The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 125

m'1wr'1,a), just as she has been previously occurs here in the Bible. The yiia"lath is the "thine own cistern" (b'crr) nnd "thine own feminine of vaal, "the ibex" or "moun- well" (b'er) in ver. 15. The Hebrew tain goat" according to Bochart, or the ma1,or, "fountain," is derived from the root " chamois" according to Gesenius. It does leur, "to dig." 'l'he figure seems to deter- not appear that it is so much "the pleasant- mine that the blessing here spoken of con- ness" or amiability of this animal which is siste in the wife being a fruitful mother of here alluded to a.s its gracefulness of form, children; and hence the phrase means," Let As terms of endearment, the words entered thy wife be blessed," i.e. rendered happy in largely into the erotic poetry of the East. being the mother of thy children. This is Thns in the Song of Sol. iv. 5 the bridi, quite oonsistent with the Hebrew mode of likens her beloved to "a roe or young hart" thought. Every Israelitish wife regarded her- ( cf. also Song of Sol. iv. 17 and viii. 14 ), self, and was regarded by others as "blessed," while numerous examples might be quoted if she bore children, and unhappy if the from the Arabian and Persian poets. They reverse were the case. Blessed; Hebrew, were also employed sometimes as names for Mruk (Vulgate, benedicta), is the kal par- women. Compare the superscription of Pa. ticiple passive of bariik, "to bless." Instead xxii., Ayyeleth hash-shakar, "Upon the hind of this, the LXX. reads !'5,a," Let thy foun- of the dawn." Let her breasts satisfy thee tain be thine own "-a variation which in no at a.11 times. The love of the wife is to sense conveys the meaning of the original. refresh and fully satisfy the husband. The And rejoice with; rather, rejoice in, the wife word dadeyah, "her breasts," only occurs being regarded as the sphere within which here and in Ezek. xxiii. 3, 8, 21, and is the husband is to find his pleasure and joy. equirnlent to dodeyah, "her love." The Umbreit explains," Let thy wife be extolled." marginal !reading, " water thee," serves to The same construction of the imperative bring ont the literal mP-aning- of the v'rav- s'miilrh, from samiikh, "to be glad, or joyful," vuka, derived from ravah, in kal, "to drink with min, occurs in Judg. ix. 19; Zeph. iii. largely," "to be satisfied with drink," but 14, etc. 'fhe Authorized rendering is, how- misses the emphatic force of the picl, " to be ever, favoured by the Vulgate, lmtare cum, fully satisfied or satiated." This is ex- and the LXX., crvv,u,ppalvo, µ..-r?t. Compare pressed very forcibly in the Vulgate render- the exhortation in Eccles. ix. 9, "Live joy- ing, "Let her breasts inebriate thee (inebrient fully with the wife whom thou lovest." te)," which represents the strong influence The wife of thy youth (Hebrew, ishshah which the attractions of the wife nre to n'urfyka) may mean either (l) the wife to maintain. The LXX., on the other hand, whom thou hast given the fair bloom of thy avoiding the rather sensual colouring of the youth (Umbreit); (2) the wife chosen in thy language, substitutes, "May she thine own youth (Delitzsch); or (3) thy youthful wife. lead thee, and be with thee always." And The former seems the more probable mean- be thou ravished alwa.ys with her love; i.e. ing. Compare tho expression, "companion let it intoxicate thee. The teacher, by a of thy youth," in eh. ii. 17. bold figure, describes the entire fascination Ver. 19.-Let her be as the loving hind which the husband is to allow the wife to and plea.sant roe. The words in italics do exercise o,er him. The verb shagah is ·•to not occur in the original. 'file expression, reel under the influence of wine,'' and is so "the loving hind and plea.sant roe," is, used in the succeeding vers. 20 and 23, and therefore, to be attached to the preceding eh. xx. 1 and Isa. x.xviii. 7. The primary verse, as cnri-ying on the sense and ns de- meaning, "to err from the w.1y," sco.roely scriptive of the grace and fascinating charms applies here, and does not express the idea of the young wife. As combining theije of the teaeher, which is to describe "an a.ttributes, she is to be the object of thy love intensity of love connected with the feeling and devotion, the one in whom thine a.ffections of supcmbundant happiness" (Dclitzsch). nre to find the fulfilment of their desires. 'l'he Vulgnte, In amore ejus delectarti jugiler, Love a.nd grace are her possessions. The "In her love delight thyself continul\lly ," 1.oving hind (Hebrew, iiyyellth iihavim); lite- and the LXX., "For in her love thon sholi rally, the hind of love,, which mny be be daily engaged," are mere parophrases. understood, e.s in the Authorized Version, ns pointing to the fondness of this animal for Yers. 20, 21.-The 1ufolterer to be restrained itij young, or as descriptive of' its beauty by tlie fact of God's omniscienre and the nnd the extreme gre.oefulness of its form. Divine punisliment. Vers. 20 and 21 should In this sense the phrase may be rendered, apparently be taken together. The teaching "the lovely hind." The ii.yyeleth, or iiyyalah, assumes e. higher tone, and riaes from the feminine of iiyyal, "stag," or "h[l.l't," wus in all probability the gazelle. Pleasant ,-oe lower law which regulates fidelity to the (Hebrew, vaaliith khen); literally, the ibez wife, based upon personal attrnctions, to of fl"ar,e. The particular expression only the higher law, which brings the buaband'11 l'BOVERllB, 1  114 THE PROVERBS. [OH, V, 1-23,