Song of Solomon 1:2
LOVE] The original has 'loves,' i.e. expressions of love, repeated kisses and embraces.... [ Continue Reading ]
LOVE] The original has 'loves,' i.e. expressions of love, repeated kisses and embraces.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ARDENT AFFECTION OF THE LOVERS 2-7. Songs of the bride: her enquiry and his answers.... [ Continue Reading ]
OINTMENTS] Orientals have always been passionately fond of perfumes. The literatures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome abound in references to them: in the Bible see Psalms 23:5; Psalms 45:7; Proverbs 7:17; Proverbs 27:9; Luke 7:46; John 12:3. A modern traveller writes: 'Arabs are delighted with perfumes;... [ Continue Reading ]
The king, i.e. the bridegroom, has brought the bride into his house, and she, freed from any taint of envy, nay, with an ingenuous pride, mentions the love with which others 'rightly' (RV) regard him. Some scholars prefer to read, 'Bring me, O king,' etSong of Song of Solomon 5SONG OF SOLOMON 5. In... [ Continue Reading ]
Her mother's sons have made it impossible for her to avoid this, treating her with that arbitrary tyranny which male relatives so often display in the East. 'I have known an ill-natured child,' says Doughty, 'lay a stick on the back of his good cherishing mother': cp. 1 Samuel 17:28. Her own vineyar... [ Continue Reading ]
Running to her lover, she would fain spend the siesta hour, the hot midday, with him. Failing to find him, she would have to wander aimlessly (RM) beside the other shepherds, in whom she took no interest.... [ Continue Reading ]
With kindly banter he bids her lead out her little flock of female kids and take her chance of finding him. 9-11. It would not occur to us to compare a woman to a beautiful mare: but an Eastern at once appreciates the simile. In Damascus 'the mare comes before wife and child': she may be worth £40,... [ Continue Reading ]
With the 'string of jewels' (RV) compare a song which may be heard now in Syria: 'From above, Abu Tabba, from above, Abu Tabba, Put golden coins upon her, and under her neck a string of pearls. The necklace usually worn consists of three rows of pearls. Lady Burton says of a Samaritan woman: 'Upon... [ Continue Reading ]
The henna (RV 'the flower of paradise') has fragrant yellowish white flowers, growing in clusters like grapes. It is still found in the wadi of En-Gedi, the most delightful spot on the W. shore of the Dead Sea, an oasis of luxurious vegetation. The sentiment of these vv. is thus reproduced in a song... [ Continue Reading ]
He compares her eyes to doves. Eastern women spend much pains on their eyes, painting them round with kohl to add to their apparent size and increase their expressiveness. And the comparison of maidens to doves is exceedingly common in the popular poetry: 'Lovely girls are there, like a flock of do... [ Continue Reading ]