A DIALOGUE. HER LOVELINESS 10-13. A dialogue between these ladies and her. They compare her to the dawn, stooping down to look on the earth from the sky. It is still common in Arabic poems to address the beloved as 'Moon,' or 'Full moon'! 11, 12. She tells of her visit to the nut-garden, where, er... [ Continue Reading ]
MEMORIES. THE CLOSE 5. The chorus enquire who this happy bride may be. And the bridegroom points her to the apple-tree where he had once found her asleep, and to the spot where she was born. These are lovers' reminiscences, sweet to them, trivial to others. 6, 7. Her passionate clinging to him, an... [ Continue Reading ]
She would fain be as inseparable from him as the seal-cylinder, which men wore on a cord round the neck, or the seal-ring on the right hand (Genesis 38:18; Jeremiah 22:24;). Love is strong as resistless death. Jealousy can be hard as Sheol (RV), the place of the dead. 'Turning all love's delight to... [ Continue Reading ]
Render, 'If a man were ready to give the whole substance of his house for love, could any one despise him? 'No. It is better worth the purchase than anything else on earth. 8, 9. The solicitude which the brothers once felt concerning their sister. If she repels all improper advances they will do he... [ Continue Reading ]
Our heroine can proudly assert her purity, and her beloved honours her. 11, 12. In figurative speech he expresses his contentment. King Solomon has a fertile and profitable vineyard at BAAL-HAMON (perhaps the town mentioned in Joshua 19:28). Any one would give for its produce a thousand shekels (ab... [ Continue Reading ]
But the chorus beg her to return and perform for them the 'Dance of Mahanaim' (RV), a sword-dance, no doubt, such as the bride executes, sword in hand, on the evening of the marriage, amidst a half-circle of men and women, whilst a poem (_wasf_= 'description') of the character of Song of Solomon 7:1... [ Continue Reading ]
Her final word, of invitation to her husband, is a slightly modified repetition of the refrain Song of Solomon 2:17.... [ Continue Reading ]