Chap. III. 1 When on my nightly couch,
I still sought him whom my soul loveth;
I sought him, but found him not.
2 I must arise now and go about the city,
In the streets and in the squares;
I must seek him whom my soul loveth:
I sought him, but found him not.
3 The watchmen who patrol the city found me:
"Have you seen him whom my soul loveth?"
4 Scarcely had I passed them,
When I found him whom my soul loveth;
I seized him and would not let him go
Till I brought him to the house of my mother,
consonant with the context. We have seen (ver. 9), that there were mountains separating the houses of the lovers, which the shepherd had to cross to reach the Shulamite; and as she told him to go back and return in the evening, it was evident that he had to cross again those separating mountains.
1. When on my nightly couch, &c. Through some means or other her beloved did not come in the evening according to request, and, unable to wait any longer, she retired. Her thoughts, however, kept her awake, and her confidence in him made her look for him even when on her couch. The words [HE: `al miS/^ek.obiy v^egv"] do not mean, "I sought him in my bed," at which unnecessary umbrage has been taken, but "Even when I reclined upon my nocturnal couch, I could not give him up; I still sought to find him." [HE: miS/^ek.obiy b.alEylvOt] means my couch used at nights, i. q. [HE: miS/^ek.ab hal.EylvOt], in contradistinction to [HE: miS/^ek.ab haxoho:rayim/], a couch used at noonday, 2 Sam. iv. 5. This is evident from the plural [HE: b.alEylvOt], in the nights, and from ver. 8, where the same plural is used to describe nocturnal marauders. The affirmation of Harmer, therefore, that no reasonable doubt can be made that these are the words of one to whose bed the beloved was no stranger, falls to the ground. The Sept. adds, [GR: e)ka/lesa au)to\n kai\ ou)ch u(pêkou/sen e)me\], from chap. v. 6.
2. I must arise now, &c. Seeing, however, that her beloved did not come, and apprehending that some disaster might have befallen him on his way, the Shulamite determined to go and find him. The [HE: —oh] in [HE: 'a:qv.moh] is expressive of self-summons and determination: "I said to myself, Come! I must arise now!" Comp. Ps. ii. 3; lv. 3; Gesen. § 128, 1; Ewald, § 228 a.
3. The watchmen, &c., found her whilst engaged in seeking her beloved, and she at once inquired of them whether they had seen him. The interrogative particle is here omitted. This is sometimes the case when the whole sentence, as here, is interrogative, in which case it is distinguished by the prominence given to the word upon which the force or weight of the interrogation more especially falls; as by the tone in which it is uttered, e.g. [HE: zeh Has^ed.^ek/o 'et_rE`ek/o], "This thy kindness to thy friend!" 2 Sam. xvi. 17; xviii. 29; Gesen. § 153, 1; Ewald, § 324 a.
4. Scarcely had I passed them, &c. The abruptness of the description here is very characteristic. She informs us that she had put a question to the watchmen, but, in her hurry to find her beloved, does not tell us the answer which she received. The con-
