Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 1:14
My beloved [is] unto me [as] a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi.
14. camphire ] R.V. henna-flowers, the Lawsonia inermis or henna plant, from which Eastern women get the reddish yellow colour with which they stain their hands and feet (Tristram, op. cit. p. 340). It has a strongly perfumed flower which takes the form of yellowish white clusters. It is found to-day in Palestine only at En-gedi.
the vineyards of En-gedi ] Martineau seems to take these words as an indication that the lover had his vineyards there, but this is highly improbable. En-gedi means the fountain of the kid, and the place still retains the name Ain Jidy. To this day the rocks and precipices above and about the well are frequented by wild goats. “The plain of En-gedi,” says Dr Porter in Murray’s Guide, “is a rich plain about half a mile square, sloping very gently from the declivity of the mountains to the shore of the Dead Sea, and is shut in on the North by the cliffs of Wady Sudeir, which are the highest along the whole Western coast. About one mile up the mountain side, and at an elevation of some 400 feet above the plain, is the fountain from which the place gets its name. The water is pure and sweet though the temperature is as high as 81 degrees Fahr. The plain is very fertile, and anciently its vineyards, and palm groves, and balsam plants were celebrated, but now none of these are to be seen there.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Son 1:14
My Beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi.
A beautiful symbol
Terraced on the side of the mountains were the vineyards of En-gedi. Oh, they were sweet places! From a shelving of the mountain four hundred feet high waters came down in beautiful baptism on the faces of the leaves; the grapes intoxicate with their own wine; pomegranates with juices bursting from the rind; all fruits, and flowers, and aromatic woods–among the sweetest of these the camphire plant of the text. Its flowers are in clusters like our lilac–graceful, fragrant, symbolical of Jesus.
I. I will first show you that this camphire plant of the text was a symbol of Christ, because of its fragrance. If I had a branch of it, and should wave it in your midst, it would fill all the house with the redolence. The camphor, as we have it, is offensive to some; but the camphire plant of the text had a fragrance gracious to all. The name of Caesar means power; the name of Herod means cruelty; the name of Alexander means conquest; the name of Demosthenes means eloquence; the name of Milton means poetry; the name of Benjamin West means painting; the name of Phidias means sculpture; the name of Beethoven means music; the name of Howard means reform; but the name of Christ means love! It is the sweetest name that ever melted from lip to heart. Oh, rich and rare, exquisite and everlasting perfume! Set it in every poor mans window; plant it on every grave; put its leaves under every dying hearth; wreath its blossoms for every garland; wave its branches in every home; and when I am about to die, and my hand lies cold and stiff and white upon the pillow, let no superstitious priest come with mumbling fooleries to put a crucifix of wood or stone in my hand, but rather some plain and humble soul–let him come and put in my dying grasp this living branch, with clusters of camphire from the vineyards of En-gedi.
II. This camphire plant of the text was a symbol of Christ in the fact that it gives colouring. From the Mediterranean to the Ganges, the people of the East gathered it, dried the leaves, pulverized them, and then used them as a dye for beautifying garments or their own persons. It was that fact that gave the camphire plant of the text its commercial value in the time of King Solomon; a type of my Lord Jesus, who beautifies and adorns, and colours everything He touches. I have no faith in that mans conversion whose religion does not colour his entire life. It was intended so to do. If a man has the grace of God in his heart, it ought to show itself in the life. There ought to be this cluster of camphire in the ledger, in the roll of government securities, in the medical prescription, in the law-book. I tell you, unless your religion goes with you everywhere, it goes nowhere. That religion was intended to colour all the heart and the life. But, mark you, it was a bright colour. For the most part, it was an orange dye made of this camphire plant, one of the most brilliant of all colours; and so the religion of Jesus Christ casts no blackness or gloom upon the soul. It brightens up life, it brightens up everything.
III. The camphire plant of the text was a symbol of Jesus Christ because it is a mighty restorative. You know that there is nothing that starts respiration so soon in one who has fainted as camphor, as we have it. Put upon a sponge or handkerchief, the effects are almost immediate. Well, this camphire plant of the text, though somewhat different from that which we have, was a pungent aromatic, and in that respect it becomes a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the mightiest of all restoratives. I have carried this camphire plant into the sick-room, after the doctors had held their consultation and said there was no hope and nothing more could be done, and the soul brightened up under the spiritual restorative. There is no fever, no marasmus, no neuralgia, no consumption, no disease of the body, that the grace of God will not help. I wish that over every bed of pain and through every hospital of distress we might swing this cluster of camphire from the vineyards of En-gedi. Christs hand is the softest pillow, Christs pardon is the strongest stimulus, Christs comfort is the mightiest anodyne, Christs salvation is the grandest restorative. This grace is also a restorative for the backslider. For great sin, great pardon. For deep wounds, omnipotent surgery. For deaf ears, a Divine aurist. For blind eyes, a heavenly oculist. For the dead in sin, the upheaval of a great resurrection. But why should I particularize that class in this audience when we all need this restorative, for we have all wandered and gone away! (T. De Witt Talmage.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. A cluster of camphire] Mr. Hasselquist supposes this to mean a bunch of the Cyprus grape; but this is supposed to mean a shrub so called, not any production of the isle of Cypress; the best kinds of which were found at En-gedi. This place belonged to the tribe of Judah.
Perhaps the poet alludes to the dark colour of the hair, which by the Greeks was not unfrequently compared to the bunches of grapes; by no means an unfit similitude for thick black clustering curls. The following lines represent the same idea: –
[Persian]
[Persian]
“The dark black locks that ornament her neck
Hang thick and clustering like the branchy palm.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Camphire; or, cypress, as others render it. It was an odoriferous plant growing in vineyards, and some think that it was a most pleasant kind of vine, like that which bears muscatel grapes; yea, some very learned men understand it of that plant which dropped balm, which grew in or near the place here specified, as is affirmed not only by the Jews, but also by pagan writers, as Diodorus and Trogus. Nor are we concerned to know which or what it was; it being confessed and evident, that it was some pleasant and grateful plant, and that it sets forth that great delight which the church hath in the enjoyment of Christ.
En-gedi; a pleasant and well-watered place in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:62; Eze 47:10, where there were many pleasant plants, whence it was called Hazazontamar, 2Ch 20:2.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. clusterJesus Christ isone, yet manifold in His graces.
camphireor, “cypress.”The “hennah” is meant, whose odorous flowers grow inclusters, of a color white and yellow softly blended; its bark isdark, the foliage light green. Women deck their persons with them.The loveliness of Jesus Christ.
vineyardsappropriatein respect to Him who is “the vine.” The spikenard was forthe banquet (So 1:12); themyrrh was in her bosom continually (So1:13); the camphire is in the midst of natural beauties, which,though lovely, are eclipsed by the one cluster, Jesus Christ,pre-eminent above them all.
En-gediin SouthPalestine, near the Dead Sea (Jos 15:62;Eze 47:10), famed for aromaticshrubs.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
My beloved [is] unto me [as] a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi. Engedi was a place near Jericho, and famous for palm trees, as that was, hence called Hazazontamar, 2Ch 20:2. Pliny o sneaking of this place, which he calls Engadda, says, it is second to Jerusalem for fertility and groves of palm trees; and Josephus p observes, that there grew the best palm trees and opobalsam; wherefore Aben Ezra, and other Jewish writers, think that dates, the fruit of the palm trees, which grow in clusters, are here meant: and because the balsam tree also, grew in this place, as observed before from Josephus, and grew in the manner of vines, as others q assert; and this being said to, be in vineyards, some have thought that that might be in, tended; but what is valuable in it is a gum or tear, that drops from it, and not fruit in clusters, which it bears not: nor can it be supposed that what we call “camphire” should be meant, which grows not in clusters, and was unknown to the ancients; nor the “cyperus”, or “cypirus”, as Cocceius and others. The Septuagint version readers it “cyprus”: and there was a tree of this name which grew in Askelon in Judea, which, according to Pliny r, bore a white flower of a sweet smell; and which, in Italy, was called “ligustrum”, the privet tree, commended by the poets s for its peculiar whiteness; and the cypress tree is reckoned by Josephus t among the odoriferous trees which grew about Jericho, near to which Engedi was. The word here used is to be found in the Misnah u; and the commentators w on it say, it is the same which, in Arabic, is called “alhena”, the cypress tree, and refer to this place; of which Dr. Shaw x says,
“this beautiful and odoriferous plant, “alhenna”, if it is not annually cut, and kept low, grows ten or twelve feet high, putting out its little flowers in clusters, which yield a most grateful smell, like camphire.”
But, after all, perhaps the Cyprus vine is here meant, which, according to Pliny y, was the best and largest of vines; and which, though it grew in Cyprus, from whence it had its name, yet some plants of it might be obtained by Solomon, and planted in the vineyards of Engedi; or there were such there like them, and were called by the same name: Jarchi, from an ancient exposition of theirs, relates, that the vineyards of this place brought forth fruit four or five times a year; Alshech says seven. Now as Christ compares himself to a vine,
Joh 15:1; the church may compare him to a cluster of the grapes of the Cyprus vine, reckoned the best; there being a cluster of all perfections, divine and human, in him; and of all the spiritual blessings of the everlasting covenant, and of all the precious promises in it; and of all the grace of the Spirit, and the fulness of it, which is in him. The Jews calls a man, eminent for virtue, and a large share of knowledge, “clusters” z; and they interpret “eschol”, a cluster, by , “a man that has all things in him” a: such an one is Christ, in the highest sense, having all perfections, excellencies, and virtues, in him. Some leave the word untranslated, “copher” b, and which has the signification of atonement and propitiation; and so well agrees with Christ, who is the propitiation for sin, and has made atonement for it. Bishop Patrick observes, that the ancient Hebrew doctors, by dividing the first word “eschol”, found out the mystery of the Messiah; considering it as if thus read, , “my beloved is unto me the man that propitiates” or “expiates all things”; that is, all sins and transgressions: in the Talmud c it is explained,
“he, whose all things are, has atoned for my iniquity;”
which Christ has done for his church and people; and which makes him precious, and is matter of joy and gladness to them, Ro 5:11 1Jo 2:2.
o Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 17. p Antiqu. l. 9. c. 1. s. 2. q Justin. e Trogo, l. 36. c. 3. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 25. Vid. Foliot in loc. r Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 29. s Virgil. Eclog. 2. v. 18. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 13. Fab. 8. t De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. s. 3. u Sheviith, c. 7. s. 6. w Maimon. & Bartenora in ibid. x Travels, p. 113, 114. edit. 2. y Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 1. z Misnah Sotah, c. 9. s. 9. a T. Bab. Temurah, fol. 15. 2. Jarchi, & Ez Chaysim in Sotah ibid. b “copher”, Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Marckius. c T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 88. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) Camphire.Marg., cypress: Heb., cpher. There is no doubt of the identity of this plant with the Henna of the Arabs, the Lawsonia aba or inermis of botanists. Robinson found it growing in abundance at En-gedi (where alone it is found), and suggested the identification (see his Note, Researches, ii. 211). Tristram describes it thus: It is a small shrub, eight or ten feet high, with dark back, pale green foliage, and clusters of white and yellow blossoms of a powerful fragrance. Not only is the perfume of the flower highly prized, but a paste is made of the dried and pounded leaves, which is used by the women of all ranks and the men of the wealthier classes to dye the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, and the nails (Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 339). (Comp. also Thomson, The Land and the Book, p. 602, who, however, prefers to identify cpher with some specially favourite kind of grapes, but without giving any sufficient reason.) For En-gedi, see Jos. 15:62. It is the only place in Southern. Palestine mentioned in this poem, the other allusions (except Heshbon, Son. 7:4, which is in Moab) being to northern localities.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Camphire Hebrew, Cypress flowers. The cypress is very much like our lilac in size and appearance, and in the shape of its flowers. It is very fragrant, and its flowers, white and yellow on a red spike, are a favourite eastern bouquet.
Engedi A very fertile spot on the western shore of the Dead Sea, rich in the palm and the cypress; or, as the latter is sometimes called, the henna.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Son 1:14. As a cluster of camphire As a cluster of cypress flowers; the New Translation. By cypress here, is not meant the trees so called, but an aromatic plant which, Sir Thomas Brown tells us, produces a sweet and odoriferous bush of flowers; out of which was made the oleum cyprinum. See his “Observations on Plants mentioned in Scripture.” The vineyards at Engedi, near Jericho, were not so much for vines as aromatic shrubs. These the Jews cultivated for the sake of their gums, balsams, &c. in which they carried on a considerable commerce. Such shrubs were managed after the manner of vines. Hence the nurseries of them were called vineyards: see Bochart. Hieroz. tom. 2: p. 724. Hasselquist is of opinion, that Solomon here refers to a cluster of the Cyprus grape. See his Travels, p. 448.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Son 1:14 My beloved [is] unto me [as] a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
Ver. 14. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire. ] “My beloved,” and “unto me.” This particular application is the very quintessence and pith of faith. H C . It is the property of true faith to individuate Christ, to appropriate him to herself, as if he were wholly and solely hers. She adjudgeth him in special to herself, with “My beloved,” “My strength, and my Redeemer,” “My Lord, and my God.” This, when Thomas did, “Now thou believest,” said our Saviour. Joh 20:29 Were it not for this word of possession, mine, the devil might say the Creed to as good purpose: as any of us. He believes there is a God and a Christ; but that which torments him is, he can say my to never an article of faith. Wicked men likewise may Credere Deum, et Deo, sed non in Deum; they may hear with joy, and have a taste , yea, and apply the promises, but they do it presumptuously and sacrilegiously; because they accept not Christ upon Christ’s terms, take not whole Christ in all his offices and efficacies – would have him as a Saviour but not as a Sovereign – they make not a total resignation of themselves to Christ as Paul did Gal 2:19-20
As a cluster of camphire.
“ Et Venus in vinis, ignis ut igne, furit. ”
Even Venus in wine, so rages fire by fire.
a Plin., lib. xii. cap. 14.
b Sol., cap. 45.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
My beloved. Masculine. Same word as “well-beloved” in Son 1:13.
camphire = henna, or cypress flowers.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
beloved: Son 1:13, Son 2:3
camphire: or, cypress, Son 4:13, Son 4:14
Engedi: Jos 15:62, 1Sa 23:29, 1Sa 24:1
Reciprocal: Gen 12:11 – a fair 2Ch 20:2 – Engedi Ecc 2:4 – I planted