Chapter VIII: 5–14 (4)

To this charming scene, therefore, does the captivated monarch compare the view of the Shulamite. מְחוֹלָה, from חוּל, to turn round, a dance, the joyous dancing on a festive occasion. ַחְנֶה, prop. a camp, also a multitude, a band of people, Gen. l. 9. מַחֲנַיִם is the regular dual, and not the plural (Sept., Vulg., Gesenius, Döpke, &c.), and is here used because this dance consisted of a band arranged in a double line, something like our country dance. On the different kinds of Oriental dances, see Rosenmüller, Orient. ii. 19–22; Wilkinson, Manners, &c., ii. 328–340. Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, vol. i. 302. The words כִּמְחֹלַת הַמַּחֲנַיִם have elicited a variety of interpretations. Some take מַחֲנַיִם as a proper name, and say that reference is here made to some particular mode of worship practised in that place in consequence of Jacob’s sojourn there; but this is purely imaginary. Others again suppose that an allusion is made to Gen. xxxii. 2, 3, and hence render מַחֲנַיִם by מַחֲנֵי אֱלֹהִים or צְבָאוֹת; but this is unfounded, since we have not the slightest intimation in that passage that the angels were engaged in dancing.

2. How beautiful are thy feet in sandals! The Shulamite, in obedience to the king’s request, returns, and as she advances, Solomon is arrested by her beautiful feet, with which he begins his last highly flattering delineation of her beauty, and his last attempt to win her affections. נְעָלִים, Chald. סַנְדְלִין, sandals, formed an important part of an Oriental costume (Ezek. xvi. 10; Judith xvi. 9). The ladies bestowed great pains upon, and evinced much taste in ornamenting this article of dress, which attracted the notice of the opposite sex. בַּת נָדִיב does not mean a descendant of a titled family, but, according to a common Hebrew idiom, which applies בַּת בֵּן, and other terms of human kindred to relations of every kind, expresses that she herself was of a noble character. Comp. 1 Sam. i. 16; Gesen. § 106, 2 a; Ewald, § 287 f.

The circuits of thy thighs like ornaments, &c. To describe the beautiful appearance of an object, the Orientals frequently compared it to some precious metal or gem; see supra, v. 11; Prov. xxv. 12. The simple metal or gem, however, seems not to suffice here to express the exquisite symmetry of these parts of the body; they are, therefore, compared with some beautifully-wrought and highly-finished ornaments, formed of such materials. The rendering of פְּעָמִים by steps (Sept., Vulg., Ewald, Döpke, Hengstenberg, &c.), and חַמוּקֵי by Schwingungen, movements (Hengstenberg), is contrary to the scope of the description, which obviously depicts the several members of the body (beginning with the feet and gradually ascending to the head), and not their actions. חֲלָאִים is not the dual (Luther), but the plural; according to the analogy of צְבִי, צְבָאִים; פְּתִי, פְּתָאִים. The א in the plural is preferred to the י in consequence of the preceding A sound. Gesen. § 93, 66; Ewald, § 186 e.

3. Thy navel is like a round goblet, &c. The reference and the import of the figure are obvious. מֶזֶג, i.q. מֶסֶךְ, mixture, mixed wine. The ancients were in the habit of mixing wine with spices, to make it more stimulating and exciting. Wine thus mixed was called יַיִן הַרֶקַח, viii. 2, the vinum aromatites of the Greeks and Romans. (Comp. Ps. lxxv. 9; Prov. ix. 5; Isa. v. 22; Mishna, Maaser sheni, ii. 1; Baba Mez. v. 2; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xiv. 15; Gesen. Thesaurus, p. 808; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v.) שָׁרְרֵךְ is one of the few instances in which עע״ are resolved before suffixes, owing to the broadness of the vowels when preceding ל, or ר. Comp. גַּל with suffix גַּלְלוֹ: צִלְלוֹ צַל: הַרֲרָם הַר, Ewald, § 265; Fürst, Lexicon, s.v. –גַל. The particle אַל expresses a subjective wish, Gesen. Lexicon, אַל, ii. 6, Ewald, § 320.

Thy body is like a heap of wheat, &c. The point of analogy seems to subsist between the appearance of the body and that of a quantity of corn heaped up, עֲרַמָה, which Ibn Ezra well explains עבה מלמטה ודקה מלמעלה; so also Rashbam. Remembering that corpulency was deemed essential to an Eastern beauty, this comparison will appear obvious. Selden, who is followed by others, takes this passage as a prediction of the bride’s fertility: as:—“Wheat and barley were among the ancient Hebrews emblems of fertility; and it was usual for standers-by to scatter these grains upon the married couple, with a wish that they might increase and multiply.” Uxor Hebraica, lib. ii. cap. 15. “A custom,” adds Williams, “which might probably originate from this passage, or vice versâ.”

But though it is true that it was a common practice among the Jews at marriages to distribute among the company dried seeds (Talm. Chethuboth, ii. 1), probably to indicate a wish that the newly-married couple might be fruitful, it does not follow that it was the practice at so early an age, or that it is the meaning here. Were this the sense here, we should expect that the Jewish commentators, who well knew and practised the manners and customs of their own people, would have recognised it. Whereas, Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, &c., explain this figure as referring to the appearance.

Hedged round with, &c. The threshing-floors in ancient times were in the open air; and when the wheat had been threshed out, fanned and heaped up, each heap was stuck round with thorns, in order to keep off the cattle. (Hos. ii. 5, 6.) To render the figure more beautiful, and the compliment more flattering, the enamoured king changes the hedge of thorns into a fence of lilies. Others, however, refer these words to a robe embroidered with lilies, covering her body; and others, again, to some ancient custom of surrounding or covering the newly-threshed heap of wheat with a sort of garland of flowers, indicating the joy of the husbandman at the return of the harvest.

4, 5. Thy bosom is like, &c. These verses, with a little variation arising from the fact that a different person is the speaker here, contain the same figures as iv. 4, 5. The comparison between the beautiful symmetry, erect bearing, and ivory colour of the neck, and between the elegant structure, lofty altitude, and white colour of a tower, appears more striking and apposite from the description given by Josephus of the towers of Jerusalem: “They were so very tall, they appeared much taller by the place on which they stood; for that very old wall, wherein they were, was built on a high hill, and was itself a kind of elevation that was still thirty cubits taller, over which were the towers situated, and thereby were made much higher to appearance. The largeness also of the stones was wonderful; for they were not made of common small stones, nor of such large ones only as men could carry, but they were of white marble, cut out of the rocks: each stone was twenty cubits in length, and ten cubits in breadth, and five in depth. They were so exactly united to one another, that each tower looked like one entire block of stone, so growing naturally, and afterwards cut by the hand of the artificer into the present shape and corners; so little, or not at all, did their joints or connexion appear.” (Jewish War, book v. chap. iv. 4.—Whiston’s translation.) The comparison of the neck with ivory is also used by Anacreon (Ode xxix. 28, 29), in his description of Bathyllus:—

Τὸν Ἀδώνιδος παρελθὼν
ἐλεφάντινος τράχηλος.

“But never can thy pencil trace
His ivory neck of Paphian grace.”

Thine eyes, &c. That is, are as bright and serene as the celebrated translucent pools of this city. Heshbon, a town in the southern parts of the Hebrew territory, about twenty miles east of the point where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea, originally belonged to the Moabites (Numb. xxi. 25), and afterwards came into possession of the Amorite king Sihon (ibid.; Deut. ii. 24; Josh. iii. 10). It was conquered by Moses shortly before his death (Numb. xxi. 25), and was first assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Numb. xxxii. 37; Josh. xiii. 17), and afterwards to the tribe of Gad, and became a Levitical city (Josh. xxi. 39; 1 Chron. vi. 81). It was retaken by the Moabites when the ten tribes were carried into exile (Isa. xv. 4; xvi. 9; Jer. xlviii. 2), but the Jews conquered it again afterwards (Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiii.) The ruins of Heshbon, the name by which the place is still known, have been visited and described by modern travellers. (Burckhardt, Travels, p. 365; Biblical Repos. for 1833, p. 650; Robinson, Palestine, ii. 278.) Heshbon was the pride of Moab, was famous for its fertility, verdure of plantation, and beautiful reservoirs. Hence the simile here. A similar comparison is used by Ovid, De Arte Ama. ii. 722:—

“Adspicies oculos tremulo fulgare meiantes,
Ut sol a liquida saepe refulget aqua.”

בַּת רַבִּים is well explained by Rashbam, the populous, שרוב בני העיר יוצאין ונכנסין בה, “because, through it a multitude of the inhabitants of the town walk in and out;” שהרבים באים להסתכל שם, “because it is the chief place of concourse.” בַּת, daughter, like בֶּן, son, is idiomatically used in Hebrew to express quality. Compare בֶּן־שֶׁמֶן, a son of fatness, i.e. fat; Isa. v. 1, and supra, vii. 2. The Septuagint, which is followed by the Vulgate, not understanding this idiom, renders it literally ἐν πύλαις θυγατρὸς πολλῶν, by the gates of the daughter of many.

Thy nose, &c. This tower must have contained a projection or an overhanging part, celebrated for its great symmetry and elegance. Hence the comparison between the beautifully projecting tower and the well-proportioned nose.

6. Thy head upon thee, &c. כַּרְמֶל stands here for כַּרְמִיל, purpura; so Ibn Gamach, Ibn Ezra, Fürst, &c. This shell-fish is of a spiral form, and “the exquisite juice which is so greatly sought after for the purpose of dyeing cloth is situate in the middle of the throat. This secretion consists of a tiny drop contained in a white vein, from which the precious liquid used for dyeing is distilled, being of the tint of a rose, somewhat inclined to black.” Pliny, Hist. Nat. ix. 60, 61; Arist. Hist. Anim. lib. v. c. 14. The simile here subsists between the spiral form of this shell-fish and the pyramidal shape in which the hair was anciently tied up on the top of the head. The Chinese and other Eastern women still wear their hair rolled up into a knot or bunch at the top of the head; and even in this country ladies used to dress their hair in a somewhat similar manner. The rendering of the ancient versions of כַּרְמָל, by Mount Carmel, which the majority of modern interpreters follow: they take the simile to be between the beautiful appearance of the bride’s head and the charming, luxuriant, and picturesque summit of this celebrated mountain; but this is against the parallelism and 2 Chron. ii. 16, 13; iii. 14. כַּרְמֶל = כַּרְמִיל is derived from כָּרַם, to be shiningly red, with –ִיל appended, according to the analogy of פְּתִיגִיל; vide Fürst, Lexicon in voce; or it may be that this shell-fish was so called because it was found on the shore near Carmel. At all events, there is no need to look for the etymology of this word out of the Shemitic family.

And the tresses, &c. Fine hair is frequently compared by the Greeks and Romans with purple. Thus Anacreon, xxviii. 11, 13.

γράφε δ’ ἐξ ὅλης παρειῆς
ὑπὸ πορφύραισι χαίσταις
ἐλεφάντινον μέτωπον.

Then paint, from her full cheeks,
Beneath her purple hair,
Her ivory forehead.

Compare also Virgil, Georg. i. 405; Tibul. i. 4, 63. The purple here referred to is that kind which Pliny describes as “nigrans adspectu idemque suspectu refulgens.” אַרְגָּמָן, the costly colour extracted from the shell-fish, is from רָגַם, kind. רָקַם, to colour, with the prostetic א and termination –ָן; vide supra, chap. iii. 9.

The king is captivated, &c. The ringlets, like the lashes of the eyelids, are frequently represented as the net of love. Prov. vi. 25; Sirach ix. 3, 4. Thus Jami, in his Joseph and Zuleikha, chap. i., as quoted by Dr. Good, says:—

“When Love in graceful ringlets plants his toils,
The fool he catches, and the wise man foils;
But, thence released, the sage his snare discerns,
And Reason’s lamp with wonted lustre burns.”

מֶלֶךְ stands for הַמֶּלֶךְ; the article is not unfrequently omitted in poetry; comp. Ps. ii. 2; xxi. 2; Gesen. § 109; Ewald, § 277, b. רָהִיט, a ringlet, so called from its flowing down over the shoulders; vide supra, chap. i. 16. The construction of מֶלֶךְ with אַרְגָּמָן, i.e. royal purple (one of the Greek translators in the Hexapla, Vulgate, Syriac, Luther, Houbigant, &c.), is against the punctuation and the evenness of the metre, interferes with the interpretation of the remaining words, and has evidently arisen from a misunderstanding of the passage. Besides, no people is known by such a name. It was owing to a feeling of being consistent that the editor of Calmet felt himself constrained to take אַרְגָּמָן as a proper name, Argamen, to correspond with the parallel כַּרְמֶל; and to explain this clause as alluding to a particular mode of plaiting the hair, like the weaving of Arech, a city in Babylonia, supposed to be famous for its weaving manufactories.

How beautiful, &c. The captivated king, having described the beauty of the several parts of the body, now combines the separate members into one lovely form, and endows it with life and fascination, which none of the inanimate beauties to which he had compared her, however admirable, possessed. אַהֲבָה, love, abstract for concrete, loved one, vide supra, chap. v. 1. תַּעֲנוּג, charm, attraction, such as living beings possess. Aquila and the Syriac, separating the word בְּתַּעֲנֻגִים, render it θυγάτηρ τρυφῶν, בַּת עֲנֻגִים.

7. This thy growth, &c. The beautiful growth of the palm-tree, like that of the cedar and cypress, supplied a forcible image to the ancients. Thus the Son of Sirach, xxiv. 13, 14:—

“I grew up as a cedar of Lebanon,
And as a cypress upon Mount Hermon;
I grew up as a palm-tree in En-gedi,
And as a rose-tree in Jericho.”

Comp. also Homer, Odyss. vi. 162, and supra, chap. v. 15. אֶשְׁכֹּל, bunch, cluster, of grapes, dates, or flowers; the context must decide which. Here, from its close proximity to תָּמָר, palm-tree, dates are most probably intended. For the etymology of אֶשְׁכֹּל, see supra, chap. i. 14; and for its form, both here and in ver. 9, Ewald, § 212 d.

8. I long to climb, &c. After this flattering description Solomon tells the Shulamite how greatly he desires, and how happy he should be to enjoy, the affections of one so lovely and charming. We earnestly request those who maintain the allegorical interpretation of the Song seriously to reflect whether this verse, and indeed the whole of this address, can be put into the mouth of Christ as speaking to the Church. Would not our minds recoil with horror were we to hear a Christian using it publicly, or even privately, to illustrate the love of Christ for his Church?—אָמַר, to speak, also to wish, to desire, Gen. xliv. 28; Exod. ii. 14; 1 Sam. xx. 4. אָמַרְתִּי does not express the past, but the present; comp. דָמְתָה in the preceding verse; Gesen. § 126, 3; Ewald, § 135 b. The second verb אֶעֱלֶה is subordinate to the first, vide supra, chap. ii. 3. גֶּפֶן is added to אֶשְׁכֹּל, to distinguish it from the dates in ver. 7.

And the odour of thy breath, &c. That is, be as sweet and as quickening as that of apples. אַף is used in preference to פֶּה, because the nostril, or the breathing (which אַף literally means) is regarded by the Hebrews as that which in distension betokens pleasure, anger, &c. The appropriateness of this expression will be more manifest when we remember that hitherto all that the Shulamite showed towards Solomon were resistance and independence. There is also a play of words here, אַף being derived from אָנַף, to breathe, and תַּפּוּחַ, from נָפַח, to breathe. Hodgson strangely renders וְרֵיחַ אַפֵף, “the fragrance of thy face,” because several MSS. read אפיך with a yod.

9. And thy speech, &c. That is, Let thy language to me be as the sweetness of delicious wine. Rosenmüller, Döpke, De Wette, Noyes, Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, &c., put these words into the mouth of the maiden. But it is incredible that this modest woman would approve of these expressions with regard to her own person, and that she would continue the words דּוֹבֵב שִׂפְתֵי יְשֵׁינִים. חֵךְ, palate, metonymically for speech; vide supra, chap. v. 16. טוֹב is used as a substantive, and placed in the genitive after יַיִן; comp. Ps. xxi. 4; Prov. xxiv. 25; Ewald, § 287 b. The phrase הֹלֵךְ לְמֵישָׁרִים describes the smooth or mellow wine, which is of a very superior quality, and highly prized, Prov. xxiii. 31. The expression לְדוֹדִי is added in order to describe still more forcibly the nature of the wine, and affords a more striking illustration of the pleasantness of the damsel’s speech. Her voice is not merely compared to wine, valued because it is sweet to everybody; but to such wine as would be sweet to a friend, and on that account is more valuable and pleasant. Ammon, Ewald, Heiligstedt, Hitzig, &c. regard לְדוֹדִי as having erroneously crept in here from ver. 11, whilst Velthusen, Meier, &c. point it לְדוֹדַי in the plural; but this is unsupported by MSS. Hodgson, taking לְדוֹדִי for לְדוֹדִים, translates it ad amores, delightfully, corresponding to לְמֵישָׁרִיﬦ in the next clause. But this rendering, to say the least, is contrary to the general meaning of this word. The rendering of Williams, “which I sent to those whom I love for their integrity,” is preposterous.

And causes slumbering lips, &c. The wine is of such an animating nature, that it even causes silent lips to speak. Thus Horace, Epist. lib. i. Ep. v. 19:—

Fecundi calices quem non fecere disertum?

“Whom have not soul-inspiring cups made eloquent?”

Others, however, with less probability, explain these words to mean wine of so excellent a flavour, as to induce those who have indulged in it to dream of it, and converse about it; or wine so delicious and tempting that it leads to excess, in consequence of which the drinkers fall asleep, and then either disclose the subject of their dream, or mutter unintelligible words. דּוֹבֵב is not gently flowing, suffusing (Ewald, Döpke, Gesenius, De Wette, Lee, Magnus, Noyes, Meier, Philippson, Hitzig, &c.), but causing to speak (Vulg., Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Mendelssohn, Kleuker, Hengstenberg, Fürst, Delitzsch, &c.) This is corroborated by the derivative דִּבָּה, which primarily means something spoken, a report, either good or bad, as is evident from Gen. xxvii. 2; Numb. xiv. 37, where the adjective רָעֳה, evil, is joined to it; and from Ezek. xxxvi. 3, where it stands in parallelism with שְׂפַת לָשׁוֹן, and by the frequent usage in the Talmud and other Hebrew writers of the word דָּבַב, for speaking. דּוֹבֵב is the Poel of דָּבַב, a form frequently used in verbs ע״ע (comp. הֹולֵל, Eccl. vii. 7; סוֹבֵב, Ps. lix. 7; Gesen. § 67, 8), and, like the Piel, is often the causative of Kal, Gesen. § 55, 1. The Sept., Vulg., Sym., Syr., read שְׂפָתַיִﬦ וְשִׁנַּיִﬦ, the lips and the teeth, instead of שִׂפְתֵי יְשֵׁנִיﬦ; but this is neither supported by MSS., nor yields a better sense.

10. I belong to my beloved, &c. The Shulamite gently but decidedly refuses the wishes of the king, declaring that her affections are fixed on one whom she ardently loves, and on whom alone it is her sacred duty to look. Even Ibn Ezra and Rashbam, though explaining it differently, admit that the maiden here refuses the petitioner of the last verse on the plea that she belonged to her beloved. עָלַי, lit. on me, i.e. it is upon me as a duty. עַל is frequently used to denote duty or obligation, which rests upon one like a burden, and must be discharged. Thus עָלַי לָתֵת, “it was my duty to give,” 2 Sam. xviii. 11; זִבְחֵי שְׁלָמִיﬦ עָלַי, “peace-offerings are due from me,” Prov. vii. 14; Gesen. Lexicon, עַל A. 1, α γ. Ewald, § 217, 4 γ. The suffix in תְּשׁוּקָתוֹ expresses the object, i.e. the desire for him. This is often the case; comp. יִרְאָתוֹ, his fear, i.e. the fear for him, Exod. xx. 20; Gesen. § 121, 5; Ewald, § 286 b. We thus obtain the same sense of this clause which Hodgson gives it, without changing the words into זעליו תשוקתי, upon the slender authority of one MS. to support the first, and three MSS. to support the second alteration.

11. Come, my beloved, &c. Having distinctly and finally refused the king, who forthwith quitted her, the Shulamite now addresses her beloved shepherd, who approached her, urging their departure from the royal palace for their festive bowers in Nature’s hall. The want of separate names, or initial letters of names, generally used in profane composition to indicate the speaker or the person spoken to, is amply supplied here by the skill of the inspired poet in putting into the mouth of the Shulamite such rural language as shows most plainly that she was a rustic maiden, and that her beloved, whom she here addresses, is a shepherd. Comp. also chap. i. 7; ii. 8; v. 2, 4, &c. To ascribe these words to a princess addressing king Solomon is preposterous. Döderlein, Ewald, Meier, &c., take כְּפָרִיﬦ as the plural of כֹּפֶר, cypress, vide supra, i. 14; iv. 13; but 1 Chron. xxvii. 25, where כְּפָרִיﬦ, like here, coupled with שָׂדֶה, field, forms a contrast to עִיר, city, is against it. הַשָּדֶה is the accusative of place, 1 Sam. xx. 11; Gesen. § 118, 1.

12. We will go early, &c. Transported with the thought of her speedy arrival at her mother’s house, the Shulamite vividly depicts to her beloved the scenes of home, where they will again together enjoy rural life. It may be that Milton thought of this passage when he wrote the words:—

“To-morrow, ere fresh morning streak the east
With first approach of light, we must be risen,
And at our pleasant labour, to reform
Yon flowery arbours, yonder alleys green,
Our walks at noon with branches overgrown.”

Paradise Lost, iv. 623, &c.

נַשְׁכִּימָה לַכְּרָמִים is constructio praegnans, and is well explained by Rashbam, נשכימה לטייל בכרמיﬦ, “we will rise early to stroll in the vineyards.” Comp. Gen. xliv. 33; Numb. xiv. 24; Gesen. § 141.

There will I give, &c. The shepherd, gladdened with the fact that his loved one is restored to him, is desirous of expressing his joy and affection, but the Shulamite, anxious to get off as quickly as possible, tells him that at home, amidst the charms of nature, they may indulge in sweet effusions of love. The Sept. and Vulg. have here again דַּדַּיִם, breasts, instead of דֹודִים, love. But in addition to what has already been remarked, we would state that whenever breasts are mentioned in this Song, שָׁדַיִם is invariably used.

13. The mandrakes diffuse, &c. Another reason for hastening away from the royal prison into the rural home. There nothing will be wanting; they have there the highly prized apples, they have all sorts of precious fruit, which she left on the trees for him. A similar passage occurs in Virgil, Ecl. i. 37, where the loved one kept fruit on the tree for her lover:—

Mirabar, quid moesta deos, Amarylli, vocares;
Cui pendere suâ patereris in arbore poma:
Tityrus hinc aberat.

“We stood amazed to see your mistress mourn;
Unknowing that she pined for your return:
We wonder’d why she kept her fruit so long,
For whom so late th’ ungather’d apples hung:
But no, the wonder ceases, since I see
She kept them only, Tityrus, for thee.”

דּוּדָאִים, which occurs only once more, (Gen. xxx. 14), is, according to the testimony of the ancient versions, the mass of commentators and modern travellers, the mandrake-plant, Atropa mandragora, called yabrochack by the Arabs, the fruit of which is highly valued by the Orientals for its supposed exhilarating, aphrodisiac, and procreative properties. “It grows low, like lettuce, to which its leaves have a strong resemblance, except that they have a dark green colour. The flowers are purple, and the root is for the most part forked. The fruit, when ripe, in the beginning of May, is of the size and colour of a small apple, exceedingly ruddy, and of a most agreeable flavour.” See Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit.; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v. Here, however, this plant is mentioned merely to fill out the picture of charming and highly prized plants, without reference to any supposed internal properties, and has evidently been suggested by the preceding דּוֹדִי, beloved. דּוּדָאִים, lit. love-apples, is the plural of דּוּדַי, from the root דּוּד, to love, with the termination –ַי, like לוּלָאוֹת, the plural of לוּלַי, from the root לוּל. Gesen. § 93, 6, 6; Ewald, § 189 g. וְעַל פְּתַחֵינוּ is well explained by Rashbam, אצל פתח פרדס שלנו, “in our garden, close to our door,” &c. עַל has not unfrequently the sense of neighbourhood and contiguity. Gesen. Lexicon, עַל 3. Others however render עַל, over, i.e. “and over our doors grow,” &c.; others again translate in, i.e. “in our house are,” &c., taking פֶּתַח in the sense of house; comp. Prov. xiv. 19, but with less probability. Houbigant’s transposition of letters, viz. על תפחינו, in nostris malis aureis, instead of על פתחינו, is an idle conjecture.

1. Oh that thou wert as my brother, &c. The charming description which the Shulamite gave of their happiness when at home, recalled to her mind the obstacles which they met with, even there; and hence she is led to wish that he had sustained to her the relation of a brother, that, whether in the street or the house, none might misinterpret or interrupt the manifestation of their attachment. מִי יִתֵּן is used to express the optative. Comp. Deut. v. 29; xxviii. 67; Ps. xiv. 7; Job vi. 8; Gesen. § 136, 1; Ewald, § 329 c. כְּאָח is the accusative. The rendering of the Septuag., Τὶς δῴη σε, ἀδελφιδέ μου, θηλάζοντα μαστοὺς μητρός μου; and Luther, “O dass ich dich, mein Bruder, der du meiner Mutter Brüste saugest, draussen fände,” are wrong. יֹונֵק שְׂדֵי אִמִּי, does not mean “an infant still sucking the breasts.” (Grotius, Gill, Good, Williams, &c.), but “one who had sucked and is now a youth;” it is the second accusative to מִי יִתֶּנְךָ, and stands in parallelism with אָח, brother; like the participle יֹולֶדֶת (which does not mean one who just gave birth), and אֵﬦ, vide supra, chap. vi. 9. אֶמְצָאֲךָ is conditional, with the particle אִﬦ implied, Judg. xi. 36; Prov. xxiv. 10; Ewald, § 367 b. גַם is used poetically for וְ, and, Judg. v. 4; Joel i. 12. יָבֻזוּ: the third person is used to express the indeterminate third person, the passive in English. Gen. xli. 14; Gesen. § 157, 3. For לִי, me, five MSS. and two editions read לָךְ, thee, which Ewald adopts. But this is against the majority of MSS. and all the versions, and does not at all improve the sense.

2. I would lead thee, &c. As a brother, she could unreservedly bring him from the spot, where she met him in the street, to her mother’s house. We must supply מִשָּׁם, thence, before אֱנְהָגְךָ; so Rashbam. Simple as the word תְּלַמְּדֵנִי seems to be, it has nevertheless produced a variety of renderings. The Septuagint and Syriac, followed by Percy, entirely omit it, and interpolate here וְאֶל חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִי, and into the apartment of her who gave me birth, from chap. iii. 4; after בֵית אִמִּי, the house of my mother. Ibn Ezra, the Authorized Version, Kleuker, Döderlein, Hitzig, &c., supply אֲשֶׁר, who, before תְּלַמְּדֵנִי, and refer it to אִמִּי, my mother. But this interrupts the construction, and, against the scope of the description, introduces the mother as an actress. Hodgson and the editor of Calmet, strangely enough, render it Talmudni, as a proper name of the maiden’s mother. The most natural way seems to be to take it with the Vulgate, Chaldee, Rashbam, Luther, Ewald, Döpke, De Wette, Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, Philippson, &c., as the second person masculine.

I would cause thee to drink, &c. On the aromatic wine, see supra, chap. vii. 3. The pomegranate-juice was and still is a favourite beverage in the East. “The Orientals,” says Dr. Kitto, “indulge largely in beverages made with fresh juice of various kinds of fruits. Among these, sherbet made with pomegranate-juice is particularly esteemed, and, from its agreeable and cooling acidity, the present writer was himself accustomed to prefer it to any other drink of this description.” יַיִן, is either an anomalous construct (Gesenius; Fürst, Lex. s.v.), or the absolute, and הַרֶקַח, apposition in the accusative. Compare מַיִם לַחַץ, 1 Kings xx. 27; Gesen. § 116, 6, Rem. b; Ewald, § 287 h. אֶשָׁקְךָ and אֲשְׁקְךָ are a paranomasia, vide supra, chap. i. 3. עַסִיס רִמֹּנִי, my pomegranate-juice, i.e. which I myself have prepared. The noun in the genitive, expressing the quality of the nominative, has the suffix; compare הַר קָדְשִׁי, my holy mountain, Ps. ii. 6; Gesen. § 121 b; Ewald, § 291 b. From an oversight of this most probably arose the readings of רמנים or רמונים (several MSS.), רִמֹּנַי (Vulgate, Syriac), the supposition that רִמֹּנִי is an adjective (Schultens), and the opinion that it is an abbreviated plural from רִמֹנִים, like מִּנִּי for מִנִּים, (Ps. xlv. 9, Meier, Fürst, Lexicon, מ, 3 b.)

3. Let his left hand, &c. Exhausted with the attempt to describe her unfailing attachment for her beloved shepherd, an attachment far deeper than external circumstances permit her to manifest, the Shulamite desires that no other hand should raise her drooping head, no other arm support her enfeebled frame, than those of her beloved; compare chap. ii. 6.

4. I adjure you, &c. This last affecting scene, having brought the Shulamite’s struggle to a successful termination, is closed by her adjuring the court ladies as before (ii. 7, and v. 3), to make no more attempt to draw her affections away from her beloved to any one else, since they were unalterably fixed. The Septuagint, which is followed by Good, &c., supplies here בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה, from ii. 7, and v. 3. It is obvious, from the change of אִם into the more urgent negative particle מַה, (comp. Job xxxi.; Ewald, § 325 b), that the variation is designedly made; and indeed the haste in which the Shulamite is to depart with her beloved does not permit her to use the lengthy adjuration.

5. Who is it that comes up, &c. The last successful resistance secured for the Shulamite her liberty. Convinced that even the blandishments of a king cannot overcome the power of virtuous love in the heart of a rustic damsel; satisfied that “all the wealth of his house” could not buy it, Solomon dismisses her. Then, reunited to her beloved shepherd, the happy pair immediately depart for home. As they approach their native place the inhabitants, beholding them at a distance, exclaim, “Who is it that comes up from the plain, leaning upon her beloved?” הַמִּדְבָּר, the plain (vide supra, iii. 6), most probably the plain of Esdraelon, at present known by the name of Merij Ibn ’Amir, lying between Jezreel and Sulem (Robinson, Palestine, iii. 169), which the lovers had to cross on their way home. מִתְרַפָּקֶת (from רָפַק, to lean; hence מַרְפֵּק, an arm, on which one leans, Talm. Sabbath, 92), supporting herself, being weary with so long a journey. So the Sept. ἐπιστηριζομένη; the Vulg. innixa, &c. As for the additional λελευκανθισμένη in the Sept., and deliciis affluens in the Vulg., the one most probably arose from the word בָּרַה, used in chap. vi. 10, where a similar question occurs, and the other from a marginal gloss, מתפנקת or מתנענעת.

Under this apple-tree, &c. As they drew nearer home they beheld the endeared spot—the memorable shady tree under which the shepherd was born, and where their mutual love was first kindled. These sweet musings are at length terminated by the Shulamite, who joyfully recounts the pleasing reminiscences of that place. The frequent meetings of shepherds and shepherdesses under shady trees, (vide supra, chap. i. 7), often resulted in the formation of a sacred tie. The solemn vow of love was then engraven on the bark of the tree, as a witness of their union. Thus Theocritus, Idyl. xviii. 47, 48:—

γράμματα δ’ ἐν φλοιῷ γεγράψεται, ὡς παριών τις
ἀννείμῃ, Δωριστὶ, σέβου μ’· Ἑλένας φυτὸν εἰμί.

“——and on the bark,
In Doric, shall be engraven for all to mark,
‘To me pay honour—I am Helen’s tree.’”

Compare also Idyl. xxiii. 46; Propert. I. xviii. 22; Virg. Ecl. x. 53; and Pope, Past. iii. 66, 67.

Here thy mother, &c. Confinements in the open air are of frequent occurrence in the East (Gen. xv. 16). “There are in Asia,” says Dr. Chardin in his manuscript notes, “large districts in which no midwives are to be found, and even if some live there they are little known, for mothers assist their daughters, and often female relatives or neighbours fill the place of the former. In Kurman, I saw a woman who was delivered without any assistance in the open fields, three hours from a village, and to my great surprise, she arrived not much later in town where I was. The people there smiled at my astonishment, remarking that similar cases were very frequent in their country.” (See Rosenmüller, Orient. i. 188; Paxton, Illustrations of Scripture, i. 462; Kalisch on Exod. p. 18.) עוֹרֵר, to excite, to move to love, vide supra, ii. 7; iii. 5; viii. 4. חִבְּלָתְךָ does not mean conceived thee (Aquila, Schultens, Hitzig, &c.), which the Shulamite could not know, nor plighted, or engaged thee, (Houbigant, Michaelis, Percy, Kleuker, Good, Williams, Boothroyd, Magnus, Meier, &c.), which is contrary to the Piel signification of this verb, but signifies laboured with thee, (Sept., Syriac, Chaldee, Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, Luther, Ewald, De Wette, Gesenius, Philippson, &c.); compare Ps. vii. 15, and Hupheld in loco. To put these words into the mouth of the bridegroom as addressing his bride, (Percy, Good, Williams, Boothroyd, Delitzsch, Hitzig, &c.), is contrary to the words in the text, which have masculine suffixes. The form חִבְּלָתְךָ is used instead of חִבְּלַתְךָ, to correspond in sound with יָלְדָתְךָ in pause, vide supra, iii. 11. יָלְרָתְךָ, i.q. יָלְדָה אוֹתְךָ. The Vulgate, which seems here to savour of allegorism, translates שָׁמָּה חִבְּלָתְךָ אִמֶּךָ שָׁמָּה חִבְּלָּה יְלָדָתְךָ, ibi corrupta est mater tua, ibi violata est genitrix tua. “The tree,” the Roman Catholics explain of the cross; “the individual” excited to love under it, the Gentiles redeemed by Christ at the foot of the cross; and “the deflowered and corrupted mother” means, the synagogue of the Jews (the mother of the Church), which was corrupted by denying and crucifying the Saviour.

6. Oh, place me as a seal, &c. That is, “Let me be near and dear to thee.” The Shulamite, having shown her faithfulness during a period of extraordinary trials, could now look up to the witnessing tree with an inward satisfaction. It is therefore very natural that she should remind her beloved, in the presence of this witness, of his vows. In ancient times, when the art of writing was confined to a very few, and writing materials were not so easily procurable, rings or signets, with names engraven upon them, were generally used as manual signs. This contrivance for a signature soon became used as an ornament. People who could afford it had these seals or signets made of silver or gold, inlaid with precious stones. Being indispensable articles of use, and highly prized as decorations, they were carried in the bosom, suspended from the neck by a string (Gen. xxxviii. 15), or were worn on the right hand (Jer. xxii. 24; Sirach xlix. 11), and thus became a symbol of what is dear and indispensable. Jehovah himself uses this metaphor, Jer. xxii. 24:—

“Though Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
Were as a seal on my right hand,
Yet I would pluck thee thence.”

Comp. also Hag. ii. 23; Sirach xvii. 22; Rosenmüller, Orient. vi. 252; i. 183; iv. 190; Winer, Bib. Dict.; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit. s.v.

For love is strong as death, &c. True love seizes with a tenacious grasp. Like death, it rules with resistless sway; like Hades, it is never moved to give up its object: neither power nor prayer can overcome it. קָשָׁה, hard, firm, inexorable. קִנְּאָה is not jealousy (Sept., Vulg., Authorized Version, Percy, Kleuker, Good, Williams, &c.), but devout affection, ardent love (Ewald, Gesenius, De Wette, Noyes, Meier, Hitzig, Philippson &c.); it is here used as an intensitive term for love, as is evident from the parallelism and the connexion.

The flames of the Eternal. These words are exegetical of “flames of fire;” i.e. the flames of love, though having the same energy as those of fire, are not of the same origin; they emanate from the Eternal, the source of all love. Whether, with Ben Asher, we read שַׁלְהָבָתְיָהּ, conjointly, like מַאֲפָלְיָהּ, Jer. ii. 31; or with Ben Naphtali, שַׁלְהֶבָת יָהּ, separately, which is followed by most editions, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and the majority of modern critics, and which is required by the parallelism; this predicate does not state that the flames of love are “most vehement,” but affirms that they emanate from the Eternal. יָה, an abbreviation of יַהֲוֶה (see Kalisch on Exod. iii. 14; xi. 2; Fürst, Lexicon, s.v.), like אֵל, Isa. xiv. 13, is the genitive of cause or origin. Comp. ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔστι, 1 John iv. 7. שַׁלְהֵב, flame, may either be a quadriliteral, formed from שַׁהֵב, Arabic, to burn, with the insertion of the ל after the first radical, according to the analogy of זַלְעַף, violent heat, (Ps. ii. 6), from the root זָעַף, to be hot; or, which is more probable, is the Shaphel conjugation of לָהַב, to burn. Fürst, Lexicon, s.v.; Gesen. § 55, 6; Ewald, § 122 a. The Sept. has φλόγες αὐτῆς, שִׁלְהָבֹתֶיהָ. That the original reading of the text was שַׁלְהֲבֹתֶיהָ שַׁלְהֲבֹת יָהּ (Ewald, Döpke, Hitzig, &c.) is purely conjectural.

7. Floods cannot quench love. Being a flame of celestial origin no terrestrial influence, however great, can destroy or wash it away; it is not subjected to means resorted to for the extinction of ordinary fires. מַיִם רַבִּים, prop. much water, i.e. a great quantity of it (Numb. xx. 11), floods. שָׁטַף, to wash, or sweep away, Job xiv. 19; Isa. xxviii. 17.

If one should offer all, &c. Such divine love spontaneously flows from the heart, and cannot be purchased with money; though one offered all his riches for it, they would be utterly despised. This affirmation, whilst true in itself, is levelled against the king, who attempted to gain love by flatteries and praises (vide supra, i. 11; vi. 8), but was utterly rejected (vii. 11). אִישׁ any one, one, Gen. xiii. 16; Exod. xvi. 29; Gesen. § 122, Rem. 2. בּוֹז, the infinitive absolute, is employed before the finite verb יָבוּזוּ, to express intensity, Gen. xliii. 3; 1 Sam. xx. 6; Gesen. § 131, 3 a; Ewald, § 280 b. יָבוּזוּ, the third person plural, is used for the passive, see supra, chap. viii. 1.

8. Our sister is still young, &c. The brothers are here introduced, on the arrival of the Shulamite, as repeating the promise which they had once given to their sister if she kept virtuous, and, when espoused, remained true to her vows. One of the brothers inquires of the others what they should do for the Shulamite when she reached womanhood, and is demanded in marriage. אֲחוֹת לָנוּ, i.q. אֲחוֹתֵינוּ, our sister, and is well rendered by the Sept. ἀδελφὴ ἡμῶν, the Vulg. soror nostra, Luther, unsere Schwester. The adjective קָטוֹן, like גָדוֹל, prop. denoting size, is also used with reference to age. Gen. ix. 24; xxvii. 15; Judg. xv. 2. שָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ, i.e. she has not yet reached puberty. בְּיוֹﬦ, when, Gen. ii. 4. דִבֵּר בְּ, to speak for, to demand in marriage, 1 Sam. xiii. 9; xxv. 39.

9. If she be like a wall, &c. To this inquiry the second brother replied, that if, having reached that age, she should firmly resist every allurement as a battlement resists the attack of an enemy, they would decorate her as an impregnable wall; i.e. highly reward her. The expression “wall” is figuratively used for impregnability, Jer. ii. 18; so Immanuel, שעמדה הזקה כהומה. The silver turret here mentioned most probably refers to the silver horn, a highly prized ornament which women wear on their heads. “One of the most extraordinary parts of the attire of their females” (Druses of Lebanon), says Dr. Macmichael, “is a silver horn, sometimes studded with jewels, worn on the head in various positions, distinguishing different conditions. A married woman has it affixed to the right side of the head, a widow to the left, and a virgin is pointed out by its being placed on the very crown. Over this silver projection the long veil is thrown, with which they so completely conceal their faces as to rarely have more than one eye (vide supra, chap. iv. 9), visible.” Comp. also Bowring, Report on Syria, p. 8.

But if she be like a door, &c. That is, accessible (vide supra, chap. iv. 12), she shall be barricaded with cedar planks—be punished by being locked up. The word “door” is metaphorically used for open to seduction. The cedar wood is mentioned because it is exceedingly strong, and increases the idea of strict vigilance. Similarly Immanuel, ואם דלת שכבר נפתח נצור עליה לרח ארז כלמ׳ נביאה במצור ונסגור בעדה שלﬡ תראה, וכלוה אדז שהוה הזק ותקיף.

10. I am a wall, &c. The Shulamite now triumphantly responds, that she had proved impregnable as a wall, and had now reached womanhood, and therefore the promised reward was due to her. שָׁדַי כַּמִּגְדָלוֹת, i.q. שָׁדַי נָכֹנוּ, Ezek. xvi. 7, is well explained by Rashbam, הגיע זמני להינשא, my time for marriage has arrived, and is an answer to שָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ, in the preceding verse.

Then I was in his eyes, &c. That is, in her brother’s eyes. He now, being convinced of his sister’s chastity, gave her the reward of virtue. The suffix in בְּעֵינָיו, his eyes, does not refer to Solomon (Ewald, Hitzig, Philippson, &c.), whose name has not been mentioned, but to the brother (Ibn Ezra, &c.), who last spoke. שָׁלוֹם, peace, has no reference to the name שְׁלֹמֹה, but is used in the sense of חַן, favour, and refers to chap. i. 6; comp. Gen. xxxiv. 7 with ver. 11.

11. Solomon had a vineyard, &c. Having been obliged, when demanding her promised reward, to describe her virtue as an impregnable wall, the Shulamite now relates more circumstantially how she had resisted the attempt to gain her affections. Solomon had a large vineyard in Baal-hammon, which he offered to consign to her if she granted his request; but the Shulamite refused his offer, telling him he might keep his large estate to himself, for she was quite satisfied with her humble possession. Many are the conjectures hazarded as to the locality of Baal-hammon, which occurs nowhere else, and no place is known by this name. It is taken for Baal-Gad, or Heliopolis (Rosenmüller, Bib. Geog. ii. p. 253), for חַמּוֹן, Hammon, a place in the tribe of Asher, Josh. xix. 28 (Ewald), and for Βελαμὼν or Βαλαμὼν, Belamon or Balamon, a place mentioned in the book of Judith, viii. 3, not far from the plain of Esdraelon, Judith iii. 9 (Meier, Hitzig). It is, however, more probable, according to Rashi, that Baal-hammon was in or near Jerusalem, and was called בַּעַל הַמּוֹן, place of the multitude, because its beauties and charms attracted a multitude of people, thus presenting a greater temptation for the Shulamite. The Vulgate strangely renders כֶּרֶם הָיָה לִשְׁלֹמֹה בְּבַעַל הַמּוֹן, vinea fuit pacifico in ea, quae habet populos.

He let out the vineyard, &c. This is intended to show the value of the vineyard. It was so extensive that it was leased out to a number of tenants, and every one of them paid a thousand shekels annually, and yet had two hundred shekels left for himself. נֹטְרִיﬦ, an indefinite number of keepers or farmers. אִישׁ each, vide supra, ver. 7. The suffix in בְפִרְיוֹ, his fruit, refers to כֶּרֶם, vineyard, which is masculine. כֶּסֶף, silver, stands for שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף, silver shekel: substantives denoting weight, measure, or time, are frequently omitted. Gen. xx. 16; xxxvii. 28; Acts xix. 9; Gesen. § 120, 4, Rem. 2; Ewald, § 287 i. The amount of a shekel is supposed to be about two shillings and sevenpence. The shekel of the sanctuary, however, like all the weights and measures of the Temple, was computed at double the ordinary. See Ezek. xlv. 12; 1 Kings x. 17; comp. with 2 Chron. ix. 16; Mishna, Shekalim, Maaser Sheni; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v. A thousand shekels, therefore, would be about one hundred and thirty pounds. Remembering that each of these farmers had to pay this sum annually, and that money in those days had fifteen or twenty, nay, according to Michaelis (Mos. Rech. § 243), fifty times its present value, we shall be able to judge of the allurement which this ample estate offered.

12. I will keep my own vineyard, &c. And yet, notwithstanding all this, the Shulamite prefers to keep her little vineyard, and be with her beloved shepherd, rather than unfaithfully give him up for riches and honours. כַּרְמִי שֶׁלִּי, my own vineyard, the vineyard which belongs to me; vide supra, chap. i. 6. לְפָנָי lit. is before me; it is mine, and I will keep it: this is obvious from the immediately following לְךָ, thine, keep thou it. The words הָאֶלֶף לְךָ וגו״ are to be taken as an exclamatory phrase, Ewald, § 329 a. אֶלֶף is here used collectively for all the thousands put together, which come in annually from the farmers; so מָאתַיִם, the two hundreds. The Vulgate translates here again the proper שְׁלֹמֹה, mille tui pacifici.

13. O thou that dwellest in the gardens, &c. The companions of the shepherd, who had manifested their joy at the successful arrival of the happy pair (vide supra, ver. 5), and rejoice that one of their humble occupation has brought such honour upon the whole class, visit the Shulamite, to hear from her own mouth her avowed attachment to her beloved. The shepherd, therefore, requests her to gratify this desire. She is no more הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת בְּחַדְרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ, sitting in the apartments of the king, vide supra, chap. i. 4, but has the honourable appellation of הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּגָנִים, dwelling in the gardens. חֲבֵרִיﬦ, companions, i.e. my companions, fellow-shepherds, i. 8.

14. Haste, O my beloved, &c. The Shulamite complies with the request. In the presence of all, she calls the shepherd her beloved, and tells him always to hasten to her with the speed of the swift-footed gazelle; vide supra ii. 9, 17. He has no more to cross “the mountains of separation” (see ii. 17), for they are united. These rugged mountains have now given place to the much-wished-for aromatic hills, iv. 6.

FOOTNOTES

[1] אמר ר״ש בן עזאי מקובל אני מפי שבעים ושנים זקנים ביום שהושיבו את ר׳ אליעזרבן עוריה בישובה ששיר השירם וקהלת מטמאים את הירים. אמר ר׳ עקיבה חם ושׁלום לא נחלק אדִם מישראל עדֹ שיר השיריﬦ שלא תטמא את הידים שאין כל העולֹם כדאי כיום שכתן בו שיר השירים לישראל, שכל הכובים קרש ושיר השירים קדש קושים. As the phrase מטמא את הידים, polluting the hands, has recently been quoted by Dr. Davidson (The Text of the Old Testament, &c. p. 796), in direct contrariety to its meaning, we shall here give an explanation of it. Let it be observed, that in the Mishna, whence the above passage is quoted, the phrase is applied to all the Holy Scriptures (כל כתבי הקדש מטמאין את הידים). The reason of this is given in the Talmud, (Sabbath, 14 a,) where the question is asked, why Holy Writ is reckoned among the eighteen subjects which are decreed as polluting the hands? The answer there given is, because the Theruma-food and the Thorah, both being regarded as holy, used to be placed near each other. When it was afterwards discovered that the sacred books were thereby exposed to danger (damage by mice), the Rabbins decreed that they should henceforth be regarded as unclean, in order to prohibit them from coming in contact with those sacred eatables. Hence the decree כל כתבי הקדש מטמאין את הידים, all Holy Scripture pollutes the hands, which exclusively applies to holy, i.e. inspired books. Wherever, therefore, it is said that a book is מטמא את הידים, polluting the hands, it affirms that it is canonical; and when it is said אין מטמא את הידים, it does not pollute the hands, it means that the book is not canonical. Thus we are told שיר השירים מטמא את הידים שנאמר ברוח הקדש, “the Song of Songs pollutes the hands because it is inspired.” And of the non-canonical ספר בן סיר׳ וכל הספרים שנכתבו מכאן ואליך אינן מטמאין את הידיﬦ, “The book of the Son of Sirach, and all the books written from that time and afterwards, do not pollute the hands.”

[2] Baba Bathra, 14.

[3] Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. iv. 26.

[4] For a full elucidation of this verse, see Henderson, “Divine Inspiration,” pp. 219–224.

[5] See Gesenius, Lexicon in voce.

[6] Herodotus, i. 196.

[7] Ælian, V. H. iv. 1. Strabo, xvi. 745.

[8] Homer, Odyss. viii. 318, &c.; Pausanias, iii. 12, 2.

[9] Tacitus, Germ. xviii.

[10] Michaelis, the Laws of Moses, § 85; Rosenmüller, Orient. i. p. 132, &c.; Grant’s Nestorians, p. 214; Perkins, Eight Years in Persia, p. 236.

[11] Est. ii. 3, 14, 15; iv. 4; Joseph. Ant. lib. xv. c. 7, 4.

[12] Plutarch’s Lives. Themistocles.

[13] Alexander, History of Women, Introd. p. vii.

[14] Lane, Arabian Nights, Vol. I. pp. 38, 39.

[15] Euripides, Iphi. in Aulis.

[16] Ant. lib. iv. c. 8, 15.

[17] Hilochoth Eduth, c. ix. 1.

[18] This is the date according to Aristobulus, which has, however, been questioned. See Frankel, Vorstudien zu der Septuaginta; De Wette, Einleitung, §§ 40, 41; Herzog, Real-Encyklopädie für protestantische Theologie, art. Alexandrinische Bibelübersetzung; Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit., under Septuagint.

[19] Hävernick’s Einleitung Dritter Theil, p. 475.

[20] Ewald, p. 34. Döpke, philologisch-critischer Commentar zum Hohenliede, p. 34.

[21] Vide Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit., art. Wisdom of Jesus; De Wette, Einleitung, § 316.

[22] Keil, in Hävernick’s Einleitung Dritter Theil, p. 476.

[23] Das Hohelied Salomonis, p. 254.

[24] Vide Kitto, Cyclop. Bib. Lit., under, Wisdom of Solomon; De Wette, Einleitung, § 314.

[25] Rosenmüller, Scholia, p. 270, sqq. Delitzsch, Das Hohelied, p. 66.

[26] Cont. Apion. 1. § 8.

[27] Kleuker, Samlung der Gedichte Salomon’s, p. 54. Hengstenberg, p. 255.

[28] Vide Stuart on the Old Testament Canon, sect. 12, p. 245. Davidson’s Edit. Henderson, Divine Inspiration, p. 349.

[29] Succa ad fin.

[30] Torath Cohanim. Tosiftha Synhedrin, c. 7. Aboth di R. Nathan, c. 27. Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, Dritter Band, p. 211.

[31] Vide Jost, Allgemeine Geschichte des Israelitischen Volkes (1850), Zweiter Band, pp. 63, 130, sqq. 153, Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, Dritter Band, p. 210. Vierter Band, pp. 243–246, 441–443, 446, 473. Zunz, Vorträge, p. 52.

[32] א״ר יהושע בן לוי מאי דכתיב צרור המור רודי לי בן סרי ילין אמר׳ כגסת ישׁראל לפגי הקב״ה רב״שע אף ע״ס שמיצר ומימר לי דורי גף שרי ילין אשכול הכופר דודי לי בכרמי עפ גדי מי סהכל טלו מכפר לי על עון גדי סכרמתי לי מאי משמע דהאי כרמי לישגא דמכניש הרה אמר בר זוטרא בריה דרב נחמן כדתנן כסא של כינס שכורמי עליו את הכלימ: וא״ר יהושע בן לוי מאי דכתיב לחייר כערגת הבושם כל דיבור ודיבור שיצא מפי הקב״ה נתמלא כל העולם כולו בשמים וכּיון שמדיביר ראשון נתמלא דיבור שני להכין הלך חוציא הקב״ה חרוח מאוצרותיו והיה מעביר ראשון ראשון שו״א שפתותיו שושנים נוטפות מור עובר אל היקרי שושנים אלא ששונים: וא״ר יהושע בן לוי כל דיבור וריבור שיצא מפי הקב״ה יצתה נשמתן של ישראל שנ״א נפשי יצאה בדברו ומאחר שמדיבור ראשון יצתה נשמתן דיבור שני היאן קיבלו הוריד טל שעתּיד להחיות בו מתים והחיה אותם שנא״ נשם נרבות חניף אלהים נחלת. ונלאה אתה כוננתה. מסנת שבת פח

[33] Daily Bible Illustrations, the Song of Songs, p. 449.

[34] Einleitung in das Alte Testament, Zweite Auflage, Erster Theil, Erste Abtheilung, § 82, p. 401.

[35] The Hebrew word יין, consisting of two יי 20, and ן 50, caused this explanation. This mode of interpretation is called גֵימַטְרִיָּא, Gematria, γεωμετρία, each letter of the word being taken according to its numerical value and the text interpreted accordingly.

[36] This interpretation is derived from reducing the word בך to its numerical value, 22. See note on verse 1.

[37] Vide supra, p. 26.

[38] Hieros. Berach. p. 3. b.

[39] Vide supra, p. 26.

[40] Ibid. p. 28.