1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.
5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.
6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;
9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.
13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
1 How beautiful H3302 are thy feet H6471 with shoes, H5275 O prince's H5081 daughter! H1323 the joints H2542 of thy thighs H3409 are like jewels, H2481 the work H4639 of the hands H3027 of a cunning workman. H542
2 Thy navel H8326 is like a round H5469 goblet, H101 which wanteth H2637 not liquor: H4197 thy belly H990 is like an heap H6194 of wheat H2406 set about H5473 with lilies. H7799
3 Thy two H8147 breasts H7699 are like two H8147 young H6082 roes H6646 that are twins. H8380
4 Thy neck H6677 is as a tower H4026 of ivory; H8127 thine eyes H5869 like the fishpools H1295 in Heshbon, H2809 by the gate H8179 of Bathrabbim: H1337 thy nose H639 is as the tower H4026 of Lebanon H3844 which looketh H6822 toward H6440 Damascus. H1834
5 Thine head H7218 upon thee is like Carmel, H3760 and the hair H1803 of thine head H7218 like purple; H713 the king H4428 is held H631 in the galleries. H7298
6 How fair H3302 and how pleasant H5276 art thou, O love, H160 for delights! H8588
7 This thy stature H6967 is like H1819 to a palm tree, H8558 and thy breasts H7699 to clusters H811 of grapes.
8 I said, H559 I will go up H5927 to the palm tree, H8558 I will take hold H270 of the boughs H5577 thereof: now also thy breasts H7699 shall be as clusters H811 of the vine, H1612 and the smell H7381 of thy nose H639 like apples; H8598
9 And the roof of thy mouth H2441 like the best H2896 wine H3196 for my beloved, H1730 that goeth H1980 down sweetly, H4339 causing the lips H8193 of those that are asleep H3463 to speak. H1680
10 I am my beloved's, H1730 and his desire H8669 is toward me.
11 Come, H3212 my beloved, H1730 let us go forth H3318 into the field; H7704 let us lodge H3885 in the villages. H3723
12 Let us get up early H7925 to the vineyards; H3754 let us see H7200 if the vine H1612 flourish, H6524 whether the tender grape H5563 appear, H6605 and the pomegranates H7416 bud forth: H5132 there will I give H5414 thee my loves. H1730
13 The mandrakes H1736 give H5414 a smell, H7381 and at our gates H6607 are all manner of pleasant H4022 fruits, new H2319 and old, H3465 which I have laid up H6845 for thee, O my beloved. H1730
1 How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! Thy rounded thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skilful workman.
2 Thy body is `like' a round goblet, `Wherein' no mingled wine is wanting: Thy waist is `like' a heap of wheat Set about with lilies.
3 Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a roe.
4 Thy neck is like the tower of ivory; Thine eyes `as' the pools in Heshbon, By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon Which looketh toward Damascus.
5 Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the hair of thy head like purple; The king is held captive in the tresses `thereof'.
6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
7 This thy stature is like to a palm-tree, And thy breasts to its clusters.
8 I said, I will climb up into the palm-tree, I will take hold of the branches thereof: Let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine, And the smell of thy breath like apples,
9 And thy mouth like the best wine, That goeth down smoothly for my beloved, Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep.
10 I am my beloved's; And his desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine hath budded, `And' its blossom is open, `And' the pomegranates are in flower: There will I give thee my love.
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance; And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old, Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
1 As the chorus of `Mahanaim.' How beautiful were thy feet with sandals, O daughter of Nadib. The turnings of thy sides `are' as ornaments, Work of the hands of an artificer.
2 Thy waist `is' a basin of roundness, It lacketh not the mixture, Thy body a heap of wheat, fenced with lilies,
3 Thy two breasts as two young ones, twins of a roe,
4 Thy neck as a tower of the ivory, Thine eyes pools in Heshbon, near the gate of Bath-Rabbim, Thy face as a tower of Lebanon looking to Damascus,
5 Thy head upon thee as Carmel, And the locks of thy head as purple, The king is bound with the flowings!
6 How fair and how pleasant hast thou been, O love, in delights.
7 This thy stature hath been like to a palm, And thy breasts to clusters.
8 I said, `Let me go up on the palm, Let me lay hold on its boughs, Yea, let thy breasts be, I pray thee, as clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of thy face as citrons,
9 And thy palate as the good wine --' Flowing to my beloved in uprightness, Strengthening the lips of the aged!
10 I `am' my beloved's, and on me `is' his desire.
11 Come, my beloved, we go forth to the field,
12 We lodge in the villages, we go early to the vineyards, We see if the vine hath flourished, The sweet smelling-flower hath opened. The pomegranates have blossomed, There do I give to thee my loves;
13 The mandrakes have given fragrance, And at our openings all pleasant things, New, yea, old, my beloved, I laid up for thee!
1 How beautiful are thy footsteps in sandals, O prince's daughter! The roundings of thy thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.
2 Thy navel is a round goblet, [which] wanteth not mixed wine; Thy belly a heap of wheat, set about with lilies;
3 Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle;
4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; Thine eyes, [like] the pools in Heshbon, By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Thy nose like the tower of Lebanon, Which looketh toward Damascus;
5 Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the locks of thy head like purple; The king is fettered by [thy] ringlets!
6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, [my] love, in delights!
7 This thy stature is like to a palm-tree, And thy breasts to grape clusters.
8 I said, I will go up to the palm-tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof; And thy breasts shall indeed be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of thy nose like apples,
9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine, ... That goeth down smoothly for my beloved, And stealeth over the lips of them that are asleep.
10 I am my beloved's, And his desire is toward me.
11 -- Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the fields; Let us lodge in the villages.
12 We will go up early to the vineyards, We will see if the vine hath budded, [If] the blossom is opening, And the pomegranates are in bloom: There will I give thee my loves.
13 The mandrakes yield fragrance; And at our gates are all choice fruits, new and old: I have laid them up for thee, my beloved.
1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, prince's daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
2 Your body is like a round goblet, No mixed wine is wanting. Your waist is like a heap of wheat, Set about with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, That are twins of a roe.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head on you is like Carmel, The hair of your head like purple; The king is held captive in its tresses.
6 How beautiful and how pleasant are you, Love, for delights!
7 This, your stature, is like a palm tree, Your breasts like its fruit.
8 I said, "I will climb up into the palm tree. I will take hold of its fruit." Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine, The smell of your breath like apples, Beloved
9 Your mouth like the best wine, That goes down smoothly for my beloved, Gliding through the lips of those who are asleep.
10 I am my beloved's. His desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field. Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let's go early up to the vineyards. Let's see whether the vine has budded, Its blossom is open, And the pomegranates are in flower. There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance. At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old, Which I have stored up for you, my beloved.
1 How beautiful are your feet in their shoes, O king's daughter! The curves of your legs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a good workman:
2 Your stomach is a store of grain with lilies round it, and in the middle a round cup full of wine.
3 Your two breasts are like two young roes of the same birth.
4 Your neck is as a tower of ivory; your eyes like the waters in Heshbon, by the doorway of Bath-rabbim; your nose is as the tower on Lebanon looking over Damascus:
5 Your head is like Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple, in whose net the king is prisoner.
6 How beautiful and how sweet you are, O love, for delight.
7 You are tall like a palm-tree, and your breasts are like the fruit of the vine.
8 I said, Let me go up the palm-tree, and let me take its branches in my hands: your breasts will be as the fruit of the vine, and the smell of your breath like apples;
9 And the roof of your mouth like good wine flowing down smoothly for my loved one, moving gently over my lips and my teeth.
10 I am for my loved one, and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my loved one, let us go out into the field; let us take rest among the cypress-trees.
12 Let us go out early to the vine-gardens; let us see if the vine is in bud, if it has put out its young fruit, and the pomegranate is in flower. There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give out a sweet smell, and at our doors are all sorts of good fruits, new and old, which I have kept for my loved one.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Song of Solomon 7
Commentary on Song of Solomon 7 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
1 a How beautiful are thy steps in the shoes,
O prince's daughter!
The noun נדיב , which signifies noble in disposition, and then noble by birth and rank (cf. the reverse relation of the meanings in generosus ), is in the latter sense synon. and parallel to מלך and שׂר ; Shulamith is here called a prince's daughter because she was raised to the rank of which Hannah, 1 Samuel 2:8, cf. Psalms 113:8, speaks, and to which she herself, 6:12 points. Her beauty, from the first associated with unaffected dignity, now appears in native princely grace and majesty. פּעם (from פּעם , pulsare , as in nunc pede libero pulsanda tellus ) signifies step and foot, - in the latter sense the poet. Heb. and the vulgar Phoen. word for רגל ; here the meanings pes and passus (Fr. pas , dance-step) flow into each other. The praise of the spectators now turns from the feet of the dancer to her thighs:
1 b The vibration of thy thighs like ornamental chains,
The work of an artist's hands.
The double-sided thighs, viewed from the spine and the lower part of the back, are called מתנים ; from the upper part of the legs upwards, and the breast downwards (the lumbar region), thus seen on the front and sidewise, חלצים or ירכים . Here the manifold twistings and windings of the upper part of the body by means of the thigh-joint are meant; such movements of a circular kind are called חמּוּקים , from חמק , Song of Solomon 5:6. חלאים is the plur. of חלי = (Arab.) ḥaly , as חבאים (gazelles) of צבי = zaby . The sing. חלי (or חליה = Arab. hulyah ) signifies a female ornament, consisting of gold, silver, or precious stones, and that (according to the connection, Proverbs 25:2; Hosea 2:15) for the neck or the breast as a whole; the plur. חל , occurring only here, is therefore chosen because the bendings of the loins, full of life and beauty, are compared to the free swingings to and fro of such an ornament, and thus to a connected ornament of chains; for חם are not the beauty-curves of the thighs at rest, - the connection here requires movement. In accordance with the united idea of חל , the appos. is not מעשׂי , but (according to the Palestin.) מעשׂה (lxx, Targ., Syr., Venet.). The artist is called אמּן ( ommân ) (the forms אמן and אמן are also found), Syr. avmon , Jewish-Aram. אוּמן ; he has, as the master of stability, a name like ימין , the right hand: the hand, and especially the right hand, is the artifex among the members.
(Note: Vid ., Ryssel's Die Syn. d. Wahren u. Guten in d. Sem. Spr . (1873), p. 12.)
The eulogists pass from the loins to the middle part of the body. In dancing, especially in the Oriental style of dancing, which is the mimic representation of animated feeling, the breast and the body are raised, and the forms of the body appear through the clothing.
2 Thy navel is a well-rounded basin -
Let not mixed wine be wanting to it
Thy body is a heap of wheat,
Set round with lilies.
In interpreting these words, Hitzig proceeds as if a “voluptuary” were here speaking. He therefore changes שׁררך into שׁררך , “thy pudenda .” But (1) it is no voluptuary who speaks here, and particularly not a man, but women who speak; certainly, above all, it is the poet, who would not, however, be so inconsiderate as to put into the mouths of women immodest words which he could use if he wished to represent the king as speaking. Moreover (2) שׁר = (Arab.) surr , secret (that which is secret; in Arab. especially referred to the pudenda, both of man and woman), is a word that is
(Note: Vid ., Tebrîzi, in my work entitled Jud.-Arab. Poesien, u.s.w . (1874), p. 24.)
foreign to the Heb. language, which has for “ Geheimnis ” secret the corresponding word סוד ( vid ., under Psalms 2:2; Psalms 25:14), after the root-signification of its verbal stem (viz., to be firm, pressed together); and (3) the reference - preferred by Döpke, Magnus, Hahn, and others, also without any change of punctuation - of שׁר to the interfeminium mulieris , is here excluded by the circumstance that the attractions of a woman dancing, as they unfold themselves, are here described. Like the Arab. surr , שׁר (= shurr ), from שׁרר , to bind fast, denotes properly the umbilical cord, Ezekiel 16:4, and then the umbilical scar. Thus, Proverbs 3:8, where most recent critics prefer, for לשׁרּך , to read, but without any proper reason, לשׁרך = לשׁארך , “to thy flesh,” the navel comes there into view as the centre of the body, - which it always is with new-born infants, and is almost so with grown-up persons in respect of the length of the body, - and as, indeed, the centre. whence the pleasurable feeling of health diffuses its rays of heat. This middle and prominent point of the abdomen shows itself in one lightly clad and dancing when she breathes deeply, even through the clothing; and because the navel commonly forms a little funnel-like hollow (Böttch.: in the form almost of a whirling hollow in the water, as one may see in nude antique statues), therefore the daughters of Jerusalem compare Shulamith's navel to a “basin of roundness,” i.e. , which has this general property, and thus belongs to the class of things that are round. אגּן does not mean a Becher (a cup), but a Bechen (basin), pelvis ; properly a washing basin, ijjanah (from אגן = ajan , to full, to wash = כּבּס ); then a sprinkling basin, Exodus 24:6; and generally a basin, Isaiah 22:24; here, a mixing basin, in which wine was mingled with a proportion of water to render it palatable ( κρατήρ , from κεραννύναι , temperare ), - according to the Talm. with two-thirds of water. In this sense this passage is interpreted allegorically, Sanhedrin 14 b , 37 a , and elsewhere ( vid ., Aruch under מזג ). מזג .)מז is not spiced wine, which is otherwise designated (Song of Solomon 8:2), but, as Hitzig rightly explains, mixed wine, i.e. , mixed with water or snow ( vid ., under Isaiah 5:22). מזג is not borrowed from the Greek μίσγειν (Grätz), but is a word native to all the three chief Semitic dialects, - the weaker form of מסך , which may have the meaning of “to pour in;” but not merely “to pour in,” but, at that same time, “to mix” ( vid ., under Isaiah 5:22; Proverbs 9:2). סהר , with אגּן , represents the circular form (from סהר = סחר ), corresponding to the navel ring; Kimchi thinks that the moon must be understood (cf. שׂהרון , lunula ): a moon-like round basin; according to which the Venet., also in Gr., choosing an excellent name for the moon, translates: ῥἀντιστρον τῆς ἑκάτης . But “moon-basin” would be an insufficient expression for it; Ewald supposes that it is the name of a flower, without, however, establishing this opinion. The “basin of roundness” is the centre of the body a little depressed; and that which the clause, “may not mixed wine be lacking,” expresses, as their wish for her, is soundness of health, for which no more appropriate and delicate figure can be given than hot wine tempered with fresh water.
The comparison in 3b is the same as that of R. Johanan's of beauty, Mezîa 84 a : “He who would gain an idea of beauty should take a silver cup, fill it with pomegranate flowers, and encircle its rim with a garland of roses.”
(Note: See my Gesch. d. Jüd. Poesie , p. 30 f. Hoch (the German Solomon) reminds us of the Jewish marriage custom of throwing over the newly-married pair the contents of a vessel wreathed with flowers, and filled with wheat or corn (with money underneath), accompanied with the cry, פּרוּ וּרבוּ be fruitful and multiply.)
To the present day, winnowed and sifted corn is piled up in great heaps of symmetrical half-spherical form, which are then frequently stuck over with things that move in the wind, for the purpose of protecting them against birds. “The appearance of such heaps of wheat,” says Wetstein ( Isa . p. 710), “which one may see in long parallel rows on the thrashing-floors of a village, is very pleasing to a peasant; and the comparison of the Song; Song of Solomon 7:3, every Arabian will regard as beautiful.” Such a corn-heap is to the present day called ṣubbah , while ‛aramah is a heap of thrashed corn that has not yet been winnowed; here, with ערמה , is to be connected the idea of a ṣubbah , i.e. , of a heap of wheat not only thrashed and winnowed, but also sifted (riddled). סוּג , enclosed, fenced about (whence the post-bibl. סיג , a fence), is a part. pass. such as פּוּץ , scattered ( vid ., under Psalms 92:12). The comparison refers to the beautiful appearance of the roundness, but, at the same time, also the flesh-colour shining through the dress; for fancy sees more than the eyes, and concludes regarding that which is veiled from that which is visible. A wheat-colour was, according to the Moslem Sunna, the tint of the first created man. Wheat-yellow and lily-white is a subdued white, and denotes at once purity and health; by πυρός wheat one thinks of πῦρ - heaped up wheat developes a remarkable heat, a fact for which Biesenthal refers to Plutarch's Quaest . In accordance with the progress of the description, the breasts are now spoken of:
3 Thy two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
Song of Solomon 4:5 is repeated, but with the omission of the attribute, “feeding among lilies,” since lilies have already been applied to another figure. Instead of תּאומי there, we have here מּאמי ( taǒme ), the former after the ground-form ti'âm , the latter after the ground-form to'm (cf. נּאלי , Nehemiah 8:2, from גּאל = גּאל ).
4a Thy neck like an ivory tower.
The article in חשּׁן may be that designating species ( vid ., under Song of Solomon 1:11); but, as at Song of Solomon 7:5 and Song of Solomon 4:4, it appears to be also here a definite tower which the comparison has in view: one covered externally with ivory tablets, a tower well known to all in and around Jerusalem, and visible far and wide, especially when the sun shone on it; had it been otherwise, as in the case of the comparison following, the locality would have been more definitely mentioned. So slender, so dazzlingly white, is imposing, and so captivating to the eye did Shulamith's neck appear. These and the following figures would be open to the objection of being without any occasion, and monstrous, if they referred to an ordinary beauty; but they refer to Solomon's spouse, they apply to a queen, and therefore are derived from that which is most splendid in the kingdom over which, along with him, she rules; and in this they have the justification of their grandeur.
4 b a Thine eyes pools in Heshbon,
At the gate of the populous (city).
Hesbhon , formerly belonging to the Amorites, but at this time to the kingdom of Solomon, lay about 5 1/2 hours to the east of the northern point of the Dead Sea, on an extensive, undulating, fruitful, high table-land, with a far-reaching prospect. Below the town, now existing only in heaps of ruins, a brook, which here takes it rise, flows westward, and streams toward the Ghôr as the Nahr Hesbán . It joins the Jordan not far above its entrance into the Dead Sea. The situation of the town was richly watered. There still exists a huge reservoir of excellent masonry in the valley, about half a mile from the foot of the hill on which the town stood. The comparison here supposes two such pools, but which are not necessarily together, though both are before the gate, i.e. , near by, outside the town. Since שׁער , except at Isaiah 14:31, is fem., רבּים־בּים , in the sense of עם רבּתי , Lamentations 1:1 (cf. for the non-determin. of the adj., Ezekiel 21:25), is to be referred to the town, not to the gate (Hitz.); Blau's
(Note: In Merx' Archiv. III 355.)
conjectural reading, bath - 'akrabbim , does not recommend itself, because the craggy heights of the “ascent of Akrabbim” (Numbers 34:4; Joshua 15:3), which obliquely cross
(Note: Vid ., Robinson's Phys. Geogr. p. 51.)
the Ghôr to the south of the Dead Sea, and from remote times formed the southern boundary of the kingdom of the Amorites (Judges 1:36), were too far off, and too seldom visited, to give its name to a gate of Heshbon. But generally the crowds of men at the gate and the topography of the gate are here nothing to the purpose; the splendour of the town, however, is for the figure of the famed cisterns like a golden border. בּרכה (from בּרך , to spread out, vid ., Genesis , p. 98; Fleischer in Levy , I 420 b ) denotes a skilfully built round or square pool. The comparison of the eyes to a pool means, as Wetstein
(Note: Zeitschr. für allgem. Erdkunde , 1859, p. 157 f.)
remarks, “either thus glistening like a water-mirror, or thus lovely in appearance, for the Arabian knows no greater pleasure than to look upon clear, gently rippling water.” Both are perhaps to be taken together; the mirroring glance of the moist eyes (cf. Ovid, De Arte Am . ii. 722):
“Adspicies obulos tremulo fulgore micantes,
Ut sol a liquida saepe refulget aqua”