tl:e bride and bridegroom. The Greek ver- Judg. v. 10: Amos iii. 12; Prov. vii. 18.) sions trnnslate <f,op,wv: the Vu Igate, fe,·cu- The preposition I~ in the lllSt cll\uee is ren- lum. We read in Athenaius (v. 13) the.t dered differently by some, bnt there can be the phil011opher e.nd tyre.nt Athemon showed no doubt that the moaning ie "on the pa.rt himself on "e. silver-legged <f,op,cov with of," that ie, coming from. The typicl\l in- purple ooverlet." Thero probe.bly is some terpreter certainly finds a firm ground here. connection between the Hebrew appiryon Whether we think of the individual helieve1· nnd the Greek phoreion, but it is exceedingly or of the Church of God, the met11phor is doubtful if the Hebrew is merely a length- very o.pt and bee.utiful-we are borne along ened form of the Greek. Delitzsch derives towards the perfect.ion of our peace and tbe Hebrew from e. root parah. "to cut or blessedness in a chariot of love. All thnt carve" e.nything of wood. The Greek surrounds us speaka to us of the Saviour's would seem to be oonnected with the verb love and of hie royal magnificence, as he ie <l>•P"'," to bear," "oarry." The resemblance adored by all the pure and lovely spirits in lllRV be a mere ooincidence. The rabbinical whose companionship he delights. tradition is that the Hebrew word means Ver. 11.-Go forth, 0 ye daughters of Zion, "conch, or litter." Hitzig connects it with and behold King Solomon, with the crown the Sanscrit paryana, meaning "saddle," wherewith his mother he.th orowned him in "riding-saddle," with which we may com- the day of hie espousals, and in the day of pare the Indian paryang, "bed." Other~ the gladness of his heart. This seems to be find a Chaldee root for the word, N';I!), "to an nppeal to a larger company of those who nm," ns currus in Le.tin, or from a root ,~~, will rejoice in the bride and her happiness. "to shine," i.e." to be adorned." At all e'l"ents, The daughters of Zion are perhaps intended it would not be safe to argue the late date to represent the people generally ae distin- of the book from such a word as appiryon, guished from the ladies of the oourt, i.e. let on account of its resemblance to a Greek all the people rejoice in their king and in word. The " wood of Lebanon" is, of course, bis royal bride. The mention of the royal the cede.r or cypress (1 Kings v. 10, etc.). mother seems to point to the beginning of There may be a covert allusion intended to Solomon's reign as the time referred to. The the decoration of the temple as the place crown, or chaplet, with which the proud where the honour of the Lord dwelleth, and mother adorned her son, was the fresh wreath where he meets his people. The frame of round a young king's bead, a wedding the palanquin was of wood, the ornaments coronet, no doubt made of gold and silver. of sil'l'er. The references to the high value It was not the crown placed on the head of 110t upon silver, while gold is spoken of as Pharaoh'e daughter, which would not be so though it was abundant, are indications of spoken of. Acoording to the Talmud, the the age in which the poem was composed, custom remained even to later times. There which must have been nearly contempora- ce.n be no doubt of B11thsbeba's special delight neow, with the Homeric poems, in which in Solomon (see I Kings i. 11; ii. 13). We gold is spoken of similarly. Recent dis- must not, of course, push too far the typic11l coveries of the tomb of Agamemnon, etc., con- interpretation of such language, which may firm the literary argument. The palanquins be taken as the poetical form rnther than the of India a.re also highly decorated. The spiritual subste.nce. And yet there may be daughters of Jerusalem, i.e. the ladies of the an allusion, in the joy and pride of Bath-· court, in their affection for King Solomon, eheba in her son's gladness, and the con- he.ve procured a costly tapestry, or several summation of his nuptial bliss, to the Incar- each, which they have spread over the purple nation and the crowning glory of a Divine cushion. Thus it is parnd, or covered over, humanity, which ie at once the essential with the tokens of love-while all love is fact of redemption, and the bright expecta- but a preparation for this supreme love. tion whioh, on the head of the Saviour, lights (For the purple coverings of the seat, see np eternity to the faith of his people,
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-5.-Tl.e dream of the brirle. I. THE .ABSENCE OF THE BELOVED. 1. The bride's distress. In the last chaptt,r the bride related to her female friends some of the incidents of her early love; here she seems to be relating a dream of those ea.me w~ll- remem bered day11. The whole narrative, like that of ~h. v. 2-8, ha~ a. dre~m-hke character. '!'he circumstances are not such as would be hkely to occur ID real hfe; but the longing, the wandering, the search, represent in a. vivid truthful way the images of dreams. She was lying asleep on her bed; her thoughts were full of the absent bride~ groom. "I sought him," ahe ~aye," but I found him not," We notl,;ie the dream-like OH, III, 1-11.] THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 77