Song of Solomon 1:12

1:9-17 The Bridegroom gives high praises of his spouse. In the sight of Christ believers are the excellent of the earth, fitted to be instruments for promoting his glory. The spiritual gifts and graces which Christ bestows on every true believer, are described by the ornaments then in use, ver. 10,11. The graces of the saints are many, but there is dependence upon each other. He who is the Author, will be the Finisher of the good work. The grace received from Christ's fulness, springs forth into lively exercises of faith, affection, and gratitude. Yet Christ, not his gifts, is most precious to them. The word translated camphire, signifies atonement or propitiation. Christ is dear to all believers, because he is the propitiation for their sins. No pretender must have his place in the soul. They resolved to lodge him in their hearts all the night; during the continuance of the troubles of life. Christ takes delight in the good work which his grace has wrought on the souls of believers. This should engage all who are made holy, to be very thankful for that grace which has made those fair, who by nature were deformed. The spouse (the believer) has a humble, modest eye, discovering simplicity and godly sincerity; eyes enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit, that blessed Dove. The church expresses her value for Christ. Thou art the great Original, but I am but a faint and imperfect copy.

Many are fair to look at, yet their temper renders them unpleasant: but Christ is fair, yet pleasant. The believer, ver. 16, speaks with praise of those holy ordinances in which true believers have fellowship with Christ. Whether the believer is in the courts of the Lord, or in retirement; whether following his daily labours, or confined on the bed of sickness, or even in a dungeon, a sense of the Divine presence will turn the place into a paradise. Thus the soul, daily having fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, enjoys a lively hope of an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance above.

Song of Solomon 1:12 . While the king — My royal husband; sitteth at the table — With me in his ordinances. My spikenard — The graces of his Spirit conferred upon me, here compared to those sweet ointments, which the master of the feast caused to be poured out upon the heads of the guests, ( Luke 7:38 ,) in which ointments spikenard was a chief ingredient; sendeth forth the smell thereof — This denotes the exercise and manifestation of her graces, which are a sweet-smelling savour in the nostrils of her husband, and of her companions.

(12) While the king sitteth. —There is no need to imagine a scene where the monarch, having failed in his attempt to allure the shepherdess by fine offers, retires to his banquet, leaving her to console herself with the thoughts of her absent shepherd love. As in Song of Solomon 1:2 the poet makes his mistress prefer his love to wine, so here she prefers the thought of union with him to all the imagined pleasures of the royal table. Spikenard—Heb., nerd—is exclusively an Indian product, procured from the Nardostachys jatamansi, a plant of the order Valerianaceœ. It was imported into Palestine at a very early period. The perfume is prepared by drying the shaggy stem of the plant (see Tristram’s Nat. Hist. of Bible, pp. 484, 485). There is a sketch of the plant in Smith’s Bibl. Dict.

The bride's reply Sol 1:12 may mean, "While the king reclines at the banquet I anoint him with my costliest perfume, but he has for me a yet sweeter fragrance" Sol 1:13-14. According to Origen's interpretation, the bride represents herself as anointing the king, like Mary John 12:3 , with her most precious unguents. Spikenard - An unguent of great esteem in the ancient world, retaining its Indian name in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. It is obtained from an Indian plant now called "jatamansi."

The King, my royal Husband, sitteth at his table; either, 1. With the spirits of just men and blessed angels in heavenly glory, to which Christ was advanced after his sufferings, and from which he poureth down his Spirit upon his people. Or rather, 2. With me in his gospel and ordinances, in which Christ entertaineth his people, and is in a special, and gracious, and glorious manner present with them, Matthew 18:20 28:20 , which also is oft represented in Scripture under the motion of a feast or banquet, of which see Proverbs 9:1-3,5 Isa 25:6 Matthew 8:11 22:2 1 Corinthians 10:21 . My spikenard; the graces of his Spirit conferred upon me, and drawn forth by his powerful presence, which is here compared to those sweet ointments which the master of the feast caused to be poured out upon the beads of the guests, of which see Mark 14:3 Luke 7:38 , in which ointments spikenard was a chief ingredient, John 12:2,3 . Sendeth forth the smell thereof; which notes the exercise and manifestation of her graces, which is a sweet-smelling savour in the nostrils of her Husband, and of her companions.

12. While—It is the presence of the Sun of Righteousness that draws out the believer's odors of grace. It was the sight of Him at table that caused the two women to bring forth their ointments for Him (Lu 7:37, 38; Joh 12:3; 2Co 2:15). Historically fulfilled (Mt 2:11); spiritually (Re 3:20); and in church worship (Mt 18:20); and at the Lord's Supper especially, for here public communion with Him at table amidst His friends is spoken of, as So 1:4 refers to private communion (1Co 10:16, 21); typically (Ex 24:9-11); the future perfect fulfilment (Lu 22:30; Re 19:9). The allegory supposes the King to have stopped in His movements and to be seated with His friends on the divan. What grace that a table should be prepared for us, while still militant (Ps 23:5)! my spikenard—not boasting, but owning the Lord's grace to and in her. The spikenard is a lowly herb, the emblem of humility. She rejoices that He is well pleased with her graces, His own work (Php 4:18).

12 . While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof ] R.V. sat … sent forth . So long she says as the king was on his divan her spikenard gave forth its perfume. his table ] Heb. mçsabh or mçsçbh , probably a divan or seat set round a room. Ewald and Delitzsch, following the usual rendering of 1 Samuel 16:11 , translate “a round table,” but see Oxf. Heb. Lex . Here it would mean a seat, in some public reception-room probably, in any case outside the hareem. The meaning seems here to be that so long as Solomon was absent from her, her nard , “a figure,” as Delitzsch says, “for the happiness of love,” gave forth its fragrance. She was then free to let her thoughts go out to her rustic lover. In the succeeding verses her thoughts of him are compared to perfumes, myrrh and henna flowers; here the delight she had in thinking of him is likened to nard and its fragrance. my spikenard ] Heb. nçrd . Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible , p. 485, says, “Spikenard or nard is exclusively an Indian product, procured from the Nardostachys jatamansi , a plant of the order Valerianaceae , growing in the Himalaya mountains, in Nepal and Bhotan. It has many hairy spikes shooting from one root. It is from this part of the plant that the perfume is procured, and prepared simply by drying it.” sendeth forth ] This should be, gave forth . 12–14 . The Shulammite replies to Solomon’s wooing.

Verses 12-14. - While the king sat (or, sits ) at his table, my spikenard sent ( sends ) forth its fragrance. My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh, that lieth betwixt my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of Engedi. The preterite is best taken poetically for the present. The words are evidently a response to those of the king. As such they refer to present feeling and not to a past state. The bride expresses her delight in the king. The table is used generally. The Hebrew word is from a root "to sit round." The habit of reclining at table was introduced much later, during the Persian, Greek, and Roman period. The spikenard was a powerful perfume, probably of Indian origin, as the Indian word nalada , meaning "that which yields fragrance," shows. The Persian is nard , the Old Arabic nardu . It was made from an Indian plant, the Valeriana , called Nardo-stachys ' Gatamansi , growing in Northern and Eastern India. The hairy part of the stem immediately above the root yields the perfume. That it was "very precious" we see from the account of Mary's offering, which was worth more than three hundred denarii, i.e. £8 10s. ( Mark 14:5 ; John 12:2 ). Horace promised Virgil a whole cask, i.e. nine gallons, of the best wine in exchange for a small onyx box full of the perfume. The metaphor represents the intense longing of love. Myrrh was an exotic introduced into Palestine from Arabia, Abyssinia, and India.

Like frankincense, it is one of the amyridae. The Balsamodendron myrrha is the tree itself with its leaves and flowers. From the tree came a resin or gum ( Gummi myrrhae ), which either dropped from the leaves or was artificially obtained by incisions in the bark. The natural product was the more valuable. It was much prized as a perfume, and employed for many purposes. The Hebrew women were accustomed to carry little bags or bottles of myrrh suspended from their necks and hanging down between the breasts under the dress, diffusing an attractive fragrance round them. The word tseror is, properly, "a little bag," sacculus , "that which one ties up," rather than a "bundle." The meaning, of course, is rhetorical - He is at my heart and delightful to all my thoughts as the fragrance to my senses. The henna flowers, or cypress, in the vineyards of Engedi, is a very beautiful figure. Copher , the cypress cluster, - in Greek, κύπρος : in Arabic, al-henna ( Lawsonia ) - grows in Palestine and Egypt, as we are told by Pliny ('Nat. Hist.' 12:24). It is a tall shrub reaching to eight or ten feet, exceedingly beautiful in appearance, and giving forth a delightful odour. It is named from a root "to be white or yellow-white." The Moslem women stain their hands and feet with it to give them a yellow tint. Engedi was a lovely district on the west of the Dead Sea - Hazezon Tamar, now Ain Tidy , where Solomon made terraces on the hillsides and covered them with gardens and vineyards.