Song of Solomon - Grace Notes

SONG OF SOLOMON Page 34By C. F. Keil and F. Delitzscha Grace Notes studyThe description of spring is finished by areference to the fig-tree and the vine, thestanding attributes of a prosperous andpeaceful homestead, 1 Kings 5:5; 2 Kings 18:31.and thus named, not from their ‏,פָ‏ נַ‏ ג (from פַ‏ גhardness, but their delicacy) are the little fruitsof the fig-tree which now, when the harvestrainsare over, and the spring commences withthe equinox of Nisan, already begin to assume ared colour; the verb חָ‏ נַט does not mean “togrow into a bulb,” as Böttch. imagines; it hasonly the two meanings, condire (condiri, postbibl.syn. of שֵ‏ ל ‏(בָ‏ and rubescere. From its colour,wheat has the name נְׁטָ‏ ה = חִ‏ טָ‏ ה ‏;חִ‏ and here alsothe idea of colour has the preference, forbecoming fragrant does not occur in spring,—inthe history of the cursing of the fig-tree at thetime of the Passover, Mark (Mark 11:13) says,“for the time of figs was not yet.” In fig-trees, bythis time the green of the fruit-formation‏,סְׁ‏ מָ‏ דַ‏ ר changes its colour, and the vines areblossom, i.e., are in a state of bloom (LXXυπ ίζ υσ ; cf. 7:13, υπ σ ς)—it is a clausesuch as Ex. 9:31, and to which “they diffusefragrance” (v. 13) is parallel. This word סמדר isusually regarded as a compound word,consisting of ם ‏,סַ‏ scent, and דָ‏ ר ‏,הָ‏ brightness =blossom (vid., Gesen. Thes.); it is undeniablethat there are such compound formations, e.g.,(Arab.) from ‏,חַ‏ לָ‏ מִ‏ יש ‏;שָ‏ אַ‏ ן and שָ‏ לָ‏ ה from ‏,שַ‏ לְׁ‏ אֲ‏ נָ‏ ןḥams, to be hard, and hals, to be dark-brown.But the traditional reading סְׁ‏ מָ‏ דַ‏ ר (not מָ‏ דָ‏ ר ‏(סְׁ‏ isunfavourable to this view; the middle āaccordingly, as in לָ‏ צַ‏ ל ‏,צְׁ‏ presents itself as an ante-tone vowel (Ewald, § 154a), and the stemwordappears as a quadril. which may be theexpansion of דֵ‏ ר ‏,סִ‏ to range, put in order in thesense of placing asunder, unfolding. Symm.renders the word by ἰ ά θη, and the Talm.idiom shows that not only the green five-leavedblossoms of the vine were so named, but alsothe fruit-buds and the first shoots of the grapes.Here, as the words “they diffuse fragrance” (asat 7:14 of the mandrakes) show, the vineblossomis meant which fills the vineyard withan incomparably delicate fragrance. At the closeof the invitation to enjoy the spring, the call“Rise up,” etc., with which it began, is repeated.The Chethîb ‏,לכי if not an error in writing, justlyset aside by the Kerî, is to be read לֵ‏ כִ‏ י (cf. Syr.bechi, in thee, lvotechi, to thee, but with occulti)—a North Palestinism for ‏ְך ‏,לָ‏ like 2 Kings 4:2,where the Kerî has substituted the usual form(vid., under Ps. 103 introd.) for this verydialectic form, which is there undoubtedlyoriginal.Song 2:14. Solomon further relates how hedrew her to himself out of her retirement:My dove in the clefts of the rock,In the hiding-place of the cliff;Let me see thy countenance,Let me hear thy voice!For thy voice is sweet and thy countenancecomely.“Dove” (for which Castellio, columbula, likevulticulum, voculam) is a name of endearmentwhich Shulamith shares with the church of God,Ps. 74:19; cf. 56:1; Hos. 7:11. The wood-pigeonbuilds its nest in the clefts of the rocks andother steep rocky places, Jer. 48:28. ThatShulamith is thus here named, shows that, farremoved from intercourse with the world, her‏,חֶּ‏ גֶּ‏ ו from ‏,חַ‏ גְׁ‏ וֵ‏ י mountains. home was among theor also גּו ‏,חָ‏ requires a verb חָ‏ גָ‏ ה = (Arab.) khajja,findere. לַ‏ ע ‏,סֶּ‏ as a Himyar. lexicographer definesit, is a cleft into the mountains after the natureof a defile; with ‏,צּור only the ideas ofinaccessibility and remoteness are connected;with ‏,סלע those of a secure hiding-place, and,מַ‏ דְׁ‏ רֵ‏ גָ‏ ה residence. indeed, a convenient, pleasantis the stairs; here the rocky stairs, as the twochalk-cliffs on the Rügen, which sinkperpendicularly to the sea, are called“Stubbenkammer,” a corruption of the SlavonicStupnhkamen, i.e., the Stair-Rock. “Let me see,”said he, as he called upon her with enticingwords, “thy countenance;” and adds this as areason, “for thy countenance is lovely.” The