thine, O Solomon,
And the two hundreds to the keepers of its fruit!
THE SHEPHERD.
O thou that dwellest in the gardens,
My companions are listening to thy voice,
Let me hear thy voice!
THE SHULAMITE.
Haste, O my beloved,
And be like the gazelle, as the young one of the hind,
Over the mountains of spices.
NOTES
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. 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.
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 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 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), 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 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; 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, 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
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
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. 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.
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 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 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,
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),
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.ἅπαξ λεγόμενον 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 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 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 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
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 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.