The Song of Songs Author:Morris Jastrow Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Ill LOVE'S LONGING 7-8 (Beloved) O tell me, beloved of my soul, Where thou feedest; For why should I roam about,1 Among the flocks of thy comrades. (Lover... more ») If thou knowest not, Fairest of women! Follow the tracks of the flock,4 By the tents of the shepherds. 1 A dialogue between a shepherd and shepherdess with hemistichs of three and two beats. 1 i.e., thy flock. A variant hemistich—or a comment— reads: "Where thou leadest to rest" to which some one added "at noon" to suggest that the siesta at the middle of the day is an appropriate time for a meeting with the lover. 1 By an inversion of the consonantal framework one obtains the meaning "wander about as though lost," which is far more satisfying than "one veiled." See Daniel I, 10 where the same word in the sense of "lest" occurs in a phrase which suggests that instead of "why," we might render "lest I roam about," as a gentle hint to the lover that he may lose his prize, if he fails to send word where he is. 4 Be guided by the footprints of the flock and you will soon reach the right place. A commentator adds: "And pasture thy kids," to indicate that the maiden should come with her flock. It is also possible that this is a variant hemistich, in which case the "kid" would be an erotic allusion. A kid is the symbolical gift given to a harlot, e.g., Gen. 38, 17. See Haupt, Book of Canticles, p. 52. for other examples. IV THE DELIGHTS OF LOVE 9-17 (Lover) To a steed of Pharaoh's chariots I compare thee, my darling.' 10 Thy cheeks are comely (as) with trappings;4 Thy neck with strings of beads. Golden bangles 6 we will make for thee, With studs of silver. (Beloved) As long as the king was on his couch,7 His nard sent forth its fragrance. A bunch of myrrh is my love, Lying bet...« less