Thus, according to this allegory, Ch. i. 3, describes Jehovah's fame, which went abroad in consequence of the wonders he wrought when bringing the Israelites out of Egypt; verse 12 describes the departure of Moses to receive the two tables of stone, and how the Israelites, in the mean time, made the golden calf; verse 14 describes the pardon of that sin, and the erection of the Tabernacle; Ch. iii. 6-11, describes the passage of the Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, over the Jordan, their attacking and conquering the Canaanites, and the building of Solomon's Temple; Ch. v. 2, describes the Babylonian captivity; Ch. vi. 2, the deliverance of Israel through Cyrus; and the building of the second Temple; Ch. vi. 7, &c., describes the battles of the Maccabees; Ch. vii. 11, 12, the present dispersion of the Jews, and their future anxiety to learn the time of their restoration; Ch. viii. 5, &c., describes the resurrection of the dead, the final ingathering of Israel, the building of the third Temple, &c., &c.
"The beloved," according to the Targum, is the Lord; "the loved one" is the Congregation of Israel; "the companions of the beloved" (Ch. i. 7) are the Edomites and the Ishmaelites; "the daughters of Jerusalem" are, in Ch. i. 5, the Gentile nations; in ii. 7, iii. 5, viii. 4, the Congregation of Israel; and in v. 8. the prophets; "the brothers of the loved one" are the false prophets; "the little sister," in viii. 8, is the people of Israel; the speakers in the same verse are the angels; the speaker in viii. 13, is the Lord; "the companions," in the same verse are the Sanhedrim.
The following specimen of the Targum, on the first chapter of this Song, will give the reader an idea of the way in which the paraphrase develops the allegorical construction of this book.
1. The Song of Songs, &c.—The songs and praises which Solomon the prophet, King of Israel, sang, by the spirit of prophecy, before God, the Lord of the whole world. Ten songs were sang in this world, but this song is the most celebrated of them all. The first song Adam sang when his sins were forgiven him, and when the sabbath-day came, and protected him, he opened his mouth and said, "A song for the sabbath-day, &c. (Ps. xcii.) The second song Moses and the children of Israel sang when the
