Page:The Song of Songs (1857).djvu/167

 ANOTHER.

7 Lo! it is the palanquin of Solomon, Around it are threescore valiant men From the valiant of Israel: 8 All skilled in the sword, expert in war, Each with his sword girded on his thigh Against the nightly marauders.

some corporations, the mace, as an ensign of office, has the same origin, though now reduced to a gilded ornament only." See Calmet, Dictionary, and Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 948. [HE: miy] is properly used of persons, but also of things, especially when the notion of person or persons is in them, e.g. [HE: miy l^ek/o k.ol ham.aH^eneh haz.eh], "What is all this company with thee? Gen. xxxiii. 8; Mich. i. 5. That this is here the meaning of [HE: miy], is evident from the answer, [HE: hin.Eh miT.otvO], Behold, it is the palanquin. [HE: mid^eb.or] (from [HE: dobar], to range in order, to guide, to drive flocks), here is not desert, but, as frequently, an uninhabited plain or country, where flocks are tended, in contradistinction to town, where people dwell. Comp. Isa. xlii. 11; Jer. xxiii. 10; Joel ii. 22. [HE: t.iym^ervOt], the plur. of [HE: t.imoroh], like [HE: xid^eqvOt], from [HE: x^edoqoh], columns or clouds, only occurs once more, Joel iii. 3, and is most probably derived from [HE: t.omar], to ascend, to rise up like a column or cloud. The [HE: y] has merely been inserted to help the pronunciation (comp. Exod. xxv. 31; Ps. xix. 4.), and, indeed, nineteen MSS. and originally another omit the [HE: y], which is undoubtedly the correct reading. The [HE: k.] in [HE: k.^et.iym^ervOt] signifies as in. Comp. Isa. v. 17; xxix. 7; Gesen. Gram. § 118, 3, Rem. [HE: k.lO] is used for a plurality comprising, or consisting of, divers single things or objects, and is to be rendered all kinds. Comp. Lev. xix. 23; Neh. xiii. 16; Fürst, Lexicon, under [HE: k.lO] 5; Gesen. § 108, 4, § 111, 1. [HE: l^ebnoh] ([GR: li/banos], [GR: libanôto\s], arbor thuris, thus), frankincense, so called from its white colour, was early known and extensively used by the Jews (Exod. xxx. 34; Lev. ii. 1, 2; Isa. lxiii. 23) and other nations (Tibull. Lib. Eleg. ii.; Ovid. Trist. Lib. V. Eleg. v. 11) in sacrifices for fumigation. It is represented as a shrub, growing on mountains, and thorny, both in Arabia (Isa. lx. 6; Jer. vi. 20) and in Palestine, according to the passage here; reaches a height of about five feet, and resembles in its leaves and fruit the myrtle. The frankincense is obtained by incisions which are made twice a year; the first in the beginning of autumn, which is white and pure ([HE: l^ebnoh zok.oh], Exod. xxx. 34), and is regarded as superior; and the second incision is made in the winter, when the resin thus obtained is reddish, and considered much inferior. Comp. Winer, Bibl. Dict. p. 681, et seq.; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxxii. 14.

7, 8. ''Lo! it is the palanquin'', &c. Another bystander, recognizing it at a distance, exclaims that it is the cortége of Solomon, consisting of his palanquin and guard. [HE: miT.otvO S/eliS/^elmOhO], i.q. [HE: miT.at S/^elOmOh]; comp. Gesen. § 121, 5, note; Ewald, § 309 c. This construction, however, has no real analogy in the Scriptures; it frequently occurs in latter Hebrew writings. Comp. [HE: thtytv Sl hhr], the bottom of the mountain, in Rashbam on the Song of Songs, iv. 1. The [HE: gib.riOym/] here mentioned, were a separate class of the body-guard formed by David; and, as co-religionists ([HE: gib.rEOy yiS\^ero'El]), seem to have been chosen to protect the monarch on his excursion against any attack of nocturnal marauders, so frequent and so much dreaded in the East. Comp. Job i. 15, with Gen. xvi. 12. The [HE: m] in [HE: mig.ib.OrEy] is used partitively, vide supra, i. 2. [HE: 'a:Hv.zEy Hereb], skilled in the sword. [HE: 'oHaz], to take hold, also to handle artfully, like [HE: t.opaS\], to take hold, to handle skilfully. The participle [HE: 'oHv.z], though