Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 7:13
The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates [are] all manner of pleasant [fruits], new and old, [which] I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
13. The mandrakes give a smell ] Heb. had-ddh m (LXX, ), lit. ‘love plants.’ The mandrake is fully described in Tristram, Nat. Hist. pp. 466 ff. It belongs to the family of plants to which the potato belongs. The flowers are cup-shaped, of a rich purple colour. The fruit has a peculiar but decidedly not unpleasant smell, and a pleasant, sweet taste. In Groser’s Script. Nat. Hist., Mariti is quoted to the following effect: “The fruit when ripe, in the beginning of May, is of the size and colour of a small apple, exceedingly ruddy and of a most agreeable odour. Our guide thought us fools for suspecting it to be unwholesome. He ate it freely himself, and it is generally valued by the inhabitants as exhilarating their spirits.” It is mentioned here as denoting the time of year, May, the time of the wheat harvest, or for its pleasant smell, not, as in Gen 30:14-16, as an aphrodisiac.
and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits] Rather, over our doors. This would seem to indicate that in village houses it was the custom to lay up fruits on shelves or in cupboards placed above the doorways.
pleasant fruits] or, as R.V., precious fruits. Cp. ch. Son 4:13; Son 4:16.
which I have laid up ] This relative clause refers to the old fruits, as the new fruits were only now ripening. If Solomon were the bridegroom it is difficult to see how the shepherdess could have laid up fruits for him, as she had not been home since he carried her away.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 13. The mandrakes give a smell] See Clarke on Ge 30:14, where the mandrake is particularly described; from which this passage will receive considerable light. The reader is requested to consult it.
All manner of pleasant fruits] Fruits new and old; flowers and herbs of every kind which the season could yield. The literal sense, allowing for the concealing metaphors, is, I believe, of a widely different nature from what is generally given. But this must be left to the reader’s sagacity and prudence.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mandrakes: this Hebrew word is used Gen 30:14,15, and the signification of it is very much doubted and disputed by interpreters; of which see my Latin Synopsis on that place. But this is certain, that the word signifies sweet and pleasant flowers; and therefore if it be understood of mandrakes, they were of another sort than ours, as it is no unusual thing for flowers of the same kind in several climates to have very differing natures and qualities.
At our gates; either,
1. Growing there upon the walls, or in gardens, or orchards, near the door of our dwellinghouse. Or rather,
2. Brought thither by divers persons to congratulate and adorn our nuptials, or laid up for our entertainment, as may be gathered from the nature of the fruits, which were not only new, and growing, but also old, and laid up, as it here follows.
Fruits new and old; fruits of this year and of the former, that the variety might delight; which seems to be spiritually meant of the various fruits and operations of the Spirit and degrees of grace in several believers.
Which I have laid up for thee; which have been produced by my ministry for thy service and glory.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. mandrakesHebrew,dudaim, from a root meaning “to love”; love apples,supposed to exhilarate the spirits and excite love. Only here and Ge30:14-16. Atropa mandragora of LINNUS;its leaves like lettuce, but dark green, flowers purple, root forked,fruit of the size of an apple, ruddy and sweet-smelling, gathered inwheat harvest, that is, in May (Mariti, ii. 195).
gatesthe entrance tothe kiosk or summer house. Love “lays up” the best ofeverything for the person beloved (1Co 10:31;Phi 3:8; 1Pe 4:11),thereby really, though unconsciously, laying up for itself (1Ti 6:18;1Ti 6:19).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The mandrakes give a smell,…. Or, “those lovely flowers”, as Junius and Tremellius, and Piscator, translate the words; even those the church proposed to give to her beloved, when in the fields Some take them to be violets; others, jessamine; others, more probably, lilies g; as the circumstances of time and place, when and where they flourished, and their fragrant smell, and figure like cups, show. Ravius h contends, that the word signifies, and should be rendered, “the branches put forth their sweet smelling flowers”; and thinks branches of figs are meant, which give a good smell, agreeably to So 2:13; and which he supposes to be the use of the word in
Jer 24:1; and to his sense Heidegger i agrees; only he thinks the word “branches” is not to be restrained to a particular species, but may signify branches of sweet smelling flowers, and fruits in general. Ludolphus k would have the fruit the Arabians, call “mauz”, or “muza”, intended; which, in the Abyssine country, is as big as a cucumber, and of the same form and shape, fifty of which grow upon one and the same stalk, and are of a very sweet taste and smell; from which cognation of a great many on the same stalk he thinks it took the name of “dudaim”, the word here used, and in Ge 30:14. But the generality of interpreters and commentators understand by it the mandrakes; and so it is rendered by the Septuagint, and in both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, on Ge 30:14; but it is questionable whether the same plant that is known among us by that name is meant, since it is of a strong ill scented and offensive smell; and so Pliny says l of it: though Dioscorides, Levinus, Lemnius m, and Augustine n (who says he saw the plant and examined it), say it is of a very sweet smell; which though it does not agree with the plant that now bears the name, yet it does with that here intended; for though it is only said to give a smell, no doubt a good one is meant, and such Reuben’s mandrakes gave. And by them here may be intended, either the saints and people of God, compared to them for their fragrancy, being clad with the garments of Christ, which smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, and are anointed with the savoury ointments of the grace of the Spirit; whose prayers are sweet odours; and their works, with their persons, accepted with God in Christ: or rather the graces of the Spirit in lively exercise may be meant; such as those lovely flowers of faith, hope, love, repentance, patience, self-denial, humility, thankfulness, and others;
and at our gates [are] all manner of pleasant [fruits]; in distinction from the mandrakes and flowers in the fields Ge 30:14; and in allusion to a custom, in many countries, to garnish the posts of the door of newly married persons with branches of trees, and fruits, and flowers; and at other festivals, besides nuptial ones o, which made it inviting to enter in: and these “all manner of pleasant [fruits]” may denote the plenty, variety, and excellency of the blessings of grace, and of the graces of the Spirit, believers have from Christ; and of the doctrines and ordinances of the Gospel, which are for their use; and may be said to be “at our gates”, as being ready at hand, in the hearts of saints, and in the mouths of Gospel ministers; and open and visible, held forth to public view in the word and ordinances; and which are administered at Wisdom’s gates, the gates of Zion, where they are to be met with and had. And which are
new and old; denoting the plenty of grace and blessings of it, of old laid up in Christ, and from whom there are fresh supplies continually: or rather the doctrines of the Old and New Testament; which, for matter and substance, are the same; and with which the church, and particularly her faithful ministers, being furnished, bring forth out of their treasure things new and old, Mt 13:52;
[which] I have laid up for thee, O my beloved; Christ, whom her soul loved; for though the above fruits, the blessings, promises, and doctrines of grace, which she laid up in her heart, mind, and memory, to bring forth and make use of at proper times and seasons, were for her own use and benefit, and of all believers, yet in all for the honour and glory of Christ, the author and donor of them. Respect may be had to a custom with lovers, to lay up fruits for those they love; at least such custom may be compared with this p.
g Pfeiffer. Dubia Vexata, cent. 1. loc. 59. p. 79. h Dissert. de Dudaim. i Hist. Patriarch. tom. 2. exercit. 19. s. 9, 15. k Hist. Ethiop. l. 1. c. 9. l Nat. Hist. l. 25. c. 13. m Herb. Bibl. Explic. l. 2. n Contr. Faustum, l. 22. c. 56. o Vid. Plutarch. Amator. vol. 2. p. 755. & Barthium ad Claudian. de Nupt. Honor. v. 208. “Longos erexit janua ramos”, Juvenal. Satyr. 12. v. 91. “Necte coronam postibus”, Satyr. 6. v. 51, 52. “Ornantur postes”, v. 79. “Ornatas paulo ante fores”, &c. v. 226, 227. “Junua laureata”, Tertull. ad Uxor. l. 2. c. 6. p “—-Sunt poma gravantia ramos Sunt auro similes longis in vitibus uvae, Sunt et purpureae, tibi et has servamus et ilias”. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 13. Fab. 8.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) Mandrakes.Heb. ddam = love-apples. Suggested probably by the word loves immediately preceding, as well as the qualities ascribed to the plant, for which see Note, Gen. 30:14.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. The mandrakes give a smell Mandrakes are a bright, ruddy, and fragrant fruit, like a small apple, agreeable and exhilarating.
At our gates “In the garden near our door.” All these pleasures are described in lively anticipation. Her love has pruned and cherished many a plant that he might share its fruit.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Son 7:13. The mandrakes give a smell The New Translation renders it in general, The finest flowers give their fragrance. See Gen 30:14. The next clause may be rendered, And in our hoards are all kinds of delicious fruits, new gathered, as well as old. The gates in Judges were usually large buildings, and we may suppose the repository for fruits was either over them, or near them. Houbigant would read it, And amongst our golden apples (or citrons) are many sweet ones, as well new as old; that is to say, vernal and autumnal. Sanctius supposes that the passage relates to the custom in Palestine of decking the gates of newly-married persons with festoons of fruits and flowers.
Are all manner of pleasant fruits Dr. Russell tells us, as I have intimated above, that the English at Aleppo generally live at the gardens near Baballa during the month of April and part of May. Now I would observe (viewing the words at present in their literal sense), that if the sacred writer refers to such a sort of retirement in the close of this chapter, I doubt the word fruits should not have been introduced here. The original word megadim, apparently signifies precious things, of a very different kind from the fruits of a garden, in Gen 24:10. 2Ch 21:3. Ezr 1:6 but they cannot be things of the nature of those referred to there, which are here meant, as appears from the invitation to go into the field or villages to enjoy them. If then they be neither fruits, nor jewels of gold, which are here meant, why may we not understand the word as signifying precious plants in general; herbs and flowers, shrubs and trees? Thus the new and old megadim that were treasured up, will signify, a delightful mixture of new plants with those desirable ones which had been accustomed to grow in the gardens of Judaea. Great additions of precious flowers, shrubs, and trees, have been made to the gardens of Europe. Exotic plants also have been introduced into those of the East. Russell tells us, that the ladies of Aleppo are very fond of several European flowers which have been introduced into their gardens: and we learn from Maillet, that a bashaw of Egypt took great pains to preserve the balm of Matarchah. Cambyses carried the peach into Egypt; and it is thought to be past doubt, that the cassia, the orange and lemon kind, apricots, moseh, (a delicious fruit, but which cannot be kept,) the pomegranate, and the cons or cream-tree, are none of them natives of that country. And can it be imagined then, that when novelties have been in all ages introduced into gardens, and that in the east as well as the west, there should not be many such in the days of a prince, who not only planted trees of all kinds of fruit for pleasure, (Ecc 2:5.) but who also distinguished himself by the study of natural history, and of vegetables in particular? 1Ki 4:33. What is more, Josephus expressly tells us, there was a tradition, that the balsam for which Judaea was so celebrated, came from the queen of Sheba, who presented a root of it to Solomon. Antiq. lib. 8: Son 7:6. At our gates, or, as it is elsewhere translated, at our doors; at hand that is, will you there find all manner of precious plants. The words, understood in this sense, are by no means unnatural, especially if they be supposed to be those of the bridegroom. See the Observations, p. 410.
REFLECTIONS.1st, We have here,
1. A fresh commendation of the beauty of the church, addressed as a prince’s daughter, begotten of the King eternal, and espoused to the Prince of the kings of the earth. She had in a great variety of expressions described the surpassing excellence of her Lord, and he now, rejoicing over her on her return to him, launches forth into her praise. From the beauty of the human form, some faint traces are collected of the infinitely surpassing beauty of the soul, by divine grace renewed, and made all glorious within. The similitudes here used represent to us,
(1.) The ministers of the church shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and, with their feet beautiful on the mountains, hasting to proclaim the glad tidings of great joy.
(2.) The firm connection between the members of the body mystical, who are knit together in love, strong by their mutual union, and readily moving in the paths of the divine commands.
(3.) The preachers of the word, full of divine truth, as a goblet crowned with wine, and strong to labour in the cause of God.
(4.) The fruitfulness of the church, teeming with precious seed, and beautiful to view as the hedge of lilies.
(5.) The rich consolations which are bestowed from the breasts of the word, where all the children of the church milk out, and are satisfied with the abundance of her glory, Isa 60:3.
(6.) The strength of faith, and purity of manners, which distinguish genuine and faithful Christians.
(7.) The depth and clearness of their understandings enlightened by divine grace; and the calmness of their tempers, unruffled as the surface of a standing pool. (8.) Their sharp sagacity, and impregnable constancy.
(9.) Their glorious head, Christ Jesus; or their heavenly-mindedness, and elevation above the storms and tempests of this lower world.
(10.) The number and royal dignity of the faithful, who spring from their glorious Head, depend upon him, and are nourished by him.
2. Since she is so beautiful, Christ expresses his delight in her. The king is held in the galleries, well-pleased to take up his rest in the hearts of his people, and held by the strong cords of love to maintain abiding communion with them. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! all her words and ways pleased him, and she was in his eyes altogether lovely; tall as the palm tree, and her breasts as clusters of the vine; straight in her walk and conversation, and fruitful in all good works that make glad the heart of God and man. I said, I will go up to the palm-tree, to solace himself in the shade, or to behold its flourishing state; I will take hold of the boughs thereof, to gather the fruit, or to prune the luxuriant branches by afflictions and crosses. Now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, yielding the most grateful favour: and the smell of thy nose like apples; for Christ’s presence draws forth the graces into lively exercise, and makes them give their sweet smell: and the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved; her gracious discourse being refreshing and pleasing to the ear, as wine to the taste, that goeth down sweetly: or to righteousnesses, leading and directing her in the ways of holiness; and by its reviving influence, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak; as those who were faint, and their eyes closed, are recovered by a cordial draught; so the souls of those who slept in the death of sin are recovered by the word and spirit of Christ; and believers who had felt a diminution of grace are revived and restored thereby.
2nd, The spouse,
1. Expresses her confidence in her Lord, and makes profession of her fidelity to him. I am my beloved’s, wholly his, and not my own. Whatever excellencies I possess, they are derived from him; I have nothing which I have not received: I am his; I know, I am assured of it; for faith in lively exercise casteth out fear and doubt, and gives the soul the most assured certainty: and his desire is toward me; his affections are placed on his faithful people: for the whole world, but for their sakes especially, he came down from heaven, and loved not his life unto death, but underwent the bloody baptism, Luk 12:50. The company and converse of his church he is now pleased with; nor will he rest till the utmost desires of his soul are satisfied, and all his faithful people who perseveringly cleave to him, are brought to the enjoyment of his glory.
2. She invites him to come and give her the enjoyment of his presence: Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field. Wherever we are, we should desire Christ for our companion: if taking recreation, his presence will make the air doubly sweet: if engaged in the labours of the field, a sense of his nearness will beguile our toils, and make them easy. Let us lodge in the villages, retired from the noisy town, for solitude is the friend of contemplation; and they who would enjoy sweet communion with God must be often alone, speaking with him that seeth in secret. Or it intimates, that his presence can make the cottage a palace, and the place of meanest accommodations a dwelling of delight. Let us get up early to the vineyards; for those who have Christ with them must improve their opportunities, early seek him in their youth, early seek him every morning; for a slothful soul that dozes away the light of day, can never be in a flourishing state. Let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth; in what state the church and the several members of it are; whether our souls are putting forth the fresh blossoms of grace, and promising a plenteous vintage of every good word and work.
3. She promises to give him there her warmest affections: There will I give thee my loves; the desires of her soul being enlarged by his presence, and all her graces going forth in most lively exercise towards him. The mandrakes give a smell, (or, the loveliest flowers) which signify the fragrance of the graces of the saints, and their acceptableness to Christ: and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old; the abounding works of faith and love; or the doctrines of the sacred Scriptures from which the ministers of the sanctuary, as from a storehouse, draw forth the richest provision for the soul; which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved; for though the provision be made for all who are called to partake of the advantages resulting from the oracles of God, and more especially for the members of his church, yet doth it ultimately tend to his glory. Note; All that we have is Christ’s; it is a poor all indeed, and unworthy of his acceptance; but a gracious soul delights to lay it, such as it is, at his feet, and feels the deepest gratitude that he condescends to accept the service.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
The mandrakes we read of in the early ages of the church, it should seem was an highly desired fruit. With the present of some Leah purchased the company of her husband from Rachel: see Gen 30:14-15 . But of what property or quality I stay not to enquire, but as the church here professeth to her Lord, that they gave a smell, and that with these she had also laid up for him all manner of pleasant fruits, we may gather from the whole how ardently she longed for sweet communion with Jesus, and what blessedness she was hoping for, from his spiritual company. But what was, and is, and ever must be, during a life of grace, most pleasant to the Lord Jesus, are the fruits of his own most Holy Spirit. These are the mandrakes, the lovely flowers of Jesus; for they are his by original gift, and by his purchased redemption. He hath planted them by sovereign grace at our gates. Oh Lord! how blessed is it to have them, even the fruits of faith and love, with all the graces of thy Holy Spirit. Come then, Lord, I would say for myself and Reader, let us go forth, blessed Jesus; and do thou lodge with us, and grant us to lodge with thee. All, Lord, is thine, and of thine own do we give thee.
REFLECTIONS
BLESSED and all-lovely Lord Jesus! is it possible that thy church can be so fair in thine eyes, as that her very feet are beautiful to her Lord? Surely, Lord, it is thou that must have made her so; for when thou camest from heaven to seek and save thy people, thou didst find the whole nature of man sunk and degraded by sin and uncleanness. But now thou hast washed thy church in thy blood and adorned her with thy spotless garment of righteousness, she is indeed the king’s daughter, all glorious within. And seeing then, that it is in thee, and by thee, and from thee, that all the beauties and loveliness of thy church are derived; methinks I would hold thee in the galleries of thy grace, and plead and wrestle with my God and Saviour, with an earnestness not to be resisted by my Lord; but like the Father of the seed of Jacob, tell thee, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
And doth my Lord regard the supplication of his poor petitioner? Doth Jesus indeed say to me, as to the church of old, that he will go up to the palm-tree, and that he will take hold of the boughs thereof? Doth Jesus say, that he will give me the best wine, that shall go down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. Oh! thou, gracious condescending Lord! if thou will thus pour out of the sweet influences of thy Spirit, thy love will be better to me than wine, for by it my poor dead soul, under all her dying circumstances, will revive; and I shall go forth and speak of thy love, thy truth and righteousness. While Jesus is with me and blessing me, I shall feel such an enlargement of heart, that my mouth will spread abroad thy name, and make mention of thy righteousness, even thine only. And surely, Lord, I may hope this, I may look for these sweet visits of thy love, for thou hast taken me into the nearest covenant-connections with thee, for I am thine, and thy desire is towards me. Yes! Precious, precious Lord! thy desire hath been towards thy people from everlasting. And what it was from everlasting so must it be to everlasting. Thou hast all along desired the salvation of all the Father hath given thee. Thou hast waited to be gracious. Thou hast longed for the hour of redemption appointed for every individual soul for whom thou hast died. Thou art now continually desiring to manifest thyself to them. And, Lord, I am fully persuaded that the desire of thy soul will not be fully satisfied, until thou hast brought all, and everyone of them unto thyself in glory. Oh! the unspeakable felicity of that day, when thou shalt have brought home thy whole church, that where thou art, there they shall be also.
Come, Lord, then I beseech thee, for thou art my beloved, come with me into the fields of thy holy word, and let us lodge together in the villages of the saints, and get up to the vineyards of thy churches; for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah is thy pleasant plant. All must flourish in thee, O Lord, which are branches in thee; both grapes and pomegranates, young believers and old saints, will put forth their graces, when excited by thy quickening and reviving influence. There, Lord, doth my soul desire to tell thee how exceedingly I love thee, and how ardently I long after thee. O! that the mandrakes may be perfumed with the fragrancy of thy incense, and all the fruits of the Spirit may be in such lively exercise in my soul, that I may show forth thy praises, and manifest thy glory to all around.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son 7:13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates [are] all manner of pleasant [fruits], new and old, [which] I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
Ver. 13. The mandrakes give a smell. ] Loves and mandrakes grow both upon one Hebrew root and Tremellius renders it not mandrakes, but lovely flowers, yielding a savour pleasant to the eye, and sweet to the smell. The Chaldee paraphrast calleth it balsam. ( Legesis August. lib. xxii. contra Faust. Manichaeum, cap. lvi.; Jun. in Gen 30:14 ; Drus. in fine Comment. in Ruth). Aben Ezra saith that mandrakes are fragrant, and yield a pleasant savour; that they have head and hands like unto a man. But how they should be good to cause conception he wondereth, since by nature they are cold. Augustine saith that he made trial, and could not find any such operation to be in them, and that Rachel coveted them merely for their rarity, beauty, and sweetness. There is enough of these in the Church to draw all hearts unto her; but that many men have brawny breasts and horny heart strings.
And at our gates are all manner of pleasants
New and old.
Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved!
a , Mat 13:52 Extrudit copiose et alacriter.
b , , dixit ille Graeculus Augusto.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
give a smell = diffuse their fragrance.
our gates = our gateways.
laid up = reserved.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
mandrakes: Gen 30:14
at our: Son 4:16, Son 5:1, Joh 15:8, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23, Eph 5:9, Phi 1:11
new: Mat 13:52
I have: Isa 23:18, Isa 60:6, Isa 60:7, Mat 25:40, Rom 15:25-27, 1Co 2:9, 1Co 16:2, 1Co 8:8, 1Co 8:9, Col 3:17, 1Pe 4:11
Reciprocal: Gen 27:27 – the smell of a field Psa 16:3 – the excellent Son 2:16 – beloved
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Son 7:13. The mandrakes This Hebrew word is used Gen 30:14-15, and the signification of it is very much doubted and disputed by interpreters. The word here signifies sweet and pleasant flowers, and therefore if it be understood of mandrakes, they were of another sort than ours, as flowers of the same kind, in several climates, have very different natures and qualities. At our gates Brought thither by divers persons to congratulate our nuptials. New and old fruits Fruits of this year and of the former; which seems to be meant of the various fruits and operations of the Spirit, and degrees of grace in several believers.