1-6. The _wasf_ begins with a eulogy of her dancing: her steps in sandals (RV) are lovely, and the circling movements of her body are graceful as ornamental chains. In Eastern dancing the twisting and vibration of the body are of more consequence than the rapid movement of the feet. The title 'noble... [ Continue Reading ]
The Talmud states that the proportions for mixed wine (RV) were two-thirds water, one-third wine. In Syria the colour of wheat is considered to be the most beautiful for a human body.... [ Continue Reading ]
Her neck is like a tower of ivory, long, and dazzling white. But what about the swarthiness of Song of Solomon 1:5? The answer is that the exactness and consistency of prose are not to be expected in an epithalamium. Heshbon lies five and a half hours E. of the N. point of the Dead Sea, in a fertile... [ Continue Reading ]
Carmel was regarded as the 'Park' of the land; there alone were rocky dells, with deep jungles of copse. A 'king is held captive in the tresses' (RV) of the bride's hair: cp. the Arab song: 'Oh, thy thick hair hangs down; Seven plaits of it take us captive.' 6-10. The bridegroom begins with a gene... [ Continue Reading ]
For the effect ascribed to the mandrake see Genesis 30:14. It is not a very common plant in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, but grows freely in Galilee; its reddish-golden apples, about an inch and a half in diameter, emit a somewhat sweet odour. On a shelf over the inner door (RV) of the house she... [ Continue Reading ]