Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Steve:

On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 6:16 PM, Steve Miller <smille10 AT sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> > From: K Randolph
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 6:25 PM
> > To: B-Hebrew
> > Subject: [b-hebrew] Song of Songs 1:12
> >
> > Song of Songs 1:12, what does it mean?
> >
> >
> > …
> >
> > Here is my question: what does המלך mean? Is it from the verb מלל meaning
> to
> > make a statement? Or from מול meaning to clip or pluck off, used also for
> to
> > circumcise? Or is there some other word that I have not considered?
>
> [Steve Miller] How about the verb מלך, to become king? My verb table gives
>  המלך as a nifal infinitive noun of מלך, and also as nifal imperative
> singular, or hufal perf 3ms.  But I can't get these to make sense. "Until
> you become king ...", but as Pere said, he is already king in v4.
>

That’s my problem too, that I can’t get it to make sense. That is especially
true when I take the context into account. From my reading, this verse is
connected to the previous few verses, where the man is commenting on the
beautiful woman, and this is the concluding verse of the section.

But if “plucked off”, I understand it as a very poetic way of saying that
until “my fragrant plant is plucked off” in other words, married, “its
fragrance fills the surrounding” i.e. she is attractive to all. But this is
just a guess, trying to make sense of the verse.

> >
> >
> > Right now, I am leaning toward an understanding that the verse means,
> “Until you
> > cause it to be plucked off, my nard gives off its scent in its
> surroundings.”
> >
> [Steve Miller] My verb table only shows "cut off"  as a possibility as a
> nifal infinitive noun with a 2s suffix, "your cutting off".


Infinitives pertain to verbs, not nouns.


> Sincerely,
> -Steve Miller
> Detroit
>

I noticed while reading some times where מול seems to apply to plants and
flowers as in plucking off, hence I made a note to that understanding. But
in preparing to reply to your message, I noticed that Lisowsky lists only in
reference to circumcision in his concordance. I don’t remember where I saw
the other references.

Karl W. Randolph.