What Does Song of Solomon 1:17 Mean?

(17) **Rafters.**—Marg., *galleries *(comp. Song of Solomon 7:5); LXX., φατνώματα;* *Vulg., *laquearia*; Heb., *rahît, *from *rahat = *run, flow: hence (1) *a gutter, *from the water running down (Gen. 3:38); (2) *a curl, *from its flowing down the neck (Song of Solomon 7:5—Hebrews 6); (3) here *rafters, *or roof beams, from their spreading overhead. “Our couch was the green grass, the arches of our bower the cedar branches, and its rafters the firs.” Others read *rachitim, *which is explained as a transposition for *charitim = *turned work. But the thought is plainly connected with the woods, not with a gorgeous house. For *cedar *see 1Kings 4:33. **Fir.**—Heb., *berôth *(Aramaic form of *berôsh*)*, *a tree often mentioned in connection with *cedar *as an emblem of majesty, &c. (Ezekiel 31:8; Isaiah 37:24; Isaiah 60:13). “The plain here has evidently been buried deep under sand long ages ago, precisely as at Beirût, and here are the usual pine forests growing upon it (Beirût is by some derived from *berûth*)*. *These are the finest specimens we have seen in Palestine, though every sandy ridge of Lebanon and Hermon is clothed with them. In my opinion it is the Heb. *berôsh, *concerning which there is so much confusion in the various translations of the Bible . . . the generic name for the *pine, *of which there are several varieties in Lebanon. *Cypress *is rarely found there, but *pine *everywhere, and it is the tree used for beams and rafters (Thomson, *The Land and Book, *p. 511). The *Pinus maritima *and the *Aleppo pine *are the most common, the latter being often mistaken for the Scotch fir. (See Tristram, *Nat. Hist. of Bible, *p. 353, &c.) **Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission. **Bible Hub