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Contemporary English Version

Song of Solomon 1:14

you are flower blossoms from the gardens of En-Gedi.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Camphire;   Cypress;   En-Gedi;   Grape;   Thompson Chain Reference - En-Gedi;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Camphire;   Engedi;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Grapes;   Palestine;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Holy Ghost;   Jews;   Popery;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Camphire;   Vine;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Camphire;   Engedi;   Vine;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Camphire;   Engedi;   Flowers;   Plants in the Bible;   Spices;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Camphire;   En-Gedi;   Jeshimon;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Camphire;   Engedi ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Cluster;   Engedi;   Grapes;   Mercy-seat;   Mount engedi;   Vine;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Engedi;   Obsolete or obscure words in the english av bible;   Vine;   Zion;   Smith Bible Dictionary - En'-Gedi;   Vine,;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Camphire;   Cluster;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Camphire;   Engedi;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Beloved;   Cluster;   Dead Sea, the;   En-Gedi;   Henna;   Song of Songs;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Balsam;   Camphire;   Conversion to Christianity;   Engedi;   Gems;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,in the vineyards of En-gedi.
Hebrew Names Version
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms From the vineyards of En Gedi. Lover
King James Version
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
English Standard Version
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi.
New American Standard Bible
"My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms In the vineyards of Engedi."
New Century Version
My lover is like a bunch of flowers from the vineyards at En Gedi.
Amplified Bible
"My beloved is to me a cluster of henna flowers In the [fragrant] vineyards of Engedi."
World English Bible
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms From the vineyards of En Gedi. Lover
Geneva Bible (1587)
My welbeloued is as a cluster of camphire vnto me in the vines of Engedi.
Legacy Standard Bible
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossomsIn the vineyards of Engedi."
Berean Standard Bible
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
Complete Jewish Bible
to me the man I love is a spray of henna flowers in the vineyards of ‘Ein-Gedi.
Darby Translation
My beloved is unto me a cluster of henna-flowers In the vineyards of Engedi.
Easy-to-Read Version
My lover is like a bunch of henna flowers near the vineyards of En Gedi.
George Lamsa Translation
My beloved is to me like a cluster of henna flowers in a vineyard of Engad.
Good News Translation
My lover is like the wild flowers that bloom in the vineyards at Engedi.
Lexham English Bible
My beloved is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna in the vineyards of En Gedi.
Literal Translation
My Beloved is to me like a cluster of henna in the vineyards of Engedi.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A cluster of grapes of Cypers, or of the vynyardes of Engaddi, art thou vnto me, O my beloued.
American Standard Version
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna-flowers In the vineyards of En-gedi.
Bible in Basic English
My love is to me as a branch of the cypress-tree in the vine-gardens of En-gedi.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna in the vineyards of En-gedi.
King James Version (1611)
My beloued is vnto me, as a cluster of Camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
a cluster of Camphire in the vineyardes of Engaddi is my loue vnto me.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
My kinsman is to me a cluster of camphor in the vineyards of Engaddi.
English Revised Version
My beloved is unto me [as] a cluster of henna–flowers in the vineyards of En–gedi.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
My derlyng is to me a cluster of cipre tre, among the vyneres of Engaddi.
Update Bible Version
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna-flowers In the vineyards of En-gedi.
Webster's Bible Translation
My beloved [is] to me [as] a cluster of camphor in the vineyards of En-gedi.
New English Translation
My beloved is like a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-Gedi.
New King James Version
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms In the vineyards of En Gedi.
New Living Translation
He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of En-gedi.
New Life Bible
My loved one is to me like many henna flowers, in the grape-fields of Engedi."
New Revised Standard
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A cluster of henna, is my beloved to me, in the vineyards of En-gedi.
Douay-Rheims Bible
(1-13) A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.
Revised Standard Version
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Enge'di.
Young's Literal Translation
A cluster of cypress [is] my beloved to me, In the vineyards of En-Gedi!
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms In the vineyards of Engedi."

Contextual Overview

12 She Speaks: My king, while you were on your couch, my love was a magic charm. 13 My darling, you are perfume between my breasts; 14 you are flower blossoms from the gardens of En-Gedi. 15 He Speaks: My darling, you are lovely, so very lovely— your eyes are those of a dove. 16 She Speaks: My love, you are handsome, truly handsome— the fresh green grass will be our wedding bed 17 in the shade of cedar and cypress trees.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

beloved: Song of Solomon 1:13, Song of Solomon 2:3

camphire: or, cypress, Song of Solomon 4:13, Song of Solomon 4:14

Engedi: Joshua 15:62, 1 Samuel 23:29, 1 Samuel 24:1

Reciprocal: Genesis 12:11 - a fair 2 Chronicles 20:2 - Engedi Ecclesiastes 2:4 - I planted

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:2
The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water.
Genesis 1:3

The First Day

God said, "I command light to shine!" And light started shining.
Genesis 1:4
God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness
Genesis 1:6

The Second Day

God said, "I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it."
Genesis 1:7
And that's what happened. God made the dome
Genesis 1:8
and named it "Sky." Evening came and then morning—that was the second day.
Genesis 1:9

The Third Day

God said, "I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground." And that's what happened.
Genesis 1:12
The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good.
Genesis 1:14

The Fourth Day

God said, "I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

My beloved [is] unto me [as] a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi. Engedi was a place near Jericho, and famous for palm trees, as that was, hence called Hazazontamar, 2 Chronicles 20:2. Pliny o sneaking of this place, which he calls Engadda, says, it is second to Jerusalem for fertility and groves of palm trees; and Josephus p observes, that there grew the best palm trees and opobalsam; wherefore Aben Ezra, and other Jewish writers, think that dates, the fruit of the palm trees, which grow in clusters, are here meant: and because the balsam tree also, grew in this place, as observed before from Josephus, and grew in the manner of vines, as others q assert; and this being said to, be in vineyards, some have thought that that might be in, tended; but what is valuable in it is a gum or tear, that drops from it, and not fruit in clusters, which it bears not: nor can it be supposed that what we call "camphire" should be meant, which grows not in clusters, and was unknown to the ancients; nor the "cyperus", or "cypirus", as Cocceius and others. The Septuagint version readers it "cyprus": and there was a tree of this name which grew in Askelon in Judea, which, according to Pliny r, bore a white flower of a sweet smell; and which, in Italy, was called "ligustrum", the privet tree, commended by the poets s for its peculiar whiteness; and the cypress tree is reckoned by Josephus t among the odoriferous trees which grew about Jericho, near to which Engedi was. The word here used is to be found in the Misnah u; and the commentators w on it say, it is the same which, in Arabic, is called "alhena", the cypress tree, and refer to this place; of which Dr. Shaw x says,

"this beautiful and odoriferous plant, "alhenna", if it is not annually cut, and kept low, grows ten or twelve feet high, putting out its little flowers in clusters, which yield a most grateful smell, like camphire.''

But, after all, perhaps the Cyprus vine is here meant, which, according to Pliny y, was the best and largest of vines; and which, though it grew in Cyprus, from whence it had its name, yet some plants of it might be obtained by Solomon, and planted in the vineyards of Engedi; or there were such there like them, and were called by the same name: Jarchi, from an ancient exposition of theirs, relates, that the vineyards of this place brought forth fruit four or five times a year; Alshech says seven. Now as Christ compares himself to a vine,

John 15:1; the church may compare him to a cluster of the grapes of the Cyprus vine, reckoned the best; there being a cluster of all perfections, divine and human, in him; and of all the spiritual blessings of the everlasting covenant, and of all the precious promises in it; and of all the grace of the Spirit, and the fulness of it, which is in him. The Jews calls a man, eminent for virtue, and a large share of knowledge, "clusters" z; and they interpret "eschol", a cluster, by איש שהכל הו, "a man that has all things in him" a: such an one is Christ, in the highest sense, having all perfections, excellencies, and virtues, in him. Some leave the word untranslated, "copher" b, and which has the signification of atonement and propitiation; and so well agrees with Christ, who is the propitiation for sin, and has made atonement for it. Bishop Patrick observes, that the ancient Hebrew doctors, by dividing the first word "eschol", found out the mystery of the Messiah; considering it as if thus read, איש כל כופר, "my beloved is unto me the man that propitiates" or "expiates all things"; that is, all sins and transgressions: in the Talmud c it is explained,

"he, whose all things are, has atoned for my iniquity;''

which Christ has done for his church and people; and which makes him precious, and is matter of joy and gladness to them, Romans 5:11 1 John 2:2.

o Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 17. p Antiqu. l. 9. c. 1. s. 2. q Justin. e Trogo, l. 36. c. 3. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 25. Vid. Foliot in loc. r Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 29. s Virgil. Eclog. 2. v. 18. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 13. Fab. 8. t De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. s. 3. u Sheviith, c. 7. s. 6. w Maimon. & Bartenora in ibid. x Travels, p. 113, 114. edit. 2. y Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 1. z Misnah Sotah, c. 9. s. 9. a T. Bab. Temurah, fol. 15. 2. Jarchi, & Ez Chaysim in Sotah ibid. b כפר "copher", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Marckius. c T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 88. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This and the next Song of Solomon 1:15-7 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.

Song of Solomon 1:9

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.

Song of Solomon 1:12-14

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.”

Song of Solomon 1:13

Render: A bag of myrrh is my beloved to me, which lodgeth in my bosom.

Song of Solomon 1:14

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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 14. A cluster of camphire — Mr. Hasselquist supposes this to mean a bunch of the Cyprus grape; but this is supposed to mean a shrub so called, not any production of the isle of Cypress; the best kinds of which were found at En-gedi. This place belonged to the tribe of Judah.

Perhaps the poet alludes to the dark colour of the hair, which by the Greeks was not unfrequently compared to the bunches of grapes; by no means an unfit similitude for thick black clustering curls. The following lines represent the same idea: -

[Persian]

[Persian]

"The dark black locks that ornament her neck

Hang thick and clustering like the branchy palm."


 
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