John Gill Commentary Song of Solomon 8

O that you [were] as my brother
Or, "who will give you as a brother to me?" ^F17 an usual form of wishing, (Deuteronomy 5:29) (Job 23:2) (Psalms 14:7) . The church here not only requests that Christ would be like a brother to her, but appear to be really one, and to act the part of one towards her; with whom she might as freely converse as brother and sister may. Several Jewish ^F18 writers own, that the King Messiah is intended here; and in such a relation Christ does stand to his church and people, by virtue of his incarnation, (Hebrews 2:11Hebrews 2:14Hebrews 2:17) ; hence many of the ancients take this to be a wish of the Jewish church, for the coming of Christ in the flesh; and also through their adoption, he and they having one Father, (John 20:17) ; and by being of a like nature, disposition, and practice, (Matthew 12:50) (Romans 8:29) ; as well as on the score of love and friendship, (Proverbs 18:24) ; and this relation Christ fills up, by the intimacy and familiarity he uses them with; by his compassion on them, and sympathy with them, in all their afflictions; by the help, aid, and relief, he gives them; by his condescension to their weaknesses, and by his great love and affection for them.

As a further description of him as a brother, it is added, that sucked the breasts of my mother ;
which may denote the truth and reality of Christ's incarnation, being a sucking infant: and the near relation of Christ to his people, being a brother by the mother's side, reckoned the nearest, and their affection to each other the strongest: by her "mother" may be meant Jerusalem above, the mother of us all; and, by her "breasts", the ordinances, of which Christ, as man, partook when on earth, and now may be said to suck, as formed in the hearts of his people;

[when] I should find you without ;
or, "in the street" ^F19 ; in public ordinances, where Christ is to be found; or outside of Judea, in the Gentile world, where, after his coming in the flesh, his Gospel was preached, the ordinances administered, and he was there to be found; or in the most public place and manner, where she should not be ashamed to own him, his truths and ordinances, before men; I would kiss you ;
not only with a kiss of approbation, (Proverbs 24:16) ; but of love and affection, of faith and confidence, of homage and subjection, of worship and adoration; see (Psalms 2:12) ;

this is an usage with relations and friends, brothers and sisters, at meeting; hence Heunischius refers this to the time when the saints shall meet Christ in the clouds, who will be admitted to the nearest embraces of him, with unspeakable pleasure, and enjoy him to all eternity;

yea, I should not be despised ;
for taking such freedom with Christ, her brother. Or, "they would not despise me" ^F20 ; neither men nor angels, for such an action, and still less God, the Father, Son, and Spirit; which she might conclude from the relation between them, it being no more unseemly than for a sister to use such freedom with an own brother, even in the street; and from the reception she had reason to believe she should meet with from Christ: who would not turn away his face from her, when she offered to kiss him, which would occasion shame and blushing. The whole expresses her boldness in professing Christ, without fear or shame, in the most public manner.

FOOTNOTES:

• F17: (Knty ym) "quis det te?" Pagninus, Montanus, Marckius.
• F18: Targum in loc. Zohar in Gen. fol. 104. 1. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 73. 3. Caphtor Uperah, fol. 5. 2.
• F19: (Uwxb) "in platen", Montanus, Brightman, Marckius; "in publico", Cocceius, Michaelis.
• F20: (yl yzby al) "non contemnent, vel contemnerent me", Montanus, Brightman, Marckius.

I would lead you, [and] bring, you into mother's house
The general assembly and church of the firstborn is mother to the church visible, to particular churches and believers, where they are born, educated, and brought up; for which they have a great affection, as persons usually have for the place of their nativity and education. And here the church desires to have Christ with her; either to consummate the marriage between them, (Genesis 24:67); or to have the knowledge of him spread among her relations, those of her mother's house, who belonged to the election of grace; or to enjoy his presence there, with great delight and pleasure: the act of "leading" thither shows great familiarity with him, great love and respect for him, a hearty welcome to her mother's house; and was treating him becoming his majesty, great personages being led, (Isaiah 60:11); all which is done by prayer, in the exercise of faith: and the act of "bringing" denotes on her part the strength of faith in prayer; and on his part great condescension; see (Song of Solomon 3:4) .

Her end in all was, as follows, [who] would instruct me;
meaning her mother; the allusion may be to a grave and prudent woman, who, taking her newly married daughter apart, teaches her how to behave towards her husband, that she may have his affections, and live happily with him: the house of God is a school of instruction, where souls are taught the ways of Christ, the doctrines of the Gospel, and the duties of religion; nor are the greatest believers above instruction, and the means of it. Some render the words, "you shall", or "you would teach me" ^F21; meaning Christ, who teaches as none else can; he teaches by his Spirit, who leads into all truth; by the Scriptures, which are profitable for instruction; by his ministers, called pastors and teachers; and by his ordinances administered in his house; where the church desired the presence of Christ; and might expect instruction from him, being in the way of her duty; and to hear such marriage precepts, as in (Psalms 45:10Psalms 45:11) .

In return, the church promises Christ, I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my
pomegranate;
or, "wine of my pomegranate" ^F23; of which mention is made in Jewish writings ^F24 and by other authors ^F25: there was a city in the tribe of Dan, called "Gathrimmon", (Joshua 21:24) ; the winepress of the pomegranate, or where they made pomegranate wine. Spiced wine was much used by the ancients, and in the eastern countries: so Phoenician wine, or wine of Byblis, is said to be odoriferous ^F26; so the wine of Lebanon, (Hosea 14:7); the Babylonians had a wine they called nectar ^F1: spiced wine was thought less inebriating ^F2, and therefore the ancients sometimes put into their wine myrrh and calamus, and other spices ^F3; sometimes it was a mixture of old wine, water, and balsam; and of wine, honey, and pepper ^F4. Now these sorts of wine being accounted the best and most agreeable, the church proposes to treat Christ with them; by which may be meant the various graces of the Spirit, and the exercise of them in believers; which give Christ pleasure and delight, and are preferred by him to the best wine; see (Song of Solomon 4:10) (5:1) .

With the Hebrew writers, pomegranates are said to be a symbol of concord ^F5: the pomegranate was a tree of Venus ^F6.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (yndmlt) "docebis me", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, & alii; "doceres me", Brightman, Michaelis.
• F23: (ynmr oyoem) "de vino dulci mali granati mei", Montanus.
• F24: T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 143. 2. Maimon. Hilch. Maacolot Asurot, c. 7. s. 7.
• F25: Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 16.
• F26: (biblinon euwda) Theocrit. Idyll. 14. v. 15, 16.
• F1: Athenaei Deipnosophist. l. 1. c. 95. p. 32.
• F2: Ibid. l. 11. c. 3. p. 464.
• F3: Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 13, 16. Plauti Persa, Act. 1. Sc. 3. v. 7, 8.
• F4: Munster. Dictionar. Chaldaic. p. 22, 27.
• F5: Apud Chartar. de Imag. Deorum, p. 139.
• F6: Athenaeus, ut supra (Deipnosophist.), l. 3. c. 8. p. 84.

His left hand [should be] under my head, and his right hand
should embrace me .
] That is, when she should have the presence of Christ in her mother's house. Or the words are a petition that so it might be, "let his left hand" ^F7 ; or a declaration of what she did enjoy, "his left hand is under my head" ^F8 , (See Gill on Song of Solomon 2:6).

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: Tigurine version, Marckius, some in Michaelis.
• F8: Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis.

I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up ,
nor awake [my] love, until he please .
] The phrase, "by the roes [and] by the hinds of the field", used in (Song of Solomon 2:7) (3:5) ; is here omitted; not as if the charge was less vehement and earnest here, for the form of expostulation seems rather to express more earnestness: for the words may be rendered, "why will you", or "why should you stir up, and why awake my love?" ^F9 being apprehensive they were about to do it; and which she dissuades from, as unreasonable and dangerous, and might be prejudicial to them as well as to her.

The allusion is to virgins, that sung songs at marriages; one in the evening, lulling to sleep; and another in the morning, awaking and stirring up from it ^F11 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F9: (hm) , "cur", Montanus, Schmidt.
• F11: Vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 18.

(Who [is] this that comes up from the wilderness ?
&c.] Which words are spoken by the daughters of Jerusalem, occasioned by her charge to them, by which they were excited to look more earnestly at her, whom Christ had indulged with so much nearness to him; at which they express their surprise, and describe her by her ascent "from the wilderness"; that is, of the world, out of which she was chosen and called; and from a state of nature, out of which she was brought; and was rising up in a state of grace to a state of glory; ( See Gill on Song of Solomon 3:6);

leaning upon her beloved) ;
faith in Christ, whom her soul loved, and who loved her, is signified hereby; see (Isaiah 50:10) ; which is the grace by which believers lean on the person of Christ, for acceptance with God; on his righteousness, for justification; on his fullness, for the supply of their wants; and trust in his blood for pardon and cleansing, The word is only used in this place, and is differently rendered: by some, "casting herself" ^F12 on him; as sensible sinners do at first conversion, when they venture their souls on Christ, commit the care and keeping of them to him, and trust their whole salvation with him: by others, "joining, associating" ^F13 ; cleaving to him, keeping company with him, from the use of the word ^F14 in the Arabic tongue; so such souls give up themselves to Christ; cleave to him, with full purpose of heart; walk with him, and walk on in him, as they have received him: by others, "rejoicing" or "delighting" ^F15 herself in him; in the view of his personal glory, transcendent excellencies, inexhaustible fulness, and searchable riches: the Septuagint version is, "strengthened", or "strengthening herself on her beloved"; deriving all her strength from him, to exercise grace, perform duty, withstand temptation, and persevere to the end, conscious of her own weakness; faith, in every sense of the word, is intended;

I raised you up under the apple tree ;
not the words of Christ concerning the church, since the affixes are masculine; but what the church said concerning Christ, when leaning on his arm as she went along with him: so the words may be connected with the preceding, by supplying the word "saying", as Michaelis observes; relating a piece of former experience, how that when she was under the apple tree, sat under the shadow of it, (Song of Solomon 2:3) ; that is, under the ordinances of the Gospel; where, having no sensible communion with Christ for some time, he being as it were asleep, she, by her earnest prayers and entreaties, awaked him, and raised him up, to take notice of her; whereby she enjoyed much nearness to him, and familiarity with him;

there your mother brought you forth, there she brought you forth
[that] bore you ;
which may be said either concealing the Old Testament church, who conceived hope of the coming of Christ, waited for it, and was often like a woman in pain until he was brought forth, which at length was done, to the joy of those that looked for him; or of the New Testament church, hoping, looking, waiting for the second coming of Christ, in the exercise of faith and prayer, and is like a woman in travail, and will be until he makes his appearance; and both may be meant, the one by the former, the other by the latter phrase, and may be the reason of the repetition of it. It may be applied to the apostles of Christ, who travailed in birth, until Christ was brought forth into the Gentile world, through the preaching of the Gospel; and so to all Gospel ministers, who are in like case until Christ be formed in the souls of men; which is no other than the new birth, and is attended with pain like that of a woman in travail; and every regenerate person may be said, in this sense, to be Christ's mother, as well as his brother and sister, (Matthew 12:50) ; and each of the above things are usually done under and by the means of the word and ordinances; which may be signified by the apple tree, or, however, the shadow of it.

FOOTNOTES:

• F12: (tqprtm) "injiciens se", Cocceius.
• F13: "Adjungens se", Montanus; "associans se", Brightman, Schmidt, Marckius, Michaelis; so Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Joseph Kimchi, & R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel. Moed, fol. 19. 1.
• F14: "Raphak, comes fuit; rephik, comes itineris; socius", Golius, col. 1018, 1019.
• F15: "Deliciis affluens", V. L. "delicians", some in Mercerus, so Kimchi.