Like a part of the pomegranate
Are thy cheeks behind thy veil;
4 Thy neck is like the tower of David,
Reared for the builder's model:
A thousand shields are hung upon it,
gratuitous: for an individual may have lips like scarlet, and yet not have a lovely mouth. The [HE: m] in [HE: mid^eb.or], added to the root [HE: dobar], to speak, in order to form the noun, denotes the instrument with which one speaks: compare [HE: maz^elEg], an instrument with which to draw out = a fork, from [HE: zolag], to draw out; [HE: map^et.EHa], an instrument for opening = a key, from [HE: p.otaH], to open, Gesen. § 84, 14; Ewald, § 160, 6. This corroborates the rendering we defended.
Like a part of, &c. That is, the rosy cheeks visible beneath the veil resemble the vermilioned part of the pomegranate. Eastern poets frequently compare the colour of the cheeks with pomegranates and apples. Thus in a Persian ode quoted by Sir William Jones: "The pomegranate brings to my mind the blushes of my beloved, when her cheeks are covered with a modest resentment:" and Ibn Challecan, as adduced by Magnus in loco: "Believest thou that the apple can divert my looks from thee, when I behold thy cheeks?" Ibn Ezra, who is followed by some modern commentators, explains [HE: p.elaH] by [HE: xyx/ hrmvn/ h'dvm/], the red flower of the pomegrante; but this is contrary to 2 Kings iv. 39, where the root [HE: plH] is used for dissecting fruit, and 1 Sam. xxx. 12. Others again take the simile to be between the interior of the pomegranate, when cut or burst open, and the cheeks; but this being flat would by no means represent the round form of the coloured cheek here referred to. The comparison appears natural, striking, and beautiful, according to Rashi's explanation of [HE: p.elaH], viz. [HE: Hxy rmvn/ SbHvx/ Shv' 'dvm/], that external half of the pomegranate which is red, one half of the pomegranate being brown, and the other beautifully vermilioned, intermixed with yellow and white; and it is to the latter part to which reference is here made. So the Sept. [GR: le/puron], the peel, or the external. Rashbam, Döpke, Hitzig.
4. Thy neck is like, &c. That is, "The erect and bold carriage of thy neck, decked with ornaments, resembles that high, commanding tower, adorned with trophies." Though the text supplies us with no clue for finding out what tower this was, yet the comparison implies that it must have been one well known and celebrated for its imposing aspect and symmetrical proportions. Sandys (iii. 137), who is followed by others, identifies this tower with some ruins still found in the uttermost angle of Mount Zion, which bears that name. [HE: t.al^ep.iy.vOt] is rendered by the Sept. [GR: Thalfiô/th], as a proper name; but there is no place known by such a name. Aquila has [GR: ei)s e)/palxeis]: so Vulg. cum propugnaculis, battlements, Sym. [GR: u(/psê], heights; but it is difficult to divine how these renderings are to be made out from the form and meaning of the word. The Talmud Jerushalmi, Berachoth, section 4, and Saadias explain it [HE: tl] [HE: Shkvl pvnym/ lv], an elevation towards which all look, i.e. by which they are guided. Ibn Ezra seems to favour the view that [HE: l^etal^ep.iy.vOt] is a compound of [HE: l^etalvOt p.iyvOt], for the suspension of arms. But the Talmudic explanation rests upon the favourite whim of making a word of every letter. Ibn Ezra's explanation incurs the objection that [HE: p.iyvOt], by itself, never means swords or arms. Besides, it is evident that this interpretation owes its origin to the immediately following clause, [HE: 'elep/ ham.ogEn/ t.olv.y `oloyv]. Gesenius derives it from the Arabic [HE: t.olap/], to destroy; hence [HE: t.al^ep.iy], destructive, deadly; poetically, for arms. But, apart from the difficulty of making [HE: t.al^ep.iy.vOt], even according to this derivation, to mean weapons, according to this rendering there is no connexion between this clause and the figure.
