Page:The Song of Songs (1857).djvu/157



Our retreat of cypress roof:

II. 1 I am a mere flower of the plain, A lily of the valley.

THE SHEPHERD.

2 As a lily among the thorns, So is my loved one among the damsels.

THE SHULAMITE.

3 As an apple-tree among the wild trees, So is my beloved among the youths.

1. I am a mere flower of the plain. "As for me," the Shulamite modestly insinuates, "my beauty is not peculiar, but is of an ordinary character, like these flowers which are found in great profusion in the plain and in the valley. The word [HE: Ha:baxelet], which occurs only once more (Isa. xxxv. 1), is variously explained. The ancient versions vary in their rendering of it. Thus the Sept. and Vulg. have here [GR: a)/nthos], flos, flower; the Chald., [HE: nar^eqvOm/], narcissus; so Saadias: whereas in Isa. the Sept., Vulg., Chald., render it lily. Modern critics are no less divided. Kimchi, Ibn Ezra, &c., explain it rose; Michaelis, Ewald, Gesenius, Döpke, Henderson, Meier, &c., take it to be autumn crocus, colchicum autumnale; De Wette, Rosenmüller, Royle, Winer, &c., narcissus; Professor Lee, lily. The etymology of the word is likewise disputed. Some derive it from [HE: b.oxal], a bulb, with [HE: H] prefixed, as [HE: H] like [HE: '] is sometimes put before triliterals, in order to form a quadriliteral, (Gesenius, Lehrg. p. 863, Rosenmüller, Henderson, Hengstenberg, &c.,) and others take it as a compound of [HE: Hobax/] and [HE: b.oxal], acrid bulb. (Ewald, Heiligstedt, &c.) The most probable derivation, however, seems to be [HE: Hobax/] = [HE: Homax/], to be bright, to shine; hence [HE: Ha:baxel] (with the termination [HE: —el] like [HE: k.ar^emel], [HE: `a:ropel]), a flower; as most verbs which signify shining are used also to denote verdure and bloom. Compare [HE: nixon/], a flower, from [HE: noxax/], to shine; and Simonis Arcanum Forarum, p. 352. The word [HE: S/orvOn/] (for [HE: y^eSorOvOn/], like [HE: svOr] for [HE: y^esvOr], from [HE: yoS/ar], to be straight, plain, with the termination [HE: —vOn/], comp. Gesen. § 84, 15), is here best translated a plain, or field; so the Sept., Vulg., Percy, &c. render [HE: Ha:baxelet haS/.orvOn/], ''a flower of the field''; and this admirably suits the [HE: S/vOS/an.at ho`a:moqiym/], lily of the valley—a flower common in the valley.

2. As a lily among the thorns. Beautifully and ingeniously does the shepherd take up this humble figure of the Shulamite, and, by a happy turn, make it symbolical of her surpassing beauty. "It is true, that thou art a lily, but as a lily surrounded by a multitude of brambles; so thou appearest among all the damsels." The expressions [HE: b.En/] and [HE: b.at] are not merely used for son and daughter, but also, idiomatically, denote lad and lass, youth and damsel. Gen. xxx. 13; Judg. xii. 9; Prov. vii. 7.

3. As an apple-tree, &c. The Shulamite returns the compliment: "As the charming apple-tree, covered with beautifully tinged and sweetly smelling fruit, appears amidst the wild and barren trees, so doest thou, my beloved, look among the youths. I delight," continues the Shulamite, "to repose beneath the shady tree, because of its charming fruit." The comparison between the delight which she had in the company of her beloved, and the agreeable enjoyment which a shady tree affords, will especially be appreciated by those who have travelled in the East, and had the opportunity of exchanging, in the heat of the day, their close