4. Draw me, &c.—I gathered from Thy messengers that Thou didst wish to draw me, and I immediately replied, We will run after Thee to be Thy wife. He has brought me, &c. And up to the present time I still rejoice, and am glad that I have been united to Thee. We celebrate, &c. Even now, though a living widow, I celebrate Thy love more than a banquet of pleasure and mirth. They love thee, &c. I and my forefathers, in their days, have loved Thee with fervent and upright love, without deception. This is the literal meaning according to the context. But, according to the allegory, Israel reminds God of the kindness of their youth and the love of their espousals (Jer. ii. 2), of their following Him in the wilderness, a land of aridity and the shadow of death, whither they took no provisions, because they believed in Him and in His messenger, and did not say, How shall we follow Thee in the wilderness, a place destitute of fertility and food? but went after Him, and "He brought them into his apartments:" that is, surrounded them with the protecting clouds. And even now, though in distress and affliction, they rejoice and are glad in Him and delight in the Law; and herein celebrate His love more than wine, and manifest their sincere attachment to Him.
5. I am swarthy, &c.—You, my companions, let me not be lightly esteemed in your eyes, although my Husband forsook me because of my swarthiness; for I am swarthy because of the tanning sun, yet I am comely because of the symmetry of my beautiful limbs. If I am swarthy, like the tents of Kedar, which are discoloured by the rain, in consequence of their being constantly spread out in the wilderness, I shall easily be washed, and be as beautiful as the curtains of Solomon. The allegorical meaning is, the congregation of Israel speaks this to the Gentiles,—I am swarthy in my own works, but I am comely in the works of my fathers; and some of my own works even are good. And though I am tainted with the sin of the calf, I have, to counterbalance this, the merit of accepting the Law. Israel calls the Gentiles "daughters of Jerusalem," because Jerusalem is to be the metropolis of all nations, as it is predicted, "And I will give them to thee for daughters" (Ezek. xvi. 61); and, again, "Ekron and her daughters" (Josh. xv. 44).
Rashi also says, that he had seen "a number of other commentaries
on this Song; some containing an exposition of the
whole Book, and others of separate passages, but they are compatible
neither with the language of Scripture, nor with the
connexion of the verses."[1]
1085-1155. The spread of this consoling allegorical interpretation in France and Germany was promoted by the commentary[2] of the distinguished R. Samuel ben Meier,*
