Page:The Song of Songs (1857).djvu/188

 THE SHULAMITE.

2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, To the beds of aromatics, To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine; He who feeds his flock among the lilies.

SOLOMON.

4 Graceful art thou, O my love, as Tirzah, Beautiful as Jerusalem, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts! 5 Turn away thine eyes from me,

2, 3. My beloved is gone down into his garden, &c. The Shulamite, knowing that the court ladies are anxious to induce her to transfer her affections to the king, replies in a vague manner, that he is gone to his garden, he is not lost, nor has her affection to him abated, though they are now separated, nor does she fear that his love for her is diminished. This incontestably proves that the object of the damsel's affection, of whom she gave a description in the preceding, is not the king, but, as she herself tells us here most unequivocally, a shepherd. For ver. 3, comp. chap. ii. 16.

4. Graceful art thou, O my love, &c. Just as before (i. 9), Solomon made his appearance as soon as the Shulamite inquired after her beloved, so here he comes forward again when she speaks of her absent lover; thus endeavouring to show his own attachment to her. He addresses her, as before, in the most flattering terms: "Thou art as graceful as the delectable Tirzah, as charming as the delightful Jerusalem, as striking and conquering as an imposing army in full battle array." Tirzah was the royal residence of the kings of Israel after the revolt of Rehoboam, and retained that distinction till the time of Omri, who built Samaria (1 Kings x. 15-21; xvi. 14; 2 Kings xv. 4). It was a city of fascinating appearance, as its name, [HE: t.ir^exoh], delightful, indicates; and hence yielded a very flattering comparison. The Sept. takes [HE: t.ir^exoh] as an appellative, [GR: ô(s eu)doki/a]; so Aquila, [GR: kat' eu)doki/an], Sym. [GR: eu)dokê/tê], Syriac, [SY: 'yak Seby=an=a'] The Chald. paraphrases it [HE: b.iz^eman/ dx^ebv.tEk/^e], in the time of thy willingness, and Rashi inclines to it; the Vulg. has suavis et decora. But there can be no doubt, as Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, and all modern commentators take it, that it is a proper name, Tirzah, the capital of Jeroboam's kingdom. It may be that the ancient versions resorted to the expediency of taking [HE: t.ir^exoh] as an appellative, because they wished to avoid the contrast of the two capitals, since this would speak against Solomon being the author of this book. Jerusalem, "the perfection of beauty" (Lam. ii. 15), afforded another excellent figure.

Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts! The fascinating power of a woman is frequently compared to the prowess of an armed host. Comp. Prov. vii. 26. [HE: 'oyvOm/], which occurs once more in connexion with [HE: nvOro'], Hab. i. 7, means awful, awe-inspiring, imposing. [HE: nid^eg.olvOt], Niph. part. prop. bannered, people furnished, or arrayed with banners, hence armies, hosts. The feminine is here used to express a collective idea; comp. [HE: 'Or^eHvOt], caravans, Isa. xxi. 13; Gesen. § 107, 3 d; Ewald, § 179 c.

5. Turn away thine eyes from me, &c. These awe-inspiring hosts are described as concentrated in her eyes, which