Page:The Song of Songs (1857).djvu/153

 10 Beautiful is thy countenance in the circlet, Thy neck in the necklace! 11 A golden circlet will we make thee, With studs of silver.

one of the most beautiful creatures I ever beheld. As she struggled to free herself from the spear to which she was tied, she showed the lightness and elegance of the gazelle. Her limbs were in perfect symmetry; her ears long, slender, and transparent; her nostrils high, dilated and deep red, her neck gracefully arched; and her mane and texture of silk No one can look at the horses of the early Assyrian sculptures without being convinced that they were drawn from the finest models." Compare also the exquisite and inimitable description of this noble animal in Job xxxix. 19, &c. and Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 941. The same comparison is used by the Greek and Roman poets. Thus Theocritus, Idyl. xviii. 30, 31:—
 * veh, i. 91, "belonging to the sheik, was

[GR: ê)\ ka/pô| kupa/rissos ê)/ a(/rmati Thessalo\s i(/ppos, ô(=de kai\ a( r(odo/chrôs E(le/na Lakedai/moni ko/smos.]

"As towers the cypress mid the garden's bloom, As in the chariot proud Thessalion steed, Thus graceful rose-complexion'd Helen moves."

Compare also Horace, Ode iii. 11. This shows the futility both of those who affirm that the strangeness of the simile is against the literal meaning of this Song, and of those who accuse the writer of uncouthness. Besides, is this comparison more strange or uncouth than that of a man with ''a bony ass''? (Gen. xlix. 14.) Mark also the other comparison used in the same chapter, such as of an ox, serpent, &c. [HE: sv.soh] is not equitatus, (Vulg. Rashi, Rashbam, English Version,) but as Ibn Erza and Immanuel rightly remark, [HE: nqbt svs], mare, the regular feminine of [HE: sv.s]. The [HE: y] in [HE: l^esv.sotiy] is the suffix of the first person, as the ancient versions have it; and refers to a well-known and celebrated mare which Solomon possessed and highly prized, and which he always put into one of Pharaoh's chariots. [HE: b.^erik^ebEy par^e`Oh], one of Pharaoh's chariots, like [HE: b.^e`orEy gil^e`od], one of the cities of Gilead. Judg. xii. 7.

10, 11. Beautiful is thy countenance, &c. The flattering praises are followed by enticing promises. "Thou art indeed beautiful," says the tempting king, "even in humble ornaments, but thou shalt have more costly adornments, which will show off thy beauty to greater advantage." The mention of the noble steed which was adorned with costly trappings, contributing so much to its stately and elegant appearance, naturally suggested the reference here made to the damsel's ornaments. The reader will not fail to observe that it is not the shepherd, but the king who is speaking in verses 9-11. The poor shepherd had no prancing steed, no Egyptian chariots; he could not promise the shepherdess such costly ornaments as are here described. [HE: t.vOrym/] (from [HE: t.v.r], to go round, hence [HE: t.vOr], something round, a circle, Esth. ii. 12, 15,) small rings or beads strung upon threads, worn as a head-dress. It is customary in the East for women to wear strings of beads hanging down from the temples over the cheeks. Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 942. Niebuhr, Reise nach Arab. i. 163. [HE: l^eHoyayim/], cheeks (dual of [HE: l^ehiy]), by a synecdoche for the whole face. [HE: Ha:rv.ziym/] (from [HE: Horaz], to pierce, to perforate), ''little perforated balls, or beads'' strung upon a thread and worn around the neck; i. q. a necklace. [HE: t.vOriym/] and [HE: Ha:rv.ziym/] are plurals, because the circlet and necklace consisted of many composite parts. Whether the circlet was of gold or brass, or whether the necklace consisted of real pearls, corals, or steel, the etymology of the words does not at all intimate. The context alone must decide this. The fact that the Shulamite was a humble rustic girl, and that Solomon promises to present to her a golden circlet with silver studs, proves that they were of a common