II. (1) THE ROSE. — Heb., _chabatseleth._ The identification of this flower is a much vexed question. From its derivation, it should be a bulbous plant (_batsal_ — a bulb), and it happens that the flower which for other reasons best satisfies the requirements is of this kind, viz., the Sweet-scented... [ Continue Reading ]
AMONG THE DAUGHTERS — _i.e.,_ among other maidens.... [ Continue Reading ]
APPLE TREE. — So the LXX. and Vulg.; Heb., _tappuach._ Out of the six times that the word is used, four occur in this book, the other two being Proverbs 25:11 — “apple of gold” — Joel 1:12, where it is joined with vine, fig, &c, as suffering from drought. It has been very variously identified. The q... [ Continue Reading ]
BANQUETING HOUSE. — Marg., _house of wine;_ not the cellar of the palace, nor the banqueting hall of Solomon, nor the vineyard, but simply the place of the delights of love. The comparison of love with wine Is still in the thought. (Comp. Tennyson’s “The new strong wine of love.”) AND HIS BANNER...... [ Continue Reading ]
FLAGONS. — Heb., _ashishôth,_ apparently a dried cake, but of what substance is uncertain. From the margin of Hosea 3:1, possibly “grape cakes.” In 2 Samuel 6:19 it occurs as one of the gifts distributed by David at the removal of the ark, and is rendered by the LXX., _a cake from the frying-pan._ H... [ Continue Reading ]
ROES. — Heb., _tsebi, tsebiyah_; undoubtedly the _ghazal_ of the Arabs; the _gazelle._ (See 1 Chronicles 12:8.) HINDS. — Heb., _ayyalah._ (See Genesis 49:21.) The LXX. strangely read, _by the powers and virtues of the field._ MY LOVE. — Here almost certainly in the concrete, though there is no inst... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED. — So here there is no need of the clumsy device of supposing the heroine in a dream. This most exquisite morsel of the whole poem falls quite naturally into its place if we regard it as a sweet recollection of the poet’s, put into the mouth of the object of his affections. “... [ Continue Reading ]
WALL. — As an instance of the fertility of allegorical interpretation, the variety of applications of this passage may be quoted. The _wall =_ (1) the wall between us and Christ, _i.e.,_ our mortal condition; (2) “the middle wall of partition,” the law; (3) the iniquities separating man from God, so... [ Continue Reading ]
WINTER. — Heb., _sethav,_ only used here; probably from root = _to overcast:_ the season of cloud and gloom. THE RAIN IS OVER AND GONE. — Wordsworth uses this line in a description of an early spring in a very different climate.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TIME OF THE SINGING — Heb., _zamîr· — _may mean _pruning_ (so LXX. and Vulg.), but parallelism requires _singing-time_ (a meaning which analogy will certainly allow us to give to the Hebrew word _zamîr_). Nor can the correctness of our version in inserting _of birds_ be questioned, since from th... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FIG TREE PUTTETH FORTH HER GREEN FIGS. — Literally, _has ripened its unripe figs._ Heb., _phag_ (preserved in Bethphage); not the early fruit that appears before the leaves (Matthew 24:31), but the green fruit that remains through the winter (Gesenius and Tristram). THE VINES WITH THE TENDER GR... [ Continue Reading ]
O MY DOVE... IN THE CLEFTS OF THE ROCK. — The rock pigeon (_Columba livia_)_,_ the origin of the domestic races, invariably selects the lofty cliffs and deep ravines (comp. Jeremiah 48:28; Ezekiel 7:16) for its roosting places, and avoids the neighbourhood of men. The modesty and shyness of his belo... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE US THE FOXES. — Possibly this is a verse of a familiar country song, introduced here from the suggestion of the “sweet voice” in the last verse; but more probably to be compared to the “avaunt” so commonly addressed by poets in Epithalamia and love songs to all mischievous and troublesome creat... [ Continue Reading ]
HE FEEDETH. — Heb., _he that is feeding his flock — the pastor. _... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTIL THE DAY BREAK. — Heb., _breathe, i.e., becomes cool,_ as it does when the evening breeze sets in. The time indicated is therefore evening, “the breathing blushing hour” (Campbell). (Comp. Genesis 3:8, “The cool of the day” — margin, _wind._ This interpretation is also fixed by the mention of t... [ Continue Reading ]