This and the next Song of Solomon 1:15-2 sections are regarded by ancient commentators (Jewish and Christian) as expressing “the love of espousals” Jeremiah 2:2 between the Holy One and His Church, first in the wilderness of the Exodus, and then in the wilderness of the world Ezekiel 20:35-36.
Or, to a mare of mine in the chariots of Pharaoh I liken thee, O my friend. (The last word is the feminine form of that rendered “friend” at Song of Solomon 5:16.) The comparison of the bride to a beautiful horse is singularly like one in Theocritus, and some have conjectured that the Greek poet, having read at Alexandria the Septuagint Version of the Song, may have borrowed these thoughts from it. If so, we have here the first instance of an influence of sacred on profane literature. The simile is especially appropriate on the lips, or from the pen, of Solomon, who first brought horses and chariots from Egypt 1 Kings 10:28-29. As applied to the bride it expresses the stately and imposing character of her beauty.
Song of Solomon 1:10, Song of Solomon 1:11
Rows ... borders - The same Hebrew word in both places; ornaments forming part of the bride’s head-dress, probably strings of beads or other ornaments descending on the cheeks. The introduction of “jewels” and “gold” in Song of Solomon 1:10 injures the sense and destroys the climax of Song of Solomon 1:11, which was spoken by a chorus (hence “we,” not “I,” as when the king speaks, Song of Solomon 1:9). They promise the bride ornaments more worthy and becoming than the rustic attire in which she has already such charms for the king: “Ornaments of gold will we make for thee with studs (or ‘points’) of silver.” The “studs” are little silver ornaments which it is proposed to affix to the golden (compare Proverbs 25:12), or substitute for the strung beads of the bride’s necklace.
The bride’s reply Song of Solomon 1:12 may mean, “While the king reclines at the banquet I anoint him with my costliest perfume, but he has for me a yet sweeter fragrance” Song of Solomon 1:13-14. According to Origen’s interpretation, the bride represents herself as anointing the king, like Mary John 12:3, with her most precious unguents.
Spikenard - An unguent of great esteem in the ancient world, retaining its Indian name in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. It is obtained from an Indian plant now called “jatamansi.”
Render: A bag of myrrh is my beloved to me, which lodgeth in my bosom.
Camphire - Rather, כפר kôpher,” from which “cyprus” is probably derived (in the margin misspelled “cypress “),the name by which the plant called by the Arabs “henna” was known to the Greeks and Romans. It is still much esteemed throughout the East for the fragrance of its flowers and the dye extracted from its leaves. Engedi was famous for its vines, and the henna may have been cultivated with the vines in the same enclosures.