NOTES Song of Solomon 2:1: _I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys_. ‘I am,’ &c. Opinions divided as to who is the speaker. The Bridegroom. ORIGEN, THEODORET, and the great majority of Latin and Greek Fathers. The Bride. TARGUM, PHILO, PSELLUS, GREGORY OF NYSSA, and the great body of m... [ Continue Reading ]
NOTES Song of Solomon 2:4: _His banner over me was love_. ‘His banner,’ דִּגְלוֹ (_diglo_), from דֶּגֶל (_degel_), a military standard. The SEPTUAGINT and VULGATE read the word as a verb; the former in the imperative: ‘Marshal (τάξατε), love against me;’ the latter in the indicative: ‘He marshalled... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KING’S CHARGE Song of Solomon 2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes and by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, Nor awaken my love, Till he (or till she) please. Uncertain from the original whether the ‘love’ be Shulamite or the king, or simply the love itself as n... [ Continue Reading ]
NOTES Song of Solomon 2:12: _The time of the singing of birds iS come_. ‘The time of the singing,’ עֵת הַזָּמִיר (_eth ha-zamir_). Two meanings given to זָמִיר (_zamir_). GESENIUS and others derive it from זָמַר (_zamar_), ‘to prune,’ as in Leviticus 25:3; and so understand the expression as the ‘t... [ Continue Reading ]
BRIDEGROOM’S SECOND CALL Song of Solomon 2:14 O my dove, That art in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the stairs; Let me see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, And thy countenance is comely. Love unwilling to take a refusal. Hence a repetition of the br... [ Continue Reading ]
NOTES Song of Solomon 2:15: _Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines_. שֻׁעָלִים (_shualim_) foxes. So the old translators. Sometimes also used for _jackals_, as Judges 15:4; Psalms 63:11. GESENIUS. Probably both these dangerous animals; the word being a general name for animals of... [ Continue Reading ]