Vs. 16: The last
feature mentioned in the description of the king is his mouth. The “palate” (ḥēk)
denotes the organ of speech. By means of a grammatical construction which
employs a noun in the plural of abstraction, i.e. mamtaqqîm (most sweet)
as a predicate, the stress is placed on the subject of the sentence. Thus, the
mouth is described as sweet by reason of the declaration of its effect on the
listeners. From the account of the enthronement rites performed in Judah,
during the monarchical period, we infer that the declaration here implied
refers to the appointment of the ministers of state (DE VAUX, AI, 107).
With the praise of the person in “its entirety” (kullô) the description lays
stress on the “loveliness” (maḥamaddîm) of the sovereign
enthroned, thus representing, in a proleptic view, the event whose decurrence
in the near future the people ardently desire.
The final sentence of
this song takes up the introductory verse (vs. 9) on the identity of the bridegroom
and states the covenant relationship between king and people. The expressions “My
beloved” (dôdî) and “My friend” (rē’í) are to be taken not as
terms of endearment, but as a set of titles applied to allies. (Luis Stadelmann,
Love and Politics: A New Commentary on the Song of Songs [New York: Paulist
Press, 1992], 148)
Commentary: The Theme of the Enthronement (5:9-16)
The theme of this song is that of the enthronement of the
Davidic king as sovereign of Judah restored as a monarchy. In a proleptic view,
the author describes the enthronement rite which marks the assumption of power
by the king. The data referring to the royal ritual serve as setting to the
portrait. Yet the realistic representation of the human figure is strictly
subordinated to its setting which was intended to be identified only by the
members of the royalist party who enter the scene in the opening strophe as
qualified interlocutors of the bride. In response to the question raised about
the identity of the following strophes. Thus, he is pictured as endowed with
power, symbolized by his royal insignia: the crown (vs. 11) and the bracelets
(vs. 14). Specific features of the monarch’s appearance indicate his noble
lineage (vs. 10), his benevolence toward those under his rule (vs. 12), and his
task of fostering the economic life of Judah (vs. 11b + c; 13a + b). In the
description of his body analogies are provided, drawn both from the coronation
chair and the royal robe in which he is clad during the state ceremony (vs. 14c
+ d). The coronation chair on which the king is seated during the enthronement
ritual is indicated by the reference to the columns of alabaster (vs. 15a + b).
The passages referring to the lips and the mouth of the sovereign are an
allusion to the proclamation of his government policy (vs. 13c + d) and to the
appointment of the ministers of state (vs. 16).
The nexus between the enthronement and coronation rites
is indicated by the reference to Lebanon whence cedar wood is imported for the
construction of the coronation chair (3:9). In analogy with the imposing height
of the summits of the Lebanese mountains and the lofty cedars of Lebanon the
exalted figure of the king is extolled as God’s “chosen” leader of the people
(vs. 15c + d). At the enthronement, the king takes possession of his throne and
is empowered to perform his royal function as God’s representative and ruler of
the people, following the law of the monarchy which had been laid down in Judah
in olden times. The political organization of the community is based on the monarchical
institution secured by a pact of fealty between the people and king and a pact
of association between autochthonous and repatriate Jews integrated into the
nation. The theme of the enthronement is related to that of the coronation,
dealt with in another song (3:9-11). (Ibid., 148-49)
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