A bundle of myrrh. — The mention of perfumes leads the poet to a new adaptation of the language of flowers. For myrrh (Heb., môr), see Genesis 37:25. For various personal and domestic uses, see Psalms 45:8; Proverbs 7:17; Proverbs 5:13. Ginsburg quotes from the Mischna to prove the custom, alluded to in the text, of wearing sachets, or bottles of myrrh, suspended from the neck. Tennyson’s exquisite little song in The Miller’s Daughter suggests itself as a comparison: —
“And I would be the necklace,
And all day long to fall and rise
Upon her balmy bosom
With her laughter or her sighs.
And I would lie so light, so light,
I scarce should be unclasped at night.”