And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
Upon the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had withdrawn, was gone!
My soul departed when he spoke of it!
I sought him, and found him not;
I called him, and he answered me not.
7 The watchmen who patrol the city found me:
They beat me, they wounded me;
in contact with the liquid myrrh which her beloved had poured upon the bolts, and which dropped from her fingers. So Immanuel, [HE: ky Srxty lptH ldvdy vng`ty bydy bmqvm/ 'Sr ng` bv dvdy kSSlH ydv mn/ hHvr ntbSmv ydy vqblv mn/ hryH Shyh bydy dvdy `d S`bvr] Lovers, in ancient times, whilst suing for admission, used to ornament the door with wreaths, and perfume it with aromatics. Thus Lucretius, iv. 1171,
At lacrimans exclusus amator limina sæpe
Floribus, et sertis operit, posteisque superbos
Unguit amaracino, et foribus miser oscula figit.
"Then, too, the wretched lover oft abroad
Bars she, who at her gate loud weeping stands,
Kissing the walls that clasp her; with perfumes
Bathing the splendid portals, and around
Scattering rich wreaths and odoriferous flowers."
Comp. also Tibul. i. 2, 14. So Herder, Kleuker, Ewald, Döpke, Rosenmüller, Philippson, &c.; Rashbam however is of opinion that the liquid myrrh which distilled from the Shulamite's hand, was the perfume with which she had anointed herself after washing. Whilst Percy supposes that "she got up in such haste, that she spilt upon her hand the vessel of liquid myrrh, which she had brought to anoint and refresh his head, after having been exposed to the inclemencies of the night. [HE: mvOr `ObEr], liquid myrrh, see i. 2; and not, as Le Clerc eroneously supposes, current myrrh, that kind of myrrh which is most passable in traffic. The Vulg. has, Et digiti mei pleni myrrha probatissima, evidently mistaking the prep. [HE: `al] for [HE: mol^e'v.], and takes the words [HE: k.ap.vOt ham.an^e`v.l] over to the following verse, Pessulum ostii mei aperui dilecto meo.
6. My beloved had withdrawn, &c. To her great grief she found, when opening, that her beloved had gone. The asyndeton [HE: Homaq `obar] is very expressive, and the use of the two synonymous terms strengthens the sense. This figure, which is effected by the omission of the conjunctive particle, is used in animated descriptions, both by sacred and profane writers. Comp. [GR: Siô/pa], [GR: pephi/môso], Mark iv, 39. Winer, New Testament Gram. § 66, 4. The phrase [HE: yoxo' nepeS/], properly denoting the departure of the soul from the body, (Gesen. xxxv. 18; Ps. cxlvi. 4,) like [HE: yoxo' lEb], is used to express the momentary loss of the senses, i.e. to faint. [HE: b.^edab.^ervO], in his speaking, i.e. when he had spoken of it, (Judg. viii. 3; 1 Sam. xvii. 28), i.e. of his going away: so Rashi, [HE: S'mr l' 'b' 'l bytk/ ky mtHylh l' 'byt lptvH], "Because he said I will not now enter thy house, for thou didst at first refuse to open me," and Immanuel, [HE: npSy yx'h bdbrv 'ly hnny hvlk/ ldrky 'Hry Sl' tptHty hdlt]. "My soul departed when he told me, Now I am going away, because thou wouldst not open me the door." We must employ a finite verb with a conjunction to express in English the Hebrew construction of the infinitive with a preposition, and the relation of time must be gathered from the connection, Gesen. § 132, 2, 3.
7. The watchmen who patrol the city, &c. That the seeking and calling mentioned in the last verse were not confined to the door, is evident from this verse. [HE: p^exo`v.niy], [HE: hik.v.niy] are again an asyndeton. [HE: rodiyd], which occurs only once more, Is. iii. 23, is a kind of veil-garment, which Oriental ladies still wear, and denotes more properly an out-door
