CHAPTER III _The bride mentions the absence of her spouse, her search after_ _him, and her ultimate success_, 1-5. _A description of the bridegroom, his bed, chariot, c._, 6-11. NOTES ON CHAP. III Verse Song of Solomon 3:1. _BY NIGHT ON MY BED I SOUGHT HIM_] It appears that the bridegroom only... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Song of Solomon 3:4. _INTO MY MOTHER'S HOUSE_] The _women_ in the East have all _separate apartments_, into which no person ever attempts to enter except the _husband_. We find _Isaac_ bringing _Rebecca_ into his _mother's tent_, when he made her his wife, Genesis 24:67. What is here related a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Song of Solomon 3:5. _I CHARGE YOU_] The same adjuration as before, Song of Solomon 2:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Song of Solomon 3:6. _WHO IS THIS THAT COMETH OUT OF THE WILDERNESS_] Going to Egypt was called _descending_ or _going down_, coming from it was termed _coming up_. The bride, having risen, goes after her spouse to the country, and the clouds of incense arising from her _palanquin_ seemed like... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Song of Solomon 3:7. _THREESCORE VALIANT MEN_] These were the _guards_ about the pavilion of the bridegroom, who were placed there _because of fear_ _in the night_. The _security_ and _state_ of the prince required such a guard as this, and the passage is to be _literally_ understood.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Song of Solomon 3:8. _THEY ALL HOLD SWORDS_] They are swordsmen. Every man has a sword, and is well instructed how to use it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 9. _OF THE WOOD OF LEBANON._] Of the _cedar_ that grew on that mount. It is very likely that a _nuptial bed_, not a _chariot_, is intended by the original word אפיון _appiryon_. _Montanus_ properly translates it _sponsarum thalamum_, a nuptial bed. It may, however, mean a _palanquin_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 10. _THE PILLARS_ - OF _SILVER_] The _bedposts_ were made of silver, or _cased_ with wrought silver plates, like the king's chairs brought from Hanover, now, in one of the staterooms in _Windsor Castle_. _THE BOTTOM THEREOF_ OF _GOLD_] This may refer to _cords_ made of _gold thread_, or to th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Song of Solomon 3:11. _GO FORTH, O YE DAUGHTERS OF ZION_] This is the exhortation of the _companions_ of the _bride_ to the _females_ of the _city_ to examine the superb appearance of the bridegroom, and especially the _nuptial crown_, which appears to have been made by _Bathsheba_, who it is... [ Continue Reading ]