IV. (1) LOCKS. — Heb., _tsammah,_ only besides in Song of Solomon 6:7 and Isaiah 47:2. The derivation, and the existence of cognate Arabic words, leave no doubt that it means _veil._ So, in Isaiah 47:2, the LXX. understood it, though here they have given the strange and meaningless translation, “ou... [ Continue Reading ]
THY TEETH... — _i.e., white as newly washed sheep._ The word translated _shorn_ is only used as a synonym for _sheep,_ as we see by comparison with Song of Solomon 6:6. The only other place where it is found is 2 Kings 6:6, where it is used of _cutting wood._ BEAR TWINS. — The Hebrew word means “to... [ Continue Reading ]
SPEECH. — Rather, _mouth,_ as the parallelism shows. THY TEMPLES... — Rather, _like a piece of pomegranate thy cheeks behind thy veil._ (See Note to Song of Solomon 4:1.) “The pomegranate brings to my mind the blushes of my beloved, when her cheeks are covered with a modest resentment” (Persian Ode... [ Continue Reading ]
TOWER OF DAVID. — This is not likely to be identified, when even the towers of Phasaelus and Hippicus, minutely described by Josephus, cannot be found. The structure at the north-west angle, known since the Crusades as the “Tower of David,” is Herodian. No clue would be given by the words in the tex... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTIL THE DAY BREAK. — See Note, Song of Solomon 2:17. _Until the day breathe = when evening is come._ Commentators have tried to identify the _mountain of myrrh and hill of frankincense,_ but these only carry on the thought of Song of Solomon 4:5 under another figure. We have come to another break... [ Continue Reading ]
COME WITH ME. — Better, _to me._ LXX., _hither_; so Vulg. and Luther, reading _athî,_ imperative of _athah,_ instead of _ittî = with me,_ or more properly, _as regards me._ The reading involved only a difference of vowel points, and is to be preferred. We have here another reminiscence of the obstac... [ Continue Reading ]
RAVISHED. — Marg., _taken away,_ whereas many (including Herder, Ewald, &c) give an exactly opposite sense: “thou hast given me heart, emboldened me.” The literal, “thou hast _hearted_ (_libabtinî_) me,” if we can so say, may mean either; the language of love would approve either _stolen my heart_ o... [ Continue Reading ]
A GARDEN INCLOSED. — Comp. with this passage Song of Solomon 4:12; Proverbs 5:15; Proverbs 5:21. The closed or walled garden and the sealed fountain appear to have been established metaphors for the pure and chaste wife. For the latter, at least, there is not only the above passage in Proverbs, but... [ Continue Reading ]
THY PLANTS. — Some have thought the offspring of the marriage intended here; but the poet is plainly, by a new adaptation of the language of flowers, describing the charms of the person of his beloved. ORCHARD. — Heb. _pardes_; LXX. παράδεισος; found only elsewhere in Nehemiah 2:8 (where see Note),... [ Continue Reading ]
SPIKENARD. — See Note, Song of Solomon 1:12. _Saffron;_ Heb. _carchom_; only here. The Arabic name is still _kûrkûm = Crocus sativus,_ a well-known bulb of the order _Iridaceœ._ The pistil and stigma. dried, form the saffron. CALAMUS. — Heb. _kâneh._ (Comp. _kâneh bosem =_ sweet calamus, Exodus 30:... [ Continue Reading ]
BLOW UPON MY GARDEN. — After the description of his beloved’s charms under these figures, the poet, under a companion figure, invokes the “airs of love” to blow upon the garden, that its perfumes may “flow out” for him — that the object of his affections may no longer keep herself reserved and denie... [ Continue Reading ]