Song of Solomon 3

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Song of Solomon 3

1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

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.

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>On my bed at night. In my distress, when I lived in the darkness¹The Bnei Yisroel were left in darkness after the Clouds of Glory had withdrawn from them and the holy crown that had been given to them at Mt. Sinai was taken away. (Targum) for the entire thirty-eight years²After the sin of the spies it was declared that the Bnei Yisroel would wander in the wilderness for forty years. Since two years had already past, they had to wander for another thirty-eight years and during this time the Divine Presence was hidden from them. that the [Bnei] Yisroel were under reproach. I sought him but did not find him. “For I will not go up in your midst,”³Shemos 33:3. This was on account of the golden calf. [and] “for I am not in your midst.”⁴Devarim 1:42. This was on account of the spies. </html>

Verse 2

<html>I will rise now … I will seek. “And Moshe prayed,”⁵Shemos 32:11. [and] “I will go up to the Adonoy.”⁶Ibid. 32:30. </html>

Verse 3

<html>The watchmen found me. Moshe and Aharon.⁷They guarded the Bnei Yisroel from sin during the Egyptian exile. Also in reference to Ezra and Nechemyah who watched over the Bnei Yisroel during the exile of Bavel. (Alshich) Him whom my soul loves, have you seen him. What [message] did you find in His mouth? </html>

Verse 4

<html>Scarcely had I departed from them. Shortly after their parting from me,⁸I.e., shortly after the deaths of Moshe and Aharon. at the end of the forty years. When I found. That He was with me in the days of Yehoshua to conquer the thirty-one kings. I grasped him and would not let him go. I did not loosen my grasp on Him until I brought Him to the Tabernacle at Shiloh because of all this that He had done for me.</html>

Verse 5

<html>I bind you under oath. The nations, while I was exiled among you. That you do not cause hatred nor disturb the love of my beloved from me through seduction or enticement, to forsake him and to turn away from following him. While it still pleases. As long as I still desire his love.</html>

Verse 6

<html>Who is this ascending from the wilderness. When I was traveling in the wilderness and the pillar of fire and the cloud were going before me, killing snakes and scorpions and burning the thorns and thistles to make a straight path, and [when] the cloud and the smoke were ascending, the nations saw them, and marveled at my greatness, and they would say, “Who is this?” i.e., “How great is she [Bnei Yisroel] who is ascending from the wilderness, etc.!” With palm-like pillars of smoke. Tall and erect as a palm tree [=תָּמָר. In a cloud of myrrh. [It is so called] because the cloud of incense which would rise straight up from the inner altar. Perfume seller. A spice merchant who sells all types of spices. Powders. [It is so called] because they crush it and pound it [until it becomes] as fine as dust.</html>

Verse 7

<html>Behold the bed of Shlomo. The Tent of Meeting and the Ark,⁹This is in accordance with Rashi in 1:1 above that Shlomo refers to God, thus “the bed of Shlomo” refers to the resting place of the Divine Presence. which they carried in the wilderness. Sixty mighty men are around it. Sixty myriads surround it. Of the mighty men of Yisroel. Of those who went into the army, excluding those under twenty and those over sixty. </html>

Verse 8

<html>Skilled in battle. The battle of Torah, and likewise, the kohanim who surround it, who camp around the Tabernacle, are skilled in the order of their service. Each with his sword. His weapons are the Masorah [i.e., tradition] and the mnemonics, by which they preserve the correct version and the traditional rendition, so that it will not be forgotten. For fear of the nights. For if they forget it, and troubles will befall them. And similarly it states, “Arm yourselves with the grain lest He become angry and you lose the way.”¹⁰I.e., study the Torah. </html>

Verse 9

<html>A canopy has [King Shlomo] made. This refers to the Tent of Meeting, which was established in the Tabernacle at Shiloh; He made for Himself a crowning canopy for [His] glory. </html>

Verse 10

<html>Its covering. His resting place and His dwelling were on the Ark cover, which is gold.¹¹See Shemos 25:17, 22. Its curtain of purple wool. This is the dividing curtain,¹²Separating the “Holy Place” from the “Holy of Holies,” See Shemos 26:31,33. which hangs and “rides” on poles from pillar to pillar. Its interior bedecked. It was arranged with a floor [displaying] love;¹³Alternatively, “its interior filled with burning love.” In Yeshayahu 6:6, “רצפה” means “burning coal.” (Tzror Hamor) the Ark and its cover, cherubim and Tablets. From the daughters of Yerusholayim. These are the [Bnei] Yisroel, who fear and are wholehearted toward the Holy One, Blessed Is He. </html>

Verse 11

<html>Daughters of Tzion. Children who are distinguished מְצוּיָנִים=צֻיָּן as His, through circumcision, phylacteries, and ritual fringes. Upon the crown with which his mother adorned him. The Tent of Meeting, which was adorned with hues of blue, purple, and scarlet. Rabbi Nechunya said, “Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai asked Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Yose, ‘Perhaps you heard from your father what is meaning of “upon the crown with which his mother adorned him”?’ He replied, “This is a parable of a king who had an only daughter of whom he was very fond. He could not stop loving her until he called her “my daughter,” as it is stated, “listen daughter and see.”¹⁴Tehillim 45:11. He could not stop loving her until he called her “my sister,” as it is stated, “Open for me, my sister, my love.”¹⁵Below 5:2. He could not stop loving her until he called her “my mother,” as it is stated, “Listen to Me, My people, and My nation וּלְאֻמִּי give ear to Me.”¹⁶Yeshayahu 51:4. “וּלְאֻמִּי” is written [without a vav and can be read as “וּלְאִמִּי” “and to my mother”]. Thereupon Rabbi Shimon son Yochai stood up and kissed him on his head, etc. On the day of his wedding. The day of the giving of the Torah,¹⁷See Mishnayos Ta’anis 4:8. when they crowned Him as their King and accepted His yoke. And on the day his heart rejoiced. This is the eighth day of the installation,¹⁸See Vayikra 9:1. on which the Tabernacle was dedicated in the wilderness.</html>

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Table of Contents

Song of Solomon 3

Song of Solomon 3

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11