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Selected Verse: Song of solomon 4:8 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
So 4:8 |
King James |
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
Invitation to her to leave the border mountains (the highest worldly elevation) between the hostile lands north of Palestine and the Promised Land (Psa 45:10; Phi 3:13).
Amana--south of Anti-Libanus; the river Abana, or Amana, was near Damascus (Kg2 5:12).
Shenir--The whole mountain was called Hermon; the part held by the Sidonians was called Sirion; the part held by the Amorites, Shenir (Deu 3:9). Infested by the devouring lion and the stealthy and swift leopard (Psa 76:4; Eph 6:11; Pe1 5:8). Contrasted with the mountain of myrrh, &c. (Sol 4:6; Isa 2:2); the good land (Isa 35:9).
with me--twice repeated emphatically. The presence of Jesus Christ makes up for the absence of all besides (Luk 18:29-30; Co2 6:10). Moses was permitted to see Canaan from Pisgah; Peter, James, and John had a foretaste of glory on the mount of transfiguration. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
The order and collocation of words in the Hebrew is grand and significant. With me from Lebanon, O bride, with me from Lebanon thou shalt come, shalt look around (or wander forth) from the height (literally "head") of Amana, from the height of Shenir and Hermon, from dens of lions, from mountain-haunts of leopards. It is evidently a solemn invitation from the king in the sense of Psa 45:10-11. Four peaks in the same mountain-system are here named as a poetical periphrasis for northern Palestine, the region in which is situated the native home of the bride.
(1) Amana (or Abana, Kg2 5:12), that part of the Anti-libanus which overlooks Damascus.
(2) Shenir or Senir, another peak of the same range (according to Deu 3:9, the Amorite name for Hermon, but spoken of here and in Ch1 5:23 as distinct from it).
(3) Hermon, the celebrated mountain which forms the culminating point of the Anti-libanus, on the northeastern border of the holy land.
(4) Lebanon, properly the western range overlooking the Mediterranean, but here used as a common designation for the whole mountain system.
Leopards are still not unfrequently seen there, but the lion has long since disappeared. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
8 With me from Lebanon, my bride,
With me from Lebanon shalt thou come;
Shalt look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Shenir and Hermon,
From dens of lions,
From mountains of leopards.
Zckl. interprets אתּי in the sense of אלי, and תּשׁוּרי in the sense of journeying to this definite place: "he announces to her in overflowing fulness of expression that from this time forth, instead of the lonely mountainous regions, and the dangerous caves and dens, she shall inhabit with him the royal palace." Thus also Kingsbury. But the interpretation, however plausible, cannot be supported. For (1) such an idea ought to be expressed either by תב אלי or by תשׁבי ואתּי תב, instead of אתּי תּב; (2) Shulamith is not from Lebanon, nor from the Anti-Libanus, which looks toward Damascus; (3) this would be no answer to Shulamith's longing for lonely quietness. We therefore hold by our explanation given in 1851. He seeks her to go with him up the steep heights of Lebanon, and to descend with him from thence; for while ascending the mountain one has no view before him, but when descending he has the whole panorama of the surrounding region lying at his feet. Thus תשׁ is not to be understood as at Isa 57:9, where it has the meaning of migrabas, but, as at Num 23:9, it means spectabis. With מר the idea of prospect lies nearer than that of descending; besides, the meaning spectare is secondary, for שׁוּר signifies first "to go, proceed, journey," and then "going to view, to go in order to view." Sêr in Arab. means "the scene," and sêr etmek in Turkish, "to contemplate" (cf. Arab. tamashy, to walk, then, to contemplate). Lebanon is the name of the Alpine range which lies in the N.-W. of the Holy Land, and stretches above 20 (German) miles from the Leontes (Nahr el-Kasme) northwards to the Eleutheros (Nahr el-Kebr). The other three names here found refer to the Anti-Libanus separated from the Lebanon by the Coelo-Syrian valley, and stretching from the Banis northwards to the plain of Hamth.
Amana denotes that range of the Anti-Libanus from which the springs of the river Amana issue, one of the two rivers which the Syrian captain (Kg2 5:12) named as better than all the waters of Israel. These are the Amana and Pharpar, i.e., the Barad and A'wadsh; to the union of the Barad (called by the Greeks Chrysorrhoas, i.e., "golden stream") with the Feidshe, the environs of Damascus owe their ghuwdat, their paradisaical beauty.
Hermon (from חרם, to cut of; cf. Arab. kharom and makhrim, the steep projection of a mountain) is the most southern peak of the Anti-Libanus chain, the lofty mountains (about 10, 000 feet above the level of the sea) which form the north-eastern border of Palestine, and from which the springs of the Jordan take their rise.
Another section of the Anti-Libanus range is called Senir, not Shenir. The name, in all the three places where it occurs (Deu 3:9; Ch1 5:23), is, in accordance with tradition, to be written with Sin. The Onkelos Targum writes סריון; the Jerusalem paraphrases, טורא דמסרי פירוי (the mountain whose fruits become putrid, viz., on account of their superabundance); the Midrash explains otherwise: שהוא שובא הניר (the mountain which resists being broken up by the plough), - everywhere the writing of the word with the letter Sin is supposed. According to Deu 3:9, this was the Amorite name of Hermon. The expression then denotes that the Amorites called Hermon - i.e., the Anti-Libanus range, for they gave the name of a part to the whole range - by the name Senr; Abulfeda uses Arab. snîr as the name of the part to the north of Damascus, with which the statement of Schwarz (Das h. Land, p. 33) agrees, that the Hermon (Anti-Libanus) to the north-west of Damascus is called Senr.
נמרים, panthers, to the present day inhabit the clefts and defiles of the Lebanon, and of the Anti-Libanus running parallel to it; whereas lions have now altogether disappeared from the countries of the Mediterranean. In Solomon's time they were to be met with in the lurking-places of the Jordan valley, and yet more frequently in the remote districts of the northern Alpine chains. From the heights of these Alps Solomon says Shulamith shall alone with him look down from where the lions and panthers dwell. Near these beasts of prey, and yet inaccessible by them, shall she enjoy the prospect of the extensive pleasant land which was subject to the sceptre of him who held her safe on these cliffs, and accompanied her over these giddy heights. If "mountain of myrrh," so also "the top of Amana" is not without subordinate reference. Amana, proceeding from the primary idea of firmness and verification, signifies fidelity and the faithful covenant as it is established between God and the congregation, for He betrothes it to Himself b'mwnh ("in faithfulness"), Hos 2:22 [20]; the congregation of which the apostle (Eph 5:27) says the same as is here said by Solomon of Shulamith. Here for the first time he calls her כלה, not כּלּתי; for that, according to the usus loq., would mean "my daughter-in-law." Accordingly, it appears that the idea of "daughter-in-law" is the primary, and that of "bride" the secondary one. כּלה, which is = כּלוּלה, as חלּה, a cake, is = חלוּלה, that which is pierced through (cf. כּלוּלות, being espoused; Jer 2:2), appears to mean
(Note: L. Geiger's Ursprung d. Sprach. p. 227; cf. 88.)
(cf. what was said regarding חתן under Sol 3:11) her who is comprehended with the family into which, leaving her parents' house, she enters; not her who is embraced = crowned with a garland (cf. Arab. qkll, to be garlanded; tēklîl, garlanding; iklil, Syr. kelilo, a wreath), or her who is brought to completion (cf. the verb, Eze 27:4, Eze 27:11), i.e., has reached the goal of her womanly calling. Besides, כּלה, like "Braut" in the older German (e.g., Gudrun), means not only her who is betrothed, but also her who has been lately married. |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
Come - Unto the mountains of myrrh. Look - To the place to which I invite thee to go, which from those high mountains thou mayest easily behold. Of Leopards - From these or other mountains, which are inhabited by lions and leopards. This seems to be added as an argument to move the spouse to go with him, because the places where now she was, were not only barren, but also dangerous. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
My spouse - The כלה callah which we translate spouse, seems to have a peculiar meaning. Mr. Harmer thinks the Jewish princess is intended by it; and this seems to receive confirmation from the bridegroom calling her sister, Sol 4:9, that is, one of the same stock and country; and thus different from the Egyptian bride.
Mr. Harmer's opinion is very probable, that Two Queens are mentioned in this song: one Pharaoh's daughter, the other a Jewess. See his outlines. But I contend for no system relative to this song.
Look from the top of Amana, etc. - Solomon, says Calmet, by an admirable poetic fiction, represents his beloved as a mountain nymph, wholly occupied in hunting the lion and the leopard on the mountains of Lebanon, Amana, Shenir, and Hermon. As a bold and undisciplined virgin, who is unwilling to leave her wild and rural retreats, he invites her to come from those hills; and promises to deck her with a crown and to make her his bride. Thus the poets represent their goddess Diana, and even Venus herself: -
Per juga, per sylvas, dumosaque saxa vagatur
Nuda genu, vestem ritu succincta Dianae;
Hortaturque canes; tutaeque animalia praedae,
Aut pronos lepores, aut celsum in cornua cervum,
Aut agitat damas: at fortibus abstinet apris.
MET. lib. x., ver. 535.
Now buskin'd like the virgin huntress goes
Through woods, and pathless wilds, and mountain snows.
With her own tuneful voice she joys to cheer
The panting hounds that chase the flying deer.
She runs the labyrinth of the fearful hares,
But fearless beasts and dangerous prey forbears.
Mount Libanus separates Phoenicia from Syria. Amanus is between Syria and Silicia. Shenir and Hermon are beyond Jordan, to the south of Damascus and Mount Libanus, and northward of the mountains of Gilead. Hermon and Shenir are but different parts of the same chain of mountains which separates Trachonitis, or the country of Manasses, from Arabia Deserta. For these places, see Kg2 5:12, and Deu 3:9, where they are probably meant. |
10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
4 Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.
9 (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house;
23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.
9 (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house;
11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.
9 (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)
23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.
9 (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
9 (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.