Song of Solomon 4:13

“Thy plants [are] an orchard of pomegranates, etc.] These plants are the members of the church, true converts, believers in Christ; pleasant plants, plants of renown, planted in the church by Christ’s heavenly Father, and shall never be plucked up; or, thy gardens, as it may be renderedf279; particular churches, well taken care of and watered; these make an orchard, or are like one, even a paradise, as the wordf280 signifies: it is generally thought to be a Persic word; (see <160208>Nehemiah 2:8); but Hillerusf281 derives it from rrp, to “separate”, it being a garden, separated and enclosed as before; one like Eden’s garden, exceeding pleasant and delightful: and not like an orchard of any…”

“The loveliness and purity of the bride are now set forth under the image of a paradise or garden fast barred against intruders, filled with rarest plants of excellent fragrance, and watered by abundant streams. Compare Proverbs 5:15-20. Song of Solomon 4:12 A fountain sealed - i. e., A well-spring covered with a stone Genesis 29:3, and sealed with “the king’s own signet” (Daniel 6:17; compare Matthew 27:66). Song of Solomon 4:13 Orchard - This is the renderlng here and in Ecclesiastes 2:5 of “pardes” (see Nehemiah 2:8 note). The pomegranate was for the Jews a sacred fruit, and a characteristic product of the land of promise (compare Exodus 28:33-34; Numbers 20:5; Deuteronomy 8:8; 1 Kings…”

“Plants - Believers, which are planted in thee, are like the plants or fruits of an orchard, which are pleasant to the eye, and delicious to the taste or smell, whereby he signifies the variety and excellency of the gifts and graces in the several members of the church. Spikenard - Which he mentions here with camphire, and in the next verse with saffron, because it is mixed with both these, and being so mixed, yields. the more grateful smell. Song of Solomon (Canticles) 4:14”

“4:13-14 The man’s description of his lover now focuses on the most exquisite place of delight between her thighs.”

“are: Sol 6:11, Sol 7:12, Sol 8:2; Psa 92:14; Ecc 2:5; Isa 60:21, Isa 61:11; Joh 15:1-3; Phi 1:11 pleasant: Sol 6:2 camphire: or, cypress, Sol 4:14, Sol 1:14 spikenard: Sol 1:12; Mar 14:3; Joh 12:3 Song of Solomon (Canticles) 4:14”

“13 What sprouts forth for thee is a park of pomegranates, With most excellent fruits; Cypress flowers with nards; 14 Nard and crocus; calamus and cinnamon, With all kinds of incense trees; Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief aromatics. The common subject to all down to Sol 4:15 inclusive is שׁלחיך ("what sprouts for thee" = "thy plants"), as a figurative designation, borrowed from plants, of all the "phenomena and life utterances" (Bttch.) of her personality. "If I only knew here," says Rocke, "how to disclose the meaning, certainly all these flowers and fruits, in the figurative language of the Orient, in the flower-language of love, had their beautiful interpretation." In the old German…”