Song of Songs › Chap. VOL Verse 8* (continued)
sis hours: when they ceased from singing, lie himself opened his mouth, and sang this song, as it lA written, (0 '* Then sang Joshua bef(nre the ]Q»xd.'' The mtik song Barak and Deborah sang, in the day that the hxA delivered Sisera and his anny into the bands ef the children of Israd, as it is written, {i) ^' Then ssa; Deborah an4 Barak> the son of Abinoam." * The seventk song Hannah sang, at the ti^e v^heh a son -w^ givea.her. by the Lord, as it is written, (Q ^And Hanstk prayed by. the. spirit of- prophecy, and said." The eighth eong David, the king pf- Israel sang, on the account of all ihe wonders which the Lord did for him. He opened his mouth, and sang this song, as it is written, {tn) *^ And David sahg.fa^ the spirit of>pro- •phecy before the Lord." The ninth mmg Solomon the king of Israel sang.by ^e Holy Spirit be^re Jehovah, the Lord of the whole world.. ' And the tenth 900% the children of the captivity shall sing at the time whea they shall comQ out of captivity; as it is written and explained by Isaiah the piophet, (n) This song shaU be unto you for joy in the liigbt, that the feast of the passover is kept hol^, and gladness of heart; as when the people go to appear before the Lord, three times
(fl) The word pyx^p signifies an exposition, or interpretation, or a translation of one lahffuaffe into an6ther; and here of the Hebrew text into the Chaldee language, with an explanation. The first use of these translations was after the return of the Jews from Babylon, where they had almost lost the Hebrew lansfuage; and, therefore, were necessarv for the understanding the hiw and the prophets. The translation of the five books of Moses was done by Onkelos, and that of the prophets by Jonathan Ben Uzziel^ the former of whom lived a little after Christ, and the latter a little before, him: but the translation of the Hagiographa^ among which is this book of Canticles, is generally thought to be done by R. Joseph Cecus. The paraphrase on this book could not have been written till after the fimshmg of the Talmud, seeing express mention is made of it there.
(&) Which is the Holy Spirit, as it is afterwards explained. "What the Targum says of this book is the mind of Jewish writers in geneml. Vide Mishna, Tract. Yadaim, c. 3, «. 5. Shirhashirim Rabba, in ver. 1. Midrash Koheleth, m ver. 1. Zohar, in Exod. fol. 69, 3. Jarchi and Aben Ezra, in PraekX. in Cant. Kimchi in 1 Reg. 11, 41.
(c) Psa. zcii., which Psalm many Jewish writer* think was made by the first man Adam; so Targum in Psa. xcii. Zohar in Gen. fol. 43, 2. Vajikra Rabba, Parash. 10. But in Sbemotb R«bba, Furash. 23, it is said that Adam never composed any aong: and that the song whicll Moses and the children of Israel sang at the Red 1^ was tbe first that ever was sung ih the world; and, indeed, it is the first that is mentioned in Scripture. • Xd) Exod. XV. 1.
(/) A phrase expressive of death. See PhiL L 23,
0i) In Josh. X. 13, it is said, that " the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down w^ Q1*^> ** about a whole day," or a compute day, which, if we understand of an artificial day, was but twelve houfs; and if of a natural day, twenty-four hours. Kimchi, on Josh. x. 13, says that thia miraclS was wrought in the summer solstice, and on the lonsest day in the year, which in the land of Ca* naan consists put of fourteen hours; whejeaa tbe Taigum here says, the sun stood still thirty-six hours, which makes three artificial days, or one natural day and a half. Viii Ecclus. xlvi. 6.
(n) Much to the same purpose is the Taigum on Isa, xxz. 29.
7%e Targum^ or X)haldee paraphrase, on the Song of Songs,
in the year, with all kinds of music, and Sound of the 1 pipe, when- they go np to (he mountain of the Lord, to worship before the Lord, the mighty one of Israel.
Verse 2, Let him kiss, m^, <!jfC.] Solomon the prophet said, *' Blessed be the name of the Lord,"' who hath giren us the law by the hands of Moses," (o) the gfsst scribe, written upon two tables of stone, and the six parts of the (p) Mishna and Talmud {q) to study in; aiid he was speaking to us face to face, as a man kisseth his friend^ because of the greatness of the loTo with which he loved us more than (r) the seventy nations.
Verse 3. Because of the savoury SfC.^ At the report of thy wonders and of thy power, which thou wrought- •st for thy people the house of Israel. All the nations trembled who heard of the fame of thy greatness, and of thy favours; and thy holy name was heard in all the earth, which is more excellent than the anointing oil that wa& poured upon the heads of the king9 and priests; and, therefore, the righteous love to walk in thy gdod way, that they may possess \s) this world, and the world to come.
Vers^ 4. Draw mc, cj-c] When the people of the house of Israel came out of Egypt, the shechinah of the Lord of the worid'weiit before them (t) ih a pillar of ploud by day, and in a pillar gf fire by night. The righteous of that generation said, Lord of all the ^orld, dr^w ns after thee, and we will run in thy good way; and bring us to the foot of Mount Sinai, and give us the law out of thy treasure house, the 'firmament.; and we will rejoice and be glad,' in the (u) twenty-two letters with which it is written; and we will remember them, and love thy deity; and will withdratv ourselves from the idols of (he nations; and all the righteous which do what is right before thee i^all fear thee, and love thy commandments.
Verse 5. lam blacky 6fcJ\ When the hopse of Israel made the calf, their faces became black, Uke the sons pf Cusb, (v) which dwell innhe tents of Kedar: but when they returned by repentance, and were forgiven, the brightness of the glory of their faces was increased, like the angets\ because they made curtaina for the tabernacle; therefore the shechinah of the Lord dwelt
(o) So Ezra is called a ** scribe of the law of the God of heaven,** Ezra vii. 11, 12.
( o) The Mishna, which consists of six parts, is a collection of the traditions of the Jems, or tteDh- oral Uw, compiled by H. Judah, about the year of Christ 150..
{q) Or the Gemara, as it lb read in Targum Triplex, printed with the Pentateuch. Of this Gemava, or Tahnud, there are two sorts; the one is called the Jerusalem Talmud, which R. Jqchanan collected together, about th^ year of Christ 330; the other i^ called the Babjloniaii Talmud, which was begun by R. Ase, in the year 367, who was succeeded in it by Maremar, in the year 427, and at last was finished by Avma, in the year 500. The former was written for the- use of the Jerusalem Jews; the hitter, for those in BfLhylon and other parts, and is moot esteem^. It contains the disputations and decisions of the Jewish doctors upon the Mishna. Vide Buxtorf. Biblioth. Rab. p. 425.
(r) It is a^nerally received opinion amonff the Jews that seventy angeu descended and confounded Uie language at Babel, from which time the earth was divided into seventy different nations, speaking seventy different languages. Vide Targum Jon. in G«n. xi. 7, 9.
ampng them: and Moses, their maiSter, went np intd the {w) firmament, and made peace between them and their King.
Verse 6. Look not uporime, 4r.] The corigre([;atioih of Israel said before the nations, Do not despis^ me, because I am bla(icker than you, for I have don^ according to yenr- works, and have (x) worshipped the sun and moon; for false prophets have been the cause that the fierce anger of the Lord hath come down upon me; and they taught me to worship yoUr idoh^ and to walk in yonr laws: hot the Lord of the world, who is my God, I have not served, ^or walked in hia commandments, nor have I kept his statutes and his law.
Verse 7. Tell trie, O thot/, ^.] When the time of- Moses the prophet viras come, to (y) depart out of the world, he said before the Lord, It is revealed unto me that this people will sin, and go into captivity; now show me how they shall be governed and dwell among the nations, whos^ decrees are g[rievons as the heat, and as the scorchings of the son ai noon, in the (z) summer solstice; and wherefore it is that they shall wander among, the flocks of the sons of Esau and Ishmael, who join to thee their idols, for companions.
Verse 8. If thou know not, <ffc,] The holy blessed 'God said to Moses the prophet. It is their desire to smite' the captivity of the congregation of Israel, which is like to a fair damsel: but my soul loveth her, there^ fore let her walk in ihe ways of the righteous, and let her order her prayer according to the direction of her governors, and let her lead her posterity, and teach her children, which are like to the kids of the goats, to go to the synagogue, and the school; and by that righteousness they shall he governed in the captivity, yntil the time that I send the King Messiah, and he shall:lea4 them quietly to their habitations; yea, he shall bring them to the house ot the sanctuary, which David and Solomon, the shepherds of Israel, built for them.:
Verse 9. To a company of horses, cj-c] When Israel went out of Egypt, Pharaoh and his host pursued ^fter them with chariots and horsemen, and their
(u) The number of Hebrew letters in the alphabet. R. Isaac, in Shirhashirim Rabba in loc., gives the same sense of the words-, which he cbllects from the word ^ bachj in thee, ^ beth standing numerically for two, and^'n capk, for twenty. '
(v) The Ethiopians. Shirhasfairim Rabba in loc. explains the words by Amos ix. 7: "Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me,'* dec.
(tr) It is a received opinion among the Jews that Moses went up into the firmament of heaven; thoug^fa the Scriptures only signify that he went up into Mount Sinai, and was in the midst of tne cloud with God there. So the Targum on ver. 11,;2, 14; and on Psa. Ixviii. 18.
{z) The Jews, as here and elsewhere, calljt tlbtlTl&^fptV tekuphath Tamrnuz, " the revolution of Tammus/* Tne vm is so called Ezek. viii. 14, which was worshipped under this name; it answers in part to our June, when the sun ^nt^rs into the tropic of Cancer, and is what is meant by'th^ revdhh tion, Maimon. HiliHi. Kiddush Hachodesh, c.^^, s. 2, *Vidi$ Targum, Jon. in 0«l viii. 22.'.
T!&e Targuniy or Chaldee paraphrase, on the Song of Songs.
way was ahnt u^on tba four sides of them.; on the right hand and on the left were wOdemesses full of fieif serpents, and behind them was mcked Pharaoh B9d his army, and before them was the Red Sea. WhrfTdid thdJioly blessed God do t' He was manifeste^ya the power of hiij might apon the Red jSea, and llried the sea np; but the mud he did not diy up. The wicked and the mixed multitude, and the strangeifs which were among them, said. The waters of the sea he is able to dry up; but die mud he is not able to dry up. In that very hour the fierce anger of the Lord came upon them; and he sought to drown them in the waters of the sea, as Pharaoh and his army, his chariots, and his horsemen, and his horses, were downed; had it not been for Moses, the prophet, who spread his hands in praj^r before the Lord, and turned away the anger of the Loi;d from them. Then he and the righteous of that genenuion opened their mouths, and sang a song, and passed through the Red Sea on dry land, because of the righteousness of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the beloved of the Lord. ~
Verse 10. Thy cheeks are comely t <ft;.l When they went out into the wilderness, the Lord paid to Moses, Kow fair is this people; that the words of the law should be given unto them; and they shall be^as bridles in their jaws, that they may not depart out of the good way, as a horse turneth not aside that has a bridle in his jaw; and how fair is their neck to bear (a) the yoke of my commandments 4 and it shall be upon them as a yoke upon the neck of a bullpck, which plougheth in the field, and feeds both itself iuid its master!
Verse 1 1. We will make thee borders of gold,' 4^.] Then was it said to Moses, Go up into t)ie firmament, and I will give tHee the two tables of stone, hewed out of the (b) sapphire of the throne of my glory, shining as the best gold^ disposed in rows, vmtten with my finger, in which are engraven the (c).ten words, purer than silver that is purified seven times seven, which is the number of the things explained in them, (d) for^-nine ways; and they shall be given by thine hand unto the people of the house of Israel.
Verse 12. While the king sitteth, cjr ] Whilst Moses their master was in thd firmament, to receive
(c) The docaloj^e or ten commandments.
Id) In Psa. xii. 6, the place here referred to, the " words of the Lord" are said to be " as silver purified seven times;'* where by oir)!^!lSP shibathayim some of the Jewish rabbins, affieeably to the Taigum here, understand sewn times sevetij ^ndch makes forty-nine \ and so many ways they say the law is capable of being interpreted, and' that he is a wise man who is acquainted with them. Midrash Agada in Jarchi, in Psa. xii. 6. Midrash Kohelet, in c. 8, v. 1. Vajikra Rabba, I{^nsh. 26y and Yade Mose, in ib. Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 19.
(«) In Buxtorf's Bible it is read inhai kegida, "like wormwo^, which, indeed, well agrees with what is said of i^; though Matthiolus s^ys of noi^ that when, it has loat its sweet smeU. it stinks excc^ingly. JB|pi ^ords ore these:
the two tal^es of stone, and the law, and the commandments, the wicked of that generation, and the mixed multitude that was among them, rose up and made a golden calf, and caused their works to sttnk; and there went out an evil report of tliein in the world, for before this time a fragrant odour of them was diffused in the world: but afterwards they stank like (e) nard, whose smell is very bad; and the plague of ' leprosy came down upon their flesh.
Verse 13. A bundle ofmyrrh^ Src.^ At that time the Lord said unto Moses, 60 down, for the people have corrupted themselves; desist from speaking to me, and I will destroy them. Then Moses returned and asked mercy of the l^rA; and the Lord remembered for them the (/) binding of Isaac, whom his father bound on {jg) Mount Moriah, upon the altar; and the Lord turned from his fierciB anger, and caosed his shechinah to dwell among them as Sefore.
Verse 14. A cluster of camphire, 4t:.] Lo, then went Moses down with the two tables of stone in his hands; and because of the sins. of Israel his hands grew heavy, and they fell and were broken. Then went. Moses, and ground (h) the calf to powder, and scattered the dust of it^ upon the river, and tnade the children of Israel drink ii, and slew all that deserved to die, and went up a, second time into the firmament, and prayed before the Lord, and made atonement for the children of Israel; then was he commanded to make a tabernacle and an ark. Immediately Moses hastened, and mado the tabernacle, and all its funitore, and the ark;,ahd he put in the ark the two pthez tables, and appointed the sons of Aaron the priests to offer the offerings npoh the altar, and to poor, the wine upon the offerings: but from whence had they wine to pourt For in the wilderness they ^ had i|o proper placo for sowing, neither had they fig trees, nor vines, nor pomegranates f but they went to the •vineyards of En-gedi, and took clusters of grapes from thence, and pressed wine o«t of them, and poured it upon the altar, the fourth part of a bin to one lamb.
Verse 15. Behold, thou 4rt fair, 4c.] When the children of Israel performed the will of their King, be (i) hnnself praised' them, in the<(^) family of the ho(y angels, and said. How fair are thy works,' my daagh-
Plerumque accidit dum per Indicum et Arabicum mare in Alexandriam defertur, et unde Venetias, ut ascito aihi maris homore (id namque facile' sit quod na/dus sit sicciasima) rd situm contrahat, vel supputzescat: unde postea amissa suaveolentia, graviter cleat. — ^Matthiolus in Dioscor. L I, c. 6.
(/> The Jews suppose the binding of Isaac to be venr meritorious, and that by virtue of it their sins are ex^iateu, and many blessings procured for them; and therefore m the beginning of the year they pray to God. that. m meratto Israel he wquld remember the binding of Isaac. Seder Tephillot, fol. 282, 1, 2. Edit. Basil. 1578. See Taigum and Jarchi on Mic. vii. 20. Shirhashirim Rabba -in c. I, 14. Jirchi in Exod. xxxii. 13. Shemoth Rabba, Parash. 44.
Xk) The Latin word/omiha is here used'bv Uie paiaphrast; compare with this Eph. iii. 15, Luke xii. 8.
The Targum^ or Chaldee paraphrases on the Song of Songs.
ter, my beloved, O congregation of Istael, in the time ^at thou doest my will, and studiest in the words of my. law; and how well ordered are thy works apd thy affairs, as young doTes that ^e fit to be offered up upon the altar! '
Verse 16. Behold] thou wrifyir, 4-0.] The congregation of Israel answered before the Lord of the world, and thus she said, How fair is the- shechinah of thy holiness, when thou dwellest among us, and receivest our prayers with acceptance, and when, thou dwellest in our beloved bed, and our children are multiplied in
(/) A kind of cedar, see Eliae Levite Methorgeman in Toce.
(m) The Jews expect a third temple to be built in the days
the world, and we increase and miritiply like a tree that is planted by a fountain of water, whose leaf is fair, and whose fruii is plenteous!
Verse 17. The beams of our house, 4«.] Solomoo^ the p^phet said, How beautiful is the.4ionse of the sanctuary of the Lord, whiclif is built by my kinids of wood of (Q Gubnish: but far more beautiful wfll be the house of the sanctuary, which shall be built (m^ in the days of the King Messiah, whose beams will be of the cedars of the garden of ilden, and Whosiaf rafters Will be of brutine, fir, and box.
Verse 1. I am the rose of Sharon, cj-c] The congregation of Israel said. When the Lord of the world causes his (a) shechinalf to dwell* in the.midM of m^^ I am like the green dafifodil of the garden of Eden, and my works are fair as,the rose which is in the plain of the garden of Eden.
Verse 2. As the lily among thorns, <}t.] But when I turn aside out of.the way that is righr before me, and he removes the -shechinah of his* holiness fromx me, I am like to a rose which flourisHes among thorns, by which its leaves are pricked thiough and torn: even so am I pricked through and,.tQrn with wicked edicts, in the captivity among the (b) kings < of the nations. •'
Verse 3. As^ apple tree among the trees; cf-c] As the*' pomecitrbn tree is beautiful, and to be praised among the unfruitful trees, 'and all the world knows it; so the Lord of the world was^praised among* ^he angels, when he was revealed t>n Mount Sinai, and gave the law unto his people; in thaf very hour I de^red to sit undier the shadow of his shechiniih,^and the words of his law were (c) fixed upon the roof of^my mouth, and the reward "of his commands is reserved for me in the world to come.
Verse 4. He brought me, <f'c.] The congregation of Israel said. The Lord brought -me to the school which is in (d) Sinai, to lekm the law from the mouth of Moses the great scribe; and the banner of his commandments I took upon me in love, and said, All that the 'Lord commandeth I will do, and will obey.
Verse 5. Stay me with flagons, 4-c.] But when I heard his voice, which spake out of the midst of the flame of fire, I trembled, and wfent bluskwards because
.'(a) The word shechinah comes from "p^p sKacho^ which signifies to dwellt and Elias Levita, in ^his Methuigeman, says that Uiieir wise men called the Holy l^pirit so, because it dwelt iHion the prophets; though perhaps, he says, there may oe another sense ot it among the Cabalistic doqtofs, of which he declares himself ignorant, tt seems to intend the glorious majesty and presence of God -with his Church and people, and is the same with St. John's oKifVTf rov Qeov, taJbemade ot kdbitatwn of God^ which is said to be with men, Rev. xxi. 8; and may very well be apphed to the Messiah, Jesus, who was made flesh, koi eoKijvooev, and dwelt amonirus, John i. 14. (A) In Buxtorf' s Bible it is read hjjg puJtey, " the provinces ef the nations."
of fear. « llien I drew near to Moses. and Aaron, and said unto them,. Receive ye the voice of the words of the Lord, out of the midst of the fire$^ and bring me to the school, and sustain me with the words of the law on which the world is founded, and put veils upon my neck; 'for the interpretation of the holy wo^s, which are sweet to my palate, are as the apples of the garden of Eden, and I will ^tudy in them: perhaps^ I may be healed by' them, for I ani^ sicl^nflove.
Verse 6. His left hand is under my head, 4"C.] When the people of the house 4>f Israel were travelling in the wilderness, they had (e) four clouds of glory at the four winds of the world round abont them, that the (/) evil eye flight not rule over them. There was one above them, that the heat and sun, as also the ' rain and hafl, might not have power over them; and one below them; which carried them as a nurse carrieth her sucking c|iild in her bosom; and anetlier ran before them, at the distance of three days* journey, (g) to level the mountains, and to elevate ^e plains; and it slew all the fiery serpents and scorpions which ^ere in the wilderness; and it spied oot a oonvement place fbr them to lodge in, that they might study in th^ doctrine of the law, which was given them by (he right hand of the Lord.
Vdrse 7. •/ charge you, O ye daughters, 4c.] After that it was commanded Moses, by the spirit. of prophecy from the Lord, to send spies to spy the land, aiid when they returned from spying it, they brought an evil report upon the land of Israel, wherefore they tarried forty years in the wilderness. Moses opened his mouth, and thus he said, I adjure you, O congre-
■ (a) The same sen^ is mven of those wosds in Shixhaahirim Rabba in loc, and in Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 2.
{e\ The Jews are divided about the number of those ckiuds whicn they say attended the Israelites in their travels. R. Josiah says there were five of them, four at the four winds* and one went before them. R. Hoshea thinks there wefo seven, four at the four winds, one above, oiis'l>elow, anii another that went before them; Bemidbar Rabba, Paiaah. 1.
\g) The same is ascribed to this cloud in Bemidbar Rabb^ ribi supra, and in Jujti.Ui Cant, iil 6.
The Targun^ or Chaldee paraphrase, on the Song of Songs.
gation of Israel, by *the Lord of hosts, and bj the Iprtresses of the land oC Israel, that ye presmne not to go up to the land of Canaan until it is the will of the J^rd; lest, the whole generation of warlike men perish from the camp, even as your biediren, the children of Ephraim, (A) who went out thirty years from Egypt, before the time came, and they fell into the hand of Hie Philistines, which dwell in Gath, and they slew them: but tarry ye unta the end of forty years, and your children shall go up and inherit it.
Verse 8. The voice of my beloved^ cjr.] Solomon the«king said, When'the people of the faouse> of Israel dwelt in Egypt, their cry went up U the highest bearens. Lo! then ^as the glojy of the Lord revealed to Moses on Mount Hore\>;,and he sent him into Egypt to deliver them« and to bring them out,of Che oppression of the tyranny of Egypt; and he leaped over the appointed season through the righteousness of their fathers, who are like to mountains; and he skipped over the time of a hundred and niftety years^ (t) servitude, through the righteousness of their mothers, who are like to hills.
Verse 9. My behved is like a roe, <fre.] The congregation of Israel said, When the glory of the Lord was revealed in Egypt, in the night of the passover, and slew all the first-bom, he rode upon a swift cloud, and ran like a roe or a yonng hart, and protected the houses in which we were; -and stood behind our wall, and looked out of the ivindows, and beheld tnrough the lattices, and saw the blood of the sacrifice of the passover, and the blood of circumcision which was fixed upon our gates; and he hastened from the highest I heavens, and saw his people, who eat of the sacrifice of the feast which was. roasted with fire, with (^> Tamca and Ulshin, and unleavened bread; and he spared us, and did not give power to the destroying angel to destroy us.
Verse 10. My beloved spake, and' said urUo'me, ^-c] And in the morning my beloved answered, and said onto me, Arise, O congregation of Israel, my love, who toast so of old, and who art fair in good works;
(A) The same story is reported in Taxgum Jon. ih Exod. xiii. 7, where it is said that the number of the slain in this expedition was two hundred thousand mighty men, and that these are the dry bones. Ezekiel saw in the valley, which upon his prophesying lived, and became an exceeding great army, Esek. xxxvii. Something of this story is alsO hinted at m Shirhashirim Rabba, and Aben Ezra in loc. Vide I Chnm. vii- 21, 22, and Kinichi, in ibid.
(t) The Jews unanimously agree, that from the time of JaC(^> going down into Egypt to the cominff up of the Israelites firom thence were just two hundred and ten years; Targum Jon, in Exod. xii. 40. Shirhashirim Rabba, in c. 2, ver. 11, 17. Shemoth Rabba, Parash. 18. Jarchi in Gen. XV. 13, and in Exod. xii. 40; which some of them collect from the word »i-j»^ redu, " get you down," used by Jacob, €rcn. xlii. 2, when he ordered his sons to go down to Egypt, and buy com, the letters of which word numefically make up 210. Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 13. Jarchi in Gen. xlil 2. R. Abendana not. in Miclol Yophi in Exod. xii. 40; to which two hundred and ten years if we add the one hundred and ninety, which the Targumist here says were skipped over in eifier to hasten the deliverance of the Israelites from their bondage, there will b^ just the four hundred years God spake of to Abraham, Gen. xv. 13, and mentioned by Stephen, Acts. vii. 6, in which his seed should be a stranger, serve, be aillicted and evil entreated; which four hundred years may be reckoned after this manner: From the birUi of Isaac to the birth of Jacob sixty years, Gen. xrv. 26; from thence to the 670..
go, get thee out from the bondage of the Egyptians.
Verse U. For Id, the twnffcr is past, <J-c.] For behold, the time of bondage, which is like to winter, is ceased; and the years (/) which I spake of to Abraham between the pieces are at an end; and the tyranny of the Egyptians, which is like to a;rio]entniB, is over and ^v^; neither riiall ye sfee them any mm for ever.
Verse 19. The fiossvrs appear on the earth, ^c\ And Moses and Aaron, (m) who are like to branches of palm trees, apf>ea^d to do wonders in the land of Egypt; and the time of cutting the first-^nits is come, and the voice of the Holy. Spirit of redemption, which I spake of to Abraham your father. Now ye hear what I said unto him,; yea, the people whom ye shall serve I will judge, and after that ye shall come forth with great substance; and now it is my pleasure to do what I sware to him liy my word.
Verse 13. The fig tree putieth forth, 4-c.] The congre^tion of Israel, which is like to the first-iriuis of figs,, opened her mouth, anA sang a song at the Red S^2L; yea, the babes and sqckliogs praised the Lord of the world, with their tongues. Immediately the Lord of the world said unto them, Arise, O congregation of Israel, my love, and my fair bne, and go.fiom hence.into the land which I have -sworn' unto thy fathers.. •
Verse 14. Olny dove, ihai/trt in the clefts of the rock, <fc.] And when wick^ Pharaoh (n) porsoed. after the childr^'of Israel, the congregation of Israel was like to a dove that is shut up in' the clefts of the rock, when the ^serpent afflicts within, and the. havk oppresses without; even so the congregation ^f Israel was shut up on the ^our sides of the world, for before them was the sea, and behind them enmity (o) pars«red; and on the two sides of them were the wildernesses, which were fuU of fiery serpents, which bite and kill. the sons of men with their poison. And -immediately she opened her mouth in pn^er before the Lord, and Bath Kor(;») wept out from the highest
coming oi Jacob into Egypt one hundred and thirty years. Gren. xlvii. 9; and from thence to the coming of the duli^ of Israel out of -Egypt two hundred and ten yean; wfaidi completes the nnml^r. And if we begin the date from Abra* ham's going out from Ur of the Chaldees, and aDow five years for his duelling in Hanm, as the Jews do, see Aben Ezra m Exdd. xii. 40; from, whose departure from thence to the birth of Isaac were twenty-five years, Gren. xii. 4, and xxi. 5; which thirty years, bemg added to the abore-saad four hundred, make up the number giVen by Moees, £xod. xii. 40, and by the apostle Paul,'Gal. m. 17.
(^) The names of tiie bitter herbs with which the paschal Iamb was eaten, £lod.>xii. 8. T|ie same are mentioned in Targum Jon. in Exod. Xii. S; and in some of their wnlings three other herbs, are mentioned, the names of which are Cnzareth, Charcabina, and Merer, by which thev intend horehound, endive, wild lettuce, cichory, and such like bexbe; for they themselves do not 9cem very well to understand them. 3ec Misna Tract. Pesach. c 2, s. 6. Jarchi ib., and Maunoa. Tract* Chametz. TJmetza, c. 7, s. 13. ~
(/) So it is explained in ShirEashirim Kabba, and by Ja^ chi in loc.
!m) So Shirhashirim Rabba, and Jarchi in loc. n) After the same manner Shirhashirim Rabba, and Ja^ chi in loc. Shemoth Rabba, Parash. 21.
So) That is, the enemy; compare with this Rom. viii. 7. p) Frequent mention is made of this in the writii^ of the Jews. It was a voice fiom heaven which xesealed secrets,
hearens, and thus it said^ O thoa congregation of Israel, who art like to a clean dove, and which is^hid in the closure of the clefts of the rock, and in the secret places of the stairs, show'^me thy countenance^ and thy works,; which are right; cause me to hear thy voice, for thy voice, is sweet in prayer in the hoase of the little sanctuary, tmd- thy countenance is fair in good works. o,
Verse 1 5. Take us the foxes, ^c.] After that they had passed through the sea, they murmnred for w^r; then came wicked Amalek against them* who hated them on the account of the birthright and blessing which Jacob our father took away from Esau; and he came to make war with Israel, for they had made void the words of the la^*; and wicked Amalek (q) stole from under the wings of the clouds of glory several persons from the \nbe of Dan, and slew them, because the. idol of Micah was in their hand. In that very hour the house of Israel,' whi<;h is like to a vineyard, was condemned to be destroyed, except the righteous of that generation, who were like to IShe best spice.
• foretold future ^vente, decided controversies, And directed in difficult matters; it.was iistd in.the second temple in the room of prophecy, which Uie Jew^say thep ceased, Talmud Sota, fol. 48, QpL 2, and Sanhedrin, fol. 2, tol. 4. -R. Saadiah Gaon in Dan. ix. ^..^hirha9hirim Rabba in c. 8, 9.. It is thought by R. Levi Ben. Qerson, in 2 Sam.* i,., s. 27, to be a more excellent and complete kind -of divination.; and indeed I am inclined to thmk that most of those voices lyhich go under this name were the mere illusions of Shtan, desighed to deceive the people, and lessen th^czodit of those voices ^hich were heard from heaven in the Ximes of Christ. See Matt', iii 17, and xvii. 6; Jbhn xil 28.
hour they returned by repentance: then stood Moset the prophet, and ptayfid beft«i%4iie Lord; and Josbqft his minister girded hlinself, iiiid Went out' from undtr the (r) wings of the clouds of the giory of the Loidf and with h^ mighty men that were righteous, who ia their works are like to the rose; and they made war with Amalek, and they broke Amalek and his people with the anathema of the Lord, and with shiughter, and with breach, and with the edge of the sword.
Verse 17, Until the day breaks, 4«.] ' But in a very few days the children of Israel made the golden calf, and the clouds of glory which covered them removed; and they were left open, and were spoiled of the appa« ratus of their armouri on which was engraven the Great Name, {s) that is explained by seventy nancies. Aod^ the Lord sought to destroy them out of the world; but that he remembered before him the oath which he sware to-Abrtdiam, to«Isaac, and to^Jacob, who were swift in their service, as a roe or a young hart, and the o0ering which Abrahsim ofieied up, even IsaaOy his -own son, on Mount Modahy aiid where, before then, he had oflfered his joffering, and divided them equally. ^
(9) In Tai^. Jon. in Exod. xvii. 8,.^here the same stofy is mentioned, it is said that those men of the tribe of Dui whom Amalek took and slew, were such whom the cloud did not.receive and protect because of their idolatry.
(r) So Targum Jon. and Jarchi in Exod. xvii. 9, and Shemoth Rabba Pbrash. 29:
(«) This is the name Jehovidi, which the Jews think it unkwful tp pronounce; and therefore; explain it by other names, usually by Adonai or Elcfhim. Her'e it' is oaid to be explained by seventy names, sometimes by seventy-two; of which see Galafthus de Arcanis JCatb. ver. 1, 2, c. 17, and Schindler, Lex. Pentaglot., p. 1492:
Verse 1. By night on my bed, cj-c] And when the people of the house of Israel saw that the cloudis of glory were removed from. them, and the holy crown (a) that was given to them at Sinai was taken from them* and they were leftll&rk as the night; then they sought the holy crown, which was renioved from them, but they fbiind it not.
Verse 9. / will rise floir, 4^:.] The children of Israel said one to another, Let us ari8e« and go and surround the tabernacle of the cqngre<ration» which Moses fixed without the camp; and let us seek instruction from the Lord, and the holy shechinah, which is removed from us. And they went about the cities, and in the streets, and in the brosld places; but they found it not.
Verse 3. The watchmen that go ab&tU the city, 4^7.] The congregation of Israel said, (b) Moses and Aaron, and the Levites which keep the charge of the word of the tabernacle of the congregation, who go round
(a) The same is mentioned in -the Targums of Jon; and Jerus. in Exod. xxxii. 25. By this holy crown seems to be meant the shechinah or presence of Grod, and so it is ejqplained SI Shirhashirim Rabba m chap. iv. 12; or else the law, which is very frequently called so, Bemidbar Rabba, P^rash. 4. Midra^Kobelet in c. 7, 1. Pir^. Aboth. c. 4, s. 13.
(h) These are also supposed to be intended hj the walch-
about it» found me, and I inquired of them concerning the shechinSdi of the gbry of the Lord, which wae removed from me. Moses, the great scribe of Israel, answered, and thus he said: I will^o up to the highest heavens, and I will pray before the Lord; perhape atonement may be made for your transgressions, sa diat he may cause his shechinah to dwell among yo|i as before.
Verse i. Jt was but a little that I passed, cj-c] It was but a very little time, and the hord turned from the fierceness of his anger, and commanded Moses the prophet to make the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark, and caused his shechinah to dwell in it; and the people of the house of Israel offered their offerings, and stndied in the words of the law in the chamber (c) of the school of Moses their masteri and in the chamber of Joshba, the son of Nun, his minister.
Verae 5, I charge you, <frc,] When the seven nations (d) heard that the children of Israel were about
men in Shirhashirim Rabba, and by Jarchi and R. Aben Eiqi in loc. *
(e) It was a common practice with the Jewish doctors to teach, dispute, and converse about religion in chanibers qr upper rooms. See Mishna Tract. Shabbath. c. 1, s. 4.
jtJke TStgum, 'or Chaldee paraphrase; on Ae Sang of Songs.
15 poeaejp their land, tbfij afose as oftfoum, and cut down the treei^vid ilpfed.u|rt^^foinitain8 of water, and destroyed their %i^ and ifd. The holy blessed God said la Miiata. tfcT^ophet, I have sworn to their ftthers,' ^kat I wi)}4failg their children to inherit a land flowing^ with milk^-and honey; but how shall I bring them to a land that is desolate and empty! Now, therefore^ t will cause them to stay forty years in the wilderness, and Ay law shall be mixed with them, and after that thohe wicked nations shall build what they have destroyed. And, then said Moses to the children of Israel, I charge you, O congregation of Israel, by the Lord of hosts, and by. the fortresses of the land of Israel, that ye presume not to go up to the land of Canaan until the forty years are ended. ^N^hen it shall be the good pleasure of the Lord to deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, then shall ye pass over Jordan, and the land shall be subdued before you.
Verse 6. Who is this that cometh out of the toildernesSi 4*0.] When the Israelites came up out of the wilderness, and passed over Jordan with' Joshua the son of Nun, the people of the land said. Who is this choice nation which comes up out of the wilderness, perfumed with the' sweet incense, and supported through the righteousness of Abraham, who worshipped and prayed before the Lord on Mount Moriah, and ' is anointed with theanoiodng oil, through the righteous^ n^ of Isaac, who was bound in that place of the sanctuary which is called the mountain of frankincense; for whom wonders are also wrought through the holiness of Jacob, who wrestled with him until th^ morning ascended, and prevailed over him, and was delivered, he and the twelve tribes! -.
Verse 7. Behold hts hed^ which >is Solomon\ 4^c.] When Solomon, the king of Israel, built the house' of the sanctuary of the Lord in Jerusalem, the Lord said by his word. How beautiful is the hous6 of this sanctuary, which is built for me by the hands of King Solomon, the son of David! and how beautiful are the priests, when they spread their han^s, and stand updn their desks, and bless the people of the house of Israel
Je) The' same is mentioned in Shiihashiiim Rabba in loc.,, m Bemidbor Rabba, Parash. 11. There being ju^t this number of letters in the forma of blesainga with which the priests were to bleas the people of Israel, in Num. yi. S4, »6, 26..
(^) The apostle ^aul calls circumcision ofifuiw irtpirofitf^, efpayiSa r^c Succuotwvtff TTjg 7r«rrc«f, »*the sim of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith," Koin. iv. 11.
(A) So this " fear in the niffht" is interpreted by som6 of the rabbins in Shirhashirim Ru)ba in loc., and in ^emidbar Rabba, Parash. 1 1. Though others of them in the said places explain it of the fear of holl, which is like to the night; as they do also in Gemara Rab. Tract. Sanhedrin, c. 1, fol. 7, col. 1.
(t) By this chariot R. Abcn Ezra also understands the house of the Lord; and in Shirhashirim Rabba,. and by Jarchi in loc., it is interpreted of the tabernacle, as it is by some of the Jews, in Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 12, though others think the arl^ is intended; and others in the same place would have the world meant, which way they explain it in Zohar in Gen, fol. 2, 1. The word ni'i^^Ba^ very properly signifies " the marriage bed," so called from f^^ij which signifies ** to fructify," or " to be fruitful." Hence n^i'i'^Bi^ t\lSA i« a very
by the sixty letters (e) whieh were delivered to Moiaes their master, and with that blessing which siint>ands them like a high and strong wall, and by which all the mighty men of Israel prevail and prosper!
Verse 8. They all hold swords, 4-e.] And the priests and the Levites, and all the iribea of Israel, all of them take hold of the words of the law, which an like to a (/) sword, in which they employ, themselves as men that are e^Epert in war;, and every one of them has the (g) seal of circumcision sealed upon their flesh, even as it was sealed upon the flesh of Abraham; and by it they prevail as a man that has his sword girt upon his thigh, wherefore they are not afraid of noxious spirits (A) aod ^apparitions, which walk in the night.
Verse 9. King Solomon made himself, a chanetydjfc.\ King Solomon built for himself j[i> a holy temple of the trees of {k) Zangebila, fir trees, and cedars, which ^ame from Lebanon, and covered it with pure gold. ^* Verse, 10. He made the fnUars thereof^ cjt:.] And ader that he had finished it, he pat in. the midst of it the ark of the testimony, wliteh is the pillar of the world; and in it the tVo tables of stone, which Moses lHaced there in Horeb, which.are more precious than silver' purified, and more h^antiful than the best gold; and he spread and 90vbred over it (/) the veil of blue and purple, and between the oherubims which are over the mercy -seat the shechinah of the lyord abode, whose qai|ie dwelleth in Jerusalem, above all the cities of the land of Israel. • "^
Vprse U. Goforthy O ye daughters of Zi4m, 4c] When King Solomon came to mak6 the dedication of the house of the sanctuary, a <;rier went forth in strength; and thus he said« Go^forth ai^d see, ye inhabitants of the provinces of the land of Israel, and fh people^of Zion, the crown and diadem wherewith the people of the house of Israel crowned Kuiff Solomon in the (m) day of the dedication of tiie boose of the sanctuary, when he rejoiced with the joy of the least of tabernlcles; for king Salomon kept &t that time ths feast of tabernacles (n) fourteen days.
usual phrase with the rabbins to express Ihe eelebration of narriaffe. Vid^ Buxtorf^ epist. Heb. lib. 2, ep. 7.
(A:) Elias Levita, in his MeUiurgeman on this woid, sajs that this is cinnabar. He seems to mean a kind of red wood, which dyers use; but observes, that some say it is the nks we call ginger. So David de Pomis renders it in his YdKL Heb. fol. 54, 4; and indeed it is joined with pepper in Ifn* mon. Tract Shebitat Asur, c. 2, s. 6. Biatt Hamftdsib^ c. 7, a. 13, and Beracoth, c. 8, s. 7. It is most lifce^ to be a kind of cedar.
(/) Vide Bemidbar Rabba, Fiurash. 13 Shiihaafaizim Rabba, and Jarchi in loc.
(m^ Most of the Jewish writers refer this to the time of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, and the setting op of the tabemaole by Moses; so Jarchi and Shirfamshirim Rabbs in k)c.. Shemoth Rabba, Parash. 52. Vajikxa Rabba, Paiadi. 20, Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 2 an^ 12. Piaefat. Ecba. Rabbati. fol. 21, 2.
(n) In 1 Kings viii. 65, it is said that ** Solomon held a feast seven days and seven dayf, even fourteen days;*' the reason of which distinction is because the first seven days were kept for the dedication of the altar, and the other for the feast of tabernacles; see 2 Chron. vii. 8, 9: whereas our Tarffumist would have the fbiast of tabernacles kept the whole fourteen days, contrary to the command in Ler. rziii 34. Vide R. Levi Ben Gerson, and ]^ David Kimdn in 1 Reg. viii. 65.
The Targumy cr Chaliee paraphrase^ on ihe Smg. of Songs.
Verse 1. Beholdrthou art fair ^ 4r.] And in that day King Solomon offered up a (a) a thousand burntofferings upon the altar, and his offerings were graciously accepted-by the Lord. Bath Kol {b) went forth from heaven^ and thus it said, How fair art thou, O 'cdngregation of Israel, and how fair are the princes of the congregation and the wise men, (c) who sit in the sanhedrin, wl\p enljghten (d) the world; the people of the house df Israel, and are like to young doYcs; yea, even the rest of the children of thy congregation; and the people of the earth are righteous, as the sons of Jacob, (e) who gathered stones, and made a.heap thereof on the mount of Gilead!
Verse 2. Thy teeth are like^ ^-c] How fair are the priests and Levites, who. offer up thine offerings, and eat the holy flesh, and the tithes, and the offering of fruits; and are pure, from all oppression and rapine, even as clean as Jacobus flocEs of sheep when they were shorn, and came up from the brook (/)' Jabok, among whom there was no oppression or rapine,- and they are all of them like to one another, and always bear twins; 'neither is any barren, or that miscanrieth ameng them.
Verse 3. Thy /yw are like a thread, ^-c] ' And the lips "of the high priest inquire in prayer, on the day of atonement, before the. Lord; and his words turn the transgressions of Israel, which are like to a thread of scarlet, and make, them white {g) as pure wool; and the. king, who is -their head, is full of the commaiidiifients, as a-pomegranate; besides the (h) Amarcalin and (t) Archonin, who are next th0 king, who are righteous; neither is ther^ any iniquity in them.
•Verse 4. Thy neck is like the tower, 4c ^'\ And the
(^) In 1 Kings viii. 63, the sacrifice of peace-oflferings which Solomon offered was two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty tbOasand sheep: but the number of burnt-offerings.is not mentioned.
(6) See note on chap. ii. 14. ' (c) So the wordtf are explained in Shirhashirim Rabba,in loc.
(cO So Christ calls his disciples the ** light of the world," Matt. V. 14.
. («) This refers to the account that is given of what passed betv^een Jacob and L^an, in Gen. xxxi. 46, 47. See Jarchi in loc.
f) l^s is the ford Jacob pasa^ oyer with his wives and * ren, wBen he went out to meet his brother Esau, Gen., SS. Mention is made of it in several othbr places of ■''\ Seiiipture: Deut. ii. 37, and iii. 16; Josh. xii. 2.
•^ {g) The Jews say, that when iho scape-goat was sent into the wilderness, a scarlet thread was tiea to the temple door, which, as soon as the goat was arrived in the wudemess, turned white; which was not onl^ a token to them of its arrival there, but was also an indication of their sins being forgiven; as it is said, " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shidl be as white as snow,V Jsa. i. 18. See. Mishna, Tract. Yoma, c. 6, s. 8, and £z Chayim, ibid. This scarlet thread, they say, ceased turning white forty years before the destruction of the temole, wbch was about the time Jesus Christ, who was typifiea by the flcapo-goat,.made atonement for sin; Tahnud Yoma, fol. 39, col. 2. This tradition the Targftmist seems to have in Tiew here.
(A) These officers were of the tribe of Levi, Bemidbar R^ba, Parash. 3. Theirnutnber was never less' than seven; their work was to take the care and charge of the keys of the court; and One might, not open the door unless all seven were present, Mishna, Tract. Shckalim, c. 5; s. 2. Maimon.
head of the school, who is thy niastex, is powerful ia righteousness, and mighty in good works, as David i king of Israel, by the word of who«e month the world is restored, who in the doctrine of the law employs himself; in which the people of the house of Israel placing their confidence, overcome in war, as if they held in their hands all kinds of warlike mstruments of mighty men.
Verse 5. Thy two breasts, 4'c.] Thy two Redeemers which shall redeem thee; {k) Messiah the son of David, and Messiah the son of Ephraim, are like to Moses.and Aaron, the sons of Jochebed, who may be compared to young roes that are twins; who by their righteousness fed the people of the house of Israel forty yeara in the wilderness wi|h manna, and with fatted, fowls, and water of (0 the well of Miriam.
Verse 6. UntU the day break, <^.\ And all the time that the hotise of Israel held fast in their hands, the religion of. their fighteoua fathers, they drove away those noxious spirits that walk in Ihe night-time, or in the morning, or at noonday; bepause that the.shechinah of the glory of the Lord dwelt in the house of the sanctuary/ which was built on Mount Moriah; for all the noxious and destroying spirits fled at the smell of the sweet incense.
Verse 7. Thau art all fair, <SfcJ\ And when thy people, the house of Israel do the will of the Lord of the world, he praises them in the highest heavens; and thns.he saith, Thou art art all fhir, O congregation of Israel, and there'is no (m) spot in thee.
Verse 8. Cotne with me from Lebanon, 4"c.] The Lord said by his word. Dwell with me, O congregation of Israel, who art. like to' a modest (n) damsel, and
Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 4, s. 17. Jarchi iu 3 Reg. xii. • 9; though Kimchi, in 2 R^. xii. 9, and xxii. 4, thiuks that they were treasurers, who had the chai]ge of the pubhc money. The ctymolo^ given of this word is very different. Baial Aruch says this 'officer was so called because he was ^]p ^^ Vj3fl mar'al haccoly " lord over all:" the same is given iu Vajikra Rabb^ Parash. 6, Where Shebna the treasurer, Isa. xxii. 15, is said to be one of those officers. Elias Levita, in $is Methurgeman, says he was so called because ^^ ^^*Q| omar cd^ ** he said" or " prescribed" all things.
(0 This is from the Greek word Apx^^v, and signifies princes, rulers, or governors.
{k) The Jews, observing different characters given of the Messiah, which they think irreconcileable in one person, have feigned two Messiahs;. the one they call Messiah the son of David, who shall be a potmit, prosperous, and victorious prince; the other, Messiah the son of Ephraim, or Joseph, as he is sometimes called, who shall be exposed to many hardships and sufferings, and at last die in the war of Gog and Magog. Of- these two Messiahs, see Tahnud, Succah, fol. 52, col. 1. Zohar in Num. fol. 68, 3; 82, 2; 99, 4; and IQl, 2. Jarchi in Isa. xxiv. 18. Kimchi, Jarchi, and Aben Ezra in Zech. xii. 10.
(/) It is an opmion which obtains among the Jews, that on account of the merits of Moses the manna was fliven; and on the account of those of Aaron, the clouds of mory; and for the sake of Miriam, the well of water, which they say they enjoved all the forty years they were in the wilderness. Shirhashirun Rabba in loc. Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. I and 13. Targum Jon. and Jarchi in Num. xx. 2.
!m) Orplaffue. 7i) Here the Greek word wn^ is used, as it is also in verses 9, 10, 11, 12, and chap. v. 1.
3Ae T^rjfUMt or duddee paraphrase on the Song of Songs.
go up with me to the houM of the.sanctuary, where the heads of the people, which dwell hj the river of (o) Amana, and the inhabitants that reside oa the top of Mount (p) Taiga, and the people wUch are in JEIernon, shall bring gifts unto thee, and they that inhabit the strong fortified citiesi which we as powerful as lions, shall pajK l^ute to thee; yso, an offering shall he brought from the cities of the mountains, which are mightier than the leopards. • "-
Verse 9. Thim hast rmished my hearty S^c] Fixed upon the {q) table of my heart is thy love, O my sister, the congregation of Israel, who art like to a modest damsel; fixed upon the table of my heart is the love of the least of. thy children, who is righteous as one of t)ie great men of the sanhedrin, as One of the kings (r) of the house of Judah, on whose neck the crown of the kingdom is put.
Verse 10. How fair is thy love, <frc.] How fair b thy love to me, my Sister, the congregaktiQn of Isi^el, who art like to a modest damsel! How excellent is thy love to me, more, than the («) serenty nations; and the good (t) report of thy righteous ones is more excellent than all spices!
Verse 11. Thy lips, O my spouse, Sfc."] And when the priests pray in the holy court, their lips drop as the honey-comb; and so does thy tongue, O thou modest damsel, when thou deliverest songs and hymns, sweet as milk and honey; and the smell of the (t^) priests* garments is as the smell of Lebanon.
(o) Ihis was one of the rivers oi Damascus; see 2 Kings T. 12, where it is read Abana: but both the Masora and Tarffuin read it.^mana; and Kimchi thinks it was called by both names. * •
(p) Or "the mountain of snow.'* Elias Levita, io his Mothorgeman, says that Mount Shenir was called so: perhaps Mount Salmon may be meant, which had snow continually npon it; see Psa. Ixviii. 14, and R. Aben Ezra, ibid.
(r) Many of the kinffs of the bouse of Jsdah were holy and good men; so Aben Ezra in loc.
(r) It was an ancient opinion of the Jews, that the ministiy of angels was used in carrying the souls of saints to heaven. Thus in Debarim Rabba, Parash. 11, several angels are ordered by God to bring Uie soul of Moses to him. Ameabiy to this notion, it is said in Luke xvi. 22, that " the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.
{w) It was very usual with the Eastern people to keep their virgins, especially those of note and esteem, very recluse, and not admit them to public or common conversation; but oblige them to abide nluch within doors. Hence they are called in the Hebrew language m^iy, from the word ^Jy, which signifies to hide or cover, because they were not exposed to public view; wherefore the author of the second book of Maccabees callt them KaroKXeiarovq rcapdevovq^ " virgins that were shut up;" i. e., in the houses of their parents, in private chambecs, ss the Taigunust hero says. See 2 Mace. iii. 19.
(z) Regard seems to be had to the river which went out of Eden, mentioned in Gen. ii. 10, and was parted into four heads or rivers, the names of which wore Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates. The Cabalists suppose a c^reat many mysteries to be contained therein; sec -Zohar in (Jen. fol. 85, S; in Exod. fol. 34, 3; 37, 2, and in Lev. fol. 24, 3, where the name of this river is said to be Jobel, according to Jer. zvii. 8; and so it is in Vajikra Rabba, Parash. 22, and in Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 21.
(y) Sec Isa. viii. 6, and Aben Ezra upon it, who expounds
which ite married to modest men, are as a modest damsel; and as the garden of Eden, into which oo man hath power to enter except the righteous, whose sooli are by angels (v) carried into it; ^d thy Tirgins aie hid and. conceaJed {w) in private ohambers, and sis sealed op because they are as, a fountain of lirii^ water, which comes forth from under the tree, sad is parted to the toigr heads {x) of the rivers: bat if it is sealed with the great and holy name, it goes forth ao^ flows, and ovesflows all the world.
Verse 13. Thy plants are an orchfiord, ^cl And thy young men are full of thy connBands, as pootegranates,' and love their wives, and beget childreH is righteous as themselves; and their smell, therefore, is as the excellent spices of the garden of £den, evei camphires with nards.
Verse 14. Spikenard with saffron, 4^.] Nard, amd saf&pn, and calamus, and cinnamon, with all trm of frankineense, pure myrrh, and lign aloes, with aO kinds of spices..
Yerse 15.. A fountain of gardens^ 4^.] And Hbt waters of Siloah (y) go sofUy, with the rest of tbe waters which flow from)!iehanon, to water the had of Israel, for the sake of those who study in the wozdi of the ' law, which are like to a well of living waler; and on thd account of the righteousness.(^r) of pouring of water, which they pour upon the altar in the hooae of the sanctuary, that is built in Jerusalem, which if called (a) LebainOb.
the text in Isaiah by this in Canticles. ' Jsj^dii, in Isa. viil 6^ 'says the name of this fountain was Gihon. In tlie Ncv Testament it is called Sil<xixn, John ix. ^, 11: it wu a ibimtain near Jerusalem, Neh. iii. 15.
(z) The pai^phrast refers here to a ceremony used at the feast of tabernacles, when the people fetehea water from Siloam, and brought it to the priest, who poured it open tte •altar with the wine of tbe daily sacrifice; this they say Mosn received from God at Mount Sinai, though it is not written. This ceremony' of drawing and pouring water at those ti^es watf attended with all the demonstrations of joy imaginable, as shouting, leaping; dancing, amging, blowing of tnm^ieti, throwing of citrons, illumination of iioua^ &c.; insaaiiich that they say, that those who never saw the rejoicing of dmring water never saw rejoicing in their lives, Mishna, Tract Succa, c. 4, 8. 9, 10, and c. 5, s. 1, 2, a, 4, 5; Jaichi and Ez Chayim, ibid.; Maimon., Tract. T^midin, c. 10» a ^ 7, 8; Cele Hamikdash, c. 7,. s..8, and c* 8, s. 6. Hief ftnqU the Holy Ghost was much delighted with this vam jay sf theirs; nay, that in drawing water they drew hun, ~ ' procurvHl his descent upon them, and abode' with spirit of prophecy; whicn they say Jonah obtained a aiod in this way; and, therefore, whilst thoy were j
this ceremony, frequiently used those woros in I ^^
" With joy shall ye dr^w water out of the wells of salya4A j!^ which they understand of the Holy Ghost, Beredoth B4As» Parash. 70. Midraah Ruth, fol. 32, 2. Jarchi and Ek Gl^fiBi in Mishna, nbi stipra, " To this cercmorqr Christ is ihoo^ to allude, " when in the last day, the.greSt day of this feast of tabemaolcs, he stood and cried, laying, If any man thmrt, 1st him- come unto mo and drink: he that bclieveth on me, as die Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of Mg water: but this spake he of the Spirit," dice. John vii 37, 38, ^9. Vide Tremoll., ibid.
(a) So the temple is called in Zech. xi. 1: '* Open thy doors, 0 Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars, according to the mind of several Jewish mterpreters, who, out of Talmud Yoma, Tol. 39, 2, relate, that forty years befonre dn destruction of the temple the doors thereof opened of them-.selves; at which Jochanan Ben Zaccai^ being aflri^ed, said, 0 temple, temple, now know I that thy destruction w at hand; c •
The TarguMf or Ckaldee paraphrase^ on the Song of Songs.
north side (£) w&a a t&ble, ftad upon it (#) twelve
loaves of shew-breadj and at the sooth side {(/) was the lamp lo give light -, and upon the altar the priests offered up Ihe oAering^^ and cauj^d the svveet incense
for BO pnjpbesmd ZecharialtT the son of Iddo, of thefs. Open \hj dtiOTflf &JC, Vid£ R. Abeodam. Not, in B4icloI Vophi; Jarchi iLod Kmichi m Zecb. xi. I.
to a^end from tbeDce. The congre^tion of Israel saidi Let the merciful God come inte the hou^ of the sanctuary, and gr^i^uslj accept the ofTeringB of hia people.
Verad L J am tom^ ttUo my garden^ d^c,\ The holy blegaed God said unto his people « the house of Israel, I am come into the house of mj sanctuary, which thou bast butli for me, O my sister, the congregation of Israel, who art Eke to a modest damsel: T have eaused my ehechmah to dwell ^^ ith thee, (a) I have received thy aweei iocenset which thou hast nmde on my account \ I have sent fire from heaven, and it hath devoured the burot-o Seringa, and the holy drink - offerings; the libation of the red and white wine is gracioualy received hy me, which the priests pour out opon mine altar^ Now^ therefore, come, ye priests that love my commandments, and eat what is left of the o^ermg^, and delight yourselves with those good tilings which are prepared for you.
Verse 2^ I sUep, hut my heart wakeihf tfCp] After all these words the people of the houae of Israel sinned, and be delivered them into the hand of Nebuchad' nezzai, kin^ of Babylon, who carried them into captivity; and they were in captivity like a man asleep, that cannot he awaked out of his sleep; wherefore the Holy Ghost wajfned Ihem by the prophets, and awaked them out of the sleep of their hearts. T/ten answered the Lord of the whole world, and thus he aaid, Return by repentance, open thy moath, rejoice and show forth my praise, my sister, my love, O congregation of Israel, who ari like to a dove for the perfection of thy works; for the hair of my head is filled with thy tears, as a man the hair of whose head is wet with the dew of heaven; and my Na^aritical locks are filled with the drops of thine eyes^ as a man whose Na^arilical locks are full of the drops of rain which deseend in the night*
Verse 3, I have put off my €mi, 4**^*] The congregation of Israel answered in the presence of the prophets, Beliold, now have I removed from me the (i) yoke of his eommGmdmenls, and have served the
(A) These words nre similarly paraphrased in Shifbasbi' rim RabbS} &ad by Jarehi in Loc., and ia Bcmidbar Rabbity Parash. 13.
(c) Cbsid. The stFoka of bis mifht^
(e) LcsbeEn being tiiken by the tribe of Dan, Josh, 3tii. 17, they called it Dan, after the name of their father; and it aeems it wan also coUtKl Pamiaa. Both Baal.\mchf sikI David de Pomis, say that 0A^1Q& PamioJi wss a cuve al the head of the nv^r Jordan: mnd it i» asserted by flcremt of the fabbiti^, that Jordan took it^ rise from hcncCt who therefore i»y thai the river waa so called « 'I'tTa *T*l1'^t5 -'Airytrrfi mriidan, '•* because it descended from Dan,'" i. e.^ fitrnn Loshem, Dan, or P&nuan, Talmod But^ Bathra^ fof 74, eol 2; and Bechoroth. fol ^ col I; Ja/rhi in Deut x^odii. ^; Kim-
idols of the nations; wherefore, how can I have the face to return to him again I The Ijord of the world answered them by the prophets, saying ^ And behold, now I also have removed my shechiuab from thee; and how shall I return ^gain, seeing thou hast done evil works 1 for I have washed my feet from thine uncle an ness, and how shall I defile them in the midst of thee \i"iih thy evil works \
Verse 4, Aftf hehtied pui in Aa h&ndi 4'^.} When it appeared manifest before the Lord that the people of the house of Israel would not repent and turn unto hira^ he stretched forth (c) his mighty arm against the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manaaseh, on the other side of Jordan; and he delivered them into the han4 of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, who carried them into captivity, (^} to Lachlach^ and Chabor, and io the rivers of Gojin, and cities of Media; and he took out of their bands the molten calf which Jeroboam, the wicked, set in Lesham-Dan, which was called {s) Famiat, in the days of Pekah, the son of Remabah; and when 1 heard \t^ my bowels were moved towards Ibem.
Verse 5. / rose up to open io my helm^edi ^e.l And when the mighty stroke of the Lord ky heavy upon me, I repented of my works; and the priests offered up o0ermgs, and bfrrnl the sweet incense: but it was not graciously received, for the Lord of the world shut the (/) doors of repentance to my face.
Verse e. / opened to my heimed, «fc,] The congregation of Israel said, 1 wae willing to «eek instrnetion from the Lord: but he removed bia shechinah from me, and my soul desired the voice of his words* I sought the sheciiinab of his glory; bul I found it not. I prayed before him: but he covered the heavens with ( g) clouds, and did not receive my prayer.
chi m Jo». xii. 47. Thia in Bercshitb Rabbs, Paraah. S3, is called DM'^l! Pamas^ as it b also by Josephu^^ and no doubt is the same which Pliny, m Nat Hiet. I 6, c W^ calls Paries, who also makes fnention in c 13 of a fountain of the iiame namc^ from whence he saya the river Jordan ff prong. The same is ob&en^ed by Solinua, in hi* Polyhistor, c 48, who calls it by the name of Peneaa. Eosebiuf, in his Eccl, Hi8t» L 7, c. 17, Bay a that the Phcenieians called Cesaraa Pbilippi Psneaa, and speakB of « mountain called FuneilUf, ftom whence the rivoT Jordan has its original -
The Targum, or Chaldee paraphrase^ on the Song of SongM.
*}■£.] The (A) ChiLtdeans, which kept the wajB, snd besieg^ed the city of Jeru^^em all aTOuncI, jained theoi- »e!ves to me. Some they slew with the sword, and ethers they carried into captivity. Tiiey took the cTown royal off the neck of Zedekiah king of J ud ah, and carried him nway to Rihla, (t) w^here the people of Babylon^ who he sieged the city and kept ihe ^'aJbt put out his eyes.
Verse 8. / thargt you^ O daughters of Jerusattmi <{-£.] The congregation of Israel said, 1 charge yoUj O ye propheta, hy the decree of the word ijf the Lord^ that, if your love maoLfests himaelT unto you, you tell hlni that 1, who love hiou am mck of love »
Vera6 flf. What is thy beloved, ^c,^ The prophets &nfiwered and said> unto the house of Israel, (k) Who is this God ihou art seeking to wgrfthips 0 coogregation of Israel f who art fairer than alt the nations ^ Who Is this thou art deairoos to fear, that thou dost so charge us?
Verae I0> My helimcd is tehiie and ruddy ^ 4^.] Wherefore the congreg-atlon of Israel began to speak in tbc praise of the Lord of the world, and thud she said, That God I dt^airc to serve, who in the day is coverod with a garment (/) white as snow, {m) and the brightness of the glory of Ihe Lord, whose face shines as fire, because of the greatness of wisdom and knowledge, for he is making new things every day, aoJ will manifeat them to his people in the (n) great day, and his banner is ov«r ten thousand times ten thousand angels^ who minister before him^
(A) J^irchi by the»e watch mco understands Ni^buchadnpxzar atid bis arjtiy. R. Aben Ezra, the king« of Greece. ShirbAflhinni llflbba, the tribe of Levi,
(/) So the Ancient of days b repreBentt'd in Dan. vu. 9.
(») In some exeinplars thenj following wortls are inserte<lf-^( And BtudieiB in the twenty-four book^ of the law, and in tba *orda of ptophcj^:^, and in tho Hi^ly Wntiiig^ and in th« night-time employ* hunBolf in tho aix mrts of tht Mishiia," which Buxtorf has omitted in his Bibfo. thmigh ho inaJ(e« mfintimi of them in hii Recen^iD pperia I'^ulnmd, p. 232; and indeed they greatly lesisen the f^biy of the Divinw Beiii^, tiioiiffh thi^y are deeigned to extol and magnify the Minima or oral law.
in) That is, ih« day of judgment, which m Jydc» ver. 8, i« c ill fed ^{umt fityfiXfff ^fitpaf, <» the judgment of the great duy/* when not only the hidden thmg» of darkness and the counaek of the hearu will bo made mnnifellt^ 1 Cor. iv. S, bill the iiidgments of Oud alao, Rt*v. jiv. 4,
(o) The same way the woMs are c^niaJncd in Shirliaabifim Babba, and by Jarchi in loe., nnd in Vftjikm liabha^ Paraiih. 19. By this head R. Ahen Eua ui^erstandi the thronv of glory.
ip) That i«, a viiiely Or great multitude of them; for the JewB ffiippdee the law may be interpreted ^'nnou« waye, and Lhjit I here is not the teafit thin^ in it IxU what contains a gre«t many mylitifries*. Soe notes on cliap i.! I.
(r) That is, they proceed in tryin|Er Cannes nlowly and gmdoalty^ 8Ttd not rsshly imd precipitateiy, bemg* willing- to ftear&h thorougidy into them* that ihey nrnydo jtistiee and pass a right sentence; ihis ia one of the three things the men of the peat congregation advised to in Pirkc A both, c, 1» fl. I, where they aay ^^^^^ l^^ir'a IIH Aamt mitttmin bedin^ " Be «!ow in judgmetif, settle nvanv dificiplcs, and make a hedge lor tlie law."
is) So Jarcbi by *■ bij cheeka" «nden(Andg the words of Moimt giiiai.
Hia)aWf {a) whleh ia more desmble titan the hen gold) and the int^pretation of the words ik^^f, m which are ^enseai {p) heape up^n heaps, and the commandmenta to thetn that keep them are white a& anew; but to those that do not keep them are black it lie winga of a raven.
Verse 12. Hi^ eyes ore as the eye* of dme*^ 4^] Hja eyes look continually (f) opon Jerusalem, to du good unto 11 f and to bless it, from the begiiming oftlit year onto the end of the year, as do'v^es whleh iliid and look upon the water-courseSf heeauae of the rigli^ eousnesa of those who sit in the sonhedrint who stndf in the law, and give light to a cao&e, that it may (w smooth as tBilk; and they sit in ihe house of the sckvo/, and (r) wait in judgment until they have fiwiahed chbei for absolution or condemnation.
Verae 13, Hu cheeks are as a bed qf spites^ ^*] The (j) two tables of stone which he gzxe ujtlo km people are written in {() ten lines, like to the roirB of a spice garden, prodtiejng acute raeanings and wtme^ even as a garden produces apices \ and the lips of fttt wise men whieh study in the lnw, drop aenaes on emy side, and the speech of their mootha iS wm ike thmC9 myrrh,
%^erae 14, His hand.f ore as gold rings ^ <ff,] Tbe twelve tribea of Jacob hi^ servants are incloded in tlie pi ale of the holy crown of gold, and are engraven npcro the twelve (w) piecions stones with the threse faibeis of the world, Abraham, Isaac, and' Jacob. Reuben u engraven on achmad, Simeon is engraven upon akilt Levi is engraven on barkan and adfnuif Judah us enit) Every commandment was wiit ten in adistincl Bnelif itself, five on one table and five on the other
{\i\ Id Ihe same order are the i%a[Q«» of tibo twdni i^es as enfrraven on so zi&any preeioiia wtoneSp meatioiiad nlT■^ firum Jerui. in Exod, xwiii. 17, IS, 19^ SO, in Sheowlk Rabba« Parash. ^; and in Bemidliar Rabba,, Pandi %. Though different names are dttou of the prerioiia stOEtoK ibi uaniDB of them ui the Rabbotfa are the samo whh those to Eiol Xiviii. Id the TiLrgiim Je?. ore Chaldee nam/Ss, and ia thp fkaraphnLBe they are different from Lhem^. Reuben '• tlona v^naa the «ardius>t Heb. odcm, Onk. samkan, Jon. fcmtdtdni, Jema. Bamkatha. It is »o called by all tho»e name* from tk reditesfl of itji eohur \ here it is eidled achmaid, pei^xps Cnm *tQn f^AaituuJt because it ia very desirable, Smteoii'i itotM was the topaz.^ Heb. pitdahf Ontc^ yiirkanf Jon. aod JcniL yarkethat because of its green colour; here it ia called ak§i: but what gem is intended by it is not eertain. Levitt octant was the carbuncle, Keb. baiketh» Jon. sml Jerus, harkftbi^ tnd here barkan, and 6o rn Onkn; ni:. ilied b<^caap(> of
dony; here it is callod caehale; thi
smuadd. See Eliie Jjevjtv McLhurgejuiiij, Buxtoit anl Schmolet m voet^ l»sachar^« stone was the Appbzre^ Uik^ ttphir, Onk. ULliab^tx* Jon s^ijipiurmon, Jerua. i^caiTtpuiyam. all intend the sapphire \ here it u cJklled ismorad, or tba •nU'
The Targum^ or Chaldee paraphrase, on the Song of Songs.
^a?en on cachale* Isaachar ia eograren on iamomd, ^ebulun b e^grsiTen on gihar, Dan la engraven on bkh, KaphtaLi is engraven on esphor, Gad la engraven on t^beagt Asher m engraven on fro^ag, Joseph Is cnr^aven on meribag, fienjimin is engraven on apantor: ihese ai-e like to the twelve celestial signs, shining as lamps, polished in their works like trory, and bright as sapphires.
Verae l&. HU i«gs tire as pillars cf marble t 4*"] And the righteotxa Ihey are the pillars of the w^oridi set upon sockets of the best gold; these are (jf) the words of the iaw, in which they study, and reprove the people of the Jiotise of Israel, that they may do
ifl m€^ant by it I know not, A^ers i^Eone was the beryls Ht'b. tarfthiah- Ouk. Jon. and Jeruii. cnim yanuna; heiG it is called fro3^. £l^u^ in hia Methurgenun saja, that a topftJt, In the Genniin I^iguagt^, is called Jrozam. Joseph's Btone was Iho onyi, Hcb, "shohftm* Onk. bnda, Jon. bcHctalh; hqlb atma. to intend the t>erylf Jenu. bdoLcha or bdelhum; here it i« caUed merihag, which aome tjike to be tlie onyi. Sec Bnntorf in race, Benjomin^s atone wjsa the jasper* Heb. jii«hpf^h> JeruB. mar^ita, a pearl;, Qnk. pantere^ Jon. a}>anMi' lin I aiHl here i^ntor, which Elioa in hit MethprgemM) says
his will who ia /Hied with cocipasaion tn them^ as ati old man; and makes the transgrcKstons of the hou^e of lame I as white as snow, and is ready to make victory and war among the nations who have trans* gressed his word) as a man who Is strong and robust as Ike cedars.
Verse 16. His mouth is most sweeii 4^.] The words of his moQth are sweet as honey, and all his commandments are more desirable lo his wise men than gold and silver; this is the praise of God, who is my beloved^ and this is the power of the mighty of the Lord, who is dear to me, O ye prophets who prophesy in Jerusalem.
if! 6o called because it comes from Pontus; but rather bee snwt ^mc sorts of ja^>er» nre vahegtted and »potLed like pontheni. In the eaino order were the name« of the twelve tribes eagfaveii both upon the slotioe in thi^ breastplate, and on the two onyx stones upon the shoulders of the cphodp according 10 Moitnotii Trftct Cele Hsmikdash. c, 9, a. 1,
(r) So tliese itockelftof fme gold are explained in Shirhaatolim Rahba, ami by Jarclii in loe,, m Vajikra liabba, Pjuranh. 25, and in Benudbar liabba, Pafaah- 10,
Verse 1, Whither is thy beloved g^nt^ ^cJ\ The prophets {a) replied, when they heard Che praise of the Lord, from the mouth of the^ congregation of Israel, and thus they said. For what offence is the ahechinah of the Lord removed from thee, O thou «iAo art fairer in thy woika than all the natiotis I and which way did thy beloved turn himsetf when he removed from thy sanctuary t The congregation of Israel said^ Because of the sins^ transgressions, and rebellion which were found in me. The prophets said, But now return by repentance, and let us arise, hoth thou and we, atjd we will pray before him, and seek mercy with thee.
Verse 2, My bd&Dsd is gone down into his garden^ 4"^.] And the Lord of the world graciously received their prayer, und came down (o the sanhedrin of the wise men at Babylon, and gave refreshment nnto his people, and brought them oiit of ttieir captivity by the hands of Cyrus, and Ezra, and Nelxemiah, and Zcrabbabel the son of Shealtiel^ and the elders of Judah; and they built the house of the saBCtuary, and appointed priests over the offerings, and Levites over the charge of the holy commandment; and he sent Sre from heaven and graciously received the offerings, and the sweet beense \ and as a man supplies his own beloved son with dainties, so did he deliciously feed them; and ae a man that gathereth rntea out of the plains, so did he gather them out of Babylon.
Verse 3* I am my beloved* s, 4"^.] And when I served the Lord of the world, who is my beloved, my
(i) The peraon* here mterrojpating are said to be " the mikfm of toe worhl^*^ in ShiihiuTunm lUbbs, sod by Jaichi ill be.
beloved eansed the holy sheehinah to dwell with me* and he fed me with dainties.
Verse 4. Thou art beautiful, O my ion€, <^c*] Tbi Lord said by his word. How fair art thou, my lore, when thou art willing to perform my pleaaure! beau> tiful is the sanctuary which thou hast built for me inatead of the former sanctuary, which Solomon, king in Jerusalem, built for me, and thy dread was upoa all the people in the day that thy four {&} standards marched in the wilderness.
Verse 5. Turn awatf thme Byesfr&jn m#, cfc] Set thy doctors, the wise men of the great congregation, in a circle over against mCt for these (c) made me their king in the captivity, and fixed the school, fot: the teaching of my law, and the rest of thy nobles, and the people of the earth justj^ed me by the word of their mnutb, as the sons of Jacob, who gathered stones and made a heap (fl upon the mount of Gilead.
Verse 6. Thy teeik are as a flock of sketpt 4^.} And the priests and Levites, who eat thine offerings, and the holy tithes, and the oblation of fmita, are pura from all oppression and rapine, for they are as o lean as Jacobus flocks of sheep, when they came up from the brook {e) Jabok, for there ta no oppression or rapine in them: but they are all of them like one aimther, and they always bear twins, neither is there any that miscarrieth or is barren among them.
Verse 7. As a piece of ptfme^ranatCf ij-c] And the kingdom of the house of the Hasmonaeans (/) are
if) Schindlcr, in bs Lex. Pentaglot. fol 680, says that Maltathiiie and his posterity were so caUcd from "pftxr? Hojimon, one of their aijccatoTs, though f think there i^^ no evidence of any of theu- ancestor being of that name. The Jewish writem pretly generally agree that they were bo caJled from the word ts^^j^on HuAhminimm. which signifies iFrtwcef or grmi pencns, and is so used in Psa. Ixviii. 318 j Uu ihoy
7%e T^wgunii or Chdldee paraphrase^ on the Saug of Songs.
aQ of them fall of the eommandments, even as a pomegranate; beaidea MaUhias the high priest, and hia aona, who are more righteous than them all, who Texy eagerly established the commandments and the worda of the law.
Verse 8. There are threescore queens, 4'C'] At that time the Grecians arose and gathered sixty kings of the children of (g) Esau, clothed with coata of mail, riding upon horses, being horsemen, and eighty dukes of the children of Ishmael, riding upon elephants, besides the rest of the nations and languages, of which there is no number; and they appointed King Alexander to be the general over them, and they came to make war against Jerusalem.
Verse 9. My dove, my undefiled, is but one, ^c] And at that time the congregation of Israel, wliich is like to an unblemished dove, was serving her Lord with a single heart, and was united to the law, and atudied in the words of the law with a perfect heart, and her righteousness was as pure as in the day when ahe came out of Egypt. Lo, the sons of the ^lasmoneans, and Matthias, and all the people of Israel, went forth and made war with them, and the Lord delivered them into their hands; which, when the inhabitants of the provinces saw, they blessed them, and the kingdoms of the earth, and the governors, and they praised them.
Verse 10. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, 4'c-] 'I'be nations said, How, splendid are the works of this people as the morning; fair are their young men as the moon, and their righteousness as
had both the high priesthood and the princely eovemment m their hands. So R. Abcn Ezra, R. David iCimchi, and R. Sol. Ben Melee, in Pea. Ixviii. 32. David de Pomis, Lex. Heb. fol. 42, 1, and so likewise Scaligcr de Emend. Temp, lib. 6, pp. 436, 437; who observes that Mattathias was never ■o called, nor was he a high priest, though the Tareumist here calls him so, but a conunon priest of tM course of Jehoiarib, and of the town of Moddin; (see 1 Mac. ii. 1;) and that this family be^ to bo called by the name of the Hasmonsans, from the Umes of Simon Hyrcanus, who was both high priest and prince of the Jewish nation, which kind of government contmued in that family unto the times of Herod the Great, who destroyed both it and them; and this well agrees with what the paraphrast here says, who manifestly distinsuishes the kingdom of the house of the Hasmoneans from Mattathias and his sons, i. e., Judas Maccabeus and Jonathan. Of these Hasmonasans, Jarchi and Aben Ezra explain the 1 0th and 12th verses of this chapter.
ig) Vide Aben Ezra and Jarchi in loc., and Bemidbar Rab-
dear aa the aun; md their dread waa npon all the ishabitanta of the earth, aa in the time their (h) four atandarda mazohed in the wildemeaa!
Verao 11. / went down into the garden of nvis, djfc] The Lord of the world aaid, concemiBg tiM aeoond (0 teoiple, which waa built (k) by the haadt of Cyma, I wiU canse my shechinah to dwell tktrt, to bdiold the good works of my people, and see whB> ther the wise men, who are like to a vine, mottiply and increase, and whether their branchea are foil of good works, as the pomegranates.
Verse 13. Or ever I was aware, <fr,] And when it appeared manifest before the Lord that they were righteous, and studied in the law, the Lord said by his word, I will not humble them any more, yea, I will not consume them: but will consult with myself to do them good, and to set them, even their excellent ones, in the chariots of (/) kings, because of the worthiness of tlie righteous of that genenuon, who are like in their works to Abraham their father.
Vere 13. Return, return, O Shulamiie^ eft:.] Return unto me, O congregation of Israel, return onto Jerusalem; return unto the house of the doctrine of the law; return to receive the prophecy from the prophets, who have prophesied in the name of the woid of the Lord; for what is your goodness, ye lyiog prophets, to make the people of Jerusalem go astray by your prophecies! for ye speak perverse things against the word of the Lord^ to profane the camp of Israel and Judah.
ba, Parash. 14, where those sixty queens and eighty connbines are interpreted of the sons of Noah,' Abruam, Hun. Ishmael, and Esau.
(t) So Jarchi interprets this "garden of nuts;*' thoi^d^ some of the rabbins in Sliirhashirim Rabba thiiik the world u meant; and by the vine, the schools and synagogues; and by the pomegranates, the students in the law.
(A) It IS said to be built by Cyrus, because he gave the Jews liberty and encouragement to build it; see Esn i- 2, 3. 4.
(/) In Shirhashirim Ralfba in loc, these words arc referred to the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt, and their exaltation over the nations in the land of Canaan; to the raising of David to the throne of Israel, after be had beea persecuted b^r Saul; and to the advancement of Moitlccai to great dignity in Babylon, aAer his mourning in sackcloth and ashes; all which arc represented as severally surpiiaing to
Verse I. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, ^.] Solomon said, by the spirit of prophecy from the Lord, How beautifbl are the feet of the Israelites, when they come up to appear before the Lord (a) three times a year, in sandals of badger skin, and offer up their TOWS and free-will offerings; and their sons which come out of their loins are fair as the gems which
(a) That is, at the feast of the passover, at the feast of weeks or pcntecost, and at the feast of tabernacles; see Exod. xxiii. 14, 15, Itf, 17; 2 Chron. viii. 13. So the words •re explained in Shirhashirim Rabba, and by Jarchi in loc.
were fixed upon the holy (b) crown that Bezaleel the artificer made for Aaron the priest.
Verse 2. Thy navel is like a round goblet^ 4«.] And the head of thy school, by whose righteousnesi all the world is nourished, even as the fetus receives its nourishment through its navel, in its mother*i bowels; who shines in the law as the orb of the
(6) So the plate of g(Ad was called, on which was inaciibed ** holiness to the Lord," which was fiied to the fore-front of the mitre on Aaron's forehead; see Exod. xxviii. 36, and xxxix. 30. This plate was two fingers broad, and reechsd
The TargUMt or Chddee paraphrase^ on the Song of Songs.
moon, when he comes to pronoanee pure or nnelevi, to justify or condemn; neither do the worda of the law ever fail from his mouth, eren as the waters of the great river, which proceeds from Eden, never (c) fail; and the seventy wise men are round about him, as a round (d) floor, whose treasures are ftdl of the holy tithes, and vows, and free-will offerings which Ezra the priest, and Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and Nehemiah, and Mordecai BOshan, men of the great (e) congregation who are like to roses, decreed for them, because they had strength to study in the law day and night.
Verse 3. TAy two breasts are like two young roeSf ific.] Thy (/) two Redeemers which shall redeem thee, Messiah, the son of David, and Messiah, the son of Ephrairo, are like to Moses and Aaron, the sons of Jochebed, who may be compared to two young roes that are twins.
Verse 4. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory, 4^.] And (g) the father of the house of judgment, who determines thy causes, is mighty over thy people to bind them, and to bring him forth who is condemned in judgment, even to bring him forth, as Solomon the king, who made a tower of ivory, and subjected the people of the house of Israel, and returned them to the Lord of the world. Thy scribes are full of wisdom, as pools of water; and they know how to number the computations of the, (A) intercalations; and they intercalate the years, and fix the beginning of the months and the beginning of the years at the gate of the house of the great sanhedrin, and the chief of the house of Judah is like to David the king, who built the fbrtress of Zion, which is called the tower of Lebanon,
from car to ear; " holiness to the Lord" was written upon it in great letters, standing out, and that either in one line or in two lines; if in two hnes, *' holiness** was wri^n below, and *' to the Lord*' above; Maimon. Hilch. Cele Hamikdash, c. 9, 8. 1, 2; Ceseph Miahna in Und.^ and Jarchi in Exod. xxviii. 36.
(c) The same is said of them in Zohar in Exodus, fol. 34, 8, and xxxviii. 2: see Gen. ii. 10, and note on chapter iv. 12.
{d) The great sanhedrin consists of seventy persons, besides the nasi or prince, i^t whose right hand sat Ab Beth Din, or the father of the house of judgment: before them sat the two scribes, and the rest of the sanhedrin took their places according to their age or dignity, and sat in«a semicircular form, or, as they express it, njiaj yn^ ^'STXS cachatsi goren aguUak, *' as the half of a round com floor," to which they compare this assembly. So that both the prince and father of the court could see them all, Mishna Tract. Sanhedrin, c. 4, s. 3. Jarchi and Ez Chayim, ibid. Maimon. Hilch. Sanhedrin, c. 1, 8. 3, and Ceseph Mishna, ibid. Shemoth Rabba, Parash. 5. Vajikra Rabba, Parash. 11. R. Aben Ezra m loc. Midrash Echa Rabba Pnefat. fol. 38, 4? Midrash Kohelet in chap. i. 11.
(«) This was the sanhedrin or CToat council, collected by Ezra the scribe, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, of which he was president. This assembly consisted of one hundred and twenty persons, of which these here mentioned were the chief. Tliere are others reckoned with them by some, as the three prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Seraiah, Relaiah, Mispai, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah: ti^e last of this venerable body of men, they say, was Simeon the Just; who, about forty years after the building of the second temple, met Alexander the Great coming against Jerusalem, and appeased him. These men were called nbinsn tlDS^ *^10SdL anshey keneseth haggedolah^ " the men of the great congrega^ tjon, * becsttse they restored the law to its pristine glory, and
on which, whoever stands, may number (t) all the towers that are in Damascus.
Verse 5. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, 4-c.] The king who is set over thee, a righteous hmui, is as (k) Elijah the prophet, who was jealous with a jealoasy for the Lord of heaven, and slew the false prophets in the mount of Carmel, and reduced the peoi^e of the house of Israel to the fear of the Lord God; and the poor of the people, which go with a bowed-down head because they are poor, shall be clothed in purple, as Daniel was clothed in the cttj of Babylon, and Mordecai in Shushan, because of the righteousness of Abraham, who long before consulted the Lord of the world; and because of Isaac, whom his father bound in order to offer him up; and because of the holiness of Jacob, who pilled the rods ia the gutters.
Verse 6. How fair and how pleasant art thoi$, (f-c] King Solomon said. How beautiful art thou, O congregation of Israel, when thou bearest upon thee the yoke of my kingdom, when I correct thee with chastisements for thy transgressions, and thou bearest them in love, and they ^)pear in thy sight as delicioua dainties.
Verse 7. This thy stature is like to a palm tree, djfcJ] And when thy priests (/) spread their hands in prayer, and bless their brethren, the house of Israel, their four hands are separated like the branches of the pahn.tree, and their stature is as the date; and thy congregations stand face to face over against the priests, and their faces are bowed to ihe earth like a cluster of grapes.
purged the Jewish Church from those corruptions which had crept into it during the captivity in Babylon. They are said to have received the oral law from the prophets, who had received it from the ciders, and the^ from Joshua, and Joshua from Moses, and to have transmitted it down to posterity, Pirke Aboth, c. 1, s. 1,2, and Jarchi, ibid. Maimon. Prsfat in hb. Yad. Vide Buxtorfii Tibcriad. in c. 10. See note on chap. iv. 5. See note on ver. 2.
The Jewish year consisted of twelve lunar months, and sometimes they intercaUted a thirteenth month, which they called Veadar, or the second Adar, which was alwajrs done l^ the direction and at the pleasure of the sanhedrin; as also the fixing of the beginning of the months, by the phasis or first appearance of the moon, Maimon. Hilch. Kiddusn Hachodeshf c. 1, s. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6; c. 4, s. 1, 9, 10, 11, 13, and c. 5, s. 1,2, 3, 4. The men of the tribe of Issachar were famous for their knowledge in these things, Bereshith Rabba, Parash. 7% Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 13. Midrash Esth. Parash. 4, and Kimchi in 1 Chron. xii. 32.
(t) Jarchi relates out of the Midrash, that from the house of the forest of Lebanon, wliich Solomon built, a man might number all the houses which were in Damascus.
{k) So these words are paraphrased in Shirhashurim Rabba in loc., and in Vajikra Rabba, rarash. 81.
(/) When the priests blessed the people, they stretched out their hands and lifted them above their heads, with their fingers spread out; only the hi^h priest never lifted up his above Uie plate of gold upon the mitre; and though, at we time of blessing, the priests and people stood face to face, right over against each other, yet the priests never looked upon the people, but kept their eyes upon the ground, as in the time of prayer; nor might the people look in the laces of the priests, test their minds should be disturbed thereby; which ceremony the Targumist here refers to, Maimon. HUch. Tephila, c. 14, s. 3, 7, 9. Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 11. Taxgum Job. ok Num. vi 23.
7%e Targumt or Chddee paraphrase, on the Seng of Songs.
The Lord said by his word, I will go and try Daniel, and see whether he is able to stand in one temptation as Abraham his father, who is like to a palm tree branch, stood in (m) ten temptations; yea, I will also try Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, whether they are able to stand in their temptations; for the sake of whosd righteousness I will redeem the people of the house of Israel, who are like to clusters of grapes; and the fame of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Aaaxiah, shall be heard in all the earth; and their smell ■hall be excellent, like the smell of the apples of the garden of Eden.
Verse 9. And the roof of thy mouth is like the best wine, 4'c,] Daniel and his companions said. We will surely take upon us the decree of the word of the Lord, as Abraham our father, who may be compared to old wine, took it upon him; and we will walk in the way which is right before him, even as Elijah and Elisha the prophets walked, through whose righteousness the dead, which are like to a man asleep, were raised; and as Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, by the prophecy of whose mouth those who were asleep were awaked, even the dead which were in the valley of (n) Dura.
Verse 10. I am my beloved's, ^c.] Jerusalem (o) said. All the time that I was wall(ing in the way of the Lord of.the world, he caused his shechinah to dwell with me, and his desire was towards me: but when I turned aside out of his paths, he removed his shechinah from me, and carried me away among the nations; and they ruled over me as a man rules over his wife..
(m) The same is said in Targum Jems, in Gen. xxii. 1. Bercshith Rabba, Parash. 56. Bemidhar Rabba, Parash. 15 Piike Aboth, c. 5, t. 3, and Jarchi, ibid.; where he, out of Pirke Eliezer, has given us an account of them in this following order, viz., 1st Nimrod sought to kill him, and \ie was hid in a field thirteen years. 2. He cast him into Ur of the Chaldces, or into a furnace of fire. 8. He banished hhn from the land of his nativity. 4. The Lord brought a famine m his days. 5. Sarah was taken into the house ofPharaoh. 6. The kinffs came and carried Lot his brothcr*s son away captive. 7. it was shown him between the pieces, that four kinffdoms should rule over his children. S. He was commanded to circumcise himself and his children. 9. To put away Ishmacl and his mother. And 10. To slay his son Isaac.
(n) In this valley Nebuchadnezzar set up his golden ima^, Dan. iii. 1. And here the Jews say the children of Ephraun were slain, who went out of Egypt before the time; as also the Israelites, whom the Chaldeans slow when they carried them captive; and that this is the valley Ezekiel was brought into by tne Spirit of the Lord, Ezek. xxxvii. 1; and these the dry bones ho prophesied over, which lived and stood upon their feet an exceeding great army, Targum Jon. in Exod. xiii. 17. R. Saadiah Gaon in Dan. iii. 1. Jarchi in Ezek. zzzvii. 1.
(o) That is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, or the Shulamite the Church, as in chap. vi. 13. The Church is firequontly
Verse II. Come, my beloved, let us go forth ints the field, 4'C'] When the people of the house of Isnd sinned, the Lord carried them into captivity, into the land of Seir, the fields of Edom. The eoDgregaCion of Israel said, I beseech thee, O Lord of the whole world, receive my prayer, which I have prayed before thee, in the cities of the captivity and io the provincei of the people.
Verse 13. Let us get up early to the vineyards, ^e] The children of Israel said one to another, Let as get up early in the morning, and let ns go to the synagogue and to the school, and let us liearch in the book of the law, and see whether (/») the time of the redemption of the people of the house of Israel, who are like to a vine, is come, that they may be redeemed out of their captivity; and let us inquire of the wise men, whether the righteousness of the righteous, who are full of the commandments as pomegranates, is made manifest before the Lord; whether the time is come to go up to Jemsalem, there to gire praise to the God of heaven, and to offer up the boistofferings, and the holy drink-offerings.
Verse 13. The mandrakes give a smell, 4e.] And when it is the pleasure of the Lord to redeem his people out of captivity, it shall be -said to the King Messiah, Now is the end of the captivity comideted, and the righteousness of the righteo^s is become sweet as the smell of balsam, and the wise men fii their habitations by the gates of the school-; they staiyii the {q) words of the scribes, and in the words of the law.. Arise now, take the kingdom which I hare reserved for thee.
ip) The Jews vainly expect the time of redemption hr the Messiah to be future, when it is past many hundred years' ^ as they might easily learn from the book of the bvr and the prophets; particularly from Jacob*s prophecy in Gen. ihx. 10, from Ha^gai's in chap. ii. 6, 7, 8, and from Daniel's ir«b in chap. ix. 24, 26, 26. 9ee this fiilly proved in a book called **Th9 prophecies of the Old Testament respectii^ tbe Messiah considered," 6lc. Chap. iii.
(q) The words of the sondes are mentioiied htkm the words of the law, and are, indeed, by the Jews, fefened tiflto them. Thcv say the words of the beloved; i. e., the wise meo. are better than the wine of the law; so they paiaphnse the words in Cant. i. 2: they assert that the law camiot be understood without the words of the scribes; that the oial bw is the foundation of the written law, and not the written law the foundation of the oral law; and that he that tnnagTesses the words of the wise men as much deserves death, as tboo^ be had been guilty of idolatry, murder, or adultery, or profanes the Sabbath; nay, that if these say their right hand is their left, and their left hand is their right, they ait; obliged to hearken to them, Shirhashirim Rabba, in o. 1, 3. Bemidhu Rabba, Parash. 14. Mattoh Dan. Dialoff. 3, fol. 31, a Jarchi in Deut. xvii. 11. Vide Buxtorf., Kecenaio Opera Tahnud. pp. 222, 223, <&c.
Verse 1. O that thou wert as my brother, ^c.\ And when the King Messiah (a) shall be revealed unto the congregation of Israel, the children of Israel shall say
(a) The Jews very seldom speak of the birth or nativity of the Messiah as future, but only of a revelation or discovery oi him to them, which they expect; for they are under selr
unto him. Be thou with us for a brother, and let us go up to Jerusalem, and let us suck with thee the senses of the law, as a sucking child sucketh the breasts of
convictions that he was bom long since. Some of them saj he was bom on the day the house of the sanctuaiy was destroyed, but is hid because of their idns and
The Targunij or Chaldee paraphrcise, tm the Song of Songs.
its mother; for all the time that I was wandering without my own land, whenever I remembered the nUDe of the great God, and laid down my life for the sake of his Deity, even the nations of the earth did not despise me.
Verse 2. / would lead thee, and bring thee, 4^c,] I will lead thee, O King Messiah, and bring thee to the house of my sanctuary; and thou shalt teach me to fear the Lord, and to walk in his paths; and there will we keep {b) the feast of leviathan, and drink old wine, which has been reserved in its grapes ever since the day the world was created, and of the pomegranates, the fruits which are prepared for the righteous in the garden of Eden.
Verse 3. His left hand should be under my head, if-c] The congregation of Israel said, I am chosen above all people, because I have bound the tephillin (c) upon my left hand, and upon my head, and have fixed the mezuzah {d) on the right side of my door, in
and that either in the sea, or the walks of tho garden of Eden; and some say that he sits among the lepers at the gates of Rome, from whence they expect he will come unto them, H. Abeu Ezra, in Cant. vii. 5. Tar^um in Mic. iv. 8. Talmud Sanhcdrin, fol. 98, col. 2. Targum Jems, in Exod. xii. 42.
{b) The Jews expect a very sumptuous feast to be made for the righteous in the days of the Messiah, which will con*- sist of all sorts of flesh, fish, and fowl, of plenty of generous wine, and of a variety of the most delicious fruit; some particulars of which they have thought fit to give, and are as follow: 1. I'hcy say an exceeding large ox. shall be served up, which they fake to be the behemoth in Job xl., of which they say many thin^ monstrous and incredible; as that it lies upon a thousand hills, and feeds upon them all, and drinks up all the waters which are gathered together in a year's time, in the river Jordan^ at one draught, Vajikra Rabba, Parash. 22. Bemidbar Rabba, Parash. 21. Tjraun in Psa. 1. 10. Jarchi in Hid., and in Job xl. 20. 2. 'Die next dish is the leviathan and his mate, which they say are " the great whales*' mentioned in Gen. i. 21. The male, they say, Cfod castrated, and the female he slew, and saltod it arainst this feast, Talmud Baba Bathra, fol. 74. Targum Jon., Jarchi, and Baal Hatturim in Gen. i. 21. Vajikim Rabba, Parash. 13. Targum Sect, in Esth. iii. 7. Aben Ezra in Dan. xii. 2. 3. Iney speak of ah exceeding large fowl, which they call Ziz, that snail be one pert of this entertainment, of which they say many things incredible; as particularly, that when its feet are upon the earth its head reaches the heavens; and when it stretches out its vvinffs, they cover the body of tho sun, Baba Bathra, fol.73,col. 2. Tarn^um and Kimchi in Psa. 1. 10. Vajikra Rabba, Parash. 22. 4. After all this shall be served up a variety of the most pleasant and dcliizlitful fruits, which are m the garden of Eden, which the Targumist here speaks of. And lastly, tho wine which will then be used will be generous old wine, which, as it is said here and elsewhere, was kept in the giape from the creation of the world, Zohar in Gen. fol. 81,4. Targum Jon. in Gen. xxvii. 25, and Tarsum in Eccles. ix. 7. Something of this gross notion seems to nave obtained among the Jews in the times of Christ; see Luke xiv. 15. Vide Buxtorf Synagog. Jud. c. 50.
(c) These were four sections of the law, written on parchments, folded up in the skin of a clean beast, and tied to the head and hand. Tho four sections were these following, viz.: The first was Exod. xiii. 2-11. The second was Exod. xiii. 11-17. The third was Deut. vi. 4-10. The fourth was Deut. xi. 13-22. TThosc that were for the head were written and rolled up separately, and put in four distinct places in one skin, which was fastened with strings to the crown of the head towards the face, about the place where the hair ends, and where an infant's brain is tender: and they take care to place them in the nuddlc, that so they may be between the eyes. Those that were for the hand were written in four coUunns, on one parchment, which, being rolled up, was fasa
the third part thereof, over against my chamber; so that the noxious spirits have no power to destroy me.
Verse 4. / charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem^ 4-c.] The King Messiah shall say, I adjure you, O my people, the house of Israel, wherefore do ye stii up yourselves against the people of the earth to go out of captivity 1 and why do ye rebel against the army of Gog and (e) Magog 1 tarry a little while until the people which come up to make war against Jerusalem are destroyed; and after that the Lord of the world will remember unto you the mercies of the righteous, and then it will be his good pleasure to redeem you.
Verse 5. Who ts this that cometh up from the wiU derness, Sfc] Solomon the prophet said, When the dead shall live, the Mount of Olives shall be (/) cleaved asunder, and all the dead of Israel shall come out from under it; yea, even the righteous, which die in captivity, sl^all pass through subterraneous {g) ca^
tened to the inside of the left arm, where it is fleshy, between the shoulder and the elbow, that so it might be over against the heart. These they call tephillin, from the root ^^^ fheL' led, " to pray," becaiise they use them in tho time of prayer, and look unon them as useful to put them in mind of that duty; in Matt, xxiii. 5, thev are called ^vTiOKxripia, phylacteriesy because they think they keep men in the fear of God, are preservatives from sin, nay, from evil npirits, and against diseases of thfr body; they imagine there is a great deal of holiness in them, and value themselves much upon the use of them, Targum Jon. Jarchi and Baal Hatturim in Exod. xiii. 9, 10, and Deut. vi. 8. Maimon. Hilch. Tcphilin, c. 1, s. 1; I c. 2, s. 1; c. 3. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; and c. 4. 1, 2, 25. Matteh I Dan. Dialog. 2, fol. 9, 4, and 10, 1. Vide Buxtorf Synagog. Jud. c. 9, and Leo Modena's History of the Rites, du:., of the Present Jews, par. 1, c. 11.
