Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 1:13
A bundle of myrrh [is] my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night between my breasts.
13. A bundle ] From Isa 3:20 we learn that Israelite women were accustomed to carry perfume boxes. The bundle of myrrh here would seem to be something of that kind, probably a small bag with myrrh resin in it.
myrrh ] Heb. mr. It is the Balsamodendron myrrha of botanists, a low, thorny, ragged-looking tree, something like an acacia. It is found in Arabia Felix. “A viscid white liquid oozes from the bark when punctured, which rapidly hardens when exposed to the air, and becomes a sort of gum, which in this simple state is the myrrh of commerce. The wood and bark emit a pungent aromatic odour.” Tristram, Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 365.
he shall lie all night ] Rather, as R.V., that lieth. The clause is the ordinary relative sentence with the relative pron. suppressed, by which the attributive participle in English is expressed in Heb., and the translation should be, a bundle of myrrh lying all night between my breasts is my love to me, i.e. the thought of him abides with her and refreshes her heart as a perfume bag of myrrh would do. Cp. Shelley,
“Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved’s bed,
And so thy thoughts when thou art gone
Love itself shall slumber on.”
The translation of the A.V. is refuted by the parallelism. In the second half of Son 1:14, in the vineyards of En-gedi is an attribute of the cluster of henna-flowers, and so in Son 1:13, lying between my breasts is an attribute of the bundle of myrrh.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Son 1:13
A bundle of myrrh is my Well-beloved unto me.
A bundle of myrrh
I. Christ Jesus is unutterably precious to believers. Observe first, that nothing gives the believer so much joy as fellowship with Christ. In our esteem, the joys of earth are little better than husks for swine compared with Jesus the heavenly manna. I would rather have one mouthful of Christs love, and a sip of His fellowship, than a whole world full of carnal delights. What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the sparkling paste to the true diamond? What is a dream to the glorious reality? What is times mirth in its best trim compared to our Lord Jesus in His most despised estate? We may plainly see that Christ is very precious to the believer, because to him there is nothing good without Christ. Oh, what a howling wilderness is this world without my Lord! If once He groweth angry, and doth, though it be for a moment, hide Himself from me, withered are the flowers of my garden; my pleasant fruits decay; the birds suspend their songs, and black night lowers over all my hopes. On the other hand, when all earthly comforts have failed you, have you not found quite enough in your Lord? Do you remember when you were poor? Oh! how near Christ was to you, and how rich He made you! You were despised and rejected of men, and no man gave you a good word! Ah! sweet was His fellowship then, and how delightful to hear Him say, Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God! As afflictions abound, even so do consolations abound by Christ Jesus. Nor should I be straining the truth if I say that the Christian would sooner give up anything than forsake his Master. If it came to this, that you must deny Christ, or give up the dearest thing you have, would you deliberate? I think we could go further, dear friends, and say, not only could we give up everything, but I think, when love is fervent, and the flesh is kept under, we could suffer anything with Christ. I met, in one of Samuel Rutherfords letters, an extraordinary expression, where he speaks of the coals of Divine wrath all falling upon the head of Christ, so that not one might fall upon His people. And yet, saith he, if one of those coals should drop from His head upon urine and did utterly consume me, yet if I felt it was a part of the coals that fell on Him, and I was bearing it for His sake, and in communion with Him, I would choose it for my heaven. One thing I know proveth, beloved, that you esteem Christ to be very precious, namely, that you want others to know Him too. The more your love grows, beloved, the more insatiable will be your desire that others should love Him, till it will come to this that you will be, like Paul, in labours more abundant, spending and being spent that you may bring the rest of Christs elect body into union with their glorious head.
II. The soul clingeth to Christ, and she hath good reason for so doing, for her own words are, A bundle of myrrh is my Well-beloved unto me.
1. Jesus Christ is like myrrh.
(1) Myrrh may be well the type of Christ for its preciousness. It was an exceedingly expensive drug. We know that Jacob sent some of it down into Egypt as being one of the choice products of the land. It is always spoken of in Scripture as being a rich, rare and costly substance. But no myrrh could ever compare with Him, for Jesus Christ is so precious, that it heaven and earth were put together they could not buy another Saviour.
(2) Myrrh, again, was pleasant. It was a pleasant thing to be in a chamber perfumed with myrrh. Through the nostrils myrrh conveys delight to the human mind; but Christ gives delight to His people, not through one channel, but through every avenue.
(3) Moreover, myrrh is perfuming. It is used to give a sweet smell to other things. And surely, beloved, Jesus Christ is very perfuming to His people. Does not He perfume their prayers, so that the Lord smelleth a sweet savour? Doth He not perfume their songs, so that they become like vials full of odour sweet?
(4) Myrrh has preserving qualities. It was used to prevent corruption. What is there which can preserve the soul but Christ Jesus? What is the myrrh which keeps our works, which in themselves are dead, and corrupt, and rotten–what, I say, keeps them from becoming a foul stench in the nostrils of God, but that Christ is in them?
(5) Myrrh, again, was used as a disinfectant. And there doubtless is some power in myrrh to preserve from infectious disease. Well, brethren, certain I am it is so with Christ. You have to go into the world, which is like ,a great lazar-house; but if you carry Christ with you, you will never catch the world s disease.
(6) But myrrh was believed by the ancient physicians to do more than this–it was a cure–it did not merely prevent, but it healed. Certain it is that your Christ is the best medicine for the soul. His name is Jehovah Rophi–I am the Lord that healeth them.
(7) Myrrh was used in the East as a beautifier. The belief of Oriental women was, that it removed wrinkles and stains from the face, and they used it constantly for the perfecting of their charms. I do not know how that may be, but I know that nothing makes the believer so beautiful as being with Christ. He is beautiful in the eyes of God, of holy angels, and of his fellow-men.
(8) Myrrh might well be used as an emblem of our Lord from its connection with sacrifice. It was one of the precious drugs used in making the holy oil with which the priests were anointed and the frankincense which burned perpetually before God. It is this, the sacrificial character of Christ, which is at the root and bottom of all that Christ is most precious to His people. O Lamb of God our sacrifice, we must remember Thee.
2. Christ is called a bundle of myrrh, or, as some translate it, a bag of myrrh, or a box of myrrh. There were three sorts of myrrh; there was the myrrh in sprigs, which being burnt made a sweet smell; then there was myrrh, a dried spice; and then, thirdly, there was myrrh a flowing oil. We do not know to which there is reference here. But why is it said a bundle of myrrh?
(1) First, for the plenty of it. He is not a drop of it, He is a casketful. He is not a sprig or flower of it, but a whole bundleful. There is enough in Christ for my necessities.
(2) A bundle again, for variety; for there is in Christ not only the one thing needful, but ye are complete in Him; there is everything needful.
(3) He is a bundle of myrrh again, for preservation–not loose myrrh to be dropped on the floor or trodden on, but myrrh tied up, as though God bound up all virtues and excellences in His Son: not myrrh spilt on the ground, but myrrh in a box–myrrh kept in a casket. Such is Christ. Able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God through Him, is He still unto this hour.
(4) A bundle of myrrh again, to show how diligently we should take care of it. We must treasure up His words, prize His ordinances, obey His precepts, tie Him up and keep Him ever with us as a precious bundle of myrrh.
(5) And yet again, a bundle of myrrh for speciality, as if He were not common myrrh for everybody. No, no, no; there is distinguishing, discriminating grace–a bundle tied up for His people and labelled with their names from before the foundation of the world. Oh! blessed people whom the Lord hath admitted into His secrets! Oh! choice and happy people who are thus made to say, A bottle of myrrh is my Well-beloved unto me.
III. With a sense of Christs preciousness is combined a consciousness of possession. It is my Well-beloved. My dear hearer, is Christ your well-beloved? A Saviour–that is well; but my Saviour–that is the best of the best. What is the use of bread if it is not mine? I may die of hunger. Of what value is gold, if it be not mine? I may yet die in a workhouse. I want this preciousness to be mine. My Well-beloved. Have you ever laid hold on Christ by the hand of faith? But that is not the only word. A bundle of myrrh is my Well-beloved unto me. He is not so to many. Ah! my Lord is a root out of a dry ground to multitudes. They would sooner go to a play or a dance than they would have any fellowship with Him. They can see the beauties upon the cheeks of this Jezebel world, but they cannot see the perfections of my Lord and Master. Well! well! well! Let them say what they will, and let them think as they please, every creature hath its own joy, but a bundle of myrrh is my Well-beloved unto me–unto me–unto me, and if there is not another who finds Him so, yet a bundle of myrrh is my Well-beloved unto me.
IV. A sense of possession and a sense of enjoyment will always lead the Christian to desire constant fellowship. The Church does not say, I will put this bundle of myrrh on my shoulders–Christ is no burden to a Christian. She does not say, I will put this bundle of myrrh on my back–the Church does not want to have Christ concealed from her face. She desires to have Him where she can see Him, and near to her heart.
1. It is an expression of desire–her desire that she may have the consciousness of Christs love continually. Do not you feel the same desire?
2. But then, it is not only her desire, but it is also her confidence. She seems to say, He will be with me thus. You may have a suspension of visible fellowship with Christ, but Christ never will go away from His people really. He may close His eyes and hide HIS face from you, but His heart never can depart from you.
3. This is also a resolve. She desires, she believes, and she resolves it. Lord, Thou shalt be with me, Thou shalt be with me always. I appeal to you, brethren, will you not make this resolve in Gods strength this morning to cling close to Christ? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. He shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.] Mr. Harmer contends that it is the bundle of myrrh which the bride says shall lie all night betwixt her breasts, to which she compares the bridegroom, his name being as pleasing and refreshing to her mind, as the myrrh or stacte was to her senses, by its continual fragrance.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A bundle of myrrh; or, a bag of myrrh; in which there was a considerable quantity of the gum which droppeth from the myrrh tree. Myrrh is bitter to the taste, but sweet to the smell, and therefore was ever reckoned amongst the best perfumes. See Exo 30:23; Psa 45:8; Joh 19:39.
Is my Beloved unto me; he is most precious and comfortable to me, and the author of my sweet smell last mentioned.
Betwixt my breasts; in the place where bundles or bags of myrrh or other perfumes hang down, being fastened about their necks, which yet were taken away and laid aside by night. But the church intimates that she will not part with Christ, neither day nor night. Or this phrase may note the churchs intimate union with and hearty affection unto Christ.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. bundle of myrrhabundantpreciousness (Greek), (1Pe2:7). Even a little myrrh was costly; much more a bundle(Col 2:9). BURROWEStakes it of a scent-box filled with liquid myrrh; the liquidobtained by incision gave the tree its chief value.
herather, “it”;it is the myrrh that lies in the bosom, as the cluster of camphire isin the vineyards (So 1:14).
all nightan undividedheart (Eph 3:17; contrastJer 4:14; Eze 16:15;Eze 16:30). Yet on account of theeverlasting covenant, God restores the adulteress (Eze 16:60;Eze 16:62; Hos 2:2,c.). The night is the whole present dispensation till the everlastingday dawns (Ro 13:12). Also,literally, “night” (Psa 119:147Psa 119:148), the night ofaffliction (Ps 42:8).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
A bundle of myrrh [is] my well beloved unto me,…. These are the words of the church continued; expressing her great delight in Christ, and her strong love and affection for him, and therefore calls him “my well beloved”; which is expressive both of the greatness of Christ’s love to her, and of the strength of her affection to him, as well as of her faith of interest in him; hence she says, he was as “a bundle of myrrh” to her. Some think n sweet marjoram is meant, or an herb of a sweet smell, very much like it, called “marum”; but myrrh is commonly understood; and not twigs or branches of it but sprigs, or the flowers of it, bound up as a nosegay, and carried in the bosom; or better, liquid myrrh, or “stacte”, as the Septuagint render it, put in a bag o or bottle, as the word is rendered, Job 14:7; the allusion being to persons that carry smelling bottles in their bosoms, for refreshment or for pleasure. Now what these were to such, that, and much more, is Christ to his church; like sweet smelling myrrh, exceeding delightful and reviving, and make him very acceptable; his very garments smell of myrrh: and “a bundle” of this, or a bag of it, denotes the abundance of the odours of divine grace in Christ, who is full of it, which he communicates in great plenty: and now Christ is all this, not to any and everyone; but to his church and people, to whom alone he is precious, “my beloved is unto me”; which expresses not only the strength of her affection to Christ, and the value she had for him, and the delight she had in him; but the particular application of him to her own soul by faith;
he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts; “it” or “he”; the bundle of myrrh, or Christ, which comes to the same sense: by her “breasts” are meant her heart, where Christ dwells by faith, which is the best room the church has, and where she desires Christ might lodge; so Alshech explains it of being in her heart: and the time in which she would have him continue here is “all night”; meaning the night of affliction, temptation, c. or rather the whole time of this life, until the everlasting day breaks and so it is a desire of Christ’s presence with her, and of her having communion with him, as long as she lived in the world; and between her breasts, and in her bosom she desires he might be for an ornament to her, like sweet flowers, and for her delight and pleasure, refreshment and comfort; and that he might be always in her sight, and never be forgotten by her.
n Vid. Fortunat. Schace. Eleochrism. Sacr. I. 1, c. 51. p. 256, 257. o “folliculus”, Cocceius; “sacculum”, Marckius; “fasciculus, vel sacculus”, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
Which lieth between by breasts.
14 A bunch of cypress-flowers is my beloved to me,
From the vine-gardens of Engedi.
Most interpreters, ignoring the lessons of botany, explain Son 1:13 of a little bunch of myrrh; but whence could Shulamith obtain this? Myrrh, ( , to move oneself in a horizontal direction hither and thither, or gradually to advance; of a fluid, to flow over the plain),
(Note: Vid., Schlotmann in the Stud. u. Krit. (1867), p. 217.)
belongs, like the frankincense, to the amyrids, which are also exotics
(Note: They came from Arabia and India; the better Arabian was adulterated with Indian myrrh.)
in Palestine; and that which is aromatic in the Balsamodendron myrrha are the leaves and flowers, but the resin ( Gummi myrrhae, or merely myrrha) cannot be tied in a bunch. Thus the myrrh here can be understood in no other way than as at Son 5:5; in general , according to Hitzig’s correct remark, properly denotes not what one binds up together, but what one ties up – thus sacculus, a little bag. It is not supposed that she carried such a little bag with her (cf. Isa 3:20), or a box of frankincense (Luth. musk-apple); but she compares her beloved to a myrrh-repository, which day and night departs not from her bosom, and penetrates her inwardly with its heart-strengthening aroma. So constantly does she think of him, and so delightful is it for her to dare to think of him as her beloved.
The 14th verse presents the same thought. is the cypress-cluster or the cypress-flowers, (according to Frst, from = , to be whitish, from the colour of the yellow-white flowers), which botanists call Lawsonia, and in the East Alhenna ; its leaves yield the orange colour with which the Moslem women stain
(Note: Vid., the literature of this subject in Defrmery’s notice of Dozy-Engelmann’s work in the Revue Critique, III 2 (1868), p. 408.)
their hands and feet. (from , to interweave) denotes that which is woven, tresses, or a cluster or garland of their flowers. Here also we have not to suppose that Shulamith carried a bunch of flowers; in her imagination she places herself in the vine-gardens which Solomon had planted on the hill-terraces of Engedi lying on the west of the Dead Sea (Ecc 2:4), and chooses a cluster of flowers of the cypress growing in that tropical climate, and says that her beloved is to her internally what such a cluster of cypress-flowers would be to her externally. To be able to call him her beloved is her ornament; and to think of him refreshes her like the most fragrant flowers.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
TEXT 1:13, 14
b. Estimation of her Beloved Son. 1:13-14
13
A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night between my breasts.
14
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of En-gedi.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 1:13, 14
39.
Is there a comparison made here with the spikenard of Son. 1:12? i.e., is myrrh compared with spikenard?
40.
In what sense was the shepherd a bundle of myrrh to the maid?
41.
Why mention the bundle of myrrh between her breasts all night?
42.
Are we to consider the myrrh and the henna flowers a keepsake from the shepherd to his shepherdess?
PARAPHRASE 1:13, 14
13
A sachet of myrrh is my beloved to me; It shall lie all night in my bosom.
14
My beloved is to me a posy of henna flowers culled in the vineyards of En-gedi.
COMMENT 1:13, 14
Exegesis Son. 1:13-14
The term my beloved here used twice by the bride-to-be is used by her twenty-five timeseach time in reference to her shepherd-lover (Clarke). This is a beautiful metaphorbut what does it mean? Are we to believe she is treasuring the bundle of myrrh left with her by her beloved? To keep his presence near, does she often lift his sachet of fragrance from her bosom to overpower the scent of the spikenard? It is interesting to contemplateespecially when we know that myrrh carries a bitter-sweet association. It is sweet in fragrance but bitter to the taste. We do associate certain persons with certain fragrances. She can turn in her sleep and catch a breath of myrrh and smile as she thinks not of Solomon, but of her shepherd.
Henna flowers were sometimes white and sometimes of pastel color of very light brown to beige. They were fragrant and most popular as flowers for the hair. In the far-off oasis of En-gedi in the desert by the Dead Sea has my love gathered the most beautiful and fragrant of these lovely bloomshe left a cluster of them with me just before I was stolen away by Solomon. More precious to me are his flowers than all the riches of Solomon.
Marriage Son. 1:13-14
If we have not fairly represented the captive of Solomons chambers we do hope there is somewhere a girl like thiswhat a wife she would make! If we have given the girl we married the same care and devotion as the shepherd-lover we could expect the same responsebut not until, and only when we do. What keepsakes have we left with our wives? Something distinctively personal and full of fragrant beauty. In the midst of the multiplied tasks of the day and the sometimes overpowering pressures of life this dear girl we married wants, needs and deserves an oft given remembrance or two from you and me.
Communion Son. 1:13-14
Has our Lord left us anything by which we can remember Him? To ask is to answer. We could easily suggest His bread and His cupor His external words of love recorded in the gospels, or the Other Comforter. But we pause to contemplate how very lightly such dear sweet remembrances can be treated. It is our love, yea our deep, personal love for the One who gave them that impregnates His gifts with beauty and fragrance for us.
Would we overtax the figure to suggest that we could once again enter into a courtship with our Lord? Would you read again His love letters to yousometimes called the Gospels?
FACT QUESTIONS 1:13, 14
65.
How is the expression my beloved here used? What is meant by the metaphor of my beloved is a sachet of myrrh?
66.
Explain the figure of the henna flower.
67.
These verses have a most poignant application to marriage. Explain.
68.
There is in these verses a beautiful analogy as we relate them to our communion with our Lord. Discuss.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(13) A bundle of myrrh.The mention of perfumes leads the poet to a new adaptation of the language of flowers. For myrrh (Heb., mr), see Gen. 37:25. For various personal and domestic uses, see Psa. 45:8; Pro. 7:17; Pro. 5:13. Ginsburg quotes from the Mischna to prove the custom, alluded to in the text, of wearing sachets, or bottles of myrrh, suspended from the neck. Tennysons exquisite little song in The Millers Daughter suggests itself as a comparison:
And I would be the necklace,
And all day long to fall and rise
Upon her balmy bosom
With her laughter or her sighs.
And I would lie so light, so light,
I scarce should be unclasped at night.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. A bundle Better, A bag. Several writers mention the usage of eastern women of suspending a bag of myrrh or other perfume from the neck within the dress and in the bosom. Like such constant fragrance is the thought of her Beloved to her.
He shall lie all night This surprising clause is not found in the Hebrew, which merely says, It shall remain, that is, “the myrrh.” The translator of our version must have translated to fit some theory.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Son 1:13. A bundle of myrrh The orientals were accustomed to tie up myrrh in bundles, and to put them into the bosom to exhilarate the spirits. Some interpret the words tserror hammor, a wreath, or nosegay of flowery myrrh. See Bishop Patrick and Castalio.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. (14) My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
I bring both these verses into one view, for the sake of making one observation answer for both. A bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of camphire, are intended to convey the same thing, namely, the infinite riches of the Person and work of Jesus; and that everything in him is abundant and as the richest clusters. Myrrh is well known as a rich spice. It formed a principal ingredient in the holy ointment. Exo 30:23 . And perhaps in allusion to this, in the anointings of the Holy Ghost, the Church is said to be perfumed with it, when coming up out of the wilderness. Son 3:6 . And no doubt the Person and sacrifice of Christ is precious to the soul as myrrh, while we consider that Jesus in his oblation of himself to God, for the salvation of his people, offered himself for a sweet smelling savor. Eph 5:2 . But though, no doubt, by the church’s comparing Christ to a bundle of myrrh, might well be understood those and numberless other things in reference to the loveliness of Jesus; yet I rather think in this place is intended by the expression, an allusion to Christ in his sufferings. Myrrh was given to Jesus in the offered vinegar; and the bitter taste that there is in Myrrh, might be well suited to convey this idea. Hence, under this view, there will be a double meaning as suited to the representation of Christ; for both in his sufferings and all-sufficiency, Christ is altogether precious to his people: and the church might very properly call him a bundle of myrrh, for a fulness of every blessing, both in doing, and dying; both in himself, and in all his offices, characters, and relations is in him, and she might well say, that he should lie all night between her breasts; intimating the closest communion as an object of all others most desirable, during the whole night of her pilgrimage state, until the light of that everlasting day-break in upon the soul which shall have no night. And perhaps the church might allude in this expression of Christ’s laying all night betwixt her breasts, to the two Testaments, the old and the new, where indeed Christ may be said to lie, and where he is discovered by his people; for these are strictly and properly the breasts of the Church: so, in like manner, the cluster of camphire, though the figure is different, yet the subject is the same. The gopher (which some have thought means the Cyprus pine, and others the Cyprus tree, and others the grapes of Cyprus, and some the dates or fruit of the Palm-tree), hath a beautiful allusion to Christ: for the sweet savour and medicinal qualities intended to be denoted by the expression, are all applicable to Jesus. Our Lord himself takes himself the same figure, Joh 15:1 . And indeed, when we add to these several considerations, that the word Gopher hath another meaning distinct from all, and, literally might be translated atonement; in this sense there is an uncommon beauty in the thought, and the Church’s view of Christ under this character, is very striking. Engedi, it is said, was a remarkable spot for the production of Palm-trees. But we must not dismiss those verses until that we have particularly remarked that special right of appropriation which the Church makes in both, of Jesus as her own. In the former, she calls him her well-beloved; and in the latter, she repeats the same as her beloved. Reader! in every way, and in all points of view, Christ is lovely. What he is in himself, and what he is to his people; all is lovely. But faith finds a great sweetness when she can say, My beloved is mine, and I am his. Oh! for grace to know this, and to enjoy it; that while Christ is the only begotten Son, and well beloved Son of the Father, he may be our truly beloved also, the altogether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousand.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son 1:13 A bundle of myrrh [is] my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
Ver. 13. A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved, &c. ] The bride proceeds to return all the glory to her bridegroom (of all that good that he had praised her for before) by a second similitude here, and by a third in the next verse; for in this argument she thinks she can never say sufficient. It is the manner of maids to wear nosegays of sweet flowers in their bosoms, and to make no small account of them. Myrrh is marvellous sweet and savoury ( Psa 45:8 Pro 7:17 . See Plin., lib. xii., cap. 15, 16), but nothing so sweet as the Lord Christ is to those that have spiritual senses; Whom therefore the spouse here placeth between her breasts, that there hence the sweet savour may ascend into her nostrils. Again, Myrrh hath a bitter root; Mar 15:23 Christ seems bitter at first because of afflictions, but if “we suffer with him, we shall also reign together with him.” 2Ti 2:12 Thirdly, Myrrh was very precious; hence the wise men offered it to Christ at his birth. Mat 2:11 Christ is of that esteem with his people, “elect and precious,” 1Pe 2:6 that, as wise merchants, they make a thorough sale of all to purchase him. Mat 13:44-46 Lastly, Myrrh is of a preserving nature, and was therefore made use of at funerals. Joh 19:39 In like sort Christ, as he doth by his Spirit’s heat, exsiccate, or dry up the superfluity of our degenerate nature, whereby body and soul is preserved to eternal life; so, after our bodies are turned to dust, he still preserves a substance, which he will raise again at the last day. Hence the saints are said to “sleep in Jesus,” to be “dead in Christ,” who shall “raise our vile bodies, and make them like unto his own glorious body,” Php 3:21 in beauty, brightness, grace, favour, agility, ability, and other angelical excellencies.
He shall lie all night between my breasts.
a Acts and Mon., 1503.
b Acts and Mon., 149.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
bundle = little bag.
my wellbeloved. Masculine, showing of, and to whom she is speaking.
he shall lie = it (i.e. the bag of myrrh) will lodge.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
bundle: Son 4:6, Son 4:14, Son 5:1, Son 5:5, Son 5:13, Gen 43:11, Psa 45:8, Joh 19:39
he shall: Son 2:7, Son 3:5, Son 8:3, Son 8:4, Eph 3:17
Reciprocal: Exo 30:23 – thee principal Son 1:14 – beloved Son 3:6 – perfumed Son 4:5 – two breasts Son 7:7 – thy breasts
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Son 1:13-14. A bundle of myrrh Myrrh was ever reckoned among the best perfumes; shall lie, &c. This phrase may denote the churchs intimate union with, and hearty affection to Christ. My beloved is as a cluster of camphire We are not concerned to know exactly what this was; it being confessed that it was some grateful plant, and that it set forth that great delight which the church hath in the enjoyment of Christ; in the vineyards of Engedi A pleasant and well-watered place in the tribe of Judah, where there were many pleasant plants.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1:13 A bundle of myrrh [is] my wellbeloved to me; he shall lie all night between my {s} breasts.
(s) He will be most dear to me.