Song of Solomon 3:6

Footnotes

1. 19 It is not certain whether the speaker here is the Beloved or not.
2. 20 The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
3. 21 The proper nuance of מְקֻטֶּרֶת (méqutteret, Pual participle fs from קָטַר, qatar, “to make a sacrifice, go up in smoke”) is illusive. The lexicons take the participle adjectivally and translate מְקֻטֶּרֶת מוֹר (méqutteret mor) as “completely filled with fragrance or incense” ( I קטר) or “fumigated with myrrh” ( 883 קָטַר). Most translations take it adjectivally: “perfumed with myrrh” (, , ); however, takes it as a substantive: “clouds of myrrh.” It is better to take the participle as a substantive and to nuance מְקֻטֶּרֶת מוֹר as “billow of myrrh,” as suggested by its parallelism with כְּתִימֲרוֹת עָשָׁן (kétimarot ’ashan, “like a column of smoke”). While this is the only usage of the Pual stem of the verb, the root קטר appears frequently in other stems, all of which connote smoke, e.g., Piel: “to make a sacrifice, to go up in smoke” and Hiphil: “to cause to go up in smoke” ( I קתר). In Middle Hebrew the root קִטְרָא (qitra’) meant “to steam, smell” (Qal) and “to smoke” (Hiphil). The Hebrew root is related to Ugaritic qtr “smoke, incense” ( 19.2220; 1404); Akkadian qataru “to billow (of smoke)” ( 2:907; Q:166); Old South Arabic mqtr “incense; Ethiopic qetare “fragrance, spice”; Arabic qatara “to smell, smoke”; and `etar “vapour, fume, incense” ( ). Due to the rarity of the Pual stem of this root, the mistakenly vocalized the form as Piel participle מִקְּטֹרֶת (miqqétoret, “going up in smoke”).
4. 22 The term לְבוֹנָה (lévonah, “frankincense”) refers to fragrant incense (Exod 30:34; Lev 2:1, 15; 5:11; 6:8; 24:7; Num 5:15; Isa 43:23; 66:3; Jer 6:20; 17:26; 41:5; Neh 13:5, 9; 1 Chr 9:29; Song 3:6; 4:6, 14). It is composed of the white (sometimes yellow) resin of Boswellia Carteri and Frereana from Hadramawt and Somaliland ( לְבֹנָה).
5. 23 The term אַבְקַת (’avqat, “fragrant-powder”) means “scent-powders” ( אַבָקָה) or “ground spice” ( I רכל 2.a). The noun אֲבָקָה (’avaqah) is from the root אָבָק (’avaq, “dust, powder”) ( ).
6. 24 The singular form of רוֹכֵל (rokhel, “merchant”) may be classified as a generic singular, representing the genus of the merchant guild of which there are many. The term רוֹכֵל means “trader, vendor,” as small retailer ( I רכל) distinct from סָתַר (satar) “shopkeeper, dealer” as large wholesaler ( סתר). It may refer to a traveling merchant, as in Middle Hebrew רוֹכְלָה (rokhélah) “traveling merchant” and Old South Arabic rkl “to go about as a trader” ( 242a). The general nuance appears in Judean Aramaic רוֹכְלָא (rokhéla’, “hawker, peddler”) and rakkala “merchant.”