Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Song of Solomon 4:13
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
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 sort of trees, but of “pomegranates”, of which there were plenty in Canaan, hence called a “land of pomegranates”, (<050808>Deuteronomy 8:8); many places in it had their names from thence, (<061532>Joshua 15:32 <061913>Joshua 19:13 <062124>Joshua 21:24). To which believers in Christ may be compared, for the various sorts of themf282, for their largeness, fruitfulness, and uprightness; saints have gifts and grace, differing from one another as to size, but all pomegranates, trees of righteousness; some are larger, and excel others, are full of all the fruits of righteousness; but all are, more or less, fruitful and upright in heart: and so the saints of the higher class may be here designed, as those of a lower are by other trees and spices after mentioned; with pleasant fruits; that are valuable, precious, and desirable, of which an enumeration follows: camphire, with spikenard; or “cypresses”, or “cyprusses with nards”f283; both in the plural number: the former may intend cypress trees, so called on account of their berries and fruits growing in clusters; see (<220114>Song of Solomon 1:14); and the latter, because there are different sorts of them, as “nardus Italica”, “Indica”, and “Celtica”: to these saints may be compared, because pleasant and delightful, of a sweet smell, and rare and excellent.
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