Thy plants [are] an orchard of pomegranates,.... These plants are the members of the church, true converts, believers in Christ; pleasant plants, plants of renown, planted in the church by Christ's heavenly Father, and shall never be plucked up; or, thy gardens, as it may be rendered n; particular churches, well taken care of and watered; these make an orchard, or are like one, even a paradise, as the word o signifies: it is generally thought to be a Persic word; see Nehemiah 2:8; but Hillerus p derives it from פרר, to "separate", it being a garden, separated and enclosed as before; one like Eden's garden, exceeding pleasant and delightful: and not like an orchard of any sort of trees, but of "pomegranates", of which there were plenty in Canaan, hence called a "land of pomegranates", Deuteronomy 8:8; many places in it had their names from thence, Joshua 15:32. To which believers in Christ may be compared, for the various sorts of them q, for their largeness, fruitfulness, and uprightness; saints have gifts and grace, differing from one another as to size, but all pomegranates, trees of righteousness; some are larger, and excel others, are full of all the fruits of righteousness; but all are, more or less, fruitful and upright in heart: and so the saints of the higher class may be here designed, as those of a lower are by other trees and spices after mentioned;
with pleasant fruits; that are valuable, precious, and desirable, of which an enumeration follows:
camphire, with spikenard; or "cypresses", or "cyprusses with nards" r; both in the plural number: the former may intend cypress trees, so called on account of their berries and fruits growing in clusters; see Song of Solomon 1:14; and the latter, because there are different sorts of them, as "nardus Italica", "Indica", and "Celtica": to these saints may be compared, because pleasant and delightful, of a sweet smell, and rare and excellent.
n Vid. Guisium in Misn. Sheviith, c. 2. s. 2. o פרדס παραδεισος, Sept. "paradisus", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Cocceius, Marckius, Michaelis. p Onomastic. Sacr. p. 291. q Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 19. r So Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.