# Commentary on the Song of Songs

- Author: [Theodoret of Cyrus](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/theodoret-of-cyrus/)
- Latin title: *Interpretatio in Canticum canticorum*
- Date: ca. 430 (probably before 436) (approximate)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca, vol. 81 (Paris, 1864), cols. 27-214, with the Latin translation of J. Sirmond in parallel columns (not reproduced)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: No modern critical edition of the Greek text; a modern English translation by R. C. Hill (2001) exists but is copyrighted and was not used.
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/
- Passages: 45

## Commentary on the Song of Songs, Prologue, part 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/0-1/#p-0-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The Song of Songs is so called because, unlike victory songs that celebrate the freeing of captives, it celebrates the King's marriage to those he freed: the height of God's love for humankind.

### Greek text

ἀπάντων αὐτὴν τοῦ βιδλίου τὴν προγραφὴν ἐξετάσαντες εὐχρινῇ καταστήσωμεν. Ασμα ἀσμάτων, ὃ ἤσθη τῷ Σολομῶντι". Σκοπήσωμεν τί δήποτε οὐκ ἥλιμα, ἀλλ᾽ ε« Ασμα ἀσμάτων » αὐτὸ προσηγόρευσεν ὁ σοφὸς Σολομῶν. “Ὅτι γὰρ οὐδὲν εἰκῇ καὶ μάτην ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἐνεργούμενον λέγεται, δῇλον τοῖς σώφρονι λογισμῷ καὶ εὐσεδεῖ καθέστηκε. Τούτου δὲ οὕτως ἔχοντος, σκοπητέον τίνος ἕνεκεν « Ἄσμα ἀσμάτων, ν» ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ Ασμα, τοῦτο καλεῖται τὸ σύγγραμμα. Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν ᾷσματα, καὶ ψαλμοὺς, καὶ ὕμνους, καὶ ᾧδὰς, παρά τε τῷ μακαρίῳ Δαθὶδ, καὶ παρὰ τοῖς πρὸ αὐτοῦ καὶ μετ᾽ αὑτὸν προφήταις εὑρίσκομεν εἰρημένα καὶ συγγεγραμμένα" καὶ Μωτῆς μὲν ὁ μέγας ἧσε πριίτην μὲν φδὴν τὴν ἐπινίκιον, ἡνίκα ἡ θάλασσα διαιρεθεῖσα, αὐτοὺς μὲν τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις ἐδὸς ἐγένετο, τοῖς δὲ Αἱ- Ὑσπτίοις τάφος" δευτέραν δὲ ᾧδὴν ἧσεν εὐχαριστήριον τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ φρέατι" τρίτην δὲ, ἐν ἧ τὰς θείας διηγήσατο δωρεὰς, καὶ τῆς ἀγνώμονος γνώμης τοῦ λαοῦ κατηγόρησεν. Καὶ ὁ μακάριος δὲ Δαθδὶδ τοὺς μὲν ἐπινικίους ἧσεν ὕμνους, τοὺς δὲ ἐπιληνίους" καὶ τοὺς μὲν ὀρθρίους, τοὺς δὲ ἑσπερίους,. Ὁ δὲ σοφὸς Σολομὼν οὐκ ἐπινέχιον, οὐδὲ ὄρθριον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιθαλάμιον ᾷσμα συγγράφει. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐπινίκια ἄσματα δηλοῖ τῶν πολεμίων κατάλυσιν καὶ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων λύσιν, ὡ; τὸ, ε᾿Ανταναιρῶν πολέμους μέχρι τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς. Τόξον συντρίψει, καὶ συνθλάσει " ὅπλον, καὶ θυρεοὺς γνῶτε ὅτι ἐγώ " εἶμι Θεός 1" ὑψωθήσομαι ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὑψωθήσυμαι ἐν τῇ γῇ.» Σημαίνει γὰρ, ὅτι τῶν πολεμίων τὴν πανοπλίαν συντρίψας, καὶ τοὺς ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνους πάλαι τελοῦντας αἰχμαλώτους ἐλευθερώσας, ταχαύσει ἕν πυρί. Σχολάσατε ὅ, καὶ ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἐποιήσαιο, καὶ τὴν τῶν πάντων ἐχόντων ἀνεδήσατο βασιλείαν. Διό φησιν’ « ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὑψωθήσομαι ἐν τῇ γῇ. » Τοιοῦτόν ἔστι καὶ τὸ, ε Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, κροτήσατε χεῖρας" ἀλαλάξατε τῷ Θεῷ ἐν φωνῇ ἀγαλλιάσεως, ὅτι Κύριος ὕψιστος, φοδερὸς, βασιλεὺς μέγας ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. » Καὶ πάλιν" ε Περίξωσαι τὴν ῥομφαίαν σου ἐπὶ τὸν μηρόν δου, δυνατέ. Τῇ ὡραιότητί σου καὶ τῷ κάλλει σου ἕντεινον ", καὶ κατευοδοῦ, καὶ βασίλευε.» Καὶ αὖθις" εἴΑρατε πύλας, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπάρθητε, πύλαι αἰώνιοι, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται ὁ Βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης, Κύριος κραταιὸς καὶ δυνατὸς, Κύριος δυνατὸς ἐν πολέμῳ. » Ἐν μὲν οὖν τούτοις τοῖς ἄσμασι τὴν νέχην τοῦ βασιλέως οἱ προφῆται διεξίασε, καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων αὐτὸν ὑμνοῦσιν ἔλευ- Β θερίᾳ. Τὸ δὲ Ασμα τῶν ἀσμάτων τὸν γάμον αὐτοῦ διαγράφει, καὶ τὸν περὶ τὴν νύμφην ἔρωτα διαγράφεται. « Νύμφην » δὲ προσαγορεύει τοὺς ἐν ἐκείνοις τοῖς ἄσμασι τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀπαλλαγέντας, καὶ «ᾧ βασιλεῖ, καὶ ἄληστον τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τὴν μνήμην ἐσχηκότας, καὶ πολλὴν περὶ αὐτὸν εὔνοιαν καὶ στοργὴν ἐπιδεικνυμένους, καὶ διηνεκῶς αὐτῷ ἑπομένους" εἶτα, τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων πυνθανομένων, « Τίς ἐστιν ὁ βασιλεὺς δόξης "; » συνεῖναι ἐμειρομένους, καὶ οὐδὲ πρὸς βραχὺ μόριον ἡμέρας χωρισθῆναι τοῦ σεσωχότὸς ἀνεχομένους. Τούτου χάριν Ἶλσμα τῶν "5 ἀσμάτῶν καλεῖται τοῦτο τὸ βιδλίον, σημαίνοντος τοῦ λόγου, ὡς ἐκεῖνα τὰ ἄσματα διὰ τοῦτο τὸ ἄσμα γεγένηται, κἀκεῖνα πρὸς τοῦτο ἄγει.". ε Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστε τὸ κεφάλαιον τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ 15 θείας φιλανθρωπίας ὁ χολοφὼν, ἡ ἄῤῥητος ἀγαθότης, ὁ ἀμέτρητος ἔλεος, ὁ ἀστάθμητος οἶκτος, ἡ ἄφραστος ἀγάπη, τὸ ἀνέχεσθαι τὸν ποιητὴν, καὶ πλάστην, καὶ δημιουργὸν, καὶ Κύριον, καὶ Θεὸν, καὶ Δεσπότην, καὶ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχοντα, τὸ πήλινον 5 τοῦτο ζῶον, καὶ παθητὸν, καὶ φθαρτὸν, καὶ ἀγνῶμον, καὶ ἄχρηστον, μὴ μόνον ἀπαλλάξαι θανάτου, καὶ διαθολιχῆς τυραννίδος, ἀλλὰ χοὶ ἐλευθερίαν δωρήσασθαι, καὶ μὴ μόνον ἐλευθέρους ἀποφῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ υἱοὺς καταστῆσαι """ καὶ μὴ μόνον τῆς υἱοθεσίας δωρήσασθαι χάρισμα, ἀλλὰ καὶ γύμφην προσαγορεῦσαξ τε καὶ ποιῆσαι, καὶ νυμφίῳ παραπλησίως συναρμοσθῆναι αὐτῇ, καὶ ἕδνα μυρία προσενεγκεῖν, καὶ νυμφῶνα καὶ θάλαμον Ὁ πίσαι" καὶ γυμνὴν οὖσαν ἀμφιάσαι, καὶ γενέσθαι αὐτῇ περιδόλαιον, καὶ τροφὴν, καὶ πόμα, καὶ ὁδὸν, καὶ θυρεὸν, καὶ ζωὴν, καὶ φῶς, καὶ ἀνάστασιν. ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ φιλονειχῶ ψάμμον ἀριθμεῖν, ἣ ὑετοῦ σταγόνας, ἣ τὴν θάλασσαν χυάθῳ 1" μετρεῖν, τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας ἐφικέσθαι λόγῳ τολμῶν. Διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν Ἶλσμα τῶν 5 ἀσμάτων προσαγορεύεται τὸ βιδλίον, ὡς τὰ μείζω τοῦ "7 Θεοῦ ἀγαθότητος εἴδη διδάσχαν

### English translation (Claude)

… let us first examine the title of the whole book and make it clear. "Song of Songs, which is Solomon's." Let us consider why the wise Solomon called it not "Song" but "Song of Songs." For that nothing spoken under the working of the divine Spirit is said at random or in vain is plain to anyone of sober and pious reasoning. This being so, we must consider why this writing is called "Song of Songs" and not "Song." We find many songs, psalms, hymns and odes spoken and written by the blessed David and by the prophets before and after him. The great Moses sang a first ode, the ode of victory, when the sea was divided and became a road for the Israelites but a grave for the Egyptians; he sang a second ode, of thanksgiving, at the well; and a third, in which he recounted the divine gifts and accused the ungrateful mind of the people. The blessed David too sang hymns of victory and hymns for the winepresses, morning hymns and evening hymns. But the wise Solomon composes not a song of victory nor a morning song, but a wedding song. Songs of victory signify the destruction of enemies and the release of captives, as for instance: "Making wars cease to the ends of the earth; he will break the bow and shatter the weapon, and the shields …; know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth." For it signifies that, having shattered the full armour of the enemies and set free the captives who had long been subject to them ("… will burn with fire. Be still, and …"), he made them his own and took the kingship over all. That is why he says: "[I will be exalted] among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth." Of the same kind is: "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with a voice of rejoicing, for the Lord Most High is awesome, a great king over all the earth." And again: "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one; in your comeliness and your beauty bend [your bow], and prosper, and reign." And once more: "Lift up your gates, you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall come in, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." In these songs, then, the prophets recount the king's victory and sing his praise for the freedom of the captives. But the Song of Songs describes his marriage and depicts his love for the bride. And he calls "bride" those who in those songs were freed from captivity and … to the king, who keep an unforgettable memory of his benefits, show him great goodwill and affection, and follow him continually; and then, when the powers above ask, "Who is the King of glory?", they long to be with him and cannot bear to be separated even for a brief part of a day from the one who saved them. For this reason this book is called the Song of Songs: the word signifies that those songs came to be for the sake of this song, and that they lead to it. For this is the sum of good things and the crown of the divine love for humankind, the unspeakable goodness, the immeasurable mercy, the unweighable compassion, the inexpressible love: that the Maker and Fashioner and Creator, the Lord and God and Master, who is ever the same, should bear with this creature of clay, subject to suffering, perishable, ungrateful and useless, and not only release it from death and from the devil's tyranny but also grant it freedom; and not only make them free, but also establish them as sons; and not only grant the gift of adoption, but also call it a bride and make it one, be joined to it as a bridegroom, bring countless bridal gifts, and prepare a bridal hall and chamber; and clothe her when she was naked, and become for her garment and food and drink, way and shield, life and light and resurrection. But I am trying to count the sand or the drops of rain, or to measure the sea with a cup, when I dare to reach the divine love for humankind in words. This, then, is why the book is called the Song of Songs: because it teaches the greater forms of God's goodness …

### Scripture references

- Song 1:1: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 15:1–19: allusion, high confidence
- Num 21:17–18: allusion, high confidence
- Deut 32:1–43: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 46:9–10 (45:10-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 47:1–2 (46:2-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 45:3–4 (44:4-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 24:7–10 (23:7-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The beginning of Theodoret's preface is lost in the scan; the section opens mid-sentence, and the end breaks off. Moses' odes: Exod 15:1–19; Num 21:17–18; Deut 32. Psalms quoted: Ps 46:9–10 (LXX 45:10–11; part of its text appears displaced in the scan, marked in parentheses), Ps 47:1–2 (LXX 46:2–3), Ps 45:3–4 (LXX 44:4–5), Ps 24:7–8, 10 (LXX 23:7–8, 10).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 0.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/0-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 1:1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-1/#p-1-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride, the Church and the souls perfected in virtue, longs for the coming of the Word foretold by the prophets; his "ointment" is the Spirit's gifts poured out through his passion, and the maidens are souls not yet perfect who follow her.

### Greek text

α΄. Φιϊησάτω με ἀπὸ φιϊημάτων στόματος αὖ- εκ. ονὸς εἰ. τοῦ. Ταῦτα ἡ νύμφη λέγει προξευχομένη τῷ τοῦ γυμφίου Πατρί. “ἤκουσε γὰρ καὶ τῶν τῷ ᾿Αὐραὰμ ἐπὶ οἱ πατριάρχῃ δοθεισῶν ὑποσχέσεων, καὶ τῶν τοῦ εγἰατοῖε, εἴ μεγάλου Μωσέως περὶ αὐτοῦ προθεσπίσαντος" ἤκουσε καὶ τῶν Ῥαλμῶν τὸ κάλλος; αὐτοῦ καὶ δύναμιν " δι- ἡγουμένων" ε« Ὥραϊος γὰρ, φησὶ, κάλλει παρὰ τοὺς διὰ τοῦτο εὐλόγησέ σε ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Περίζωσαι τὴν ῥομφαίαν σου ἐπὶ τὸν μηρόν σου, δυνατέ. ἢ ροϊοπεί πο πι; δρϑεὶς [πῷ εἴ μι !εθεϊεμθπε ἰυὰ ἰη- Τῇ ὡραιότητί σου, καὶ τῷ κάλλει σου ἔντεινε ", καὶ κατευοδοῦ, καὶ βασίλευε᾽ ἕνεκεν ἀληθείας, καὶ Β.. » πραότητος, καὶ δικαιοσύνης.» Ἐδιδάχθη, ὅτι καὶ Θεός δ] ἀϊοῖι πῆς ἔστι, καὶ Υἱὸς προαιώνιος οὗτος αὐτὸς ὡραῖος, καὶ οἱ ΕἸ τπ Δδῖο εοιΐα. ε εὐπρεπής. ε Ὁ θρόνος γάρ σου, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα δηΐ αἰῶνος " ῥάδδοης εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάδδος τῆς βασιλείας φυυ.» Καὶ Ἡσαῖας δὲ βοᾷ’ ε Τίς οὗτος ὁ παραγενό- επί μενος ἐξ Ἐδὼμ, ἐρύθημα ἱματίων αὐτοῦ ἐκ Βοσόρ; πῃ δίοἰϑ, οϑι οὗτος ὡραῖος ἐν στολῇ ᾽" μετὰ ἰσχύος. » Διδαχθεῖσα ἀΐμα ', ν Οἰπὶ γο- «τοίνυν τοῦ νυμφίου τὸ κάλλος, τὴν ῥώμην, τὸν πλοῦ. δι, τον, τὴν βασιλείαν, τὸ κράτος ὃ κατὰ πάντων ἔχει, τὸ ἀΐδιον, τὸ ἀνώλεθρον, τὸ ἀτελεύτητον, ἱμείρεται ἰδεῖν τε αὐτὸν, καὶ περιπτύξασθαι, καὶ τὰ πνευματικὰ αὐτῷ ἀποδοῦναι φιλήματα. ᾿Αλλὰ μηδεὶς τῶν χαμαι- δρίγυδ|1Δ. 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Διὰ πάντων μοι τῶν προφητῶν ὀπισχνεῖται παραγίνεσθαι, καὶ οὐδέπω καὶ τήμε-. μοι διὰ τοῦ Δαδὶδ, διὰ τοῦ Ἱερεμίου, διὰ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου, μοῦ διὰ τοῦ Ἱεξεκιὴλ, καὶ Ζαχαρίου, καὶ Δανιὴλ, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν προφητῶν παραγίνεσθαι, καὶ τὸν γάμον οἱ - ἰὰν 1 ἴο τοὶ μυστήρια. ἴῃ καί, Ρ. 22, αν. θ ογαὶ ἔντεινον. 3: στολῇ. οοὐ, ἀἱ! δῇ Α ἐπιτελέσειν. Οὐκ οἷδα δὲ ἀνθ᾽ οὗ "5 μέλλει, καὶ πες οἵ ἰὼ αΠΠεἶο, οἱ ἴῃ πιἰδθτίοὐτάϊα, οἱ ἴῃ τη ἰβογδι! οι 1} : οἱ ἀθϑροηβ8}00 (6 πλἢ ρον ε Οδοι δία πιὸ δά υβίου ΐβ, [Ἀπ αῦδη ἴῃ δ᾽ » Εἰ Ου} Ομ ΐ πὶ Εἰ ἀκα ρει ρ οί, οἱ τοραβ, οἱ ἠπίϊ, οἱ θαι: « Εἶπέ μοι διὰ Ὡσηέ᾽ ε Καὶ μνηστεύσομαί Ἶ" σε ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, καὶ ἐν κρίματι, καὶ ἐν ἐλέει, καὶ ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς, καὶ μνηστεύσομαί σε ἐν πίστει, καὶ ἐπιγνώσῃ τὸν Κύριον. » Εἶπέ μοι διὰ "5 Ἡσαΐου’ « Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῇξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἣ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα" », καὶ ἀναμένω καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τυχεῖν ἐφιεμένη τῶν ὑποσχέσεων ᾽5. Ταῦτα αἰνίττεται λέγουσα" « Φιλησάτω με ἀπὸ φιλημάτων στόματος αὐτοῦ "". » Καὶ ἵνα μὴ ἀποφαντικῶς "5 ἑρμηνεύσωμεν, φέρε μάρτυρα τῶν εἰρημένων τὸν μακάριον καλέσωμεν Παῦλον. Οὗτο; Ἑραίοις γράφων, καὶ περὶ ἦν πίστεως λόγον διεξιὼν, τοιαῦτά φησι περὶ τοῦ ᾿Αδραάμ' ε Πίστει παρῴκησεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ὡς ἀλλοτρίαν, ἐν σκηναῖς κατοικήσας μετὰ Ἰσσὰκ καὶ Ἰαχὼδ, τῶν συγχληρονόμων τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῆς αὐτῆς" ἐξεδέχετο γὰρ τὴν τοὺς θεμελίους ἔχουσαν πόλιν, ἧς τεχνίτης καὶ δημιουργὸς ὁ Θεός" ν καὶ μετὰ βραχέα" ε Κατὰ πίστιν, φησὶν, ἀπέθανον οὗτοι πάντες, μὴ λαθόντες τὰς ἐπαγγελίας, ἀλλὰ πόῤῥωθεν αὐτὰς ἰδόντες, καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι, καὶ ὁμολογήσαντες ὅτι ξένοι καὶ παρεἐπίδη μοί εἰσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οἵ γὰρ τοιαῦτα λέγουσιν, ἐμφανίξουσιν ὅτι πατρίδα ἐπιζητοῦσιν: καὶ εἰ μὲν ἐκείνης ἐμνημόνευον ἀφ᾽ ἧς ἐξῆλθον, εἶχον ἂν καιρὸν ἀνακάμψαι" νῦν δὲ κρείττονος ὀρέγονται, τουτέστι τῆς ἐπουρανίου" διὸ καὶ ᾽ οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν καλεῖσθαι Θεός" ἡτοίμασε γὰρ αὐτοῖς πόλιν. ( Καὶ περὶ τοῦ μεγάλου Μωσέως φησὶν, ὅτι « Μᾶλλον εἵλετο συγχαχουχεῖσθαι τῷ λαῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἣ πρόσκαιρὸν ἔχειν ἁμαρτίας ἀπόλαυσιν " μείζονα πλοῦτον ἡγησάμενος τῶν Αἰγύπτου θησαυρῶν τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ" ἀπέδλεψε γὰρ εἰς τὴν μισθαποδοσίαν. Πίστει κατέλιπεν Αἴγνπτον, μὴ φοδηθεὶς τὸν θυμὸν τοῦ βασιλέως" τὸν γὰρ ἀόρατον δ᾽ ὡς ὁρῶν ἐχαρτέρησε. » Καὶ περὶ πάντων δὲ ὁμοῦ τῶν ἁγίων, τῶν ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ διαπρεψάντων τοιαῦτά φησι" « Καὶ οὗτοι πάντες μαρτυρηθέντες διὰ τῆς πίστεως οὐκ ἐκομίσαντο τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ ἡμῶν χρεῖττόν τι προδλεψαμένου, ἵνα μὴ χωρὶς ἡμῶν τελειωθῶσιν. ν» Καὶ Κύριος δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις τοιαῦτα πρὸς τοὺς ἀποστόλους φησί. ε Πολλοὶ προφᾶται, καὶ βασιλεῖς "5, καὶ δίκαιοι, ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν Ὦ ἃ βλέπετε, καὶ οὐκ εἶδον" καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ἃ ἀκούετε, καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν. Ὑμῶν δὲ μακάριοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ, ὅτι βλέπουσι, καὶ τὰ ὦτα ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἀκούει. » Καὶ πρὸς Ἰουδαίους δὲ διαλεγόμενος ἔλεγεν’ « ᾿Αὐραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἐπεθύμησεν ἰδεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν ἐμήν" καὶ εἶδε, καὶ ἐχάρη. » Καὶ Συμεὼν δὲ ὁ πρεσδύτης ἐχρηματίσθη μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον, ἕως ἂν ἴδῃ τὸν Χρι- 28 οὗ. οοὐ. ὅτου. διά, οοὐ. τήν. περί. ςοἀ. ρίαηι. τῶν. καί δροϑί ἃ οὐ, Ὁ οοὐ.δ] στὸν Κυρίου. Τεχθέντα τοίνυν, καὶ εἰς τὸν ναὸν ἀνεν- Α : «ἐ Νυης δεξάμενός τε ἐν χερσὶν, φησί’ ε Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, Δέσποτα, κατὰ τὸ ῥηῃμά σου ἑν εἰρένῃ" ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ Σωτήριόν σου, ἃ ἡτοίμασα: κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν λαῶν" » καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Δῆλον τοίνυν, ὡς ταῖς θείαις ὑποσχέσεσι πιστεύοντες ἐπεθύμουν τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν τὸ τέλος ἰδεῖν" διὸ τὸ Ἄσμα τῶν ἀσμάτων εἰσάγει τὴν νύμφην λέγουσαν ε Φιλησάτω μὲ ἀπὸ φιλημάτων στόματος αὐτοῦ. ν Φίλημα δὲ νοοῦμεν οὐ στομάτων συνάφειαν, ἀλλ᾽ εὐσεδοῦς ψυχῆς καὶ θείου λόγου κοινωνίαν. Καὶ ἔοικεν ἡ νύμφη τοιοῦτόν τι λέγειν. Ἤκουσά σου τῶν λόγων διὰ γραμμάτων" ἐπιθυμῶ δὲ καὶ αὐτῆς ἀκοῦσαί σου τῆς φωνῆς" βούλομαι ἀμέσως ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τὴν ἑερὰν δέξασθαι διδασκαλίαν, καὶ ταύτην τοῖς τῆς διανοίας μον καταφιλῆσαι χείλεσι. ε Φιλησάτω με ἀπὸ φιλημάτων στόματος αὑτοῖ. » Ταῦτα τῆς γύμφτς εἰρηχυίας, εὐθὺς ὁ νυμφίος ἐπιφαίνεται τῇ νύμφῃ, τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν ν᾽ ἐχείνην πληρῶν, ὅτι εἴτι λαλούσης ν) σου, ἰδοὺ πάρειμι. » Αὕτη δὲ εὐθὺς θεασαμένη τὸν ποθούμενον ἐγ πλήττεται, αὐτοῦ καὶ θαυμάζει τοὺς μαστοὺς, καὶ τὴν εὐωδίαν, καὶ βοᾷ" β. ᾿Αγαθοὶ 38 μαστοί " σου ὑπὲρ οἵνον, καὶ ὀσμὴ μύρων σου ὑπὲρ πάντα ἀρώματα ὅ΄. Οἶδα, φησὶ, τὰ ὑπὸ Μωσέως κατασκευασθέντα μύρα, τό τε ἔλαιον τῆς χρίσξτως, καὶ τὸ θυμίαμα τῆς συνθέσεως " ἀλλὰ πάντων ἐχείνων τῶν ἀρωμάτων τὸ σὸν μύρον ἐστὶν εὐωδέστατον. Μύρον δὲ ἐνταῦθα καλεῖ τὴν πνευματικὴν χάριν, ἧς πλήρης ὑπάρχων, ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ πᾶτιν ἡμῖν δέδωκεν. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος βοᾷ, ὅτι ε Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμὲν αἢ τοῖς σωζομένοις, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις" οἷς μὲν ὀσμὴ θανάτου, εἰς θάνατον " οἷς δὲ ὁσμὴ ζωῆς, εἰς ζωήν.» Τυψὶ γὰρ τοῖς νεχροθόροις, τροφὴ μέν ἐστι τὰ δυσώδη σώματα, τὸ δὲ μύρον ὄλεθρον 5. Οὕτω ποῖς δυσσεδέσι, καὶ τῇ δυσωδίᾳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας προσμὲν τῆς ἀκολασίας ἡ δυσωδία, βαρεῖα δὲ καὶ ἐπαχθὴς ἡ Χριστοῦ διδασκαλία " διὸ καὶ τὸν αὐθαίρετον αὐτοῖ; θάνατον ἐπε ἀγει. «Αὕτη γάρ ἔστι, φησὶ, χρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἠγάπησαν μᾶλλον οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸ σκότος, ἢ τὸ φῶς. ν» Εἰκότως τοίνυν φησὶν ἣ νύμφη" « Καὶ ὀσμὴ μύρων σὸν ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ἀρώματα. » Καὶ οὐ λέγει, Τοῦ μύρον σου, ἀλλὰ, ε Τῶν μύρων σοῦ 3» δεικνύουσα ὅτι πολλὰ καὶ μυρία χαρίσματα. εὯ μὲν γὰρ, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, δέδοται "5 λόγος σοφίας " ἄλλῳ δὲ λόγος γνώσεως κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα - ἑτέρῳ δὲ πίστις ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ Πνεύματι" ἄλλῳ δὲ ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων " ἄλλῳ δὲ προφητεία " ἄλλῳ δὲ διακρίσεις πνευμάτων "", ἄλλῳ δὲ γένη γλωσσῶν. ν Διὰ τοῦτο οὐ λέγει, ᾽θσμὴ μύρον σου, ἀλλὰ, ε Ὀσμὴ μύρων σου. ν Δείξασα τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ποιχλα χαρίσματα, διδάσκε: ἡμᾶς ὅτι ἀπὸ μιᾶς ἴῃ αυοί οἱ ας! ἀϊαἱ ᾿ι, 15. δίῃ τ. » οὐοοἱ Η ἀπ}. δ νόος πιο ἐπι, δι. ἴηι, ἠυἀϊοίαιη, 4018 Ἰὰκ νοΐ ἴῃ πληι 28. πα 19.001 σον. χε, ὑπο ὑπ᾽ ᾶπι Υ, οἱ δἰ πη} 811506ἀεί : οἱ 511 οἱ ξυδσπίιπι » δἰἷί δ ρ! οἴ 16 Γ, ϑοὰ ε : ε αυἱ δἃ ἴῃ ν᾽ ν᾽ θα πὶ αἱ εἰ ροϑὶ δῖ, πὸ δῦ προχεῖται πηγῆς. Διὸ ἐπάγει" ε« Μύρον ἔκκενωθὲν δνομά "} σου "5, » Οἱ γὰρ πολλοὶ, φησὶν, οὗτο! καὶ διάφοροι κρουνοὶ, οἱ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην εὐωδίας πληρώσαντες, μίαν ἔχουσι φλέδα καὶ πηγὴν, τὸ σὺν μύρον. ε« “Ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ κατῴκησε πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος, » καὶ αὑτὸς πάντα ὁμοῦ τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ὑπεδέξατο δῶρα. Διὸ καὶ Ἡσαΐας βοᾷ "ε Ἐξελεύσεται ῥάδδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἵεσσαὶ, καὶ ἄνθος ἐκ τῆς ῥίξης αὐτοῦ 5" ἀναδήσε-ται" καὶ ἐπαναπαύσεται ἐπ’ αὐτῷ " τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, πνεῦμα βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος, πνεῦμα γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεδείας " καὶ "5 πνεῦμα φόδου θεοῦ ἐμπλήσει αὐτόν. Διὰ τοῦτο λέγει" « Μύρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σοι " » καὶ οὐ λέγει ε μύρὸν ν» ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ ε ἐκκενωθέν. » Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ μύρον ἐν ἀγγείῳ κεκρυμμένον, κεκρυμμένην ἔχεε καὶ τὴν εὐοσμίαν, εἰ δὲ προχυθείη, καὶ αὐτὸν ἀναπίμπλησι τὸν ἀέρα οὕτως ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς, πρὸ μὲν τοῦ πάθους ὀλίγοις ἦν γνώριμος " ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸν σταυρὸν ὑπέμεινε, καὶ ὃ) θάνατον, καὶ οἱονεὶ διηνοίγη " τὸ τοῦ σώματος ἄγγος, πλήρεις μὲν εὐθὺς οἱ μακάριοι ἀπόστολοι τῆς εὐοσμίας ἐκείνης ἐγένοντο: δραμόντες δὲ, γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν περινοστήσαντες, καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα πᾶσι διαπορθμεύσαντες, ἅπασαν τὴν οἰκουμένην τῆς εὑοσμίας ἐπλήρωσαν. Διὰ τοῦτό φησιν ἡ νύμφη" « Μύρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σοι.» Αρχεῖ γὰρ ἡ Χριστοῦ προσηγορία οἱονεὶ μυρίσαι καὶ εὐωδίας ἁπάσης ἐμφορῆσαι τῶν εὐσεδῶν τὰς ψυχάς. Εἰ δὲ βούλῃ καὶ μυστικώτερον νοῆσαι, ἀνάνῆσον σεαυτὸν τῆς ἱερᾶς μυσταγωγίας, ἐν ἧ οἱ τελούμενοι, μετὰ τὴν ἄρνησιν τοῦ τυράννου, καὶ τὴν τοῦ βαπιλέως ὁμολογίαν, οἱονεὶ σφραγῖδά τινα βασιλικὴν. δέξονται τοῦ πνευματικοῦ μύρου τὸ χρίσμα " ὡς ἐν τύπῳ τῷ μύρῳ τὴν ἀόρατον τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος χάριν ὑποδεχόμενοι "5. Διὰ τοῦτο γεάγιδες ἠγάπησάν σε. σδ, ὀπίσω σου εἰς ὀσμὴν μύρου σου δραμοῦσαι "5 Ταύτης, φησὶ, τῆς εὐοσμίας τοῦ μύρου σου, τουτέστι τῆς θείας καὶ σωτηριώδους σου διδαψυκαὶ (ταύτας γὰρ νεάνιδας ὁ λόγος καλεΐ), οὕτως σε θερμῶς ἠγάπησαν, ὡς ἑλκῦσαί σε ποὺς ἑαυτὰς, καὶ ὀπίσω» σου ἀκολουθῆσαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺν δρόμῳ τοῦτο δ πιηγενὶ, ἢ δι 56 Γποθουμένου. Δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος τοῦτον τὸν δρόμον, λέγων ε Τρέχω εἴ γε καὶ χαταλάδω, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ καὶ κατελήφθην. » Καὶ πάλιν " ε« Οὕτως, φησὶ, τρόχετε, ἵνα καταλάδητε. » Καὶ ἑτέρωθι" ε Τὸν χα- ' λὸν ἀγῶνα ἡγώνισμαι, τὸν δρόμον τετέλεκα, τὴν πίστιν τετήρηκα. » Τρέχουσ: τοίνυν αἱ νεανιχὸὺν φρόνη ν ον. ιχ, 28. 511 Τίαι. ιν, 7. " Μύρον.-- ὄνομά σου. 4 αὐτοῦ ἀ68. ᾿π οοὐ. φυγοχίπιδ ἰη. ὅ οἱ “ ορά, αὐτόν. "5 καί αἰ εβὶ ἃ ἰϑία, μύρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνο σοι. ᾿ι. 1. οϑι μύρων σου δραμοῦμεν, βα κεχτημέναι ψυκαὶ, καὶ τὸν ἁδρὸν καὶ ὑγρὸν καὶ Α οἱ ᾿αϑοϊ χαῦνον βίον διαφυγοῦσαι, καὶ τὸν πόνον ἀντὶ τρυφῆς μεναι "' τῇ εὐωδίᾳ τοῦ μύρου, καὶ οἱονεὶ ἀῤῥήτῳ δεσμῷ διᾳιε αἰϊγϑοῖα, ἃς. κατεχόμεναι. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἡ νύμφη, μηδέπω τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἀξιωθεῖσα, πρός τε τὸν τοῦ νυμφίου Πατέρα, καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸν τὸν νυμφίον ἐληλυθότα πρὸς αὐτὴν οἱ διεξέρχεται. ᾿Αξιοῦται δὲ καὶ τῆς παστάδος, καὶ τῶν δ᾽ συ σα υπὶ δά πη τὰν : εἴ μένη πρὸς τὸν οἰκεῖον λέγει χορόν" « Εἰσήνεγκέ με ὁ τὸχ ἴῃ ουθίσυ!αμν " δυυ πὶ, » μὴ μὶ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον αὐτοῦ, » τουτέστι, τὰ υπὶ ἃ βίθου}}8 οἱ μένα αὑτοῦ ἀπεκάλυψέ μοι βουλεύματα" τὸ μυστήριον τὸ ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν ἐγνώρισέ μοι’ δυβοοπά!ο8 δίψα ἔην 51 1165 ποὺς θησαυροὺς, τοὺς σκοτεινοὺς, γαὶ ἀποκρύφους, ἀπ) καὶ ἀοράτους, ἀνέῳξέ μοι, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἡσαΐου προς μαθεῖν, ἡνίκα ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς, τοῖς μὲν Ἰουδαίοις ἐν παραθολαῖς διελέγετο, τοῖς δὲ ἁγίοις ἱπαυΐοπβ, ἀδίιιπιὶ ὁδῖ αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς ἀπεκάλυπτε τῶν παραθολῶν τὴν δυΐοηι ποη δε « οἰ ου αι » οδιάνοιαν, λέγων " « Ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια : ε Τὰ δυΐοη τῆς βασιλείας, ἐκείνοις δὲ οὐ δέδοται. Καὶ ταμιεῖον οἱ ογἃ δά Ῥαίγοην δὲ ὁ Κύριος τὴν διάνοιαν προσαγορεύει, λέγων. αυὶ οϑἱ ἴῃ Δυβεοηάϊιο ἅ. » --- « « Σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ., εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖόν σου, ἰπ καὶ πρόσευξαι τῷ Πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ δ.» νεδῖο ΡΑυϊὸ : « Οὐ « Εἰτήνεγχέ με ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον αὐτοῦ» δπάϊνι!, πας ἴῃ ΠΟΥ μονονουχὶ λέγουσα μετὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου, ὅτε ραγανίι « Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε, καὶ οὕς οὐκ ἤκουσε, καὶ ἐπὶ γονοίαν!! καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέδη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν 55 αὑτόν" ἡμῖν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς » --- ε Τηιγοάυχὶξ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἔχο- ἴπ οὐ δου] πὶ δαυην. » ΝΌΠ μεν, ἐν ᾧ πάντες εἰσὶν οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι. ν»---- Εἰσήνεγκέ με ὁ βασιλεὺς εὶς τὸ ταμιεῖον αὐτοῦ. » ᾿Αναγκαῖον ζητῆσαι σφτγοὐϊοπίοιη τίνος ἕνεκεν μόνη ἡ νύμφη εἰσάγεται, αἱ δὲ νεάνιδες οπατγΓδηΐο, 410 οὖκ εἰσάγονται, ἀλλ᾽ ἔξω ἐστηχυΐαι, τὴν νύμφην εἰσ. ἀναμένουσι " καὶ ἐξελθούσης καὶ διηγησα- σα πὴ δ ὴὶ νἱπιῖπι. μένης πῶς εἰσήγαγεν αὐτὴν ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ τα- αὐτοῦ, ἐπάγουσιν " «᾿Αγαλλιασώμεθα, καὶ εὐς εὐμ ἰν φρανθῶμεν ἐν σοί. ᾿Αγαπήσομεν μαστούς σου δ" ὑπὲρ Οἰινίϑευ8, τ) Δ εἶνον. Ἐὐθύτης ἠγάπησέ σε ὅν,» Οὐ πάντες οἱ πεπι- ιος γὰρ μοναὶ παρὰ τῷ Πατρί μου,» φησὶν ὁ Χριστὸς, ϑΔροσίοίοτυπι, 41115 τουτέστιν, ἀξιωμάτων διαφοραί. "Αλλο γὰρ τάγμα μι πατριαρχῶν, καὶ ἄλλο προφητῶν" ἄλλο ἀποστό- λων, καὶ ἄλλο "6 μαρτύρων. ἄλλο τῶν ἐν παρθενίᾳ νἱαπίίιπι δα οἰ διαπρεψάντων 57, καὶ ἄλλο τῶν τοῦ γάμου ξυγὸν ἐννόμως ὑπελθόντων " ἄλλο τῶν ἐν πλούτῳ τὸν Θεὸν γων, καὶ ἄλλο τῶν τῆς πενίας τὰ τ;οιχίλα παθήματα Αἰᾳᾷδ ἴῃ " ἄλλο τῶν τὴν πολιτικὴν ὀρετὴν μετιόντων, καὶ ἄλλο τῶν ἐν ὄρεσι πο σ γῶν, καὶ τῇ θείᾳ θεωρίᾳ μόνῃ προσέχειν » 'Σ κεν, ὅ, ἃ ΜΑΙ. νι, δ δυλῃ. ἀγαπ. μαστοὺς σον. εὺτ. “Ομ! 5051. δό οὐ. ἄλλων. 57 ἄλλο --- διαπρεψάντων ἀς5. ἰη οοά. "πὶ ἑ Οἱ Α μένων. Καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς δὲ τούτοις τοῖς τάγμασι δ᾽ πὰ Δ, Ἔχοο ει, « οὐπὶ ἴῃ [τη αὶ ὀχϑίβίθῃβϑ, τοι πὶ εἰς : « 5. Δα οία, νατίοραία ἱ. ν Εἰ μέ 5 ᾿; ἀλἱ : ς πὰ οἱ υἱ, οἱ : εἵ ἀἰν! ἰ 6 πὶ; δι, ροϑὶ ἀΐαι ἢ ρὰἃ} Τί. αι, 12. ὅ. πολλὰς ἔστιν εὑρεῖν τὰς διαφοράς " τῶν μὲν θερμότερον, τῶν δὲ χαυνότερον μετιόντων ἃ μετίασι “ καὶ τῶν μὲν σπουδαιότερον, τῶν δὲ ἀμελέστερον. Καὶ τοῦτο ἔστιν εὑρεῖν καὶ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου παραδολῆς. Δέκα γὰρ παρθένους εἰσάγων, τὰς μὲν πέντε λέγει φρονίμους, τὰς δὲ πέντε μωράς " καὶ τὰς μὲν ἀξιοῖ τοῦ νυμφῶνος, ταῖς δὲ ἀποκλείει τὰς θύρας " καὶ ἀποχρίνετα! μὲν αὐταῖς, τὴν παρθενίαν τιμῶν, οὐκ ἀξιοῖ δὲ τῆς εἰσόδου, διὰ τὴν περὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρετὰς ῥᾳθυμίαν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν οὕτω ταῦτα διευχρινησάμεθα, νοΐέσωμεν νύμφην μὲν εἶναι τὰς ἐν ἀπάσαις ταῖς ἀρεταῖς τετελειωμένας ψυχὰς, νεάνιδας δὲ ταύτῃ ἑπομένας, τὰς ἀγαπώσας μὲν τὸν νυμφίον, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖν αὐτῷ σπουδαζούσας, τὴν τελειότητα δὲ τῆς νύμφης οὐδέπω μιμησαμένας. Καὶ ὅτι ταῦθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχει, μαρτυρεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐν τῷ μδ' ψαλμῷ τὰ ὅμοια λέγον. Διηγησάμενον γὰρ τοῦ νυμφίου τὸ κάλλος, καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς χείλεσι χάριν, καὶ τὴν αἰώνιον εὐλογίαν, καὶ τὴν φοδερὰν καὶ τῶν πολεμίων τὸν ὄλεθρον, καὶ τῶν πάλαι αἶχμαλώτων λαῶν τὴν ὑπόπτωσιν καὶ προσκύνησιν, τὸν βασιλικὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ αἰώνιον θρόνον, καὶ τὰ σκἥπτρα τῆς βασιλείας, τὰ τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ κεκοσμημένα " πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἀρετὴν, ἣν μετελήλυθεν, ε« ἡνίχα ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων, οὐκ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε μορφὴν δούλου δ᾽ λαδών" » πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ τὴν χρίσιν τὴν κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γεγενημέγην, καὶ τὰ δῶρα τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν Μάγων 55 προόσενξεχθέντα, παράγει " « Παρέστη ἡ Βασίλισσα ἐκ δεξιῶν σου ἐν ἱματισμῷ διαχρύσῳ περιθεθλη μένη, πεποικιλμένη. » Καὶ βασίλισσαν μὲν καλεῖ τὰς τετελειωμένας ἐν ἀρετῇ ψυχὰς, ἐπειδὴ καὶ Παῦλος οὕτω λέγει" «Εἰ ὑπομένομεν, καὶ συμδασιλεύσομεν "» ἱματισμὸν δὲ διάχρυσον καὶ ποικίλον, τὰ αὐτὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος πο:χίλα χαρίσματα. Εἶτα καὶ συμδουλὴν αὐτῇ προσφέρει" «ἼΑχουσον, θύγατερ, καὶ ἴδε, καὶ κλῖνον τὸ οὗς σου, καὶ ἐπιλάθου τοῦ λαοῦ σου, καὶ τοῦ οἴχου τοῦ πατρός σου, καὶ ἐπιθυμήσει ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ κάλλους σου. »Δείκνυσι δὲ ἑαυτὸν 5' οὐ μόνον αὑτῆς συγγενῆ ὄντα κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ἀλλὰ καὶ Κύριον καὶ Δεσπότην κατὰ τὴν κεκρυμμένην θεότητα " καὶ τῆς ἀῤῥῆτου φιλανθρωπίας αὑτὴν ἀναμιμνήσκων, φησὶν, ε« τι αὐτός ἐστι Κύ- Ὁ ρίος καὶ Θεός σου, καὶ προσκυνήσεις αὑτῷ, » Προαγορεύει αὑτῇ καὶ τὴν οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν θεωμένην παρά τε βασιλέων καὶ ἀρχόντων προσκύνησιν, ε Τὸ πρόσωπόν σου γὰρ, φησὶ, λιτανεύσουτι πάντες “5 οἱ πλούσιοι τοῦ λαοῦ. » Πρόσωπον δὲ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, κατὰ μὲν τὸ ὁρώμενον, τὸ ἱερατικὸν ἀξίωμα, κατὸ δὲ τὸ νοούμενον, αὑτὸς ὁ νυμφίος, ὁ κεφαλὴ αὐτῦς γεγενῆσθαι ἀξιώσας, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου φω- 1 νὰ, δ (ρι}. πράγμασι. δ᾽ δούλου μάγων οοὰ. γάμων “ ἑαυτόν οὔ γὴν. Εἶτα τὴν κεκρυμμένην αὐτῆς διηγεῖται δόξαν" Α ἰάθη "δ δία 5 ἐΠβᾷσαγὰρ ἡ δόξα τῇς θυγατρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως ἔσωθεν.» Ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, ε Ἡ ζωὴ ἡμῶν κέκρυπται σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐν " τῷ Θεῷ" »κατὰ ὃὲ τὸν παρόντα βίον πάντες οἱ θέλοντες εὐσεθῶς ζῆν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διωχθήσονται. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος ϑρᾷ " «Εἰ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ ἡλπικότες ἐσμὲν ἐν Χριστῷ μόνον, ἐλεεινότεροι πάντων ἐσμέν. » Διὰ τοῦτο μέν φησι" « Πᾶσα ἡ δόξα τῆς θυγατρὸς τοῦ ῥατιλέως ἔσωθέν ἔστιν δ᾽, ἐν κροσσωτοῖς χρυσοῖς χρυσᾶ καὶ ποικίλα τὰ διάφορα λέγων χαρίσματα. Τούτοις γὰρ ἐπιφέρει " ε᾿Απενεχθήσονται τῷ βασιγεῖ παρθένοι ὀπίσω αὑτῆς " αἱ πλησίον αὐτῆς ἀπἐνεχϑήσονταί σοι "5, ἀπενεχθήσονται ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καὶ ἀγαλλιάσει " ἀχθήσοντα! εἰς ναὸν βασιλέως.» Εὔδηλον τοίνυν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων, ὡς οἱ μὲν φθάσαντες εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς πέτρον ἡλικίας, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὴν τελειότητα κτησάμενοι, νύμφη προσαγορεύονται" οἱ δὲ μήπω “6 τὴν τηλεύότητα φθάσαντες, ἀλλὰ τούτων ὑποδεέστεροι τυγχάνοντες, οἷόν τινες νεάνιδες ἀχολουθοῦσι τῇ νύμφῃ, πᾶσαν εὔνοιαν καὶ φιλοστοργίαν περί τε αὐτὴν καὶ τὸν νυμφίον “7 ἐπιδειχνύμεναι “ὁ ς Εἰσἡνεγκέ με ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ τα μιεῖον αὐτοῦ. ᾿Αγαλλιασὠμεθακαὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν σοί. »Οὐ γὰρ ξηλοτυποῦσιν, οὐδὲ φθονοῦσιν 5“), ἔξω μείνασαι, καὶ μηδέπω τῆς πακαὶ γάννυνται ἐπὶ τῇ τιμῇ τῆς νύμφη, καὶ ἀρκοῦνται τᾧ τῆς ἠδίστης αὐτῆς ἀπολαύειν φωνῆς. Διὸ ἐπάγουσιν" ε᾿λγαπήσομεν μαστούς σου ὑπὲρ οἶνον. » Καὶ ὅπερ αὕτη τῷ νυμφίῳ ἔφη, τοῦτο αὗται τῇ νύμφῃ φασὶ, διὰ τὴν περὶ αὐτὴν εὔνοιαν 15 καὶ στοργὴν, τοῦ νυμφίου τὴν εὔνοιαν ἐπισπώμεναι. Φησὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τοῖς ἀποστόλοις " « Ὁ δεχόμενος ὑμᾶς, ἐμὲ δέχεται " » καὶ, ε Ὃς ἂν ποτίσῃ ποτήριον ψυχροῦ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμὲ, ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσῃ τὸν μισθὸν αὑτοῦ. » Μαστοὺς δὲ πάλιν τῆς νύμφης αἱ νεάνιδες καλοῦσι τοὺς τῆς διδαδχαλίας χρουνοὺς, τοὺς ἁπάσαις ταῖς ἡλικίαις τὰ πρόσφορα προχέοντας νάματα " καὶ ὑπἰσχνοῦνται ἀγαπήσειν τῆς νύμφης τοὺς μαστοὺς ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐφροσύνην. Τοῦτο γὰρ τροπικχῶς ὁ οἶνος ὀνομάζεται, ὁ εὐφραίνων καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου. Ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ καὶ ἐν Νέᾳ Διαθήκῃ γεγενημένα καταμαθεῖν, καὶ καθ᾽ ἐκάστην δὲ ἡμέραν γινόμενα θεάσασθαι. Ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ Παλαιᾷ τοῖς προφήταις ὁ Θεὸς ἀποκαλύπτων τὰ μὲλγοντα, δι᾽ αὐτῶν τοὺς τηνικάδε ἀνθρώπους πὸ δέον ἐδίδασκε. Καὶ οἱ μὲν τῶν ταμιείων καὶ ἀποκρύφων ἀπήλαυον τοῦ Θεοῦ, γαὶ ἐξιόντες ἔλεγον τοῖς ἀνθρώσοῖς τὰ ἀποχαλυπτόμενα καὶ 1" δηλούμενα. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Δαδιὃ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν φησι " ε Τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ τὰ γρύ- 4 1] Τί. αἰ, 12; 1 ον. κν, ὕ. τ δι πὶ ἰπ εὐ ου απὶ βναπι : ἀκϑυ » Νοη οἱ σαι ο ρι- Εἰ απ "46 5ροιβ, δκ δι ἴὴ Ποὺ Βαπεν ἰἐ πιὰ οἱ υΐ ἴῃ πιὸ Ἵγοάυμ!, πὶ ᾿ὺ νἱδυίοηι (πὶ ἰπ Υ οἱ αἱ Ὡοὶ δίχα ᾿ιοπιϊ μα πὶ ἰμ 5 ἐν αθοϑί ἃ ἕο. τ᾽ ἐστιν ἐγ αϑεϑὶ ἃ οοὐ. 7" καί. οοἱὐ.. ἢ. 85. ἀπ, σοι. οοὐ, μηδέπω. “' νυμφίον. ἐκ Α φία τῆς σοφίας σου ἐδήλωσάς μοι. » Οἱ δὲ διὰ ᾽ξ τῶν ἐκ οἱ ἴῃ ἴῃ 16 χ.) ἴθ δϑὶ θοιηΐπυδβ, υἱ αἷν αν ἃ Σ, οἱ προφητῶν τῶν θείων ναμάτων ἀπολαύοντες, ὡς μεσίταις θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων τοῖς προφήταις προσεῖχον " καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι δὲ, ὡσαύτως θεόθεν ἐμπνεόμενοι, τῆς εὐσεδείας τὸ κήρυγμα εἰς ἅπαντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοῦτο διαπορθμεύοντες διετέλεσαν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀπόστολοι τῶν οἱ δὲ τούτων ἀκροαταὶ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ἐτύγχανον χρουνῶν, οἷόν τινων μαστῶν παντὸς οἴνου καὶ πάσης εὐφροσύνης τιμιωτέρων. Καὶ κατὰ τὸν παρόντα δὲ καιρὸν, οἱ τῆς “Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι τὰ θεῖα νάματα προσφέρουσι τῷ λαῷ, ὥσπερ ἔχ τίνων ταμιείων. Ὃ δὲ ἀπολαύων, ὥσπερ ἀπό τινων μαστῶν, τὴν πνευματικὴν ἕλκει τροφὴν, καὶ πάσης αὑτὴν εὐφροσύνης βιωτικῇς ἀμείνω ἡγεῖται. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τοριὶ τὰἱ π, οἱ οἢ οἱ ἀϑϑί τις Τὰν σοὶ 5.» καὶ σιλεὺς εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον αὐτοῦ. » Αἱ δὲ νεάνιδες ἀπεκρίναντο " « ᾿Αγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν ὑπισχνοῦνται λέγουσαι" ε ᾿Αγαπήσομεν μαστούς σου ὑπὲρ οἶνον" » καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιφέρουσιν " ε Εὐθύτης ἢγάπησέ σε. ν ΕΓ γὰρ « χρηστὸς καὶ εὐθὺς ὁ Κύριος, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Δαδὶδ, καὶ ῥάθδος εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάδδος τῆς βασιλείας σου, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡγάπησέ σε" » προσήκει καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐξηρτῆσθαι σοῦ Ἶ" καὶ διηνεκῶς προσεδρεύειν, καὶ τῶν σῶν ἀπολαύειν μαστῶν. Εἶτα πάλιν ἡ νύμφη φησίν" δά ατ, εἰσι μοί [ες δαίοπιογα : Οὐαὶ δα υ οι οἷ τὰγρα5ιϊ. Νὰ γί ταν τ Πν Το ογ 48, αι ουπὶ Μοὶ, ἰπ}- "πᾶ ὰ 6 μερὶ 5᾽αιοτγίβ : ἃς ἢ αἰεὶ, τἰα χει, Ἴ.

### English translation (Claude)

1. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." The bride says this as she prays to the Father of the bridegroom. For she has heard the promises given to Abraham the patriarch, and the great Moses prophesying about him; she has heard also the Psalms recounting his beauty and power: "You are beautiful in comeliness beyond the sons of men … therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one; in your comeliness and your beauty bend [your bow], and prosper, and reign, for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness." She has been taught that he is also God, and the Son before the ages, and that he himself is beautiful and comely: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a rod of uprightness is the rod of your kingdom." And Isaiah cries: "Who is this who comes from Edom, the redness of his garments from Bosor? … this one, beautiful in his robe, with strength." Having been taught, then, the bridegroom's beauty, his strength, his wealth, his kingship, the power he holds over all, his eternity, his indestructibility, his endlessness, she longs to see him, to embrace him, and to give him spiritual kisses. But let no one of earthbound and worldly mind be shocked at the word "kisses." Let him consider that we too, at the mystical moment, receiving the members of the bridegroom, kiss and embrace them, and lay them on our eyes and on our heart, and picture as it were an embrace … of the love that casts out fear, according to the divine Scripture. The bride, then, longs to be kissed by the bridegroom himself, all but saying to his Father: Send me your only-begotten Son, O Master … and Father (for this you wish to hear rather than that). Long have I waited for him, long have I desired him, receiving his letters through patriarchs, through lawgivers, through prophets. I can no longer bear the flame of love; it is a fire burning and blazing in my inmost parts. Through all the prophets he promises me that he will come, and not yet … to me through David, through Jeremiah, through Isaiah, … through Ezekiel and Zechariah and Daniel and the rest of the prophets [he promised] to come and to accomplish the marriage … I do not know why he delays … He said to me through Hosea: "And I will betroth you in righteousness and in judgment and in mercy and in compassion, and I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord." He said to me through Isaiah: "Rejoice, barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry out, you who are not in labour; for many are the children of the desolate one, more than of her who has a husband." And I wait every day, eager to obtain the promises. This she hints at in saying: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." And so that we may not interpret by bare assertion, let us call the blessed Paul as witness to what has been said. Writing to the Hebrews and setting out his account of faith, he says of Abraham: "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God." And shortly after: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar and greeted them, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the one they had left, they would have had opportunity to return; but now they desire a better one, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." And of the great Moses he says that "he chose rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to have the fleeting enjoyment of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king; for he endured as seeing him who is invisible." And of all the saints together who were distinguished under the Old he says: "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." And the Lord in the holy Gospels says to the apostles: "Many prophets and kings and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." And conversing with the Jews he said: "Your father Abraham longed to see my day; and he saw it and was glad." And Simeon the elder was told by revelation that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. When, then, the child had been born and was brought up to the temple, … receiving him in his arms he says: "Now, Master, you let your servant depart in peace according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples," and the rest. It is plain, then, that, believing the divine promises, they longed to see the fulfilment of what had been promised. That is why the Song of Songs brings in the bride saying: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." By a kiss we understand not a joining of mouths but the communion of a pious soul with the divine Word. And the bride seems to say something like this: I have heard your words through writings; I long to hear your very voice; I wish to receive the sacred teaching directly from your mouth, and to kiss it with the lips of my mind. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." When the bride has said this, the bridegroom at once appears to her, fulfilling that promise: "While you are still speaking, behold, I am here." And she, as soon as she sees the one she longed for, is struck with amazement, admires his breasts and his fragrance, and cries: 2. "Your breasts are better than wine, and the fragrance of your ointments is beyond all spices." I know, she says, the ointments prepared by Moses, the oil of anointing and the compounded incense; but your ointment is the most fragrant of all those spices. Here she calls the spiritual grace "ointment": he is full of it, and from his fullness he has given to us all. That is why the blessed Paul cries: "We are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance of death unto death, to the other a fragrance of life unto life." For to vultures that feed on carcasses stinking bodies are food, but perfume is death. So too to the impious, who [delight in] the stench of sin, the stench of licentiousness [is pleasant], but the teaching of Christ heavy and burdensome; that is why it brings on them a death of their own choosing. "For this is the judgment," he says, "that the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light." Fittingly, then, the bride says: "And the fragrance of your ointments is beyond all spices." She does not say "of your ointment" but "of your ointments," showing that the gifts are many and countless. For according to the blessed Paul, "to one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another kinds of tongues." That is why she does not say "the fragrance of your ointment" but "the fragrance of your ointments." Having shown the many and varied gifts, she teaches us that they pour forth from one spring. Therefore she adds: 3. "Your name is ointment poured out." For these many and various streams, she says, which have filled the whole world with fragrance, have one vein and source: your ointment. "For in him dwelt the whole fullness of the Godhead," and he received, in his humanity, all the gifts of the Spirit together. That is why Isaiah cries: "A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow up from his root; and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the spirit of the fear of God shall fill him." That is why she says, "Your name is ointment poured out"; and she does not say simply "ointment" but "poured out." For as ointment kept in a jar keeps its fragrance hidden too, but when poured out fills the very air, so Christ the Master was known to few before his passion; but when he endured the cross and death, and the vessel of his body was, as it were, opened, at once the blessed apostles were filled with that fragrance, and running over land and sea and carrying the preaching across to everyone, they filled the whole world with the fragrance. That is why the bride says, "Your name is ointment poured out." For the very name of Christ is enough, as it were, to anoint the souls of the pious and fill them with every fragrance. And if you wish to understand it more mystically, recall the sacred initiation, in which those being initiated, after renouncing the tyrant and confessing the king, receive the anointing with spiritual ointment like a royal seal, receiving in the ointment, as in a type, the invisible grace of the all-holy Spirit. "Therefore the maidens have loved you. 4. … after you we will run to the fragrance of your ointment." Because of this fragrance of your ointment, she says, that is, of your divine and saving teaching, the souls (for these are what the passage calls maidens) have loved you so warmly as to draw you to themselves and to follow after you, and to do so running … the one they long for. The blessed Paul too shows this running when he says: "I run, if only I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of"; and again: "Run in such a way that you may obtain"; and elsewhere: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." So the souls run, having a youthful mind, fleeing the soft, moist and slack life, and [choosing] toil instead of luxury, … held fast by the fragrance of the ointment as by an unspeakable bond. These things, then, the bride, not yet counted worthy of the bridal chamber, recounts both to the bridegroom's Father and to the bridegroom himself, who has come to her. But she is counted worthy also of the chamber and … she says to her own chorus: "The king brought me into his storeroom": that is, he revealed to me his hidden counsels; he made known to me the mystery hidden from the ages and from the generations; the treasures, dark, secret and invisible, he opened to me, according to the prophecy of Isaiah. … to learn, when Christ the Master spoke to the Jews in parables, but to his holy disciples revealed the meaning of the parables, saying: "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to them it has not been given." And the Lord calls the mind a "storeroom" when he says: "But when you pray, go into your storeroom and pray to your Father who is in secret." "The king brought me into his storeroom," she says, all but saying with the blessed Paul: "What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him, God has revealed to us through his Spirit. For we have the mind of Christ," in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. "The king brought me into his storeroom." We must ask why the bride alone is brought in, while the maidens are not brought in but stand outside waiting for the bride …; and when she has come out and told how the king brought her into his storeroom, they add: "Let us rejoice and be glad in you; we will love your breasts more than wine; uprightness has loved you." Not all … for "in my Father's house are many dwelling places," says Christ, that is, differences of rank. One is the order of patriarchs and another of prophets; one of apostles and another of martyrs; one of those distinguished in virginity and another of those who have lawfully taken up the yoke of marriage; one of those who [serve] God in wealth and another of those who [bear] the varied sufferings of poverty; one of those who pursue civic virtue and another of those who [live] in the mountains and choose to attend to divine contemplation alone. And within these very orders one can find many differences: some pursue what they pursue more fervently, others more slackly; some more earnestly, others more carelessly. This can be found also from the Lord's parable. Bringing in ten virgins, he calls five wise and five foolish; the former he counts worthy of the bridal chamber, to the latter he shuts the doors; and he answers them, honouring their virginity, but does not count them worthy of entry because of their negligence in the other virtues. Since we have distinguished these things thus, let us understand the bride to be the souls made perfect in all the virtues, and the maidens who follow her to be those who love the bridegroom and are eager to follow him but have not yet imitated the bride's perfection. That this is so, the Holy Spirit testifies in the forty-fourth Psalm, saying similar things. Having described the bridegroom's beauty, the grace on his lips, the eternal blessing, the fearsome … and the destruction of the enemies, the submission and worship of peoples long held captive, his royal and eternal throne, and the sceptre of his kingdom adorned with righteousness; and besides these the human virtue he pursued "when, being in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant"; and besides these the anointing that took place in his humanity and the gifts offered by the Magi, it brings in: "The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in a garment woven with gold, arrayed in many colours." It calls the souls perfected in virtue "queen," since Paul too says: "If we endure, we shall also reign with him"; and by the garment woven with gold and of many colours, the varied gifts of the Spirit. Then it offers her counsel too: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty." And he shows himself to be not only her kinsman according to his humanity but also her Lord and Master according to his hidden Godhead; and reminding her of his unspeakable love for humankind, he says: "for he is your Lord and God, and you shall worship him." He foretells to her also the worship she would receive not long after from kings and rulers: "For all the rich of the people," he says, "will entreat your face." The face of the Church is, as to what is seen, the priestly rank; as to what is understood, the bridegroom himself, who deigned to become her head, according to the Apostle's word. Then he describes her hidden glory: "For all the glory of the king's daughter is within." Since, according to the blessed Paul, "our life is hidden with Christ in God," while in the present life "all who desire to live piously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." That is why the blessed Paul cries: "If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." For this reason, then, he says: "All the glory of the king's daughter is within, in golden fringes," meaning by "golden and many-coloured" the various gifts. For to these he adds: "Virgins shall be brought to the king after her; her companions shall be brought to you; they shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing; they shall be led into the king's temple." It is plain, then, from what has been said, that those who have attained to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature, according to the blessed Paul, and have acquired the perfection of virtue, are called the bride; while those who have not yet attained to perfection but are inferior to them follow the bride like maidens, showing every goodwill and affection toward her and toward the bridegroom. "The king brought me into his storeroom." "Let us rejoice and be glad in you." For they are not jealous or envious, though they have remained outside and are not yet [admitted to the] chamber, but they rejoice at the bride's honour and are content to enjoy her sweetest voice. That is why they add: "We will love your breasts more than wine." And what she said to the bridegroom, they say to the bride, drawing the bridegroom's goodwill by their goodwill and affection toward her. For Christ too says to the apostles: "Whoever receives you receives me"; and: "Whoever gives one of these little ones who believe in me a cup of cold water to drink, truly I tell you, he will not lose his reward." The maidens in turn call the bride's "breasts" the streams of teaching, which pour out streams fitted to every age; and they promise to love the bride's breasts above every human gladness. For it is this that is figuratively named wine, which gladdens the heart of man. One can learn that these things happened both in the Old and in the New Testament, and see them happening every day. In the Old, God revealed the future to the prophets, and through them taught the people of that time what was needful. They enjoyed God's storerooms and secrets, and going out they told the people what had been revealed and made known. That is why David says to God: "The unclear and hidden things of your wisdom you have made known to me." And those who enjoyed the divine streams through the prophets attended to the prophets as to mediators between God and men. And the apostles too, likewise inspired by God, went on carrying the preaching of piety across to all people. And the apostles [enjoyed the storerooms] of …, while their hearers obtained the apostolic streams, as breasts more precious than any wine and any gladness. And in the present time the teachers of the Church offer the divine streams to the people as from storerooms; and the one who enjoys them draws spiritual nourishment as from breasts, and counts it better than every gladness of this life. That is why … "The king brought me into his storeroom." And the maidens answered: "Let us rejoice and be glad in you," and they promise, saying: "We will love your breasts more than wine"; and they add the cause: "Uprightness has loved you." For if "the Lord is good and upright," according to the blessed David, and "a rod of uprightness is the rod of your kingdom," and for this reason it has loved you, it befits us too to cling to you, to attend on you continually, and to enjoy your breasts. Then the bride says again: …

### Scripture references

- Song 1:2–4: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 45:2–7 (44:3-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 45:9–15 (44:10-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Isa 63:1: quotation, high confidence
- 1 John 4:18: allusion, medium confidence
- Hos 2:19–20: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 54:1: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 11:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 11:13–16: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 11:25–27: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 11:39–40: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 13:16–17: quotation, high confidence
- John 8:56: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 2:26–32: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 58:9: allusion, medium confidence
- Exod 30:22–38: allusion, high confidence
- John 1:16: allusion, high confidence
- 2 Cor 2:15–16: quotation, high confidence
- John 3:19: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 12:8–10: quotation, high confidence
- Col 2:9: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 11:1–3: quotation, high confidence
- Phil 3:12: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 9:24: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Tim 4:7: quotation, high confidence
- Col 1:26: allusion, high confidence
- Isa 45:3: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 13:11: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:6: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 2:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 2:16: quotation, high confidence
- Col 2:3: allusion, high confidence
- John 14:2: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 25:1–12: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 2:6–7: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Tim 2:12: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 5:23: allusion, medium confidence
- Col 3:3: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Tim 3:12: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 15:19: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 4:13: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 10:40: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 10:42: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 104:15 (103:15 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Ps 51:6 (50:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 25:8 (24:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 1:2–4 (numbered 1–3 in Theodoret's text, which does not count the title as a verse). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …; brackets supply the evident sense. "Receiving the members of the bridegroom" at "the mystical moment" refers to the Eucharist, and "the sacred initiation" with renunciation, confession and anointing to baptism and the post-baptismal anointing; translated as written.
- Quoted or alluded to: Ps 45:2–7, 9–15 (LXX 44:3–8, 10–16, "the forty-fourth Psalm"); Isa 63:1; 1 John 4:18; Hos 2:19–20; Isa 54:1; Heb 11:9–10, 13–16, 25–27, 39–40; Matt 13:16–17; John 8:56; Luke 2:26–32; Isa 58:9 ("while you are still speaking"); Exod 30:22–38; John 1:16; 2 Cor 2:15–16; John 3:19; 1 Cor 12:8–10; Col 2:9; Isa 11:1–3; Phil 3:12; 1 Cor 9:24; 2 Tim 4:7; Col 1:26; Isa 45:3; Matt 13:11; Matt 6:6; 1 Cor 2:9–10, 16; Col 2:3; John 14:2; Matt 25:1–12; Phil 2:6–7; 2 Tim 2:12; Eph 5:23; Col 3:3; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Cor 15:19; Eph 4:13; Matt 10:40, 42; Ps 104:15; Ps 51:6 (LXX 50:8); Ps 25:8 (LXX 24:8).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 1.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 1:4–5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-4/#p-1-4
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride, the Church of the Gentiles, is black from her former idolatry but beautiful through faith; the apostles fought her passions; she asks to be kept from the heretics' flocks and is told to follow the saints and care for sinners too.

### Greek text

δ΄. Μέλαινά εἶμι, καὶ καλὴ, θυγατέρες Ιερουσαε΄. Μὴ βλέψητέ με, ὅτι ἐγώ εἶμι ὅτ: παρέδιλεψέ με ὁ ἥλιος. Ἡγοῦμαι οὐκ ἔτι ταῦτα πρὸς τὰς νεάνιδας λέγειν τὴν νύμφην, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἐπὶ τῷ νόμῳ γαυριώσας, καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ Παλαιᾷ ὀνειδιζούσας αὑτῇ, οὐ τὸ ἀλλόφυλον μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν προτέραν δεισιδαιμονίαν, καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦϑεν γινομένην μέλαιναν χρόαν. Διὸ λέγει πρὸς αὑτά; Οὐ μόγον εἰμὶ μέλαινα, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλῆ " ἀνέδλεψα γὰρ πάλαι τυφλώττουσα, καὶ ῥάχια παλαιὰ περικειμένη, νῦν ἐν ἱματισμῷ διαχρύσῳ περιδεδλημένη, χιμένη, τὸ βασιλικὸν ἔσχον ἀξίωμα, καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ λεῖ, καὶ τοῦτον μὲν θανάτῳ παραδεδωχνυῖαν, τῷ πλήθει δὲ τῶν μοιχῶν τὴν παστάδα μιάνασαν. Μὴ τοίγυν ὀνείδιζέ μοι τὸ μέλαν τῆς χρόας, μηδὲ τὰ πρότερά μοι" ἄγε εἰς μέσον κακά. Μέλαινα γάρ εἰμι, ὁμολογῶ, ἀλλὰ καλὴ καὶ ἀρέσχουοα τῷ ννμφίῳ. Φοδήθητι τῆς Μαριὰμ τὸ παράδειγμα " ὠνείδισε γὰρ κἀκείνη Μωσεῖ, ὅτι Αἰθιόπισσαν γυναῖκα ἠγάγετο, καὶ ἐγένετο λεπρῶσα ὡσεὶ χιών’ καὶ ὡς ἀκάθαρτος ἔξω τῆς παρεμόολῇς ἐξεδλήθη, καὶ οὐκ εἰσελήλυθεν, Ὦ ἄκρις οὗ μετενόησε. Κἀγὼ τοίνυν Αἰθιόπισσα μὲν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Νομοθέτου νύμφη " καὶ θυγάτηρ μὲν ἱερέως Μαδιὰμ 75 ἀνδρὸς εἰδωλολάτρου " ἐπελαθόμην δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ μον, καὶ τοῦ οἴχου τοῦ πατρός μου" διὸ ἐπεθύμησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ κάλλους μου. Μὴ βλέψητέ με τοίνυν ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι μεμελανωμέντ,, ὅτι παρέδλεψέ με ὁ ἥλιος " ὄψεσθέ με λελευχασμένην τὴν νῦν μεμελανωμένην, καὶ βοήσετε" Τίς αὕτη ἢ ἴ διά αὐεβὶ ἃ οοἀ. 75 σου (68. ἰῃ οοἀ. ἀναδαίνουσα λελευκανθισμένη; Ἑρῶ δὲ ὑμῖν καὶ τὴν Α αἰτίαν τῆς Ἶ" τῇ κτίσει καρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, καὶ τὸν ἥλιον Ογαδίογα, εἰ ἔμπα τοῦτον τὸν αἰσθητὸν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἡλίου τῆς δικαιοσύνης }ι5{Ὶ||25. Γαι 485 προσχυνήσασα. ᾿Αλλ᾽ εἶδον τὴν διαφορὰν ἐχείνου καὶ δά τούτου, καὶ καταλιποῦσα τὸ ποίημα, τὸν Ποιητὴν προς Ογοδιογοῦι σεχύνησα. 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Καὶ οὕτω δρα ἤμην μέλαινα, ὡς τὰ σκηνώματα Κηδὰρ, ἰα οὕτω δὲ γέγονα καλῇ, ὡς δέῤῥεις Σολομὼν ἀντὶ τοῦ, ὡς σκηναὶ δ τοῦ τΔὈεΓΒδοι Δ Σολομῶντος, ὡς τὰ περιδόλαια τοῦ Σολομῶντος, Β πιοηΐδ περὶ ὧν ὁ Κύριός φησι" ε ᾿Αποδλέψατε εἰς τὰ [{Π᾿|Δ Ἑαπηρὶ, αυῶ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ, ἃ οὔτε νήθει, οὔτε ὑφαίνει, καὶ ἀΐςο τοῦδ, πόα ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ἀμφιέννυσιν αὐτά" ἀμὴν ϑαίοπιο ἰῃ λέγω Ὁ ὑμῖν, οὐδὲ Σολομὼν ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὑτοῦ ἰδ)», » 660 περιεδάλετο, ὡς ἕν τούτων. » Διὸ καὶ, μετὰ βραχὺ, ποαιίπδὶ, υἱ κρίνον αὐτὴν ὁ νυμφίος ὀνομάζει, ὡς μήτε οὖσαν, καὶ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ νυμφίου καὶ τρεφομένην, Φησὶ τοίνυν ἡ νύμφη, ὅτι Πάλαι καὶ τῷ σκότει δουλεύουσα, καὶ τοῖς δὲ, καὶ αὕτη οὐ μόνον νύμφη, ἀλλὰ καὶ ναὸς ἐγένετο τοῦ εἰρηνικοῦ Χριστοῦ "". ε Υἱοὶ μητρός μου σαντο ἐν ἐμοί. » Ἔχεται δὲ καὶ ταῦτα τῶν εδϑεῖ ὅπως, μέλαινα οὖσα καὶ δυσειδὴς. ἐξαίφνης καλὴ ἐγές Γυηι Ομ νετο. ε Υἱοὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, μητρός μου ἐμαχέσαντο ἐν ἰοδ, ἀὁ 4υΐ 8 ἰῶ ἐμοῖ" ν υἱοὺς μὲν καλοῦσα τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλους, περὶ ὧν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐν τῷ μδ' ψαλμῷ πρὸς αὐτὴν τὴν βασιλίδα" « ᾿Αντὶ τῶν πατέρων σου ἐγενυἰθησάν σοι υἱοί 3" καταστήσεις αὐτοὺς ἄρχοντας ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. » Μητέρα δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ αὐτῶν ἱγπιδῶν, ἀξ υὰ υδδῖιι8 αἱὶ Αροβίοί δ : ε« θυξ καλεῖ τὴν ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ, περὶ ἧς ὁ μακάριος δυγδβυπὶ Παῦλος λέγε" ε Ἢ δὲ ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐλευθέρα οππίυιη ποβίγιι ἀ, » ἥτις ἐστὶ μήτηρ πάντων ἡμῶν. » Οἱ τοίνυν Γᾶ υἱοὶ, φησὶ, τῆς μητρός μου ἐμαχέσαντο ἐν ἐμοί» τὸν 35 κατὰ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας, καὶ τῆς ἄλλης πα- ἢ) ξοτίΑγυηϊ : ἄυπι ἴῃ ἐν ἐκάστω τῶν ἀκροατῶν, οἷόν τινα μάχην καὶ πόλενηρὰ ἔθη τῶν ψυχῶν, τοὺς δὲ τῆς εὐσεδείας ἔγχαταπῆξαι νόμους. Καὶ ἵνα σαφέστερον μάθωμεν, πῶς ἐν καῖς τῶν μαθητευομένων φυχαῖς διεμάχοντο οἱ μακάριοι τῆς » Μὴ, υἱ, ἐν ὑμῖν πορνεία, ἥτις οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὀνομάξεται" ν καὶ πάλιν, « Μήπως ἐλθόντα με πρὸς ὑμᾶς ταπεινώσῃ ὁ Θεός μου, καὶ πενθήσω πολλοὺς τῶν προη μαρτηχότων, καὶ μὴ μετανοησάντων. » Γαλάταις δὲ γράφων, ε« ὯὮ ἀνόητοι, φησὶ, Γαλάται, τίς ὑμᾶς ἐθάσχηνε "3 τῇ ἀληθείᾳ μὴ πείθεσθαι, οἷς κατ᾽ ὀφθαλμοὺς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς προεγράφη ἐν ὑμῖν ἐσταυρωμένος; » Οὕτως ἐπιτιμῶντες, καὶ παραινοῦντες, καὶ τὰς ῥυτίδας τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων διατείνοντες, καὶ τὰ γεγηραχότα ἀποξύοντες ἤθη, νέαν ἀντὶ παλαιᾶς, καὶ Β ἀντὶ δυσεϊδοῦς καὶ εἰδεχθοῦς εὐπρεπῆ, καὶ ἀντὶ μεφὴν οἱ πρῶτοι τῆς εὐσεθείας ὑποφῆται καὶ κήρυκες. Διὰ τοῦτο δ᾽ ἡ νύμφη δεῖξαι βουλομένη τίνα τρόπον ὡραία γέγονε καὶ καλὴ, φησίν" « Υἱοὶ μητρός μου ἐμαχέσαντο ἐν ἐμοί. "Ἐθεντό με φυλάχισσαν ἐν ἀμπελῶσι. » Παρέδωκάν μοι γὰρ οἷόν τινας ἀμπελῶνα:, τὰς θείας ἐντολάς " καὶ ταύτας οὐκ ἐργάζεσθαι μόνον καὶ γεωργεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ φυλάττειν παρεχελεύσαντο, ἵνα μὴ τι τῶν πονηρῶν θηρίων λυμαίνηται τὸν καρπόν. Τούτοις ἐπιφέρει" « ᾿Αμπελῶνα ἐμὸν οὐκ ἐφύλαξα. » Διπλὴν ἔχει τὴν ἔννοιαν τὸ ῥητὸν, εὐσεδῇ δὲ ἑκατέραν, καὶ ὠφελείας μεστήν. Ἢ γὰρ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι Τὸν πρότερόν μου ἀμπελῶνα, ὃν πρὸ τῆς πίστεως ἐγεώργουν, τὸν πατρόθεν μοι παραδοθέντα, καταλέλοιπα ἀνεπιμέλητον καὶ ἀφύλακτον, ὥστε παντελῶς τὰ πρότερα ἤδη διαφθαρῆναι, καὶ λήθῃ παραδοθτ,ναι" ἣ ὅτι Τὸν ἐμὸν ἀμπελῶνα, τουτέστι τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἀφιεμένη, καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων κέρδη τῶν οἰκείων κερδῶν προαιρουμένη. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλός φησιν, ὅτι ε« Ἢ ἀγάπη οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς" » καὶ πάλιν, « Μηδεὶς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ζητείτω, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου ἕχαστος" » καὶ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ δέ φησιν, ὅτι ε« Οὐ ζητῶ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ συμφέρον, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν, ἵνα σωθῶσι. » Τέθεικα δὲ ἀμφότερα τὰ νοήματα, ἵν᾽ ἔχοιεν οἱ ἐντυγχάνοντες ἀμφοτέρων τὴν γνῶσιν, καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν αὐτοῖς ἀληθέστερον εἶναι λάδωσιν. Μετὰ ταῦτα ἡ νύμφη, καταλιποῦσα τούς τε πρὸς τὰς νεάνιδας λόγους, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας Ἱερουσαλὴμ διδασκαλίαν, τρέπεταε πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον, καὶ ἣν ἔχει περὶ αὐτὸν ἀγάπην γυμνοῖ, καί φησιν" Ὁ ς΄. Ἀπάγγειλον μοι, ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου, υείεἱ ἴῃ βοὰ ποτε γένωμαι ὡς περιδαλλομένη δ᾽ ἐπ’ ἀγέλαις ἑταίρων ΝΜ σου. Δειμαίνουσα γὰρ, καὶ ἀγωνιῶσα μὴ στερηθῇ τοῦ νυμφίου, καὶ ἑτέροις περιπέσῃ ποι-μνίοις οὐκ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ποιμαινομένοις, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ ἄλλων τινῶν ἑταίρων αὐτοῦ ὀνομαζομένων, οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν οὐδὲ κατὰ τὸ κοινὸν τοῦ φρονήματος, ἀλλὰ “Δα, νη, ον. χει, ΦῚ ν Οδίαι. μι, χει, ὃ. κα υἱά. δ, καλή. ἑταίρων. (οἀ. ἀγγελείαις ἑτέρων. ἢ ΚΣ τὴν μίμησιν τοῦ ἐπιτηδεύματος ἰκετεύει τὸν Α Ουοπίαιῃ. ἀἠ!οχὶς τς δι πὶθ8, ἀΐς οὐ μὶ αὶ ρᾶμεῖον λέγουσα " Ἐπειδὴ ἠγάπησέ σε ἡ ψυχή μου, εἰπὲ μοι κατὰ τὸν τῆ: μεσημθρίας καιρὸν ποῦ ποιμαίνεις, ἢ ποῦ χοιτάξεις τὰ πρόδατα΄ μὴ ἀγνοοῦσα τῆδε χἀχεῖσΞ περινοστήσω, καὶ ἀλωμένη καὶ πλανωμένη περιπέσω ἀγέλα!:ς οὐ τῆς σῆς ἐπιστασίας ἀξιω- Σύμμαχος τέθεικεν. Εἰκότως δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸν τῆς μεσημδρία: καιρὸν πυνθάνεται ἡ νύμφη ποῦ ὁ νυμφίο; μένει, ἐπειδὴ τοῦ φωτὸς τῆς γνώσεως ἐγχραποὺ; γενομένον, ἀνεφύησαν αἱ αἱρέσεις, Χριστιανῶν μὲν τὸ ὄνομα ἔχουσαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἔρημοι τῆς ἀληθείας ὑπάρ ουσαι. Τούτου χάριν ἀγωνιῶσα μαθεῖν ἐφίεται: τοῦ νυμφίου τὸν τόπον, ἔνθα κατὰ τὸν τῆς μεσημθρίας καιρὸν κοιτάζει τὰ πρόδατα, ἵνα μὴ περιπέσῃ 5" ταῖς τῶν καλουμένων ἑταίρων ἀγέλαις. Ἰστέον δὲ ὅτι, ὥσπερ ἦσαν οἱ προφῆται, καὶ τούτων ἐναντίοι ψευδοπροφῆται, καὶ πάλιν ἀπόστολοι, καὶ τὰ ἐναντία φρονοῦντες ψευδαπόστολοι, οὕτως καὶ ψευδόχριστοι ὑπὴ τῆς θείας καλοῦνται Γραφῆς. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριός φησιν, ὅτι ε ᾿Αναστήσονται πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται, καὶ πολλοὺς πλανήσουσι. » Καὶ ὁ μακάριος ὃὲ Παῦλος οὐ μόνον ψευδαδέλφους οἷδε λέγειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψευδαποστόλους. Διό φησιν" « Οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι ψευδαπόστολοί εἰσι. » Τούτοις ἡ νύμφη μὴ περιπεσεῖν ἱκετεύει" ἐπειδὴ τὸ ποιμενιχὸν ἐπιδείκνυνται σχῆμα καὶ ἀγέλας ὡσαύτως, καὶ ποίμνας "8 ἔχοντες φαίνονται“. ὁποῖοί εἰσιν οἱ τὰ τοῦ ᾿Αρείου, καὶ Εὐνομίου, καὶ Μαρκίωνος, καὶ Βαλεντίνου, καὶ Μάνητος, καὶ Ἀοντανοῦ φρονοῦντες σχῆμα μὲν χριστιανιχὸν καὶ ὅνομα περικείμενοι, καὶ ἐκκλησίας οἰκοδομοῦντες, γώσχοντες, καὶ νέμοντες κακῶς τοὺς πειθομένους "9, καὶ ἑταῖροι τοῦ νυμφίου νομιζόμενοι, ἐπίδουλο! δὲ ὄντες καὶ ὀλέθριοι, καὶ δηλητήρια τοῖς προδάτοις ἀντὶ τῆς τροφίμου πόας ὀρέγοντες. Διὰ τοῦτο ἡ νύφὴ ἰκετεύε: τὸν νυμφίον, ὑποδεῖξαι αὐτῇ ποῦ χοιτάζει Τὰ πρόδατα ἐν μεσημδρίᾳ, ἵνα μὴ γένηται « περιἴῃ συγ τοι! ἃ εἰ οἱ Εὰ οἱ μα βι τὰ νθθηλ ΟΥ̓ 8. δι: υἱ οἱ αἷϊ : βαλλομένη, » ἢ ῥεμδομένη κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, ἐπ᾽ ἀγέλας τῶν ἑταίρων "' αὐτοῦ προφταγορευομένων, ἐναντίων δὲ αὐτῷ ὑπαρχόντων "". ᾿λποχρίνεται οὖν ὁ νυμφίος τῇ νύμφῃ" καί φησιν" ζ, Ἐὰν μὴ γγῷς σεαυτὴν, ἡ καιὴ ἐν γυναιξὶν, ξξεῖθε σὺ ἐν πτέρναις τῶν ποιμνίων, καὶ ποίμαιγε τοὺς ἐρίφους σου ἐπὶ σκηνώμασι τῶν ποιμένων. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν " Εἰς σαυτὴν ἀποδλέπουσα, καὶ τὰ κατὰ σαυτὴν περισχοποῦσα, καλὴ Τὰρ γέγονας, καὶ πασῶν γυναικῶν εὐπρεπεστάτη, γνώριζε τὰς ὁμοίας σοι, Ἐὰν δὲ σαυτὴν ἡγνόησας, ἐρεύνῃηστον τῶν ποιμνίων τὰ ἴχνη, καὶ ἀχολουθοῦσα ποίμαινε μὴ τὰ πρόδατα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐρίφους σον, ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασι τῶν ποιμένων. Βούλεται γὰρ ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Δεσπότης οὐ μόνον τοὺς δικαίους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἐπιμελείας Ομ ᾿ ΐ β "Ν : “" 57 ἐρ, πέσῃ. "5 οο, ποιμένας. ν᾽ οοὐ, φαίνεται, " προβάτοις -- πειθομένους ἀ4ἐ5. ἴῃ οοὐ. Ἄ ᾿ν Ἶδ δυηί, Εἰ: «Νοη αὶ πάσης ἀξιοῦσθαι. Διό φησιν" ε Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἃ δἰ ἰδ γὶ 8 εἰ ἴῃ [ἃεἴθ Ῥαΐγὶβ πιοὶ, αυΐ ὁδὶ ἴῃ 5". » ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες» καί" «Οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλ᾽ ἀμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετά-νοιαν.» Καὶ διὰ Ἰεζεχιὴλ τοῦ προφήτου «Μὴ θελήσω», φησὶ, τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὡς τὸ ἐπιστρέψαι καὶ ζῇν αὐτόν; » Καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἀπόστολος Παῦλος περὶ αὑτοῦ φησιν’ ε Ὁ θέλων πάντας ἀνθρώπους σω θῆναι, καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν. » Διὰ τοῦτο βούλεταε αὐτὴν καὶ τοὺς ἐρίφους βόσχειν " ἐν τύπῳ δὲ ἁμαρτωλῶν τοὺς ἐρίφους ἡ θεία παραλαμδάνει Γραφή" τούτους γὰρ ἐξ εὐωνύμων ὁ Κύριος. ἔφη σταθήσεσθαι, διαχριθέντας ἐκ τῶν ἀμνῶν τῶν λαχόντων δεξιὸν δ" χῶρον. Ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτίας οὐ πρόθατον, ἀλλὰ χίμαρος ἐξ αἰγῶν προσεφέρετο. Διὰ τοῦτο λέγει τῇ νύμφῃ ὁ νυμφίος “ Ὦ Τοῖς ἴχνεσι τῶν ποιμνίων ἀκολούθει, καὶ τῶν προλα- Θόντων ἁγίων ἀνερεύνα τὸν βίον" καὶ ἐν τοῖς τῶν ποιμένων ἐχείνων σκηνώμασι, τουτέστιν ἐν ταῖς ἀποστολιχαῖς ἐκκλησίαις, βόσχε σου τοὺς ἐρίφους, ἀκούσασα ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις " « Ὁρᾶτε μὴ καταφρονήσητε ἑνὸς τῶν μικρῶν τῶν ἐλαχίστω" τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμέ ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτῶν καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ὁρῶσι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοὶς "5. πε αυὶ 

### English translation (Claude)

4–5. "I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem. Do not look at me because I am [darkened], because the sun has looked askance at me." I think the bride is no longer saying these things to the maidens, but to those who prided themselves on the law and, on the strength of the Old Covenant, reproached her not only with her foreign race but also with her former superstition and the black colour that came from it. That is why she says to them: I am not only black but also beautiful; for I who was long blind have recovered my sight, and I who wore old rags am now clothed in a garment woven with gold, arrayed …; I have obtained royal rank, and to the king … [while you] handed him over to death and defiled the bridal chamber with a multitude of adulterers. Do not reproach me, then, with the blackness of my colour, nor drag my former evils into the open. For I am black, I confess, but beautiful and pleasing to the bridegroom. Fear the example of Miriam: she too reproached Moses for having married an Ethiopian wife, and she became leprous as snow, and was cast out of the camp as unclean, and did not come in until she repented. So I too am an Ethiopian, but the bride of the great Lawgiver; the daughter of a priest of Midian, an idolater; but I have forgotten my people and my father's house, and so the king has desired my beauty. Do not look at me, then, because I am darkened, because the sun has looked askance at me: you will see her who is now darkened made white, and you will cry out: "Who is this who comes up made white?" I will tell you also the cause of my … [I served] the creation rather than the Creator, and … this visible sun, worshipping it instead of the Sun of righteousness. But I saw the difference between that one and this, and, leaving the thing made, I worshipped the Maker. Do not look at me, then, because I am darkened, because the sun has looked askance at me; or, as Symmachus has it, "because the sun has touched me." "For I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem": black because of my former impiety, beautiful because of my repentance; black because of unbelief, beautiful because of faith. And I was black "as the tents of Kedar," but I have become beautiful "as the curtains of Solomon," that is, as the tents of Solomon, as the coverings of Solomon, of which the Lord says: "Consider the lilies of the field: they neither spin nor weave, and your heavenly Father clothes them; truly I tell you, not even Solomon in his glory was arrayed like one of these." That is why, shortly after, the bridegroom calls her a lily, as one who [neither toils nor spins] and is nourished by the bridegroom himself. The bride says, then: Long [was I black] … serving darkness, and … and she became not only a bride but also a temple of Christ the peaceful one. "The sons of my mother fought in me." These words too are connected with what precedes: [she shows] how, though black and ugly, she suddenly became beautiful. "For the sons of my mother," she says, "fought in me": she calls "sons" the holy apostles, of whom the Holy Spirit speaks in the forty-fourth Psalm to the queen herself: "Instead of your fathers, sons have been born to you; you will make them rulers over all the earth." And she calls "mother" of herself and of them the Jerusalem above, of which the blessed Paul says: "But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all." "These sons of my mother," she says, "fought in me" the [war] against idolatry and the other passions, … in each of the hearers, as it were a battle and a war, [to uproot] the evil customs of souls and to plant in them the laws of piety. And so that we may learn more clearly how the blessed [apostles] fought in the souls of those they taught, … "There is sexual immorality among you of a kind not named even among the nations"; and again: "Lest when I come to you my God humble me, and I mourn over many of those who sinned before and have not repented." And writing to the Galatians he says: "O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed among you as crucified?" Thus, rebuking and exhorting, stretching out the wrinkles of sins and scraping off aged habits, the first interpreters and heralds of piety made her new instead of old, comely instead of ugly and hideous, and instead of … That is why the bride, wishing to show in what way she became fair and beautiful, says: "The sons of my mother fought in me; they made me a keeper in the vineyards." For they handed over to me the divine commandments as vineyards, and ordered me not only to work and till them but also to guard them, so that none of the evil beasts might spoil the fruit. To these words she adds: "My own vineyard I did not keep." The saying has a double sense, but each is pious and full of benefit. Either she says this: My former vineyard, which I tilled before the faith, handed down to me from my fathers, I have left untended and unguarded, so that what came before has now utterly perished and been given over to oblivion. Or this: [I did not keep] my own vineyard, that is, I set aside the benefit of my own soul and preferred the gains of others to my own. For this is what the blessed Paul says: "Love does not seek its own"; and again: "Let no one seek his own good, but each that of the other"; and of himself he says: "I do not seek my own advantage, but that of the many, that they may be saved." I have set down both meanings so that readers may know both and take whichever seems to them truer. After this the bride, leaving her words to the maidens and her teaching to the daughters of Jerusalem, turns to the bridegroom, lays bare the love she has for him, and says: 6. "Tell me, you whom my soul has loved, where you pasture, where you rest at noon, lest I become like one veiled beside the flocks of your companions." For she fears and is anxious lest she be deprived of the bridegroom and fall among other flocks, pastured not by him but by certain others who are called his companions, not in worth nor in sharing his mind, but only in imitation of his calling. So she entreats …, saying: Since my soul has loved you, tell me where you pasture at the time of noon, or where you rest your sheep; lest, not knowing, I wander here and there, and roaming and straying fall among flocks not counted worthy of your care. … Symmachus put … It is fitting that the bride asks where the bridegroom stays at noon: for when the light of knowledge had grown strong, the heresies sprang up, which have the name of Christians but are devoid of the truth. For this reason she is anxious to learn the place where the bridegroom rests the sheep at noon, so that she may not fall among the flocks of the so-called companions. One must know that, just as there were prophets and, opposed to them, false prophets, and again apostles and false apostles who thought the opposite, so too false christs are spoken of by the divine Scripture. That is why the Lord says: "Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray." And the blessed Paul speaks not only of false brothers but also of false apostles; that is why he says: "For such men are false apostles." Among these the bride entreats that she may not fall, since they display the shepherd's appearance and seem likewise to have flocks and herds. Such are those who hold the views of Arius and Eunomius, of Marcion and Valentinus, of Mani and Montanus: they wear the Christian appearance and name, and build churches, … and pasture badly those who obey them; they are thought to be companions of the bridegroom, but they are treacherous and deadly, offering the sheep poisons instead of nourishing grass. That is why the bride entreats the bridegroom to show her where he rests the sheep at noon, so that she may not become "veiled," or "wandering" according to Symmachus, beside the flocks of those who are called his companions but are opposed to him. The bridegroom, then, answers the bride and says: 7. "If you do not know yourself, you who are beautiful among women, go out in the tracks of the flocks, and pasture your kids beside the tents of the shepherds." What he says is this: Look to yourself and examine what concerns you, for you have become beautiful, the most comely of all women; recognize those who are like you. But if you do not know yourself, search out the tracks of the flocks, and following them pasture not only the sheep but also your kids, in the tents of the shepherds. For the Master who loves humankind wishes not only the righteous but also sinners to be counted worthy of every care. That is why he says: "Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill"; and: "I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." And through Ezekiel the prophet he says: "Do I desire the death of the sinner, rather than that he turn and live?" And the blessed apostle Paul says of him: "who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." That is why he wishes her to feed the kids too. The divine Scripture takes kids as a type of sinners: the Lord said that these would stand on the left, separated from the lambs that had been given the right-hand place; and in the law, too, it was not a sheep but a male goat that was offered for sin. That is why the bridegroom says to the bride: Follow the tracks of the flocks, and search out the life of the saints who went before; and in the tents of those shepherds, that is, in the apostolic churches, feed your kids, since you have heard in the holy Gospels: "See that you do not despise one of these least little ones who believe in me; for truly I tell you, their angels always see the face of your Father who is in heaven."

### Scripture references

- Song 1:5–8: quotation, high confidence
- Song 8:5: quotation, medium confidence
- Num 12:1–15: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 2:16: allusion, medium confidence
- Exod 2:21: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 45:10–11 (44:11-Ps LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Ps 45:16 (44:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Rom 1:25: allusion, high confidence
- Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:28–29: quotation, high confidence
- Song 2:1–2: allusion, medium confidence
- Gal 4:26: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 5:1: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 12:21: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 3:1: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 13:5: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 10:24: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 10:33: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 24:11: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 2:4: allusion, medium confidence
- 2 Cor 11:13: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 9:12–13: quotation, high confidence
- Ezek 18:23: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 2:4: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 25:32–33: allusion, high confidence
- Lev 4:23: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 18:10: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 1:5–8 (numbered 4–7 in Theodoret's text). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. The "daughters of Jerusalem" are read as those who boasted in the law and handed Christ over to death, and the named heretics (Arius, Eunomius, Marcion, Valentinus, Mani, Montanus) as false shepherds; Theodoret's polemic is translated as written. Symmachus is the second-century Greek translator of the Hebrew Bible.
- Quoted or alluded to: Song 8:5 (LXX "made white"); Num 12:1, 10–15; Exod 2:16, 21; Ps 45:10–11, 16 (LXX 44:11–12, 17); Rom 1:25; Mal 4:2 (LXX 3:20); Matt 6:28–29; Song 2:1–2; Gal 4:26; 1 Cor 5:1; 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 3:1; 1 Cor 13:5; 1 Cor 10:24, 33; Matt 24:11; Gal 2:4; 2 Cor 11:13; Matt 9:12–13; Ezek 18:23; 1 Tim 2:4; Matt 25:32–33; Lev 4:23; Matt 18:10.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 1.4 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-4).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 1:8

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-4/#p-1-8
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Pharaoh stands for the devil, drowned in baptism; the bride is likened to the "mare" of Christ's human nature, which she is conformed to.

### Greek text

η΄, Τῇ ἵππῳ μου ἐν ἅρμασι Φαραὼ ὡμοίωσά σε, ἡ πλησίον μου. Τροπικῶς ἐνταῦθα Φαραὼ τὸν τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως ἀλάστορα προσηγόρευσε, τὸν ἀλιτήριον καὶ κοινὸν ἡ λῶν πολέμιον ὃν "6 τῷ Φαραὼ παραπλησίως ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῦ βαπτίσματος ὕδασιν ὑποδρύχιον πεποίηκε. Τῇ ἵππῳ μου τοίνυν, ἣ" χρησάμενος τὰ ἅρματα τοῦ Φαραὼ κατεπόντισα, ὁμοίαν σε κρίνω " πλησίον μου γενομένην, καὶ ἀγάὦ πὴν περὶ ἐμὲ χτησαμένην. Ἐχρήσατο δὲ οἷόν τινε ἢ Β᾽ 6 πὶ σοι ἰμα;, οἷοπὶ, 18. ὀχήματι τῇ τοῦ δούλου μορφῇ, ἣν κενώσας ἑαυτὸν ἀνέλαθεν, ἵνα παντὶ τῷ γένει πραγματεύσηται σωτηρίαν. Ταύτῃ τοίνυν τῇ ἵππῳ ἀπεικάζει τὴν νύμφην. Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ τῷ νοήματι ὁ ᾿Απόστολος, οὑτωσὶ λέγῶν περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ" ε Ὃς μετασχηματίσει τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸ σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὑτοῦ. » Καὶ πάλιν" « Ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντες ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι, τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμεθα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος. ν» Ἔχ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν τοίνυν ῥημάτων τὰ μυστικὰ τοῦ "λσματος νοήσωμεν ῥήματα, καὶ ἀκούσωμεν τοῦ νυμφίου λέγοντος, ὅτι Σὰ τὴν πλησίον μου γενομένην, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πλησίον ὀνομαζομένην, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πράγματος χαρπουμένην τὸ ὄνομα, τῇ ἵππῳ μου ἐοικέναι φημὶ, ἧ χρησάμενος τὸν νοητὸν Φαραὼ σὺν τοῖς ἅρμασιν αὐτοῦ κατεπόντισα, καί σοι τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἐδωρησάμην. Τούτοις ἐπάγει"

### English translation (Claude)

8. "To my mare among Pharaoh's chariots I have likened you, my companion." Here he figuratively calls Pharaoh the destroyer of our nature, the wicked common enemy of all, whom, like Pharaoh, he has drowned in the holy waters of baptism. To my mare, then, by means of which I drowned the chariots of Pharaoh, I judge you to be like, since you have come near me and have acquired love for me. He used as a kind of vehicle the form of a servant, which he took when he emptied himself, so as to work salvation for the whole race. To this mare, then, he likens the bride. And the Apostle bears witness to this meaning when he says of Christ the Saviour: "who will transform the body of our humiliation, to be conformed to the body of his glory"; and again: "And we all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord the Spirit." From the apostolic words, then, let us understand the mystical words of the Song, and hear the bridegroom saying: You who have come near me, and for this reason are called my companion (taking the name from the fact), I say are like my mare, by means of which I drowned the spiritual Pharaoh with his chariots and granted you freedom. To these words he adds:

### Scripture references

- Song 1:9: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 14:23–28: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 2:7: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 3:21: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 3:18: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 1:9 (numbered 8 in Theodoret's text). "Companion" renders ἡ πλησίον ("the one near"), on which Theodoret plays. Pharaoh's chariots: Exod 14:23–28; 15:4.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 1.8 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-8).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 1:9

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-4/#p-1-9
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride's cheeks and neck are her modest and faithful members; the angels and Scriptures adorn her until Christ rises; she calls him "kinsman" because he was born of her sister, Israel, and names him nard, myrrh and blossoming vine.

### Greek text

θ΄. Τί ὡραιώθησαν αἱ σιαγόνες σου",, ὡς τρῳδ θελήσω, φησί, οοἰ. θελήσει, φησὶ, θελήσω. δὲ δεξιόν. Αὐεδί ἃ οὐ. 55 οοὐ. κρινῶ. 55 σου. Δθεδί ἃ οοά, χι τόνος ! τράχηλός σου, ὡς ὀρμίσκοι "} ᾿Αλλὰ μὴ Α πε ἐμγιμτὶς ! φοἰ μην πάλιν σαρκικῶς νοήσωμεν τὴν σιαγόνα, καὶ τὸν τράχηλον᾽ λάδωμεν δὲ εἰς νοῦν, ὅτι καὶ πολλάκις ἡ θεία Γραφὴ σωματικοῖς ὀνόμασι καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς κέχρῆται" γκαὶ ποτὲ μέν φησιν ὁ προφήτης Ἱερεμίας " ε Τὴν κοιλίαν μου, τὴν κοιλίαν μου ἐγὼ ἀλγῶ" » καὶ δεικνὺς ὅτι " οὐ περὶ ταύτης λέγει, ἐπάγει, ε καὶ τὰ αἰσϑητήρια τῆς καρδίας μον. » Ποτὲ δὲ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγει" ε Τὰς παρειμένας χεῖρας, καὶ τὰ παραλελυμένα γόνατα ἀνορθώσατε, καὶ τροχιὰς ὀρθὰς ποιήσατε τοῖς ποσὶν ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ χωλὸν ἐχτραπῇ, ἰαθῇ δὲ μᾶλλον" » οὔτε περὶ χειρῶν, οὔτε περὶ ποδῶν, οὔτε περὶ τῆς ὁρωμένης χωλότητος ὁ μακάριος παρῇνεσε Παῦλος, ἀλλὰ τὰς πρακτικὰς τῆς ψυχῆς ἐνεργείας τούτοις τοῖς ὀνόμασι προσηγόρευδεν. Οὕτω τοίνυν νοήσωμεν τό' ε« Ὡραιώθησαν σιατόνες σου ὡς τρυγόνος, τράχηλός σηυ ὡς δρμίσχοι.» Ἔχ πολλῶν γὰρ ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν ἢ Ἐκκλησία συγχεχροτημένη, ἔχει τινὰς μὲν σιαγόνας, τινὰς δὲ ὀφθαλμοὺς, τινὰς δὲ ἀκοὰς, τινὰς δὲ στόμα, ἄλλους δὲ χεΐρας, καὶ ἄλλους πόδας ὀνομαζομένους. ᾿Επαινεῖ τοίνυν δνυμφίος τοὺς τὴν σεμνότητα μετιόντας, καὶ τὸ τῆς αἰδοῦς ἐρύθημα κεκτημένους" καί φησιν" « Ὡραιώθησαν σιαγόνες σουὼς τρυγόνος. »Τὴν δὲ τρυγόνα φασὶν οἱ «ὰς φύσεις τῶν ζώων συγγεγραφότες, οὐ φιλέρημον εἶναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σώφρονα, καὶ τόν τε ἄῤῥενα μιᾷ θηλείᾳ συναπτόμενον, τὴν δὲ θήλειαν ἑνὶ ἄῤῥενι χοινωυνοῦσαν, καὶ οὐδὲ μετὰ τὴν ἀποδίωσιν ἑτέρῳ ἣ ἑτέρᾳ συναφθῆναι ἀνεχομένην. Εἰκότως τοίνυν ταύτῃ ἢ ἐοικέναι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν φησὶ τὴν τῷ Χριστῷ συναφθεῖσαν, καὶ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων κοινωνίας διαφυγοῦσαν, καὶ μηδὲ μετὰ τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ καταλιπεῖν αὐτὸν ἀνεχομένην, ἀλλὰ ἀναμείνασαν τὴν ἀνάστασιν, καὶ ἀναμένουσαν αὐτοῦ τὴν δευτέραν παρουσίαν. Καὶ τὸν τράχηλον δὲ αὐτῆς ὁρμίσχοις ἐοικέναι φησί. ΠΕεριδέραιον " δέ ἐστι τοῦτο, καὶ εἶδος κόσμου τὸν τράχηλον καλλωπίζοντος. Ἐπαινεῖ δὲ αὐτὴν καλῶς ἕλκουσαν τὸν τῆς εὐσεδείας ζυγὸν, περὶ οὗ φησιν ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις ὃ νυμφίος" « Ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς, ὅτι ὁ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς, καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἔστι. » Διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς λομασι θαυμάζει τὸν τράχηλον τὸν τοῦτον φέροντα τὸν ζυγὸν, ὡς οὐ ὡραϊσμοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ οἴκοθεν ἔχοντα τὴν εὐπρέπειαν, ὡς ἀπεικάζεσθαι γυμνὸν ὄντα ὁρμέσχοις ἄλλους τραχήλους χοσμοῦσι ". Τούτων ὑπὸ τοῦ νυμφίου ῥηθέντων, ἀποκρίνονται καὶ οἱ δορυφόροι τοῦ νυμφίου, καὶ ὑπηρέται, καί φασι τῇ νύμφῃ" ὁ, α᾽, Ὁμοιώματα" χρυσίου ποιήσομέν σοι μετὰ στιγμάτων τοῦ ἀργυρίου. Ἕως οὗ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν ἀγακλίσει ᾽ αὑτοῦ. Δοκοῦσι δέ μοι σημαίνειν ἐνταῦθα τὸν πρὸ τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ' Δεσπότου Χριστοῦ πώ. ἰοδἰΐ, οἷ 50ροοἱ οἱ ἐμὰ : εἰ ἐπ 56, δι δ᾽ βοϊ ει εἰ γε γι οἰΐδιι ρα ἀΐ- «ἀπ : ναὶ αἱ τοῦθ θυ γε ηυΐξ, δα ὰ γρουγγοοιοησθπι., οἱ 586πιο ας μος Υ σε. ἵν, 19. « "νά. Ὑ " Ναί. χι, 29, εἰ] δἰ Πα ἀΐ πα 5 δυτγὶ εἰ πίη ϊ- Εἰδὶ σα δἱ ογί ν» οἱ; ε« ὦ. » ἰῃδια : δὲ ἴ,, » ξο ἃ πιΐαἱΐ : χὼδ τῇ πρὸς τὸν Ἰούδαν “ εἰρημένῃ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν "". διακόνων, πάλιν ἡ νύμφη φησί" Εα- 651 ργίηιο οὐ οὐτὰ δογοτίβ ἰ υ ἀρρο ει. ϑροη- οτ σοι βοη [48 810} εϑὲ Νοι ἀΐεῖ! ἰῃ 0, Εὰ δον '..» Αο χα, ἰϊ. Α καιρόν" καὶ παραμυθοῦνται τὴν νύμφην, ὅτι Πάντα τὸν πρὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ βασιλέως καιρὸν ἡμεῖς σοὶ συνεσόμεθα, καὶ διακοσμήσομέν σε τῷ δυνατῷ κόσμῳ καὶ οὐ καταλείψομέν σε ἕως ἀναστῇ, ἀλλὰ προσοίσομέν σοι ὁμοιώματα χρυσίου, καὶ στίγματα ἀργυρίου. ᾿Ακολούθως δὲ ἔφασαν ὁμοιώματα χρυσίου, καὶ οὐκ αὑτὸν τὸν γρυσόν δ" ἐπειδὴ μείζονα τοῦ νυμφίου τὰ δῶρα" τὰ δὲ τῶν ἐχείνου διακόνων οὐ τὴν ἴσην ἔχει δόξαν. Διὸ τοῖς θείοις Εὐαγγελίοις πλείονα προσφέρομεν τὴν τιμήν τιμῶμεν δὲ καὶ νόμον, καὶ τοὺς προφῆτας, καὶ τὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων συγγράμματα. Εἰκότως τοίνυν ἔφασαν οἱ τοῦ νυμφίου διάκονοι " ε« Ὁμοιώματα τοῦ χρυσίου ποιἕ σομέν σοι " μετὰ στιγμάτων τοῦ ἀργυρίου, ἕως οὗ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν ἀναχλίσει αὐτοῦ. » Στίγματα δὲ ἀργυρίον καὶ ὁμοιώματα χρυσίου τὸ ποικίλον τῶν χαρισμάτων νοήσωμεν, καὶ τῆς περὶ ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ γινομένης προνοίας, ᾿Απολαύομεν γὰρ καὶ τῆς παρ᾽ ἀγγέλων βοηθείας" ε Παρεμθαλεῖ γὰρ ἄγγελος Κυρίου κύκλῳ τῶν φοδουμένων αὐτὸν, καὶ ῥύσεται αὖτούς. ε Καὶ, ε Τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὑτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ, τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδεῖς σου. » Καὶ ὁ νόμος δὲ αὐτὸς ἀγγέλων διακονούντων ἐδόθη. Διό φησὶν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος᾽ ε Εἰ γὰρ ὁ δι᾿ ἀγγέλων λαληθεὶς νόμος ἐγένετο βέδαιος. ν Ἐν ὅσῳ τοίνυν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀναχλίνεται καὶ ἀνίσταται, ἡμεῖς, φησὶ, τὰ δυνατὰ πρασοίσομεν. ᾿Ανάχλισιν δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸν θάνατὸν προσαγορεύουσιν. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Βαλαὰμ προφη- “εὐων φησίν" « Ἐξελεύσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ σπέρς ματος αὐτοῦ, καὶ κυριεύσει ἐθνῶν πολλῶν " » καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγα᾽ ε« Κατακλιθεὶς ἀνεπαύσατο ὡς λέων, καὶ ὡς σκύμνος, τίς ἀναστήσει αὑτόν; Οἱ εὐλογοῦντές τε Ταῦτα δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἴα- Τούτων ἄνωθεν οὕτω ῥηθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν τοῦ νυμφίου Νάρδος μου ἔδωκεν' ὀσμὴν αὐτοῦ. (.β) Ἀπό: δεσμὸς στωκτῆς ἀδειϊφιδοῦς "" μου ἐμοί. Ζητητέον δὲ πρότερον, τί δήποτε αὐτὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν ὀνομάζεε" νύμφην δὲ ἐδιδάχθημεν τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαν" ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναῖκα προτέραν τοῦ νυμφίου τὴν Ἰουδαίων πληθὺν, λαδοῦσαν βιδλίον ἀποςτασίου εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς, διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀκολασίαν. ᾿Αδελφαὶ δὲ τυγχάνουσιν" ἄμφω γὰρ τὸν ᾿Αδὰμ αὐχοῦσι πατέρα" ἀλλ᾽ ὁ νυμφίος ἐκ τῆς προτέρας ἐδλάττησε Ὁ κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. Φησὶ γὰρ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος " « Πρόδηλον δὲ ὅτι ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατέταλκεν ὁ Κύριος. » Καὶ πάλιν’ « Τῷ δὲ ᾿Αθραὰμ ἐῤῥέθησαν αἱ ἐπαγγελία:, καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ. Οὐ λέγει, Καὶ τοῖς σπέρμασιν, ὡς ἐπὶ πολλῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐφ᾽ ἑνός" Καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ 15, ὅς ἐστι Χριστός. » Καὶ πεοὶ τοῦ Δαθὶδ δέ φησιν ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος, ὅτι « Προφή-. χεῖσ, 8δ τόν. Ανοβῖ ἃ οὐ. οι. Πος. δὶ : τῆς ὑπάρχων, καὶ εἰδὼς ὅτι ὄργῳ ὥμοσεν αὐτῷ ὁ Α θεὸς ἔχ καρποῦ τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτοῦ ἀναστήσειν." τὸ χχτὰ σάρκα τὸν Χριστὸν, προειδὼς ἐλάλησε περὶ τοῦ θανάτον, ὅτι «Οὐκ ξγχατελείφθη ἡ ψυχὴ εἰς ἄδου, οὐδὲ ἡ σὰρξ αὐτοῦ εἶδε διαφθοράν. » Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἀδελφαὶ τυγχάνουσα:, ἢ τε Ἰουδαίων πληθὺς, καὶ ἡ ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία, ἐκείνης δὲ υἱὸς ὁ Χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, εἰκότως αὐτὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν ἡ νύμφη καλεῖ, ὡς τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτῆς υἱὸν γενόμενον κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου ἐμοὶ καὶ νάρδος ἔστ᾽, καὶ ἀπόδεσμος σταχτῆς ᾿ πολλοῖς γὰρ αὐτὸν ὀνόμασι προσαγορεύω, ὑπὸ τῆς εὐοσμίας τοῦ μύρου αὑτοῦ χαταθελγομένη, καὶ οὐ δύναμαι ἑνὶ ὀνόματι χρήσασθαι. Πάσας γὰρ ὁμοῦ τὰς προτηγορίας νικᾷ πῖςς εὐοσμίας αὐτοῦ ἡ δύναμις " ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης αὑτοῦ ν:χωμένη, καὶ νάρδον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζω, καὶ ἀπό- : μὲν, ὡς καὶ ἁλιφέντα τῇ νάρδῳ τῇ πιστικῇ τῇ πολυτίμῳ, ἧς ἡ ὀσμὴ ὅλον τὸν οἶκον ἐπλήρωσε, τύπον ἔχοντα τῆς οἰκουμένης " ἐπλήρωσε γὰρ τῆς εὐώδους πίστεως τὴν οἰκουμένην ἡ ὑπὸ τῶν εὐσεδῶν τῷ Κυρίῳ προσενεἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ε« Κατέδη ὡς ὑετὸς ἐπὶ πόκον, καὶ ὡσεὶ στλγὼν ἡ στάζουσα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. » Κέκληται δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν καὶ σταγών" ε Ἕσται γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐκ τῆς σταγόνος τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου συναγόμενος συναχθήσεται Ἰαχώδ, » Ἰστέον δὲ ὅτι ὁ Σύμμαχος "5, καὶ ὁ ᾿χύλας, σμύρναν τὴν στακτὴν ὠνομάχασι. Δηλοῖ δὲ ἢ σμύρνα τοῦ νυμφίου τὸν θάνατον, καὶ τὴν ἐκεῖθεν γενομένην εὐοσμίαν τῇ νύμφῃ. Προσέθηκε δέ" εἰ ἀναμέσον 5 τῶν μαστῶν μου αὐλισθήσεται. » Τουτἐστιν ἐν τῷ ἠγεμονικῷ τῆς ψυχῆς μου, ὃ τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐπαναπαύεται μεταξὺ τῶν μαστῶν διαχειμένῃ. Δηλοῖ δὲ τοῦτο τῆς προφητείας τὸ πέρας, τῆς ὑπὸ Θεοῦ "7 λεγομένης" « Ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω, καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτῶν Θεὸς, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι λαὸς, λέγει Κύριος παντοχράτωρ. » Καὶ αὑτὸς δὲ ὁ νυμφίος ὑπισχνεῖται λέγων, ὅτι « Ἐλευσόμεθα ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ, καὶ μονὴν παρ᾽ αὐτῷ ποιησόμεθα. » Διὸ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος βοζξ, ε Ἢ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ; » Τούτου χάριν ἡ νύμφη φησίν" « ᾿Αναμέσον τῶν μαστῶν μου δ αὐλισθήσεται 15, Οὐ. Βότρυς κύπρου "5 ἀδελφιδοῦς μου ἐμοὶ ἐν ἡ νύμφη, ποῖον ὄνομα ἐπιθῇ τῷ νυμφίῳ, τῇδε κἀκεῖσε περινοστεῖ, καὶ πανταχόθεν προσηγορίας ἐρανιζομένη ἐπιτίθησιν αὐτῷ, ἐπειγομένη μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτὸν καλεῖν, οὗ δυναμένη δὲ εὑρεῖν τῆν ἀξίαν προσηγορίαν. Διὸ πάλιν βότρυν αὐτὸν ὀνομάξει κύπρου, τουτέστι χυπρίζοντα, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀνθεῖν ἀρξάμενον. Εὐώδης γὰρ ἧ ἄμπελος κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνο τοῦ καιροῦ. Προστίθησι δὲ, 1 Δει. ", χει, ὅ, αὐ «Νοῖ το οἴ αϑῖ Δ πιὰ 6118 οἵ ηἰ ἃρἀο! 11 οἱ απ οα δρρε!ν᾽ 8 Ομ ἷ οϑδὶ δἰ ηἰ Ποδὶ πη Ἶν σα πὶ δι! Κ. ν Ε ἃ : «ἴῃ ἀπ οδῖ. ἴῃ αι ου8 αἷϊ : ε Πα οἱ ᾿ρϑὶ δγιηι ἢν Ἶν οἱ εἰ εἰς μαϑ 88, " ορ. ἀναστήσει. τοῦς ἔμ Ραίγαμι. ζ9. κύπρον. οσοὐ. μεῖον, τῆς, τ ἀνᾳτοὐν σου, "" αὐλισῆ, πὲ σοι, δο {10 ἐ ἴη δυάδα Αὶ ἴσαι ἰδ πὶ ἃς ἢὰ δος δὶ Γ᾿, οὐ τὶ ἰηἃ ε Οου]! οἱ" ἰὼ πῃ 68}}μον ϑρί τυ δἰἷί: τε διον, ἰῃ- « Ἐν 5 τοῖς ἀμπελῶσιν Ἑνγαδδὶ » τοιοῦτός ἐστιν εὐώδης. Εἰ μὲν οὖν τὸ χωρίον σημαίνει τὸ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ, ὡς ἀμπελῶσι θαυμαστοῖς κεκοσμημένον, νοητέον τροπικῶς, ὅτι Ὑπὲρ ἐκείνας τὰς ἀμπέλους εὐώδης σου ὁ βότρυς ὑπάρχει. Εἰ δὲ διὰ τὴν τοῦ ὀνόμα τὸς σημασίαν τὴν προσηγορίαν τοῦ ε Ἐνγαδδὶ » τέθεικεν, ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύεται ὀρθαλμὸς πειρατηρίου, νοητέον οὕτως, ὅτι Καὶ ἐν πειρασμοῖς ὑπάργουσα, καὶ ὑπὸ πολλῶν πολεμουμένη, τῆς σῆς εὐοσμίας ἀντιλαμθάνομαι᾽ καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν ἀνρίου δὲ ὄντων μέσον" πειρατήριον γάρ ἐστι ὁ βίος ἀν-θρώπου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς" προκρίνω ᾽5 τὴν εὐοσμίαν τοῦ χυπρίζοντος βότρυος ᾽". Εἰ δὲ ὁ ἄρτι ἀνθῶν τοιοῦτός ἐστι, σκοπητέον οἷος ὁ περχάζων᾽ καὶ εἰ ὁ περχάζων τούτου κρείττων, ἐνθυμητέον οἷο; ὁ πέπειρος, καὶ ταῖς ληνοῖς ἐπιτήδειος. Ἡγοῦμαι γὰρ τὸν αὐτὸν, ἀναλόγως ταῖς πνευματικαῖς ἡλικία:ς, τοῖς μὲν ἀνθεῖν, τοῖς δὲ εἶναι, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν τελείων πίνεσθαι" «ε Τὸ ᾿"" γὰρ ποτήριον αὐτοῦ μεθύσκον ᾽5 ὡσεὶ κράτιστον 55. » Τούτων ὑπὸ τῆς νύμφης ῥηθέντων, πάλιν αὐτῇ ὁ νυμφίος προσδιαλέγεται, καί φησιν"

### English translation (Claude)

9. "How your cheeks have been made beautiful, as a turtledove's; your neck as necklaces." But let us not again understand the cheek and the neck carnally. Let us bear in mind that the divine Scripture often uses bodily names also of the soul. Sometimes the prophet Jeremiah says: "My belly, my belly, I am in pain"; and showing that he does not mean this belly, he adds: "and the senses of my heart." Sometimes the blessed Paul says: "Lift up the drooping hands and the paralysed knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." The blessed Paul was not exhorting about hands or feet or visible lameness; by these names he called the practical activities of the soul. So let us understand "Your cheeks have been made beautiful as a turtledove's, your neck as necklaces." For the Church, gathered from many men and women, has some members called cheeks, some eyes, some ears, some mouth, others hands and others feet. The bridegroom, then, praises those who pursue modesty and possess the blush of shame, and says: "Your cheeks have been made beautiful as a turtledove's." Those who have written on the natures of animals say that the turtledove not only loves solitude but is also chaste: the male joins with one female and the female keeps company with one male, and even after the other's death it does not bear to be joined to another. Fittingly, then, he says that the Church is like her: joined to Christ, she flees fellowship with others, and did not bear to leave him even after his death, but waited for the resurrection and now waits for his second coming. And he says that her neck is like necklaces. This is a collar, a kind of ornament that adorns the neck. He praises her for drawing well the yoke of piety, of which the bridegroom says in the Gospels: "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is kind and my burden is light." That is why in the Song he admires the neck that bears this yoke, as having its comeliness not from adornment but from itself, so that, bare as it is, it is likened to the necklaces that adorn other necks. When the bridegroom has said these things, the bridegroom's guards and servants answer and say to the bride: 10–11. "We will make you likenesses of gold with studs of silver, until the king is at his reclining." They seem to me to signify here the time before the coming of Christ the Master … and they console the bride: All the time before the king's resurrection we will be with you, and adorn you with what adornment we can, and we will not leave you until he rises, but will bring you likenesses of gold and studs of silver. Consistently they said "likenesses of gold" and not gold itself, since the bridegroom's gifts are greater, while those of his servants do not have equal glory. That is why we give greater honour to the divine Gospels, while we honour also the law and the prophets and the writings of the holy apostles. Fittingly, then, the bridegroom's servants said: "We will make you likenesses of gold with studs of silver, until the king is at his reclining." By the studs of silver and the likenesses of gold let us understand the variety of the gifts and of the providence that God exercises over us. For we enjoy also the help of angels: "The angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear him, and will deliver them"; and: "He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." The law itself was given through the ministry of angels; that is why the Apostle says: "For if the word spoken through angels proved firm." While the king, then, reclines and rises, we, they say, will offer what we can. They call his death his "reclining." That is why Balaam too, prophesying, says: "A man shall come forth from his seed, and he shall rule many nations"; and shortly after: "Lying down, he rested like a lion and like a lion's whelp; who shall raise him up? Those who bless you …" These things can be found also in the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob spoken to Judah. When these things had been said by the bridegroom's servants, the bride again says: 12. "… My nard gave forth its fragrance. 13. A bundle of myrrh is my kinsman to me." We must first ask why she calls him "kinsman" (literally, "sister's son"). We have learned that the bride is the Church from the nations; but the bridegroom's former wife was the multitude of the Jews, who received a bill of divorce into her hands because of her own licentiousness. They are sisters, for both boast of Adam as father; but the bridegroom sprang from the former according to his humanity. For the blessed Paul says: "It is evident that our Lord has arisen from Judah"; and again: "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his seed. It does not say 'and to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'and to your seed,' who is Christ." And the blessed Peter says of David: "Being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would raise up the Christ according to the flesh from the fruit of his loins, he foresaw and spoke of his death, that his soul was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption." Since, then, the multitude of the Jews and the Church from the nations are sisters, and Christ is the son of the former according to the flesh, the bride fittingly calls him "kinsman," as one who became her sister's son according to his humanity. This kinsman of mine, then, is to me both nard and a bundle of myrrh; for I call him by many names, enchanted by the fragrance of his ointment, and I cannot keep to one name. The power of his fragrance surpasses all names together; but overcome by love for him I name him nard and bundle … as anointed with the precious pure nard whose fragrance filled the whole house, which is a type of the world; for the ointment offered to the Lord by the pious filled the world with the fragrance of faith … since he himself "came down like rain upon a fleece, and like a drop that drips upon the earth." He has been called "drop" by the prophets too: "For from the drop of this people Jacob shall be gathered." One must know that Symmachus and Aquila called the stakte "myrrh." The myrrh signifies the bridegroom's death and the fragrance that came to the bride from it. And she added: "He will lodge between my breasts": that is, in the ruling part of my soul, which rests in the heart that lies between the breasts. The end of the prophecy spoken by God shows this: "I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, says the Lord Almighty." And the bridegroom himself promises, saying: "I and the Father will come and make our home with him." That is why Paul too cries: "Or do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?" For this reason the bride says: "He will lodge between my breasts." 14. "My kinsman is to me a cluster of henna among …" [At a loss] what name to give the bridegroom, the bride goes about here and there, and collecting names from every side she puts them on him, urged by love to call him but unable to find a name worthy of him. That is why she now names him a cluster of kypros, that is, "in blossom," meaning beginning to flower; for the vine is fragrant at that season. And she adds … "among the vineyards of En-gedi" such a cluster is fragrant. If, then, it signifies the place in Judaea, adorned with wonderful vineyards, it must be understood figuratively: Your cluster is more fragrant than those vines. But if he set down the name "En-gedi" for the meaning of the name, which is translated "eye of testing," it must be understood thus: Even when I am in temptations and attacked by many, I lay hold of your fragrance; and being in the midst of the testings of the present time (for "the life of man upon earth is a place of testing"), I prefer the fragrance of the cluster in blossom. And if the cluster that is just blossoming is such, consider what the ripening one is like; and if the ripening one is better than this, think what the ripe one is like, ready for the winepress. For I think that the same one, in proportion to the spiritual ages, blossoms for some, [ripens] for others, and is drunk by the perfect: "For his cup, inebriating, how excellent!" When the bride has said these things, the bridegroom converses with her again and says:

### Scripture references

- Song 1:10–14: quotation, high confidence
- Jer 4:19: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 12:12–13: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 11:29–30: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 34:7 (33:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 91:11 (90:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Heb 2:2: quotation, high confidence
- Num 24:7: quotation, high confidence
- Num 24:9: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 49:9: allusion, high confidence
- Jer 3:8: allusion, medium confidence
- Heb 7:14: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 3:16: quotation, high confidence
- Acts 2:30–31: quotation, high confidence
- John 12:3: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 72:6 (71:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Mic 2:11–12: quotation, medium confidence
- 2 Cor 6:16: quotation, high confidence
- John 14:23: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 13:3: quotation, high confidence
- Job 7:1: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 23:5 (22:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 1:10–14 (numbered 9–14 in Theodoret's text). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …, notably in the comment on 1:11 and at the start of 1:12. Theodoret's picture of the synagogue as the former wife divorced for licentiousness is translated as written. Symmachus and Aquila are second-century Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible. The etymology of En-gedi as "eye of testing" is Theodoret's.
- Quoted or alluded to: Jer 4:19 (LXX); Heb 12:12–13; Matt 11:29–30; Ps 34:7 (LXX 33:8); Ps 91:11 (LXX 90:11); Heb 2:2; Num 24:7, 9; Gen 49:9; Jer 3:8; Heb 7:14; Gal 3:16; Acts 2:30–31; John 12:3; Ps 72:6 (LXX 71:6); Mic 2:11–12 (LXX); 2 Cor 6:16; John 14:23; 2 Cor 13:3; Job 7:1 (LXX); Ps 23:5 (LXX 22:5).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 1.9 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-9).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 1:14

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-4/#p-1-14
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride's eyes are "doves" because they are spiritual, enlightened by the Spirit; the couch where bride and bridegroom rest together is the divine Scripture.

### Greek text

ιδ΄. Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὴ, ἡ πλησίον μου’ ἰδοὺ εἶ καλή" οἱ " ὀρθαλμοί σου περιστεραί, Ἕπαινεῖ αὐτῇ; ς πάλιν τὸ χάλλο;, καὶ θαυμάζει τὴν ὥραν, καὶ τῷ διπλασιασμῷ τὴν εὐπρέπειαν αὐτῆς ἐχπλήττεται. Πρὸ δὲ πάντων τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῆς ἐγχωμιάζξει, φησιν « Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου περιστεραὶ, » τουτέστι πνευματικοί" ἐν εἴδει γὰρ περιστερᾶς ἐπεφοίτησε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ ἐνῴχησε τῷ νυμφίῳ. Διὰ τοῦτο οὐ λέγει, ὡσεὶ ᾿' περιστερᾶς, ἀλλὰ «περιστεραὶ, »τουτἐστι πνευματικοὶ, χάριτος θείας πεπληρωμένο:, ἀχλύος ἐλεύθεροι, ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι, καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμενοι, ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος, καὶ δυνάμενοι λέγειν" « Ἡμῖν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπεκάλυψε διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ Ἶ᾿. » ᾿ΑἈποχρίνεται πάλιν ἡ νύμφη, καί φησιν᾽ τε᾽, τς΄. Ἰδοὺ εἶ καιλὸς, ἀδελφιδοῦς μου, καὶ γα ὡραῖος πρὸς ὃ᾽ κλίνην ἡμῶν σύσκιον "". Δοκχοὶ οἵκων ἡμῶν κέδροι, φατνώματα ἡμῶν κυπάρισσοι. Μέχρι μὲν οὖν τοῦ παρόντος τὴν εὐοσμίαν αὐτοῦ διετέλει θαυμάζουσα" νῦν δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ὥραν ἐχπλήττεται, φωτισθεῖσα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ πνευματικοὺς αὐτοὺς κτησαμένη, ὡς καὶ περιστερᾶς ὄνομασθῆναι" διό φησιν, ὅτι ε Καλὸς καὶ ὡραῖος ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου. » Κλίνην δὲ, ὡς οἶμαι, τὴν θείαν χαλεξ Γραφήν" ἐν ἧ ὅτε νυμφίος "3 καὶ ἢ νύμφη διαναπαυομένη 33 χοινωνοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις κατὰ τὴν πνευμα- «ικὴν κοινωνίαν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν δίδωσι τοῦ λόγου τὰ 

### English translation (Claude)

14. "Behold, you are beautiful, my companion; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves." He praises her beauty again, admires her loveliness, and by the repetition shows his amazement at her comeliness. Above all he praises her eyes, saying: "Your eyes are doves," that is, spiritual; for the Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove and rested on the bridegroom. That is why he does not say "like a dove's" but "doves": that is, spiritual, filled with divine grace, free of mist, beholding with unveiled face the glory of the Lord and being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord the Spirit, and able to say: "But to us God has revealed it through his Spirit." The bride answers again and says: 15–16. "Behold, you are beautiful, my kinsman, and comely, by our shaded couch. The beams of our houses are cedars, our panelled ceilings cypresses." Until now she had continued to admire his fragrance; but now she is struck also by his loveliness, her eyes enlightened and made spiritual, so that she is called by the name of the dove. That is why she says: "My kinsman is beautiful and comely." By the "couch" she means, I think, the divine Scripture, in which the bridegroom and the bride, as they rest, share with one another in spiritual communion. And he gives the … of the word …

### Scripture references

- Song 1:15–17: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 3:16: allusion, high confidence
- 2 Cor 3:18: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 2:10: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 1:15–17 (numbered 14–16 in Theodoret's text). The comment breaks off in the scan. The dove: Matt 3:16; John 1:32.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 1.14 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/1-14).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 2:1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-1/#p-2-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Christ is the lily of the valleys because he went down to the dead; the bride stands out among the heretical churches like a lily among thorns.

### Greek text

α΄. ᾿Εγὼ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἄνθος τοῦ πεδίου 5, χρίγον εκ. 1. Εσο τὸς. Κρίνον ἐγενόμην οὐκ ὁρέων, οὐδὲ βουνῶν, οὐδ πὶ πεδίων ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ κοιλωμάτων. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον τοῖς οΟἸ ὑπ, ζῶσιν εὐηγγελίσατο τὴν σωτηρίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς χροῖς τὴν ἀνάστασιν, κατελθὼν εἰς τὰ κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς, ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα. Διὰ τοῦτο τοῦ μὲν πεδίου ἄνθος ἑαυτὸν ὀνομάζει, κρίνον δὲ τῶν κοιλω- [Ιἀεῖγοο 86 μάτων, τουτέστι τῶν τεθνηκότων᾽ καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνοις τὴν ἀναδίωσιν ἐπηγγείλατό τε καὶ δἰ εἰ τὸ Ἂς Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ ἑαντὸν τοιούτοις ὀνόμασι προσ- Β. Ὡς κρίνον ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀκανθῶν, οὕτως ἡ Ὁ πλησίον μου ἐν μέσῳ "" τῶν θυγατέρων. Ὅση γὰρ διαφορὰ τοῦ χρίνου πρὸς τὰς ἀκάνθας, τοσοῦτο 5 διενήνοχέ σου τὸ κάλλος τῶν θυγατέρων, αἵ οὕτω μὲν " προσαγορεύονται διὰ τὸ τῆς κλήσεως ἀξιωθῇ- 4110 ναι, τοῦ δὲ ἐχλεχταὶ εἶναι ἑαυτὰς ἀπεστερήχεισαν. « Μυ} ε Πολλοὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, κλητοὶ, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί. » εἰΐ Υ.» χχ, 10. Ἦ' σύσκιον. ἐν μέσῳ. ες. ἰ6ς|ο0 651 ἀναμέσον. ἢ τοσοῦτο. ΜΑΠοπὶ τοσούτῳ. οοἀ. τοτοῦτον, 5 μέν, 5. ἃ οοὐ. “ δἰ- Α Τούτῳ δὲ "Ἶ ὀνόματι καὶ ὁ προφήτης ᾿Ησαΐας ὀνομάοἱ δυΐ. » οὶ οἱ ἀεί 5ροηβὰ, αἱ οἷ : εκβ. ὅ. δέοι μομείηι ἱμ ον Πσπα οἰίνω, Θ᾽ ἰία εἰ δραὶ : εἰ [γμοίτιδ 6718 ἀμ οἷς δυαὶ, οἱ ἢ μα οδὶ, [υνυ} 05 οἱ ζει τὴν νύμφην λέγων' « Εὐφράνθητι, ἔρημος διψῶσα". εὐφρανθήτω ἔρημος, καὶ ἀνθείτω ὡς κρίνον" » ἔρημος γὰρ ἣν πρότερον, καὶ ἄκαρπος, καὶ ἄνυδρος ἡ νύμφη προσαγορενομένη, καὶ κλίνην οὐκ ἔχουσα σύσκιον" ἐδίψα δὲ τὸν νυμφίον" διὸ καὶ βοᾷ « Φιλησάτω με ἀπὸ φιλημάτων στόματος αὐτοῦ. » Καὶ τοῦτο ὁ προφήτης εἰδὼς, πνευματικὸς γὰρ ἦν, ἔλεγεν « Εὐφράνθητι, ἔρημος διψῶσα, εὐφρανθήτω ἔρημος, καὶ ἀνθείτω ὡς κρίνον. » Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ νυμφίος φησὶ πρὸς αὑτήν’ « Ὡς κρίνον ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀκανθῶν, οὔτως ἡ πλησίον μου ἀναμέσον τῶν θυγατέρων. » Καὶ ἔοικεν ἐνταῦθα τὰς τῶν αἰρετιχῶν ἐκκλησίας θυγατέρας καλεῖν, διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ κλῇσιν, καὶ οὐ διὰ τὴν ἐχείνων προαίρεσιν. Κἀκείνας μὲν ἀπειχάζει " Β ἀκάνθαις, ταύτην δὲ κρίνῳ εὐώδει, τῷ καὶ ἔξωθεν λαμπρότητα ἔχοντι, καὶ τὸ χρυσοειδὲς ἄνθος ἐν μέσῳ «ερικειμένῳ. Τοιαύτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ τὴν τῆς δικαιοσύνης λαμπρότητα περικειμένη ψυχὴ, καὶ τὸ πνευματικὸν τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως χάρισμα ἔνδον ἐν τοῖς ταμείοις κρυπτόμενον περιφέρουσα "". ᾿Αμείδεται ἡ νύμφη, καί φησι πρὸς αὐτόν"

### English translation (Claude)

1. "For I," he says, "am the flower of the plain, the lily of the valleys." I became a lily not of mountains, nor of hills, nor simply of plains, but of hollows. For he proclaimed the good news not only of salvation to the living but also of resurrection to the dead, having gone down into the lower parts of the earth so as to fill all things. That is why he calls himself the flower of the plain and the lily of the hollows, that is, of the dead; for to them too he promised and [granted] new life. Then, since he had called himself by such names … 2. "As a lily among thorns, so is my companion among the daughters." As great as is the difference between the lily and the thorns, so far does your beauty excel the daughters, who are so called because they were counted worthy of the calling, but had deprived themselves of being chosen. "For many," he says, "are called, but few are chosen." By this name the prophet Isaiah too names the bride, saying: "Rejoice, thirsty desert; let the desert rejoice and blossom like a lily." For the one called bride was formerly a desert, fruitless and waterless, and had no shaded couch; but she thirsted for the bridegroom, which is why she cries: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." And knowing this, the prophet (for he was spiritual) said: "Rejoice, thirsty desert; let the desert rejoice and blossom like a lily." That is why the bridegroom too says to her: "As a lily among thorns, so is my companion among the daughters." Here he seems to call the churches of the heretics "daughters," because of his calling and not because of their choice. Those he likens to thorns, but her to a fragrant lily, which has brightness on the outside and the golden flower set in the middle. Such is the soul that is clothed in the brightness of righteousness and carries within, hidden in its storerooms, the spiritual gift of wisdom and knowledge. The bride replies and says to him:

### Scripture references

- Song 2:1–2: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 4:9–10: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Pet 3:19: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 22:14: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 35:1: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 2:1–2 (Theodoret gives 2:1 to the bridegroom). The heretical churches are called "daughters" by their calling, not their choice; translated as written. Quoted or alluded to: Eph 4:9–10; 1 Pet 3:19; Matt 22:14; Isa 35:1 (LXX); Song 1:2.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 2.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 2:3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-1/#p-2-3
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Christ is the apple tree whose fruit feeds the bride and delights every sense; his shade is the partial knowledge of this life, seen as in a mirror.

### Greek text

γ΄, Ὡς μῆλον ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις τοῦ δρυμοῦ, οὔεὡς ἀδελφιδοῦςι μου ἀγαμέσον τῶν υἱῶν" ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ αὑτοῦ ἐπεθύμησα καὶ ἐκάθισα, καὶ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ γλυκὺς ἐν λάῤυγγί μου. Πολλὴ δὲ ἢ διαφορὰ τοῦ μήλου πρὸς τὸ γρίνον' τὸ μὲν γὰρ μόνὴν τὴν ὄψιν, καὶ τὴν ὄσφρησιν εὐφραίνει, τὸ δὲ μῆλον πρὸς τῇ ὄψει, καὶ τῇ ὀσφρήσέι καὶ τῇ γεύσει "Ὁ α ἡδονὴν τοῖς βουλομένοις παρέχει. Ἐδώδιμον γάρ ἔστεν καὶ ἐσθίεται" διὰ τοῦτο ἡ μὲν νύμφη κρίνον ὀνομάζεται, ὁ δὲ νυμφίος μῆλον. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐσθίεται καὶ γίνεται τροφὴ τῇ νύμφῃ ἡ δὲ οὐκ ἐσθίεται, ἀλλὰ μόνην ἔχει τὴν εὐοσμίαν' διὰ τοῦτό φησιν" « Ὡς μῇλον ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις τοῦ δρυμοῦ, οὕτως ἀδελφιδοῦς μου ἀναμέσον τῶν υἱῶν. » ΥἹἱοὺς δὲ προσαγορεύει, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖ θυγατέρας, τοὺς τῆς μὲν κλήσεως ἀξιωθέντας, ἀναξίους δὲ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς χαταστήσαντας τῆς ἔκλογῆς" οὖς ἐοικέναι ξύλοις δρυμοῦ, καὶ δένδροις ἀχάρποῖς ἡ νύμφη φησίν. Τὸν δὲ νυμφίον ὀνομάζει μῆλον, ὃ καὶ τῇ ἀφῇ λεῖον, καὶ τῇ γεύσει ἡδὺ, καὶ τῇ ὀσμῇ εὐῶδες, καὶ τῇ ὄψει τερπνότατον καὶ χαριέστατον, καὶ τῇ ἀκοῇ ἥδιστον" ἅμα γὰρ τῷ ἀκοῦσαι πάσας τῷ λόγῳ τὰς αἰσθήσεις προσφέρομεν. Τοιοῦτος δὲ ὁ Δε- 0 σπότης ἡμῶν, καὶ Σωτὴρ, καὶ νυμφίος, πάσας ἡμῶν ἑστιῶν τὰς αἰσθήσεις τυγχάνε!:. Ἔν τῇ τούτου σκιᾷ λέγει ἡ νύμφη ἐπιθυμῆσαι καθίσαι, καὶ τοῦτο πεποιτκέναι" μετὰ δὲ ταῦτά φησι καὶ τοῦ καρποῦ μεταλαθεῖν, καὶ γλυκύτατον τοῦτον ἐν τῷ λάρυγγι φανῆνα!" βούλεται γὰρ φυγεῖν τὰς τῆς κακίας ἀκτῖνας συγκαίει») ἐπισταμένας, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν γένηται μέλαινα" σκιὰ δὲ τοῦ νυμφίου τὰ νῦν ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ καὶ αἰνίγματι, χστὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, φαινόμενα “ εἴλρτι μὲν γὰρ, φτσὶν, βλέπω ὡς ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ, καὶ ὡς τ δὲ, οοἀ. τῶ, 5 σῇ γεύσει, οο(. τὴν γεῦσιν, ἐν περί, πὶ ἐν αἰνίγματι" τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον" δγτ. γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην" : διὰ τοῦτό φησιν" ε« Ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ αὐτοῦ ἐπεθύμησα, καὶ ἐκάθισα, καὶ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ γλυκὺς ἐν λάρυγγί μον. » Καὶ γὰρ ὑπὸ τὴν σκιὰν θάνω" καὶ μαρτυροῦσιν οἱ μεμυημένοι, τοῖς τοῦ

### English translation (Claude)

3. "As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my kinsman among the sons; in his shade I longed to sit, and I sat, and his fruit was sweet in my throat." Great is the difference between the apple and the lily. The lily delights only sight and smell; but the apple, besides sight and smell, gives pleasure to taste as well to those who wish, for it is edible and is eaten. That is why the bride is named a lily and the bridegroom an apple: he is eaten and becomes food for the bride, while she is not eaten but has only her fragrance. That is why she says: "As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my kinsman among the sons." She calls "sons," as there "daughters," those who were counted worthy of the calling but made themselves unworthy of being chosen; these the bride says are like trees of the wood and fruitless trees. And she names the bridegroom an apple, which is smooth to the touch, sweet to the taste, fragrant to the smell, most delightful and charming to the sight, and most pleasant to the hearing; for as soon as we hear the word, we bring all our senses to it. Such is our Master and Saviour and bridegroom: he feasts all our senses. In his shade the bride says she longed to sit, and did so; and after that she says she partook also of the fruit, and it seemed most sweet in her throat. For she wishes to flee the rays of wickedness, which know how to scorch, so that she may not become black again. And the bridegroom's "shade" is what now appears in a mirror and in a riddle, according to the blessed Paul: "For now," he says, "I see as in a mirror, in a riddle, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." That is why she says: "In his shade I longed to sit, and I sat, and his fruit was sweet in my throat." For indeed under the shade … and those who have been initiated bear witness, to the …

### Scripture references

- Song 2:3: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 13:12: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 2:3. The comment breaks off in the scan at a reference to "those who have been initiated," apparently to the sacraments. Paul: 1 Cor 13:12.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 2.3 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-3).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 2:4–5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-1/#p-2-4
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The house of wine is the churches, God's winepresses; the bride asks to be taught to love Christ above all, and is wounded by his love.

### Greek text

δ', ε΄. Εἰσαγάγετε μὲ "Ὑ) εἷς οἶκον τοῦ οἵγου" τάξατε "" ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ ἀγάπην. Στηρίξατέ με ἐν μύἐοις 5" στοιδάσατέ με ἐν μήλοις, ὅτι τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ. Οἶχον δὲ οἴνου καλεῖν αὐτὴν ἡγοῦμαι πὰς θείας ληνοὺς, περὶ ὧν ὁ προφήτης φησίν. « Ὡς ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σον, Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων Ἐπιποθεῖ καὶ ἐκλείπει ἡ Ψυχή μου εἰς τὰ; αὐλὰς τοῦ Κυρίου. » --α ε Ὑπερ γὰρ τῶν «1ηγῶν ν τὸν ᾧχλμὸν ὀνομάσας ταῦτα ἐπήγαγε" διδάσκων, ὡς χηνοὺς χυλεῖ τὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίας, ἐν αἷς ὁ πνευματικὸς οἶνος ἀποθλιθόμενος, καὶ οἱονεὶ ληνοῦαπούμενο; εὐφραίνει τῶν εὐσεδῶν τὰς ψυχὰς κατὰ τὴν προφητείαν τὴν λέγουσαν" « Μεθυσθήσονται ἀπὸ πιότητος οἴχου σου, καὶ τὸν χειμάῤῥουν δ τῆς τρυφῆς ὅοὺυ ποτιεῖς αὐτούς. » Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀξιοῖ ἡ νύμφη εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ οἶνον αὐτοῦ, καὶ παρλχαλεῖ τοὺς τοῦ νυμφίου διακόνους λέγουσα " « Τάξατε ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ ἀγάπην᾽ » τουτέστι, διδάξατέ με τῆς ἀγάπης τὸν τρόπον, ἵνα μὴ ἀγαπήσω πατέρα ἣ μητέρα ὑπὲρ πὀννυμφίον, ἣ ἀγρὸν, ἢ ἀμπελῶνας, καὶ ἀναξία τοῦ γυμφῶνος φανῶ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἀπεφήνατο λέγων" ε Ὁ ἀγαπῶν πατέρα ἣ μητέρα ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ, οὐκ ἔστι μου ἄξιος" καὶ ὁ ἀγαπῶν υἱοὺς καὶ θυγατέρας ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ, οὐκ ἔστι μου ἄξιος. » Καὶ ὁ παλαιὸς δὲ νόμος, ὁ τῷ ᾿Αδὰμ δοθεὶς, τοιαῦτα διηγόρευσεν᾽ « ᾿Αντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὑτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καὶ προσκολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν.»--- ε«Τάξατε τοίνυν ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ ἀγάπην, ν ἵνα τῷ νυμδρίῳ μου συναφθῶ, καὶ τοῦ. πον καὶ πατρὸς, καὶ μητρὸς, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων προτιἦσω. ε Στηρίξατέ με ἐν μύροις, ν τουτέστι, Β:θαιώσατὲέ με τῇ τοῦ νυμφίου εὐοσμίᾳ, καὶ ὑπερείσατέ. με, ἵνα μηδέν με σαλεύσῃ᾽ διαπαντός μοι τὴν εὐωδίαν ἐχεένην προσφέροντες, ἵνα μὴ λαθδοῦσα λήθην τοῦ νυμφίου περὶ ἕτερα πλανηθῶ. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ με δ᾽ ἐν μήλοις" » ἀντὶ τοῦ, Τοῖς καρποῖς με τοῦ νυμφίου φορτίσατε' ἵνα ὑπὸ τὴν σκιὰν αὐτοῦ χαθηχένη, καὶ τῶν μύρων αὐτοῦ ὀσφρα!νομένη, καὶ τῷ 6᾽ 860] : δέ. εἶθ. ἴῃ συγ πἸ60. » οἱ πὶ μ ε Ογδυῖ πηδίγθην, δι Δα οἱ οἱ εἶτα πθ βροπϑὶ ον βοᾶν, οἱ δά εἰ « πιᾶοπογδίο, υἱ 50}} ἀπῆν γα Θὲ ὕη 506 }}}5 Ὦ εἶδ. » καρπῷ αὐτοῦ πεφορτωμένη, ἄληστον αὐτοῦ διαφυλάξω τὴν μνήμην" « Τέτρωμαι γὰρ αὐτοῦ τῇ ἀγάπῃ.» Καὶ γὰρ βέλος: ἐκλεκτὸν ὑπάρχει, καὶ τιτρώσχει τὰς βαλλομένας ψυχάς "5,

### English translation (Claude)

4–5. "Bring me into the house of wine; set love upon me. Support me with ointments, pile me up with apples, for I am wounded with love." By the house of wine I think she means the divine winepresses, of which the prophet says: "How lovely are your dwellings, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord." Having entitled the psalm "For the winepresses," he added these words, teaching that he calls the churches of God winepresses, in which the spiritual wine, pressed out and as it were trodden, gladdens the souls of the pious, according to the prophecy that says: "They shall be drunk with the abundance of your house, and you will give them drink from the torrent of your delight." That is why the bride asks to enter his house of wine, and appeals to the bridegroom's servants, saying: "Set love upon me": that is, teach me the right order of love, so that I may not love father or mother, or a field or vineyards, more than the bridegroom, and appear unworthy of the bridal chamber. For he himself declared: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves sons or daughters more than me is not worthy of me." And the old law given to Adam laid down the like: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." "Set love upon me," then, so that I may be joined to my bridegroom and prefer him to house and father and mother and everything else. "Support me with ointments": that is, make me firm with the bridegroom's fragrance and prop me up, so that nothing may shake me, always bringing me that fragrance, so that I may not forget the bridegroom and stray after other things. "And pile me up with apples": that is, load me with the bridegroom's fruits, so that, sitting under his shade, smelling his ointments and laden with his fruit, I may keep his memory unforgotten: "For I am wounded with his love." For he is a chosen arrow, and he wounds the souls he strikes.

### Scripture references

- Song 2:4–5: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 84:1–2 (83:2-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 36:8 (35:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 10:37: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 2:24: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 49:2: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 2:4–5. The psalm "For the winepresses": Ps 84 (LXX 83), title and 84:1–2. Quoted or alluded to: Ps 36:8 (LXX 35:9); Matt 10:37; Gen 2:24; Isa 49:2 ("a chosen arrow").

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 2.4 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-4).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 2:6

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-1/#p-2-6
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: God's left hand (punishment) is above the bride and his right (blessing) embraces her; she charges the maidens to keep love for Christ always burning, a love that turns away from those who refuse him.

### Greek text

ς΄. Εὐώγυμος αὑτοῦ ὑπὸ δ τὴν κεραλὴν μου" καὶ ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ περιϊήψεταί με. ᾿Αλλὰ μὴ πάλιν εἰς σωματικὰς καταπέσωμεν δόξας, εὐωυὐμου καὶ δεξιᾶς ἑπαΐοντες " καὶ γὰρ περὶ τῆς σοφίας, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἕξις, καὶ οὐκ οὐσία, φησὶν ὁ Θοα απ γ΄ πιὸ ψυχάς. ἴῃ εοὐ. δ᾽ ὑπό, (οἰ. ἐπὶ, το, νι μέ Δ|ν051 ἃ οἱ Α μὼν, ὅτε « Μῆκος βίου, καὶ ἕτη ζωῆς, ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ πὶ ἐπί Πσ γα, αἱ ἀρ! 6χὰ αν πὶ ΥοΡΟὶ "οὶ τ ἃ πὸ ἰεὶ- (υτ αἰεὶ: « [νᾶ αὐτῆς ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀριστερᾷ αὐτῆς πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα.» Καὶ περὶ τῆς περιλήψεως πάλιν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις εἰρημένον τὸ δ, Ἐράσθητι αὐτῆς, καὶ πηρήσει σε᾽ περιχαράχωσον αὐτὴν, καὶ ὑψώσει σε" τίμησον αὐτὴν, ἵνα σε περιλάδῃ. ν» Ἐντεῦθεν τοίνυν τὰς ἀφορμὰς λαθόντες, πνευματικώτερον κἀκεῖνα νοήσωμεν, τοῦ θείου λόγου καὶ τῆς εὐσεδοῦς ψυχῆς εἶναι κοινωνίαν πιστεύοντες τὴν καλουμένην περίληψιν " καὶ τὸ εὐώνυμον δὲ καὶ δεξιὸν, ὡς ἀφ᾽ ἡμῶν ληφθὲν, νοητέον. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ ἀθεώρητον αὐτὸ χκαταλίπωμεν, οὑτωσὶ νοήσωμεν. Εὐεργετεῖν οἷδε καὶ κολάζεῖν ὁ Θεὸς, τοῖς ἀξίοις ἀπονέμων ἀμφότερα. Τὴν εὐεργετικὴν τοίνυν χάριν ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς νοήσαντες, τὴν δὲ χολαστιχὴν ἐπὶ τῆς εὐωνύμον, ἀκούσωμεν τῆς δ᾽ εἶοῦ Β νύμφης λεγούσης" ε Εὐώνυμος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ δ᾽" τὴν κεφαλήν μου "» τουτέστιν, Ἄνω εἰμὶ τῶν κολάσεων, οὐκ ὑπόχειμαι ταύταις, διὰ τὸ τῷ νυμφίῳ πλησιάσαι, καὶ τῆς θεραπείας αὐτοῦ φροντίσαι. ε« Ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ περιλήψεταί με δ5,» ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ταῖς εὐεργεαίαις αὐτοῦ κατακοσμήσει με, καὶ τούτων ἐμπλήσει με, οἱονεὶ περιπτυσσόμενος καὶ περιλαμδάνων, καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ἐπιθυμίαν πληρῶν. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος παραδηλῶν ἔλεγεν, ὅτι « Οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα. » Γένοιτο καὶ ἡμᾶς πεῖραν μὲν "'΄ τῆς χολαστιχῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως μὴ λαθεῖν, μηδὲ γεύσασθαι τῶν ἠπειλη μένων τιμωριῶν, τῶν δὲ ἐπηγγελμένων ἀπολαῦσαι δωρεῶν, χάριτι καὶ φι)ανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ νυμφίου Χριστοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος "8 εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἱμεθ᾽ οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἣ δόξα σὺν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι. Γὰ θυ. ἐν δυνάμεσι καὶ ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ, ἐὰν 9 ἐγείρητε δ᾽ καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην, ἕως 55 θελήσῃ. Οἱ μὲν σωμάτων ἐρῶντες, μόνοι τῶν ποθουμένων ἀπολαύειν σπουδάζουσι - τοὺς δὲ πειρωμένους λῃστεύειν τὰς σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἀνακειμένας, μετὰ πολλῆς ἀπελαύνουσι τῆς σφοδρότητος. Οἱ δὲ πνευματικῶς ἐρῶντες, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ποθοῦντες, πάνὕπνον αὑτῶν, καὶ “' οὐκ εὗρον οὐδέν. » Ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἀπαγγείλητε ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας τὸ σωτήριον αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ μνησθῆτε τῶν θαυμασίων αὐτοῦ ὧν ἑποίει, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιλάθησϑε τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν αὐτοῦ " σδεσθήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη, καὶ οἱονεὶ νεκρωθήσεται. Χρὴ δὲ ὑμᾶς" διηνεκῶς ἐξάπτειν αὐτὴν, καὶ διεγείρειν, καὶ εἰς ὕψος αὐτὴν αἴρειν τὴν φλόγα. Μέτρον δὲ ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἀγάπης, τοῦ νυμφίου τὸ βούλημα. Μὴ πρότερον οὖν παύσησθε ταύτην διεγείροντες, καὶ τὴν πυρὰν αὐτῆς ἑξάπτοντες, ἕως ἂν ὁ νυμφίος ἔχειν αὐτὴν ἃς επί ε θιὼ δ. ν ἴῃ θεὶ (28, εἰ αὐ αι οἱ δἱ πἰ επἰπὶ παρ γον ἀδ ἀΐα ἰπ οἱ, ἢ 5. θᾶ, εἴπῃ τὸ μέτρον. Τούτοις ἔοικε τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ μακαρίου Ὁ ποῦ Παύλου Κορινθίοις γραφέντα, καὶ διὰ Κορινθίων πᾶτιν ἡμῖν" ε Γρηγορεῖτε, στήκετε ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἀνδρίζεσθε, χραταιοῦσθε. πάντα ὑμῶν ἐν ἀγάπῃ γινέσθω. » Καὶ ἐν τῷ τέλει δὲ τῆς Ἐπιστολῆς φησιν" «Ἐΐτις οὐ φιλεῖ τὸν Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, ἤτω ἀνάθεμα. » Οὕτως ἀγαπῶσιν οἱ θερμῶς ἀγαπῶντες τὸν σεσωχότα, ὡς τοὺς ἀγαπᾷν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐθέλοντας ὡς ὀδωδότα καὶ σεσηπότα βδελύττεσθαι σώματα. Τοῦτο σημαίνει λέε (αϊαῖ. τν, 26. Β Μλιἢ. χη, 28. βάο, υἱ : οἴη πο 68 ἴδ. σξ, Κύριξ, ἐμίσησα, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ἐξετηχόμην; Τέλειον μῖσος ἐμίσουν αὐτοὺς, εἰς ἐχθροὺς ἐγένοντό μοι. ν» Περὶ δὲ τῶν φιλούντων αὐτόν φησιν" « Ἐμοὶ δὲ λίαν ἐτιμήθησαν οἱ φίλοι σου, ὁ Θεὸς, λίαν ἐχραταιώθησαν αἱ ἀρκαὶ αὐτῶν. » Οὕτω δὲ φιλεῖν τοὺς φιλοῦντας τοὺς φίλους οἱ μακάριοι ἄνδρες ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἐδιδάχθησαν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ πρῶτος ἔφη τῷ ᾿Αθραάμ." « Εὐλογήσω τοὺς εὐλογοῦντάς σε, καὶ τοὺς καταρωμένους σε καταράσομαι. » Λέγει δὲ καὶ τῷ Ἰσραήλ « Ἐχθρεύσω τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου, καὶ ἀντ'χείσομαι τοῖς ἀντικειμένοις σοι.» Ἐντεῦθεν ἐδιδάχθη καὶ ὁ Δαδὶδ ἐκεῖνα εἰπεῖν, καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος ἀνάθεμα ποιῆσαι τοὺς μὴ φιλοῦντας τὸν Κύριον" διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ νύμφη ὁὀρχίζει τὰς θυγατέρας Ἱερουσαλῆμ, ἐγεῖραι καὶ ἐξεγεῖραι τὴν περὶ τὸν νυμ.φίον ἀγάπη», ἕως ἂν αὐτὸς ἐθελήσῃ "5. Ταῦτα ταῖς γνεάνισι διαλεγομένη, καὶ εἰς τὴν ὁμοίαν αὐτὰς ἀγάπην προτρεπομένη, ἐν αἰσθήσει γίνεται τῆς τοῦ νυμφίου

### English translation (Claude)

6. "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me." But let us not again fall into bodily notions on hearing of left and right. For of wisdom, which is a disposition and not a substance, [Solomon] says that "length of life and years of life are in her right hand, and in her left hand wealth and glory." And again, about embracing, one can find it said in Proverbs: "Love her, and she will keep you; fence her about, and she will exalt you; honour her, so that she may embrace you." Taking our starting point from here, then, let us understand those words too more spiritually, believing the so-called embrace to be the communion of the divine Word with the pious soul; and left and right must be understood as terms taken from ourselves. But so as not to leave it unexamined, let us understand it thus. God knows how both to do good and to punish, assigning both to those who deserve them. Understanding, then, the beneficent grace by the right hand and the punishing by the left, let us hear the bride saying: "His left hand is upon my head": that is, I am above the punishments and not subject to them, because I have drawn near to the bridegroom and taken care to serve him. "His right hand will embrace me": that is, he will adorn me with his benefits and fill me with them, as it were embracing and enfolding me and fulfilling my desire. This too the blessed Paul hinted at when he said: "So we shall always be with the Lord." May it be granted to us also not to experience his punishing power nor to taste the punishments he has threatened, but to enjoy the gifts he has promised, by the grace and love for humankind of the bridegroom, Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and might to the ages of ages; with whom to the Father be glory, with the Holy Spirit. [7.] "… by the powers and the strengths of the field, if you rouse and awaken love until it please." Those who love bodies are eager to enjoy the beloved alone, and they drive off with great vehemence any who try to steal what is devoted to them. But those who love spiritually and long for God … "they slept their sleep and found nothing." For if you do not proclaim his salvation from day to day, and do not remember the wonders he did, but forget his benefits, love will be quenched and as it were deadened. You must continually kindle it, rouse it, and raise its flame on high, and make the bridegroom's will the measure of love. Do not cease, then, rousing it and kindling its fire until the bridegroom says he has the measure. Like these words is what the blessed Paul wrote to the Corinthians, and through the Corinthians to us all: "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong; let all that you do be done in love." And at the end of the letter he says: "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be accursed." Those who warmly love the Saviour love him in such a way that they loathe those who will not love him, as one loathes stinking and rotting bodies. This is what … signifies when he says: "… you, O Lord, and was I not wasting away over your enemies? I hated them with a perfect hatred; they became enemies to me." And of those who love him he says: "But to me your friends, O God, are greatly honoured; their dominions have been greatly strengthened." Thus to love those who love God's friends the blessed men were taught by the God of all. For he first said to Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse." And he says to Israel: "I will be an enemy to your enemies, and oppose those who oppose you." From this David too learned to say those words, and the blessed Paul to pronounce anathema on those who do not love the Lord. That is why the bride adjures the daughters of Jerusalem to rouse and awaken love for the bridegroom until he himself wills. As she converses with the maidens and urges them to a like love, she becomes aware of the bridegroom's …

### Scripture references

- Song 2:6–7: quotation, high confidence
- Prov 3:16: quotation, high confidence
- Prov 4:6–8: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Thess 4:17: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 76:5 (75:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 96:2 (95:2 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 105:5 (104:5 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 16:13–14: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 16:22: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 139:21–22 (138:21-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 139:17 (138:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Gen 12:3: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 23:22: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 2:6 and the end of 2:7 (its opening, "I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem," is lost in the scan). The doxology after 2:6 marks the end of one of Theodoret's books (homilies) on the Song. Lines are lost in the scan where marked ….
- Quoted or alluded to: Prov 3:16; Prov 4:6, 8 (LXX); 1 Thess 4:17; Ps 76:5 (LXX 75:6); Ps 96:2 (LXX 95:2); Ps 105:5 (LXX 104:5); 1 Cor 16:13–14, 22; Ps 139:21–22 (LXX 138:21–22); Ps 139:17 (LXX 138:17); Gen 12:3; Exod 23:22.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 2.6 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-6).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 2:8

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-8/#p-2-8
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bridegroom's voice, his leaping over the mountains of the idols, his care for the bride through the 'nets' of trials, the coming spring of his advent, the rock of faith, and the foxes that stand for heretics.

### Greek text

η΄. Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδειϊφιδοῦ μου. Ἐθὰς γὰρ γενομένη τῶν ἱερῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων, ἐπιγινώσκει αὐτοῦ τὴν φωνῆν" ὡς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις φησί ε Τὰ πρόδατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ᾿Αλλοτρίῳ δὲ μὴ ἀχολουθήσουστιν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τὴν φωνήν. Οἷδε τοιγαροῦν ἣ νύμφη τὴν τοῦ νυμφίου φώνήν " οἷδε διαφορὰν μοιχοῦ καὶ νυμφίου. Καὶ τῶν μὲν μοιχῶν, καὶ λύκων, καὶ μισθωτῶν βδελύττεται τὰς φωνάς " τοῦ δὲ ποθεῖ. Διόπερ αὐτίκα ἐν αἰσθήσει γενομένη τῆς ἐχείνου παρουσίας βοᾷ " « Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου" » καὶ οὐκ ἀνέχεται καθῇσθαι “᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνίσταται, καὶ χαραδοχεῖ, καὶ περι σκοπεῖ, καὶ ὁρῶσα αὐτὸν βοᾷ" ᾿Ιδοὺ οὗτος ἤχει πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, μενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνούς. θ'.“Ομοιός ἐστιν ὁ φιδοῦς μου τῇ δορκχάδι καὶ γεδρῷ ἐλάφων ἐπὶ "" τὰ ὄρη Βαιθή.1. "Αξιον δὲ ζητῆσαι, τί δήποτε αὐτὸν δορχάδι καὶ νεθρῷ ἐλάφων ἀπειχάζει, καὶ τίνα τὰ ὄρη Βαιθὴλ, καὶ τίνα τὰ πηδήματα, καὶ τίνα τὰ ἄλματα, τίνες δὲ οἱ βουνοὶ καὶ τὰ ὄρη, ἐφ᾽ οἷς ταῦτα υίνεται. Φασὶ τὴν δορχάδα ἐπώνυμον εἶναι τῆς οἰχείσς ὀξυδορχίας, καὶ διὰ τὸ ὀξέως ἐρᾷν ταύτην εἰληφέναι τὴν προσηγορίαν. Φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐλάφους τῶν Γα- ὄφεις, καὶ τοὺς ἔχεις, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα τοιαῦτα, πόᾳ παραπλησίως ἐσθίειν, καὶ μηδεμίαν ἐντεῦθεν ἀποφέρεσθαι βλάδην. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς ῥάδδος ἐστὶ κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ἐξελθοῦσα ἐκ ῥίζης Ἱεσσαὶ, καὶ ἐπανεπαύσατο ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, πνεῦμα βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος, πνεῦμα γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεθείας, καὶ ἡ διδάσκαλος ψυχὴ πρὸς τὰς μαθητενομένας φησί. πνεῦμα φόρου Θεοῦ ἐμπλήσει αὑτὸν, δορχάδι αὐτὸν καὶ τῶν μελλόντων προγνωστικόν. Νεδρῷ δὲ πάλιν αὐτὸν ἐλάφων ἐοικέναι φητὶν, ὡς συντρίψαντα τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν δρακόντων ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος, καὶ σαντα τὰς κεφαλὰς τοῦ δράκοντος, καὶ μακαίρᾳ παραπλησίως ὄφιν τὸν σχελιὸν καὶ ἀνελόντα τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ καὶ δεδωκότα τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς ἐξουσίαν πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ: καὶ ἁμαρτίαν μὲν μὴ ποιήσαντα, ἄραντα δὲ τοῦ κόσμου τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ οἷόν τινας ὄφεις χαταδαοὐ μόνον ἄνθρωπο:, ἀλλὰ καὶ ΥἹ͵ἱὸς ἀνθρώπου προσ- καὶ οὐ μόνον λέων, ἀλλὰ καὶ σκύμνος λέοντος" ε« ᾿Αναπεσὼν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐκοιμήθη ὡς λέων, καὶ ὡς σκύμνος. » Εἰκὸς δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ αἰνίττεσθαι, ὅτι καὶ ἔτι βραχεῖαν ἔχων τὴν σωματικὴν ἡλικίαν, διαδόλου ὁ τὴν δύναμιν οἷόν τινας χατεδαπάνη σεν ὄφεις, καὶ τοὺς μάγους, τοῦ τοὺς ὑποφήτας, εὐθὺς γεννηθεὶς εἴλκυσεν εἰς προσκύνησιν. Κατὰ ᾽" τὸν νόμον δὲ τῶν καθαρῶν ἐστι ζώων, καὶ ἡ δορκὰς, καὶ ἡ ἔλαφος" προτέτακται δὲ ἡ δορκὰς τῆς ἐλάφου, ὡς τύπον ἔχουσα διὰ τὴν ἐξυδορχίαν τῆς πίστεως. Πιστεῦσαι γὰρ δὴ πρῶτον δεῖ τὸν προσερχόμενον τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι ἔστι, καὶ τοῖς ον ποῦσιν αὐτὸν μισθαποδότης γίνεται. Καὶ τοὺς ἐλάφους δὲ ἡ θεία καλεῖ Γραφή καὶ νῦν μέν φησιν ὁ μακάριος Δαδὶὸ ἐν ιζ' ψαλμῷ " ε« Ὁ Θεὸς νύων ὁ με δύναμιν, καὶ ἔθετο ἄμωμον τὴν ὀδόν μου " χαταρτιζόμενος τοὺς πόδα: μου ὡσεὶ ἐλάφου. ν Ἐγένετο γὰρ, φησὶν, ἄμωμος ἡ ὁδός μου, ἐπειδὴ τίσθησαν οἱ πόδες μου ὡσεὶ ἐλάφου. δυνήθην γὰρ πατῆσαι ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσταν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ. Νῦν δὲ ἐν χη ψαλμῷ φησι: « Φωνὴ Κυρίου καταρτιζομένη ἐλάφους, καὶ ἀποκα- εἰ ἀποστόλους ὀνομάζει, ὧν οἱ πόδες ὡραῖοι, ὡς εὐαγγεὄφεις, καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαῖς εἰδώλων ἀπάτη" δι᾽ ὧν 17 ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ πᾶς τι; λέγει δόξαν. Τοιαῦτα καὶ ὁ μακάριος ᾿Αὐδαχοὺμ ὁ προφήτης φησίν « Κύριος ὁ Θεός μου δύναμίς μου, καὶ τάξει τοὺς πόδας μου ὡσεὶ ἐλάφου, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ ἐπιδιδᾷ με τοῦ νικῆσαί με ἐν δῇ αὐτοῦ. » ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανελθεῖν. « Ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἥκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, διαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνούς. Ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀδελφιδοῦς μου τῇ δορχάδι, ἢ νεδρῷ ἐλάφων ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη βαιθήλ. ν Διδάσχει δὲ" ἐνταῦθα ἡ νύμφη τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων κατάλυσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ νυμφίου γεγομένην. "Ὅρη γὰρ καὶ βουνοὺς, τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι πάλαι ἧντα ἄλτη καὶ τεμένη πῶν δαιμόνων ὠνόμασε, καθ᾽ ὧν ἀλλόμενος καὶ πηδῶν τῇ τε σοφίᾳ τῶν λόγων, καὶ τῇ δυνάμει τῶν θαυμάτων, περιεγένετό τε καὶ φροῦδα αὐτὰ παντελῶς πεποίηκεν. ᾿Αμέλει καὶ ὁ Σύμμαχος τοῦτο σαφέστερον ἑρμηνεύων φησίν" « Ἰδοὺ οὗτος ἔρχεται βαίνων κατὰ τῶν ὀρέων, διαπηδῶν κατὰ τῶν βουνῶν.» Τούτοις ἐπιφέρει πάλιν ἡ νύμφη " « Ἰδοὺ οὗτος ὀπίσω τοῦ τοίχου ἡμῶν ἔστηκε, παραχύπτων διὰ τῶν θυρίδων, εἰσχύπτων διὰ τῶν δικτύων. » Διδάσκει δὲ, ὅτι πᾶν ὄρος καὶ βουνὸν ταπεινώσας, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἡσαῖου προφητείαν, παραγίνεται πρὸς αὐτὴν ταπεινὴν οὖσαν πάλαι, καὶ φάραγγι ἀπειχασμένην, καὶ πληροῖ αὐτὴν, καὶ τίθησι τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν, καὶ τραχείας εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας " καὶ περιτίθησιν αὐτῇ ὡς μὲν πόλει τεῖχος, ἵνα μὴ πολιορχῆται ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, ὡς δὲ ἀμπελῶνι, καὶ κήπῳ, καὶ παραδείσῳ πτοἴχον, ἵνα μὴ τρυγῶσιν αὐτὴν πάντες οἱ παραπορευόμενοι τὴν ὁδὸν, μηδὲ λυμήνηται αὐτὴν ὗς ἐκ δρυμοῦ, καὶ μονιὸς ἄγριος κατανεμήσηται αὐτὴν, ὡς; τὴν προτέραν ἐχείνην τὴν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετατεθεῖσαν. Σημαίνει τοίνυν, ὅτι καταλύσας τὰ τῶν δαιμόνων τεμένη, καὶ τῶν λεγομένων θεῶν τὰ ἄλση καὶ τοὺς νεὼς (τοῦτο γὰρ διὰ τοῦ « ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Βαιθὴλ » ἦνίξατο’ τὸ γὰρ, Βαιθὴλ, οἶκον ἑρμηνεύει Θεοῦ " ὁμωνύμως δὲ τῷ ἐπὶ πάντων Θεῷ καὶ οἱ μὴ ὄντες ὑπὸ αὐτήν. Καὶ εἰς μὲν τὸν θάλαμον αὐτῆς οὐδέτοιυ εἰσελήλυθεν " ἔξω δὲ τοῦ τοίχου ἑστηκὼς παραχύπτει ( διὰ τῶν θυρίδων" θύρας δὲ τὰς αἰσθήσεις καλεῖ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ θυρίδων" τῶν αἰσθήσεων εἰσρεῖ "" πῇ ψυχῇ τά τε ἀγαθὰ καὶ τἀναντία, καὶ πάλιν ἐκεῖθεν ἐκρεῖ. Διὸ καὶ ὁ προφήτης φησὶν Ἱερεμίας, ὅτι « θάνατος ἀνέθη διὰ τῶν θυρίδων. » --- « Ὁ γὰρ ἐμὀλέψας γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτῆς ἔδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, » καὶ εἰσέρχοται θάνατος διὰ τῶν θυρίζων. Καὶ ὁ παραδεξάμενος ἀκοὴν ματαίαν, δέχεται θάνατον διὰ τῶν θυρίδων. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἡ νύμφη νῦν τῆς "5 ὥρας τοῦ νυμφίου διὰ τῶν θυρίδων ἀπολαύει, Καὶ ζητητέον πῶς ὁ νυμφίος παραχύπτει διὰ τῶν θυρίδων, τουτέστι διὰ τῶν αἰσθήσεων τῶν ἡμετέρων. Ὅταν ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου μελετῶντες ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς τοῖς θείοις ἐντρυφῶμὲν λόγοις, καὶ μετὰ κατανύξεως καὶ γνώσέως προσέχωμεν τοῖς γεγραμμένοις, διανοίγομεν ἡμῶν τὰς θυρίδας, καὶ ὑποδεχόμεθα τοῦ νυμφίου τὸ πρόσωπον. Καὶ ὅταν ἑτέρων ἀναγινωσκόντων τὰ δ' θεῖα λόγια, ἣ περὶ Θεοῦ διαλεγομένων, σπουδαίως ἀχούωμαν, πάλιν διὰ τῶν ἄλλων θυρίδων ὁ ννμφίος καὶ δ᾽ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἡμῖν ὑποδεέκνυσι κάλλος. Οὐ μόνον δὲ διὰ τῶν θυρίδων παραχύπτει, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικτύων ἐχχύπτει " καταλιμπάνει γὰρ αὑτοῦ τὴν νύμφην θηρευομένην ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιδούλων δαιμόνων, καὶ δικτύοις περιδαλλομένην, ἀλλὰ ῥύεται αὐτὴν ἐκ παγίδος θηρευτῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ λόγου ταραχώδους. » Καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς δὲ τοῖς πειρασμοῖς ἐχχύπτει διὰ τῶν δικτύων, καὶ ψυχαγωγεῖ αὐτὴν πολιορχουμένην, καὶ τὸ φρόνημα αὐτῆς ἀνορθοῖ. Καὶ τοῦτο ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἕν τε τῇ Παλαιᾷ καὶ τῇ Νέᾳ Γραφῇ, ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων γεγενημένον, καὶ τοὺς εὐσεδεῖς πάσης παραψυχῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τετυχηκότα:. Συνἐχώρησε μὲν γὰρ ἁρπαγῆναι τὴν Σάῤῥαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Φαραώ παρέκυψε δὲ διὰ τῶν δικτύων, καὶ τόν τε πατριάρχην ᾿Αδραὰμ ἐψυχαγώγησε, καὶ τὰ δίχτνα διασπάσα: σῶον αὐτῷ τὸ θήραμα καὶ ὑγιὲς ἀπἐδωκεν. Ἠγρεύθη πάλιν ὑπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αδιμέλεχ, καὶ πάλιν παραχύπτει διὰ τῶν δικτύων, καὶ οὐ μόνον τὸ θήραμα ἔσωσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν θηρευτὴν Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ πεποίηκε᾽ τοιαῦτα γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ ᾽' Ῥεδέχχᾳ πέπονθεν, οἷα ἐπὶ τῇ Σάῤῥᾳ ὁ ᾿ πατήρ. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰαχὼδ εἰργάσατο " τοῦ ἀνελεῖν προθυμουμένου, ἐπιφαίνεται πάλιν διὰ τῶν δικτύων, καὶ τὸν μὲν Ἰαχὼδ παραθαῤῥύνει, τὸν δὲ Λάθαν δεδίττεται. Καὶ ἡνίχα δὲ πάλιν ἔδεισε τὴν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ παρουσίαν, φαίνεται καὶ τὸ δέος ἐλαύνει, καὶ θάρσος ἐντίθησι. Καὶ τῷ Ἰωσὴφ δὲ ἐξανδραποδισθέντι καὶ δούλῳ γενομένῳ, κἀν τῇ δεσποτιχῇ συνῆν οἰκίᾳ, κἀν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ παρῆν, καὶ πανταχοῦ διὰ τῶν δικτύων παραχύπτων ψυχαγωγῶν αὐτὸν διετέλει. Καὶ ἵνα τοὺς ἐν μέσῳ χαταλίπω ἁγίους, φεύγων τοῦ λόγου τὸ μῆκος, οὕτω τὸν σοφώτατον Δανιὴ} ἐψυχαγώγησε παραδοθέντα τοῖς λέουσι, καὶ ἐκ τῶν δικτύων παρακύπτων θαῤῥεῖν παρεσχεύαζεν" οὕτω τοῖς μακαρίοις ἐκείνοις παισὶν εἰς τὴν φοδερὰν ἐχείνην συνελήλυθε κάμινον " οὕτω τοῖς ἀγίοις ἀποστόλοις εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἐμδληθεῖσιν ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων θαῤῥεῖν παρεκελεύετο, καὶ μετὰ παῤῥησίας κηρύττεῖν τῆς εὐσεδείας τὸν λόγον" οὕτω μετὰ ταῦτα χκατειρχθέντε ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις τῷ μακαρίῳ Παύλῳ, καὶ τὸν θάνατον προσδοχῶντι, θάρσος ἐντίθησι λέγων, εθάῤῥει, Παῦλε - ὡς γὰρ ἐμαρτύρω τὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις, οὕτω σε δεῖ καὶ εἰς Ῥώμην μαρτυρῆσαι. » Τοῦτο καὶ ἡ νύμφη αἰνιττομένη φηοίν ἀποκρίνεται ὁ ἀδελριδοῦς μου, καὶ λέγει μοι" ᾿Αγάστα, ἐλθὲ", ἡ πλησίον μου, κα.ή μου, σεριστερά μου "5. Μαρτυρεῖ τῷ κάλλει τῆς νύμφης ὁ γυμφίος" καὶ οὐκ ἀπλῶς αὐτὴν καλὴν ᾽'", ἀλλὰ εχαλὴν μοι» καλεῖ" διδάσκων ὅτι λίαν αὐτῷ τὸ κάλλος αὖτῆς ἀρέσκει. Προσαγορεύει δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ περιστερὰν, τὴν πνευματικὴν χάριν διὰ τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος αἱ- τὰ ποικίλα τοῦ Πνεύματος δῶρα. Ἡ νύμφη τοιγαροῦν τὴν πνευματικὴν δεξαμένη παραίνεσιν, περιηργυρωμένας πτέρυγας, δι᾽ ὧν πρὸς τὸν νυμὁ ἣν ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθεν, ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ. Τὰ ἄνθη ὥφθη ἐν τῇ γῇ καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς "8 ἔφθασε - ωνὴ ἐξήνεγκε "" τοὺς ὀλύγθους αὑτῆς, - Ὀ μὲν τούτοις, εἰ ' δοκεῖ, καὶ τὰς εὐαγγελικὰς τοῦ Κυρίου φωνάς. Πλῆθος γὰρ πολὺ θεασάμενος πανπρὸς αὐτὸν, φησὶ πρὸς τοὺς οἱ ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλους " « Ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολὺς, οἱ δὲ παῖ, ὁ θερίζων μισθὸν λαμθάνει, καὶ συνάγει καρπὸν εἰς ἐστὶ, φησὶν, οἷ ὁ σπείρων, καὶ ἄλλος ὁ θερίξων - ὑμᾶς θερίζειν ἀπ- ἔσταλχα.» Ἐντεῦθεν τοίνυν νοήσωμεν τὸ, ε Ἰδοὺ ὁ χει μὼν παρῆλθε.» Τὸν γὰρ πρὸ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ χρόνον ὀνομάζει χειμῶνα, ἕαρ δὲ τὸ μετὰ τὴν παροὐσίαν " ἀκμὴν δὲ θέρους, τὸν προσδοκώμενον αἰῶνα. Διό φησιν αὐτὸς, ὅτι ε Παρελήλυθε καὶ ὁ χειμὼν καὶ ὁ ὑετὸς,» αἱ τοῦ νόμου ἀπειλαὶ ", καὶ αἱ σφοδραὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων τιμωρίαι. « Καὶ ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ ἢ.» Παραχωρεῖ γὰρ ἡ σκιὰ τῷ σώματι, ὁ αγωγὸς τῷ σοφῷ διδασκάλῳ, « "[Ὥφθη γὰρ τὰ ἄνθη ἐν τῇ γῆ.» Προσεκτέον τῇ ἀχριδείᾳ τῶν λόγων. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, οἱ καρποὶ, ἀλλὰ « ἄνθη ".» Ἡ γὰρ τελειότης τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι τοῖς ἀξίοις παρἔχεται. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ οἱ κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον φασῖν" ε Ἄρτι βλέπω ὡς ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ, ὡς ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόπωπον. ν» ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ « Ὃ καιρὸς τῆς " τομῆς ἔφθαχεν " ν ἢ ὡς ὁ Σύμμαχος καὶ ὁ ᾿Ακύλας, «χλαδεύσεως 5.» Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν τοῦ Δεσπότου Χριστοῦ παρουσίαν ταυτησὶ τῆς χαθάρσεω: πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τετύχηκε. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριός φησιν "ε Ἐγώ εἰμ: ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινὴ, ὑμεῖς τὰ κλήματα" ὁ Πατήρ ἔδυ ὁ γεωργός ἔστι " καρπὸν, αἴρει αὐτό" καὶ πᾶν ὃ φέρει καρπὸν, χαθαίρξ: αὐτὸ, ἵνα πλείονα καρπὸν φέρῃ. » Διὰ τοῦτό φησι" « Καὶ ὁ καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ἔφθακχεν. » ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ « Φωνὴ τῆς τρυγόνος ἠκούσθη ἐν τῇ γῇ ἡμῶν. » Φωνὴν "πάλιν τρυγόνος τὴν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος διδασκαλίαν καλεῖ. Οὕτω γὰρ ὁ μακάριος Δαθὶδ ἐν σίν. Εἰρηκὼς γὰρ, ε Ὡς ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σου, Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων 1 ἐπιποθῶ 5, καὶ ἐκλείπει ἡ πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον. ψυχή μου εἰς τὰς αὐλὰς τοῦ Κυρίου" ἡ χα ἴα μου καὶ ἡ σάρξ μου ἡγαλλιάσαντο ἐπὶ Θεὸν ζῶντα, » διδάχει καὶ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεω; τὴν αἰτίαν, καί φησιν" « Καὶ γὰρ στρουθίον εὗρεν ἑαυτῷ οἰκίαν, καὶ τρυγὼν νοσσίαν ἑαυτῇ, οὗ θήσει τὰ νοσσία ἑαυτῆς "» καὶ δεικνὺς ἐπιφέρει λέγων " ε Τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου, Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων. » Καὶ διδάσκει ἡμᾶς, ὅτι νεοττὰ μέν εἰσιν οἱ τῆς διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας τετυχηχότες " καλιὰ δὲ αὐτῶν, καὶ γεοττία, τὰ θεῖα θυσιαστήρια, ἐν οἷς τρέφονται, καὶ σιτοῦνται, καὶ πτεροφυοῦσιν, καὶ χαταδραχὺ τῆς τελειότητος ἀπολαύουσιν. Οἷον δέ τις μήτηρ αὐτῶν ἔστι τίκτουσα, ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χάρις, ἡ τροπικῶς ὀνομαζομένη τρυγὼν, διὰ τὸ σῶφρον τοῦ ζώου, καὶ φιλέρημον, καὶ ἐν δένδροις ἀμφιλαφέσι τὰς καλιὰς πηγνύναι. Φησὶ τοίνυν ὁ νυμφίος, ὅτι « Φωνὴ τῆς δ΄ τρυγόνος ἠχούπθη ἐν τῇ γῇ ἡμῶν, καὶ ἡ συκῇ ἐξήνεγκεν ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς, » τουτέστι, τὸν πρώϊμον τῆς πίστεως καρπὸν, δὲ οὗ καὶ ὁ ἕτερος καρπὸς, ὁ τῶν πράξεων, λέγω, μόνιμος γίνεται, καὶ οὐκ ἐχρεῖ, ἀλλὰ πεπαίνεται, καὶ ἤδιστος ἀποτελεῖται. ε Καὶ ἄμπελοι δὲ χυπρίζουσιν, ἔδωκαν ὀσμήν. » ΓἬνθησαν, φησὶ, οἱ τροπικῶς καλούμενοι ἄμπελοι, καὶ τὴν εὐοσμίαν ἀφίησι". '᾿Αγάώστα οὖν, ἐϊθὲ, ἡ πιησίον" μου "δ, Ἔν δυο σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας, ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος "". Καλεῖ δὲ αὑτὴν ἐν τῇ σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν μέλαινα γίνηται. Πέτραν δὲ καλεῖ τὴν εὐσεθῇ πίστιν, τὴν ἀληθῇ ὁμολογίαν. Καὶ γὰρ τῷ Κυρίῳ εἰπρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς, Τίνα με λέγουσιν οἵ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; » ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος ἔφησε " ε Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς "", ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος. ν ὯὮ ἀπεχρίνατο λέγων" ᾿Αμὴν, ἀμὴν λέγω σοι " σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ μου τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν " καὶ πύλαι ἄδου οὐ κατ- σθαι τοῦ παρόντος βίου. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλός τοίνυν πρὸς αὐτοῦ φέροντες. ν Βούλεται αὐτὴν σκοπεῖν οὐ τὰ βλεπόμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα - ε Τὰ γὰρ βλεπόμενα πρόσκαιρα, τὰ δὲ μὴ βλεπόμενα αἰώνια. » Διὸ ἐχόμενα τοῦ προτειχίσματος αὐτὴν πιραχαλεῖ γενέσθαι, μονονουχὶ λέγων πρὸς αὐτήν" ε Νέχρωσον τὰ μέλη σου, τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.» μελέτησον ἀσαρκίαν ἐν σώματι" ἐπίδειξαι ἀπάθειαν ἐν πάθεσιν" ἔξω γενοῦ τῆς παρούση:; πόλεως, καὶ τῶν ταύτης τειχῶν. Ἐὰν "2 γὰρ μὴ παρ᾽ αὐτῷ γένῃ τῷ προτειχίσματι, οὐκ ἀπολαύσῃ μου τῆς κοινωνίας " ἐὰν 1" μὴ βοήσῃς κατὰ Παῦλον, ε Ἔν σαρκὶ περιπατοῦντες οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα- » οὐδεὶς; γὰρ στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέχεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις, ἵνα τῷ στρατολογήσαντι ἀρέσῃ " Ἐὰν μὴ ἐν μεταιχμίῳ γένῃ τῶν παρόντων καὶ σθαι διὰ τοῦ « προτειχίσματος »), ὁ γάμος ἡμῶν οὐ γενήσεται. Ἐλθοῦσχν ὃξ ἐκεῖ παρακαλῶ σε, δεῖξόν μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου" καθαρὰν ἔχεις σὺ τὴν διά- νοῖαν " οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτῇ τῶν βιωτικῶν φροντίδων ἐπι» ἐκεῖ βούλομαι τῆς φωνῇς σου ἀκοῦσαι " καθαρὰ γὰρ ἐκεῖ καὶ αὐτὴ γενήσεται, ἀχηλσασίας ἀπὰσῆς ἀπηλλαγμένη "τότε ἔσται μοι ἡ φωνή σηυ ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ ὄψις σὸν ὡραία " τὸ γὰρ ἐμὸν ἐν σοὶ : εἰ γο- ζομαι κάλλος, καὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις χεχοσμη μένης φωνῇς". Ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν νύμφην ὁ νυμφίος εἰρηκὼς, τοῖς οἰκείοις ὑπηρέταις παρακελεύεται, ζοντας ἀμπελῶνας "5. Τινὲς μὲν οὖν τῶν ἑρμηνευχόδὲ διαφέρει, εἴτε τοῦτο, εἴτε ἐκεῖνο εἴη τὸ νόημα. ᾿Αλώπεκας δὲ καλεῖ τοὺς δολερὸν κεκτημένους τὸ φρόνημα, καὶ τὰς τοῦ Κυρίου λυμαινομένους τὰς ἄρτι ἀνθεῖν ἀρξαμένας. Διό φησιν' «ε Καὶ αἱ ἄμπελοι ἡμῶν χυπρίζουσιν9.» Αἰνίττεται δὲ διὰ « τοὺς ταῖς ἐκκλησιαστικαὶς Ψυχαῖς πολεμοῦντα; αἱρετικοὺ;, καὶ ὑπούλως καὶ δηλερῶς ὑποχλέπτειν πειρωμένους τοὺς μηδέπω παγίους τῇ πίστει γεγενημένους. Οὗτοι γὰρ τῇ πιθανότητι τῶν λόγων, καὶ ταῖς τῶν συλλογισμῶν παγίσι τε καὶ πλοκαῖς, τοὺς ἀπλούστεροην διακε: μένους ἐξαπατῶντες λυμαίνονται ταῖς ἀμπέλοις. Διὰ τοῦτο παρακελεύεται κοῖς τὸ διδασκαλικὸν εἰληφότ' χάρισμα, ἀγρεύειν τούτους καὶ θηρεύειν τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας ἐλέγχοις, καὶ τὰς χυπριζούσας ἀμπέλους τῆς τούτων βλάθδης ἐλευθεροῦν᾽ 3". Τούτων ἡ νύμφη τῶν λόγων ἀκούσασα εὐθύς φησιν" ἐτ΄. Ἀδειριδοὺς μου ἐμοὶ, κἀγὼ αὐτῷ ἃ, “Ὥσπερ γὰρ αὑτὸς πάντων με προετίμησεν, οὕτως αὐτὸν ἐγὼ πάντων προτίθημι, καὶ ἑτέρῳ συναφθῆναι οὐκ ἀνἐχομαι. Τοὺς ἀλωπέχων προσηγορίαν ὁμοῦ καὶ χαἀγαπηθεῖσαν, καὶ τοσούτων ἀξιωθεῖσαν, μὴ τοῖς ἴσοις κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἀμείψασθα: τὸν ἀγαπήσαντα. Τούτοῖς ἔοιχΞ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ μακαρίου Πχύλου Κορινθίοις γραφέν" «ε Τὸ δὲ σῶμα οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ὁ Κύριος τῷ σώματι. » Τοιοῦτον πάλιν τὸ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ εἰρημένον" « ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅτινά μοι ἵν κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ Χριστὸν ζη λίαν. ᾿Αλλὰ μὲν οὖν γε καὶ ἡγοῦμαι πάντα σχύδαλα εἶναι, ἵνχλ Χριστὸν κερδήσω. » Τοιοῦτόν ἔστι καὶ τὴ" « Χριστῷ συνεἐσταύρωμαι᾽ ζῶ δὲ οὐκ ἕτι ἐγὼ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός. ν» Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι τό" ε Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; θλίψις; ἣ στενοχωρία; ἣ λιμός; ἢ διωγμός; ἢ γυμνότης; ἣ κίνδυνος; ἢ μάχαιρα; » καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τό" ε« Ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ ἐν σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι᾽ οὗ ἐμοὶ χότμος ἐσταύρωται, χἀγὼ τῷ χόὅμῳ. » Τούτοις ἔοικε τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς νύμφης λεγόμενον ",.« ᾿Αδελφιδοῦς μου ἐμοὶ, χἀγὼ αὐτῷ. » Σημαίνε: δὲ καὶ τίς οὗτος, καὶ τί ποιῶν διατελεῖ, καὶ ποῦ, καὶ πότε, καὶ ἕως πότε. Ὁ ποιμαίνων γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν τοῖς χρίγοις. (ιζ".) Ἕως οὗ διαπνεύσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα, καὶ κιγηθῶσιν ᾿ αἱ σκιαί. Προσεκτέον, ὅτι πρῶτον μὲν ἑαυτὸν ὠνόμᾶσε κρίνον ὁ νυμφίος, κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον λέγων "", ὅτι « Ἐγὼ ἄνθος τοῦ πεδίου, κρίνον τῶν κοιλωμάτων. » Δεύτερον δὲ αὐτὴν τὴν νύμφην « Ὡς κρίνον γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀκανθῶν, οὕτω: ἡ πλησίον μου ἀναμέσον τῶν θυγατέρων.» Ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν "5 πόαν ὠνόμασε κρίνα" « Ὁ ποιμαίνων γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν τοῖς κρίνοις. » Εὐωδίας γὰρ, φησὶ, πλήρης καὶ ἡ προσφερομένη τοῖς προδάτοις τροφῇ. Καὶ τοῦτο μὲν κατὰ τοὺς Ἑδδομήχοντα νοητέον" ὁ ὁὲ Σύμμαχός φησιν" ε Οἱ ποιμαίνοντες ἄνθη ᾽7- ὡς εἶναι δηλονότι αὐτοὺς τοὺς ποιμαίνοντας οὶ " τοῦ ποιμαίνοντος τὰ ἄνθη, ταν αὶ ἄνθη, ἃ ἐκάλεσε χρίνχ "5, « Ἕως οὗ διαπνεύσῃ ἡ ἡμέαἱ σκιαί. » Σκιὰς δὲ καλεῖ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα "ὁ πράγματα. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος λέγει Δαδίδ- « Ὥς σκιὰ ἐν τῷ ἐχχλῖγαι αὐτὴν ἀντανῃρέθην. » Καὶ πάλιν" «Αἱ ἡμέραν μου ὡσεὶ σκιὰ παράγουσι Ἶ,.» Καὶ ὁ γενναῖος Ἰώδ" ε Σκιὰ γάρ ἐστιν ὁ βίος ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ν» Οὐδὲν γὰρ μόνιμον, οὐδὲ βέδαιον, οὐδὲ σταθηρὸν, καὶ διαρκὲς, καὶ οἱονεὶ οὐσιῶδες, τοῦ 3" παρόντος βίου τὰ δοκοῦντα τερπνά’ οὐ πλοῦτος, οὐ δόξα οὐ δυναστεία, οὐκ ὑγεία σωμάτων, οὐκ εὐμορφία, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν " ἀλλὰ σκιώδη τυγχάνει, ταῖς ἡμᾶς ὁ νυμφίος, ἕως ἂν τὸ φλογῶδες τῆς ἡμέρας παρέλθῃ καὶ διαπνεύσῃ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡ δρόσος, καὶ χινηθῶσι μὲν αἱ σκιαὶ, φανῇ δὲ τὰ μέλλοντα διαρκῇ καὶ μόνιμον τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχοντα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὡς μία εἰσὶ τῷ νυμφίῳ νυμφευθεῖσαι αὐτῷ τετελειωμέναι ψυκαὶ, ἑνικῶς πρὸς αὑτὸν ἀποχρινόμεναί φασιν 5" « ᾿Αδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ, χἀγὼ αὐτῷ "» ἤγουν, Ὁ ἀγα" πητός μου ἐμοὶ κατ᾽ εἰκόνα ὁρᾶται, χἀγὼ αὐτῷ ζῶ, καὶ οὐκ ἐμαυτῇ, κατὰ τὸν μέγαν ᾿Απόστολον" « Ὃ ποιμαίνων ἐν τοῖς κρίνοις “ ἤγουν, ε« Ὁ διέπων διὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ ἐντολῶν, ἐν ταῖς μὴ συμπνιγομέναις κατὰ τὰς βιωτικὰς φροντίδας διδασκάλοις ψυχαῖ;, τὰ λογικὰ πρόδατα, ἅπερ εἰσὶν οἱ παρ᾽ αὐτῶν διδα σχόμενοι. « Ἕως οὗ διαπνεύσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα, καὶ χινηθῶσιν αἱ σκιαί" » δηλαδὴ, μέχρις ἂν ἐπιστῇ ἡ κατὰ τὸν μέλλοντα ὁλολαμπὴς ἡμέρα καὶ ἄσχιος, καὶ πάντα τὰ παρόντα, ἅπερ εἰσὶν αἱ σκιαὶ τῶν μελλόντιυν, θωσι καθ᾽ ἣν ἡμέραν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ποίμνην ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλὸς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους ἀναπαύσει μονάς. ε« ᾿Απόστρεπει δὲ τὸν νυμφίον ἐνταῦθα τοῖς προειρημένοις ἐοικότα ζώοις ἐπιδῆναι τῶν ἑν τοῖς κοιλώμασιν ὀρῶν, βουλομένη πάντας αὐτοῦ τῆς συνουσίας ἀπολαύειν. « Ὄρη δὲ χοιλωμάτων » ἐνταῦθα προσαγορεύει τοὺς ἕν μέσῳ κοίλων τινῶν καὶ ταπεινῶν τὴν διάνοιαν νους᾽ καὶ παρακαλεῖ καὶ τούτους ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς τοῦ γυμφίον παρουσίας " ὃ καὶ πεποίηκε τῶν τῆς νύμφης ἀκούσας ἱχετειῶν ᾽5, Μονωθεῖσα οὖν ἡ νύμφη δυσχεθος, καί φησιν"

### English translation (Claude)

8. "The voice of my kinsman." Being accustomed to his sacred words, she recognizes his voice, as the Lord too says in the holy Gospels: "My sheep [hear] my voice … a stranger they will not follow, because they do not know the voice of strangers." The bride, then, knows the voice of the bridegroom; she knows the difference between an adulterer and a bridegroom. The voices of adulterers and wolves and hirelings she loathes, but [the voice] of the [bridegroom] she longs for. That is why, as soon as she perceives his presence, she cries out, "The voice of my kinsman," and cannot bear to sit still, but rises, receives him with joy, looks about, and, seeing him, cries: "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, [bounding] over the hills." 9. "My kinsman is like the gazelle or the fawn of deer upon the mountains of Bethel."

It is worth asking why she likens him to a gazelle and a fawn of deer, and what the mountains of Bethel are, what the leaps and what the bounds, and what the hills and mountains on which these take place. They say that the gazelle (dorkas) is named from its own keenness of sight, and has received this name from seeing sharply. They say too that deer … [eat] snakes and vipers and all other such creatures much as they eat grass, and take no harm from it. Since, then, Christ the Master is, according to his humanity, the rod that came forth from the root of Jesse, and the Spirit of God rested upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and … "the spirit of the fear of God will fill him," [she likens] him to a gazelle … and foreseeing what is to come. Again she says he resembles a fawn of deer, as the one who crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water, and [crushed] the heads of the dragon, and [slew] with the sword likewise the crooked serpent, and killed the dragon that is in the sea, and gave his own disciples authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy; … and as the one who committed no sin but took away the sins of the world, and [devoured them] like serpents … not only man but also Son of man … and not only a lion but also a lion's whelp: "For having lain down," it says, "he slept as a lion and as a whelp." It is likely that she also hints that, while still small in bodily age, he devoured the power of the devil as if it were serpents, and that as soon as he was born he drew the magi, the devil's interpreters, to worship.

According to the law, both the gazelle and the deer are among the clean animals; and the gazelle is placed before the deer, as bearing, through its keen sight, the type of faith. For "one who comes to God must first believe that he exists, and that he becomes the rewarder of those who seek him." Divine Scripture also calls [the saints] deer. Now the blessed David says in the seventeenth psalm: "God who girds me with power and has made my way blameless, who perfects my feet like a deer's." For my way, he says, became blameless because my feet were made like a deer's; for I was able to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy. And now in the twenty-eighth psalm he says: "The voice of the Lord that perfects the deer and lays bare [the thickets]" … he names the apostles, whose feet are beautiful as [they bring] good news … serpents, and the deceit of idols in the souls of men; through whom "in the temple of God everyone says glory." The blessed prophet Habakkuk says the like: "The Lord God is my strength, and he will set my feet like a deer's, and he sets me upon the heights, that I may conquer in his song."

But it is time to return to the passage before us: "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. My kinsman is like the gazelle or the fawn of deer upon the mountains of Bethel." Here the bride teaches the overthrow of the idols that the bridegroom brought about. For mountains and hills … the groves and precincts that were of old upon the mountains … [she] named [the places] of the demons; leaping and bounding upon these by the wisdom of his words and the power of his miracles, he prevailed over them and made them vanish altogether. Indeed Symmachus too, rendering this more clearly, says: "Behold, he comes stepping upon the mountains, leaping over the hills."

To these words the bride adds again: "Behold, he stands behind our wall, peering through the windows, looking in through the nets." She teaches that, having brought low every mountain and hill according to the prophecy of Isaiah, he comes to her who was formerly lowly and likened to a ravine, and fills her, and makes the crooked straight and the rough places into smooth ways; and he sets a wall around her, as round a city, so that she may not be besieged by enemies, and as round a vineyard, a garden, and a paradise, so that all who pass along the road may not pluck her fruit, nor the boar from the wood ravage her, nor the solitary wild beast feed on her, as on that former [vine] transplanted out of Egypt. She signifies, then, that having destroyed the precincts of the demons and the groves and temples of the so-called gods (this is what she hinted at by "upon the mountains of Bethel"; for Bethel is interpreted "house of God", and those who are not [gods] are called by the same name as the God over all) … under her. He has not yet entered her chamber, but standing outside the wall he peers through the windows; and by windows she means the senses. For through the windows of the senses both good things and their opposites flow into the soul, and flow out from it again. That is why the prophet Jeremiah says that "death has come up through the windows." "For whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart," and death enters through the windows. And whoever accepts an idle report receives death through the windows. But the bride now enjoys the beauty of the bridegroom through the windows. We must ask, then, how the bridegroom peers through the windows, that is, through our senses. When we meditate on the law of the Lord day and night and delight in the divine words, and attend to what is written with compunction and knowledge, we open our windows and receive the face of the bridegroom. And when others read the divine oracles or converse about God and we listen earnestly, again through the other windows the bridegroom shows us his own beauty.

And he not only peers through the windows but also looks out from the nets; for he does not abandon his bride when she is hunted by the treacherous demons and surrounded with nets, but rescues her "from the snare of the hunters and from a troubling word." And in the very temptations he looks out through the nets, and comforts her when she is besieged, and raises up her spirit. This one can find in both the Old and the New Scripture done by the God of all, and the pious receiving every consolation from the God of all. He allowed Sarah to be seized by Pharaoh, but he peered through the nets, comforted the patriarch Abraham, and, tearing the nets apart, gave him back his prey safe and sound. She was caught again by Abimelech, and again he peers through the nets, and saved not only the prey but the hunter too. This he did also for Isaac; for he suffered over Rebecca what his father had suffered over Sarah. This he did also for Jacob: when [Laban] was eager to kill him, he appears again through the nets, and encourages Jacob and frightens Laban. And when again he feared his brother's coming, he appears, drives out the fear, and puts courage in him. And with Joseph, sold into slavery and made a slave, he was with him in his master's house and present with him in the prison, and everywhere, peering through the nets, he went on comforting him. And, to pass over the saints in between and avoid lengthening the discourse, so he comforted the most wise Daniel when he was handed over to the lions, and peering out of the nets made him take courage; so he went down with those blessed youths into that fearful furnace; so he bade the holy apostles, thrown into prison by the Jews, take courage and preach the word of godliness with boldness; so afterwards, when the blessed Paul was shut up in Jerusalem and expecting death, he put courage into him, saying: "Take courage, Paul; for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome." Hinting at this, the bride too says:

10. "My kinsman answers and says to me: Arise, come, my companion, my beautiful one, my dove." The bridegroom bears witness to the bride's beauty; and he calls her not simply beautiful but "my beautiful one," teaching that her beauty pleases him greatly. He also addresses her as dove, hinting by this name at the spiritual grace … the manifold gifts of the Spirit. The bride, then, having received the spiritual exhortation, … silvered wings, by which to the bridegroom … [11. "For behold, the winter has passed,] the rain has gone, it has gone its way. 12. The flowers have appeared in the land; the time of pruning has come; [the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land]. 13. [The fig tree] has put forth its unripe figs; …" In these words, if you please, [we may hear] also the Lord's words in the Gospel. For seeing a great crowd [coming] to him, he says to the holy apostles: "The harvest is great, but the [workers are few] … the reaper receives wages and gathers fruit for [eternal life] … [one] is the sower," he says, "and another the reaper … I have sent you to reap." From this, then, let us understand: "Behold, the winter has passed." For he calls the time before his coming winter, and the time after his coming spring, and the height of summer the age that is awaited. That is why he himself says, "The winter and the rain have passed": the threats of the law and the severe punishments of sins. "And it has gone its way": for the shadow gives way to the body, the tutor to the wise teacher. "For the flowers have appeared in the land." We must attend to the precision of the words. He did not say "the fruits" but "flowers"; for the perfection of good things is granted to the worthy in the age to come. Here, as the blessed Paul says, "Now I see as in a mirror, in a riddle, but then face to face." Moreover, "The time of pruning has come," or, as Symmachus and Aquila have it, "of trimming." For after the coming of Christ the Master all the nations have received this cleansing. That is why the Lord says: "I am the true vine, you are the branches; my Father is the vinedresser. [Every branch in me that does not bear] fruit he takes away; and every branch that bears fruit he cleanses, that it may bear more fruit." That is why he says: "And the time of pruning has come."

Moreover, "The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land." Again, by the voice of the turtledove he means the teaching of the all-holy Spirit. So too the blessed David in [the eighty-third psalm]. For having said: "How lovely are your dwellings, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God," he teaches the cause of the rejoicing too, saying: "For the sparrow has found itself a house, and the turtledove a nest for herself, where she will lay her young"; and pointing [to the place] he adds: "your altars, O Lord of hosts." And he teaches us that the young are those who have received rebirth through the washing, and their nest and brood the divine altars, at which they are nourished and fed and grow their feathers and little by little attain perfection. Their mother, as it were, who bears them is the grace of the Holy Spirit, figuratively named turtledove because of the creature's chastity and love of solitude, and because it builds its nests in thick-leaved trees. The bridegroom therefore says that "the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land, and the fig tree has put forth its unripe figs," that is, the early fruit of faith, through which the other fruit too, I mean that of deeds, becomes lasting, and does not drop off but ripens and becomes most sweet. "And the vines are in blossom; they have given their fragrance." The vines, he says (figuratively so called), have blossomed and give off their fragrance.

13b. "Arise, then, come, my companion, 14. you in the shelter of the rock, near the outer wall." He calls her into the shelter of the rock, so that she may not become black again. By rock he means the pious faith, the true confession. For when the Lord [said] to the disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" the blessed Peter said: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." He answered, saying: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are Peter, and on this rock [I will build] my church, and the gates of Hades will not [prevail against it]." … of the present life. That is why the blessed Paul too … carrying." He wants her to look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen: "For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal." That is why he urges her to come near the outer wall, all but saying to her: "Put to death your members that are on the earth"; practise freedom from the flesh while in the body; show freedom from passion amid the passions; go outside the present city and its walls. For if you do not come near the outer wall itself, you will not enjoy communion with me; if you do not cry out with Paul, "Though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh" (for "no one serving as a soldier entangles himself in the affairs of life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him"); if you do not come to stand in the ground between the present things and [the things to come] (which is [signified] by "the outer wall"), our marriage will not take place. When you have come there, I beg you, "show me your face": you have a pure mind, for none of the cares of life [lies] upon it. There "I wish to hear your voice"; for there it too will be pure, freed from all unseemliness. "Then your voice will be sweet to me, and your face lovely"; for my own beauty [is seen] in you, and [you speak] with a voice adorned with my words.

Having said these things to the bride, the bridegroom commands his own servants: [15. "Catch us the little foxes that ruin] the vineyards." Some of the interpreters … but it makes no difference whether the meaning is this or that. By foxes he means those who have a crafty mind and ravage the [vines] of the Lord, … those that have only just begun to blossom. That is why he says: "And our vines are in blossom." By [the foxes] he hints at the heretics who make war on the souls of the church and try, deceitfully and craftily, to steal away those not yet made firm in the faith. For by the persuasiveness of their words and the snares and tangles of their syllogisms they deceive the simpler sort and ruin the vines. That is why he commands those who have received the gift of teaching to catch and hunt them with the refutations of the truth, and to free the blossoming vines from the harm they do.

Hearing these words, the bride at once says: 16. "My kinsman is mine, and I am his." For as he honoured me above all, so I prefer him above all, and I cannot bear to be joined to another. … having been loved and counted worthy of so much, not to repay the one who loved her with the like, as far as she can. Like this is what the blessed Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "The body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." Such again is what he said: "But whatever things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count all things to be refuse, that I may gain Christ." Such too is: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Such is: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or famine, or persecution, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?" and what follows. Such too is: "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Like these is what the bride says: "My kinsman is mine, and I am his." And she indicates who he is, and what he is always doing, and where, and when, and until when: "He who shepherds," she says, "among the lilies; 17. until the day breathes and the shadows are moved."

We must observe that the bridegroom first named himself a lily, speaking according to his humanity: "I am the flower of the plain, the lily of the valleys"; secondly the bride herself: "For as a lily," he says, "among thorns, so is my companion among the daughters"; and here she has named the pasture itself lilies: "He who shepherds," she says, "among the lilies." For the food offered to the sheep, she says, is itself full of fragrance. This is to be understood according to the Seventy; but Symmachus says: "those who shepherd flowers," so that clearly the shepherds themselves … of the one who shepherds the flowers, … flowers, which he called lilies. "Until the day breathes, and the shadows are moved." By shadows she means human affairs. That is why the blessed David says: "Like a shadow when it declines I have been taken away"; and again: "My days pass away like a shadow"; and the noble Job: "For the life of man upon the earth is a shadow." For nothing of the seeming pleasures of the present life is lasting, or firm, or stable, or enduring, or as it were substantial: not wealth, not glory, not power, not health of body, not good looks, nor anything else of the kind; but they are shadowy … the bridegroom [shepherds] us, until the scorching heat of the day passes and the dew of salvation breathes, and the shadows are moved, and the things to come appear, which are enduring and have a permanent existence.

And since the perfected souls wedded to the bridegroom are as one to him, they answer him in the singular and say: "My kinsman is mine, and I am his"; that is, My beloved is seen by me according to the image, and I live for him and not for myself, according to the great Apostle. "He who shepherds among the lilies"; that is, he who, through his holy commandments, governs, among the teaching souls that are not choked by the cares of life, the rational sheep, who are those taught by them. "Until the day breathes and the shadows are moved"; that is, until the all-bright and shadowless day of the age to come arrives, and all present things, which are the shadows of the things to come, [pass away]; on which day the good shepherd will bring his own flock to rest in the eternal dwellings. ["Turn back, my kinsman, be like the gazelle or the fawn of deer upon the mountains of the hollows."] Here she turns the bridegroom back, likened to the animals mentioned before, to step upon the mountains that are in the hollows, wishing all to enjoy his company. By "mountains of the hollows" she here addresses those who live in the midst of people who are hollow and lowly in mind; and she asks that these too may enjoy the presence of the bridegroom, which he did, having heard the bride's supplications. The bride, then, being left alone, [is distressed], and says:

### Scripture references

- Song 2:8–17: quotation, high confidence
- John 10:4–5: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 11:1–3: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 74:13–14 (73:13-Ps LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Isa 27:1: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 10:19: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Pet 2:22: allusion, medium confidence
- John 1:29: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 49:9: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 2:1–11: allusion, high confidence
- Deut 14:5: allusion, medium confidence
- Heb 11:6: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 18:32–33 (17:33-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 29:9 (28:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Rom 10:15: allusion, medium confidence
- Hab 3:19: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 40:4: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 80:8–13 (79:9-Ps LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Jer 9:21 (9:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 5:28: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 23:1: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 1:2: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 91:3 (90:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Gen 12:10–20: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 20:1–18: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 26:6–11: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 31:24: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 32:6–12: allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 39:1–23: allusion, high confidence
- Dan 6:16–22: allusion, high confidence
- Dan 3:19–25: allusion, high confidence
- Acts 5:17–20: allusion, high confidence
- Acts 23:11: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 68:13 (67:14 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 9:37: quotation, high confidence
- John 4:36–38: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 3:24: allusion, low confidence
- 1 Cor 13:12: quotation, high confidence
- John 15:1–2: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 84:1–3 (83:2-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 16:13–18: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 4:18: quotation, high confidence
- Col 3:5: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 10:3: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Tim 2:4: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 6:13: quotation, high confidence
- Phil 3:7–8: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 2:20: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 8:35: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 6:14: quotation, high confidence
- Song 2:1–2: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 109:23 (108:23 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 102:11 (101:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Job 8:9: quotation, high confidence
- John 10:11: allusion, medium confidence
- John 14:2: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 2:8–17 (the end of 2:15 and 2:17b only in part, and 2:11–13 largely lost in the scan; bracketed words supply the evident lemma or sense). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …; nothing has been supplied beyond the evident sense. A new lemma begins at each numeral.
- δίκτυα in Song 2:9 means "lattices"; Theodoret reads it as "nets" (snares of the demons), so "nets" is used throughout. δορκάς ("gazelle") is derived from δέρκομαι ("to see"). "Receives him with joy" renders the garbled χαραδοχεῖ. The foxes are read as heretics; translated as written.
- Quoted or alluded to: John 10:4–5, 27; Isa 11:1–3; Ps 74:13–14 (LXX 73:13–14); Isa 27:1; Luke 10:19; 1 Pet 2:22; John 1:29; Gen 49:9; Matt 2:1–11; Deut 14:5; Heb 11:6; Ps 18:32–33 (LXX 17:33–34); Ps 29:9 (LXX 28:9); Rom 10:15; Hab 3:19; Isa 40:4; Ps 80:8–13 (LXX 79:9–14); Jer 9:21 (LXX 9:20); Matt 5:28; Exod 23:1; Ps 1:2; Ps 91:3 (LXX 90:3); Gen 12:10–20; 20; 26:6–11; 31:24; 32–33; 39; Dan 6; 3; Acts 5:17–20; 23:11; Ps 68:13 (LXX 67:14); Matt 9:37; John 4:36–38; Gal 3:24; 1 Cor 13:12; John 15:1–2; Ps 84:1–3 (LXX 83:2–4); Matt 16:13–18; 2 Cor 4:18; Col 3:5; 2 Cor 10:3; 2 Tim 2:4; 1 Cor 6:13; Phil 3:7–8; Gal 2:20; Rom 8:35; Gal 6:14; Song 2:1–2; Ps 109:23 (LXX 108:23); Ps 102:11 (LXX 101:12); Job 8:9; John 10:11; John 14:2. Symmachus and Aquila are the second-century Greek translators of the Old Testament.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 2.8 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/2-8).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 3:1–2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1/#p-3-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: God sometimes delays answering the prayers of the pious for their good, as with David, Paul and Elijah; so the bride seeks the absent bridegroom at night and through the city.

### Greek text

Στίχ. α΄. ᾿Επὶ κοίτην μου ἐν νυξὶν ἐζήτησα ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου. Ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ εὗρον αὐτόν. Ἐπεκάλεσα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ ὑπήκουσέ ι᾿. καὶ κυκλώσω ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς πιατείαις, καὶ ζητήσω ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου" ἐζήτησα αὑτὸν, καὶ οὐκ εὗρον" ἐπεκάλεσα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ ὑπήκουσέ μου. Τυμνάξων πολλάκις ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς τῶν εὐσεδῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, πειρασμοῖς ποικίλοις συγχωρεξ περιπίπτειν, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν ἀπαλλαγὴν αἱτουμένοις δίδωσι, ποτὲ δὲ ἀναδάλλεται τὴν δόσιν, πανταχόθεν ὠφέλειαν τοῖς θιασώταις μηχανώμενος " τοιοῦτόν ἔστι καὶ τὸ παρὰ τῷ Δαδίδ εἰρημένον" «Ἕως τότε, Κύριε, ἐπιλήσῃ μου εἰς τέλος,; ἕως πότε ἀποστρέφεις τὸ πρόσωπόν σοὺ ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ; ἕως τίνος θήσομαι βουλὰς ἐν ψυχῇ μου; ὀδύνας ἐν καρδίᾳ μου ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός; ἕως πότε ὑψωθήσεται ὁ ἐχθρός μου ἐπ ἐμέ; ν» Πολλάκις γὰρ, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἱκετεύσας, καὶ ἀπαλλαγὴν τῶν λυπηρῶν αἰτήσας, οὐκ ἔτυχε τῆς δεήσεως - διὸ ἀλύων ὡς διαμαρτὼν, καὶ ἀδη μονῶν τοῖς τοιούτοις κέχρηται λόγοις. Καὶ ὁ μακάριος δὲ Πχῦλός φησιν - ε Τῇ ὑπερδολῇ τῶν ἀποκαλύψεων ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι, ἐδόθη μοι σχόλοψ τῇ σαρκὶ, ἄγγεδος Σατᾶν, ἵνα με χολαφίξῃ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι" καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου τρὶς τὸν Κύριον παρεκάλεσα, καὶ εἶπέ μοι- ᾿Αρχεῖ σος ἡ χάρις μου, ἡ Υὰρ δύναμίς βου ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται. » Καὶ παρακαλεῖ Παῦλος, καὶ οὐ τυγχάνει" τὸ γὰρ μὴ λαθεῖν τὴν αἴτησιν ὠφελιμώτερον ἦν. Διὸ διδασκόμενος ὃ ἠγνόει, μεθ᾽ ἡδονῆς τὸ μὴ λαδεῖν ἃ ἤτηχε δέχεται" καὶ βοᾷ λέγιυν" « Ἤδιστα οὖν μᾶλλον καυχήσομαι ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις βϑυ, ἵνα ἐ πισχηνώσῃ ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ.» Καὶ Ἠλίας δὲ ὁ πάνυ δειλιάσας τῆς Ἰεζάδελ τὰς ἀπειλὰς, ἀποδιδράσκει μὲν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, ζητεῖ δὲ τὸν ἐπίκουρον" καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτὸν πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐγγυμνασθῆναι τῷ φόδῳ ὁ σοφὸς τῶν εὐσεδῶν παιδοτρίδης τε καὶ ἀγωνοθέτης, ἐπιφαίνεται αὐτῷ, καὶ ὡς ἀγνοῶν πυνθάνεται τῆς φυγῆς τὴν αἰτίαν, οὐκ ἐπιτωθάζων αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ διδάσκων τῆς φυγῆς "5" τὴν οἰκονομίαν, καὶ παιδεύων εἶναι συγγνώμονα, ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν περικείμενον, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ταύτης παθῶν πολεμούμενον. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἀναδραμεῖν καιρός. Ἐνταῦθα γὰρ ἡ νύμφη, τοῦ νυμφίου πρὸς βραχὺ χωρισθέντος, ἐπιζητεῖ μὲν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ κοίτῃ, καὶ τοῦτο οὐ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν, ἀλλὰ νύκτωρ᾽ οὐκ εὑρίσκε: δὲ αὐτὸν ἀναπαυόμενον 3". Καὶ ταῦτα οὐ μόνον ζητοῦσα, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλοῦσα, ᾿Ανίσταται δὲ, καὶ περινοστεῖ τὴν πόλιν, τὰς ἀγορὰς, τὰς πλατείας " ὁ γὰρ πόθος ἢνάγχκαξζε, καὶ μένειν οἴκοι ἡ τῆς ἀγάπης οὐ συνεχώρει Κκαὶ πυνθάνεται αὐτῶν, λέγουσα "

### English translation (Claude)

1. "On my bed in the nights I sought him whom my soul loved. I sought him, and did not find him. I called him, and he did not hearken to me." 2. "[I will rise now] and go about in the city, in the markets and in the broad streets, and I will seek him whom my soul loved." I sought him, and did not find him; I called him, and he did not hearken to me.

The God of all often trains the souls of the pious by allowing them to fall into various temptations; sometimes he grants deliverance to those who ask for it, and sometimes he defers the gift, contriving benefit for his devoted followers on every side. Such is the saying in David: "How long, O Lord, will you forget me, to the end? How long will you turn your face away from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, with pains in my heart day and night? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?" For, as is likely, he had often made supplication and asked for deliverance from his troubles and had not obtained his request; therefore, distraught as one who has failed, and in anguish, he uses such words. The blessed Paul too says: "So that I might not be too elated by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me, so that I might not be too elated. Concerning this I three times besought the Lord, and he said to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Paul asks, and does not obtain; for not receiving his request was the more profitable. Therefore, taught what he did not know, he accepts with pleasure not receiving what he had asked, and cries out, saying: "Most gladly, then, will I rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." And the great Elijah, terrified by Jezebel's threats, runs away into the desert, but seeks his helper; and the wise trainer and judge of the contests of the pious, having left him for a little while to be exercised by fear, appears to him and, as though he did not know, asks the reason for his flight, not mocking him, but teaching him the purpose of the flight and training him to be forgiving, since he was clothed with human nature and assailed by its passions.

But it is time to run back to the passage before us. Here the bride, the bridegroom having been parted from her for a little while, seeks him on her bed, and that not by day but by night; but she does not find him resting there. And this not only seeking but also calling. She rises, then, and goes about the city, the markets, the broad streets; for longing compelled her, and the [force] of love did not allow her to stay at home. And she inquires of them, saying:

### Scripture references

- Song 3:1–2: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 13:1–2 (12:2-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 12:7–9: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Kgs 19:1–9: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 3:1–2 (the opening words of 3:2 are lost in the scan). In the Septuagint, 3:1 also ends "I called him, and he did not hearken to me." Footnote debris from the edition has been removed by logged corrections.
- Quoted or alluded to: Ps 13:1–2 (LXX 12:2–3); 2 Cor 12:7–9; 2 Cor 12:9; 1 Kgs 19:1–9.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 3.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 3:3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1/#p-3-3
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The angels who keep watch over the soul cannot show her the bridegroom's essence; passing beyond all created things she holds him by faith and brings him into the mind, the house of divine wisdom.

### Greek text

Υ΄, δ. Εὔροσάν με οἱ τηροῦντες, οἱ κυκλοῦντες ἑγτῇ πόϊει. Μὴ ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ Ψυχὴ μου ἴδετε; Ὡς μικρὸν ὅτε παρῆλθον ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν, ἕως οὗ εὗρον ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου. Αὐτοῦ τὸ κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν εὐεργετικὸν, καὶ τὸ κατ᾽ οὐσίαν ἄτρεπτον. φλόξ" περιτυγχάνει δὲ καὶ τοῖς τῆς πόλεως φύλαξι ἴῃ Τί δὲ οὗτος ἂν τὴν οὐσίαν εὐεργετιχύς ἐστι, καὶ ἄτρεπτος, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην εὑρεῖν; Κἂν γὰρ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἀλήθειαν ἐντεῦθεν ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν, οὐκ ὑπήκουσέ "ὁ μου, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὑπὲρ ταῦτά ἐστιν" ὅτι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ἐστιν ὄνομα᾽ καὶ αὕτη" μὲν τὸν ἀγαπητόν μου, ὡς εἴρτχκα, οὕπω ἠδυνήθην εὑρεῖν " οἱ δὲ ἅγιοι ἄγγελοι εὕροσάν με, οἱ τηροῦντες, οἱ χυχλοῦντες ἐν τῇ πόλει " εὕροσαν δέ με ἐν τῷ καθαίρειν με διὰ πράξεως, καὶ φωτίζειν διὰ θεωρίας, τὴν διὰ κακίαν καὶ ἄγνοιαν ἀπολωλνῖαν, καὶ μαθήτριαν τῶν πνευμάτων τῆς πονηρίας γεγενημένην ποτὲ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τούτοι: ἀγγέλοις μὴ πρὸς" μαθητείαν εὕρυσχομέννν»" οἵ τηροῦσι πρὸς ἔπαινον ἣ ἔλεγχον ἐν τῇ φοδερᾷ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς διαγνώσεως τά τε φανερὰ, καὶ ἀφανῖ, μον κινήματα, καὶ πᾶν νόημά τε καὶ ποίημα - κἀντεῦθεν ἐν τῷ μή τι τούτων χαταδύσι ποιούμενοι ἐν ἐμοὶ, ὡς ἔν τινι πόλει τὰς ἀναστροφάς. Οὕτω δὲ τούτων περιτυχόντων με, φημὶ πρὸς αὖτούς" « Μὴ ὃν ἢγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μον ἴδετε; » Ἥγουν, Μὴ ὃν καταλαδεῖν μὲν ἐπόθησα, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην δὲ, κἂν αὐτοὶ, οἱ τοῦτον περιχορεύοντες ὡς λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα, ἐθεάσασθε ὅπως φύσεως ἔχει, ἵνα κἀμὲ ταύτην ἀναδιδάξητε; Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀγγέλοις ἀκατάληπτος ὁ νυμφίος τὴν οὐσίαν ἐστὶ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτό μοι ἀπόκρισιν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐρωτήματος οὗ δεδώκασι, σιωπῇ με διδάξαντες τὸ μηδὲ τούτοις αὐτὸν εἶναι καταληπτὸν, χτιστοῖς οὖσι τὸν ἄκτιστον, παρῇλθον καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν, τὸν ποθούμενόν μοι ἀναζητοῦσα. Καὶ ὡς μικρὸν ὅτε παρῆλθον ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν, ἕως οὗ εὗρον ὃν ἢγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μον" « Ἐκράτησα αὐτόν.» Ἤτοι ὡς βραχὺ, διὰ μόνον τὸ κτιστὸν νῷ "᾽ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ἀγγελικὴν φύσιν διέδην, ἵνα τὸν ἄκτιστον εὕρω τὸν ἀγαπητόν μου "", ὡς εὐεργέτην μου, πίστει μόνῃ κατέσχον αὐτόν " πάντα τὰ ὄντα διεξελθοῦσα, καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς βεδαιωθεῖσα τῆς πείρας, ὅτι ὁ πάντων αἴτιος, ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα ἐστὶ, καὶ ἐν οὐδεμιᾷ φύσει, εἴτε αἰσθητῇ, εἴτε νοητῇ, καθ' οὐσίαν ὁρᾶται, ὑπερούσιος ὥν. Οὕτως οὖν πάντα τὰ ὄντα διεπέρασα, ζητοῦσα τὸν ἐμοὶ ποθεινότατον νυμφίον εἰσοιχἔσασθαι. « Καὶ οὐκ ἀφῆκα αὐτὸν, ἕως οὗ εἰσήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκον μητρός μου, καὶ εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον τῆς συλλαθούσης με. ν» ἬἭγουν οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην ζητεῖν τὸν ἐμὸν ἐραστὴν, ἕως οὗ εἰσῳχισάμην αὐτὸν εἰς νοῦν, Ὁ ὃς οἶκος μὲν τῆς δίκην μητρὸς αἰτίας πάντων Θεοῦ σοφίας ἐστὶν, ὡς ταύτης διὰ τὸ καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν χωρητιχός " ταμιεῖον δὲ πάλιν αὐτῆς, ὡς τοὺς ἀποκρύφους ταύτης θησαυροὺς διὰ τὸ κατ᾽ εἰκόνα ἔχον ἀποθέτους ἐν ἑαυτῷ - ἥτις μὲ σοφία συνέλαδεν, ὡς πρὸ χατα- Θολῆς κόσμου τὴν ὑπεράγαθον περὶ ἐμὲ βούλησιν ἔχουτα διὸ καὶ δι’ ἐμὲ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν πάντως φύσιν, τό τε δὲ τὸ πᾶν, ὑπεστήσατο" « Ἐπὶ κοίτην μου ἐν νυξὶν ἐζήτησα ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου " ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ εὗρον αὐτόν. » Καὶ μικρὸν τούτους διαδραμοῦσα, λέγει αὐτὸν εὑρηκέναι, καὶ μὴ

### English translation (Claude)

3–4. "The watchmen who go about in the city found me. Have you seen him whom my soul loved? It was but a little while after I passed from them, until I found him whom my soul loved." … his beneficence according to his activity and his immutability according to his essence. … flame; and she meets also the guards of the city … But what he is in his essence, he who is beneficent and immutable, I was not able to find. For even if on this account I called him Good and Truth, he did not hearken to me, since he is beyond these too; for his name is above every name. And I, as I said, have not yet been able to find my beloved; but the holy angels found me, the watchmen who go about in the city. They found me by cleansing me through practice and enlightening me through contemplation, me who had perished through vice and ignorance and had once become a disciple of the spirits of wickedness, and for that reason was not found by these good angels for discipleship. They keep, for praise or for reproof on the fearful day of judgment, both the open and the hidden movements, every thought and every deed; and thereupon, in that none of these … making their way of life in me as in a city. When these had come upon me, then, I said to them: "Have you seen him whom my soul loved?" That is: Have you, who dance about him as ministering spirits, seen what nature he has, him whom I longed to comprehend but could not, so that you may teach me this too? But since the bridegroom is incomprehensible in his essence even to the holy angels, and for this reason they gave me no answer to my question, teaching me by their silence that he is not comprehensible even to them, since they are created and he uncreated, I passed on from them too, searching for the one I longed for. "And it was but a little while after I passed from them, until I found him whom my soul loved: I held him fast." That is, passing for a short while in mind beyond all that is created, even the angelic nature itself, so that I might find the uncreated one, my beloved, I held him fast as my benefactor by faith alone, having gone through all beings and been assured by experience itself that the cause of all is beyond all beings and is seen according to essence in no nature, whether sensible or intelligible, being beyond essence. So, then, I passed through all beings, seeking to bring home to myself the bridegroom whom I most long for. "And I did not let him go, until I brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me." That is, I did not cease seeking my lover until I brought him to dwell in the mind, which is the house of the wisdom of God, the cause of all, like a mother, being able to receive it through the likeness, and again its chamber, as having its hidden treasures stored up within itself through the image; which wisdom conceived me, since before the foundation of the world it had its supremely good will toward me; that is why for my sake it brought into being human nature altogether, and the universe too. "On my bed in the nights I sought him whom my soul loved; I sought him, and did not find him." And having passed these by for a little, she says that she has found him, and not …

### Scripture references

- Song 3:3–4: quotation, high confidence
- Song 3:1: quotation, high confidence
- Phil 2:9: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 1:14: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 4:5: allusion, medium confidence
- Eph 6:12: allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 1:26: allusion, medium confidence
- Eph 1:4: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 3:3–4, with 3:1 repeated at the end. Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. The section breaks off mid-sentence.
- Unlike the rest of the commentary, this section has the bride speak in the first person and uses the language of essence and activity (energy), the image and likeness, and God "beyond essence"; it may be a scholion by another hand printed within Theodoret's text (uncertain). Translated as printed.
- Quoted or alluded to: Phil 2:9; Heb 1:14; 1 Cor 4:5; Eph 6:12; Gen 1:26; Eph 1:4.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 3.3 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-3).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 3:5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1/#p-3-5
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride repeats her oath to the daughters of Jerusalem, already explained at Song 2:7, to kindle their love for the bridegroom.

### Greek text

ε΄. Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες ἹἹερουσαλὴμ, ἐν ταῖς δυγάμεσι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ. ἐὰν ἐγείρητε καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην, ἕως οὗ θελήσῃ. Δῖλα δὴ ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου ἑρμηνευνομένων " δὶς γὰρ αὐταῖς ἐπιφέρει τοῦτὸν τὸν ὄρκον, ἐνθεῖναι αὐταῖς θερμὴν τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ νυμφίου προα:ρουμένη. Ταῦτα τῆς νύμφης εἰρηχνίας, καὶ κάλλο; ἄῤῥητον ἐκ τῇς τοῦ νυμφίου περιλήψεως εἰληφυίας, ἐκπληττόμεναι αἱ θεῖαι δυνάμεις φασίν.

### English translation (Claude)

5. "I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field, if you rouse and awaken love, until it please." These words are clear from what was interpreted at the beginning of this discourse; for she puts this oath to them twice, wishing to instil in them a warm love for the bridegroom. When the bride has said this, and has received unspeakable beauty from the bridegroom's embrace, the divine powers say in amazement:

### Scripture references

- Song 3:5: quotation, high confidence
- Song 2:7: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 3:5, which repeats Song 2:7 (explained at the beginning of this book of the commentary).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 3.5 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-5).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 3:6

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1/#p-3-6
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The angels marvel at the bride rising from the desert of human nature like incense smoke; her myrrh and frankincense are faith in Christ's death and in his divinity, that is, the economy and theology.

### Greek text

ς΄. Τίς αὕτη ἀναδαίγουσα" ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου, στελέχη καπνοῦ " ὡς τεθυμιαμέγη σμύρναν καὶ Ὑὰρ τὸν νυμφίον ὁρῶντες, μετὰ τὴν τοῦ διαδόλου νίκην καὶ τὴν τοῦ θανάτου κατάλυσιν, εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνιόντα, θαυμάζουσι καὶ λέγουσι " ε Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βατιλεὺς τῆς δόξης; » καὶ μανθάνουσιν, ὅτι « Κύρῖος κραταιὸς καὶ δυνατὸς, Κύριος δυνατὸς ἐν ποπάλι» ἐρωτῶσι" « ΤῚς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης; ν καὶ ἀκούουσιν, ὅτι ε« Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων αὐτός ἔστιν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης “» οὕτως δ᾽ ἐνπαῦθα τῆς νύμφης τὴν ὥραν θαυμάξοντές φασιν ' «Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἀναδαίνουσα ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου; » δὲ καλοῦσι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν, διὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀσέδειαν. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Ἧσαϊας βοᾷ ' « Εὐφράνθηχι, ἔρημος διψῶσα " εὐφρανθήτω "' ἔρημος, καὶ ἀνθείτω ὡς κρίνον. ν Ὥσπερ δὲ ἐνταῦθα ἐκπλήττονται, ὅτι τοσοῦτον κάλλος ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου βεύλάστηχεν᾽ οὕτως ἐν τῇ Ἡσαῖου προφητείᾳ θαυμάζουσι τὸν νυμςίον δρῶντες, καὶ λέγουτι, «ε Τίς οὗτος ὁ παραγενόμενο; ἐξ Ἐδώμ; Ἐρύθημα ἱματίων αὐτοῦ ἐκ Βοσόρ;: » εἰς εἰ Σημαίνει δὲ τὸ μὲν Ἐδὼμ τὴν γῆν, τὸ δὲ Βορὸρ τὴν σάρκα. Καὶ ἐχπληττόμενοι αὐτοῦ τὸ κάλλος βοῶσιν - Οὗτος ὡραῖος ἐν στολῇ, βία μετὰ ἰσχύος. Ἱνατί σου ἐρυθρὰ τὰ ἱμάτια, ὡς ἀπὸ πατητοῦ ληνοῦ πλήρους καταπεπατημένης; Καί φασιν’ « Ἐν δ᾽ σώματι ὧν λάμπει. » Στολὴν αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα "ἢ προσηγορεύχασι καὶ βίαιον ἔχει τὸ κάλλος, ἅπαντας τοὺς ὁρῶντας βιαζόμενον. Οὕτω ἐνταῦθα ἐχπλήττονται, οὐ μόνον ὅτι καλὴ ἡ νύμφη, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου ἀναβαίνουσα, τουτέστιν ἀπὸ βάθους εἰς ὕψος ἀνερχομένη, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ταπεινῶν ἐπὶ τὰ μετέωρα βαδίζουσα. «ε Καὶ ἔοικε, φησὶ, στελέχῃ καπνοῦ τεθυμιαμένῃ.» ᾿Ασαφὴς μὲν ἡ συνθήκη " τῇ γὰρ ἙἭ ραίων γλώττῃ δουλεύσαντες οἱ 'Εδδομήκοντα δ" οὐκ ἐσαφήνισαν τὴν διάνοιαν " ὁ δὲ ᾿Ακύλας καὶ ὁ Σύμμα. χος δ" τὴν ἔννοιαν ἡ μῖν παρεδήλωσαν εἰρηκότες, « Ὡς ὁμοίωσις καπνοῦ ἀπὸ θυμιάματος. » Μιμεῖται δὲ καὶ τελέχην πολλάκις θυμιάματος καπνὸς ἐν τῷ ἀέρι οἱονεὶ τυπούμενος. Καὶ εἰκότως αὐτὴν καπνῷ θυμιάματος ἐοικέναι φασὶ, τὴν κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον παραστήσασαν τὰ μέλη αὐτῆς θυσίαν ζῶσαν, ἁγίαν, εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ, καὶ προσφέρουταν διηνεκῶς τὴν τῆς αἰνέσεως θυσίαν, καὶ τὰ μέλη αὐτῆς τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς " νεχρώσασαν, καὶ τῷ Χριστῷ συνταφεῖσαν δ΄, καὶ ὁλοχαύτωσιν ἑαυτὴν τῷ Θεῷ προσχομίσασαν. Διδάσκουσι δὲ καὶ ποίῳ αὐτὴν καπνῷ θυμιάματος ἀπείχασαν " σμύρναν γάρ φασι" καὶ λίδανον ἀπὸ μὲν Θεῷ κατὰ τὸν Μωσαϊχὸν ἀπονενέμηται νόμον " ς ἡ δὲ σμύρνα νεκρῶν ἔστι σωμάτων ἀλοιφῇ. νουσι τοίνυν διὰ τούτων τῶν ὀνομάτων οἱ τῆς νύμφης τὸ κάλλος θαυμάζοντες, ὅτι διὰ τοῦτό ἐστιν εὐώδης, καὶ ἀτμῷ θυμιάματος ἀπειχασμένη, ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα καὶ δ᾽ τὴν θεότητα προσκυνεῖ, καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ πιστεύουσα, καὶ τὴν πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων ὕπαρξιν ὁμολογεῖ. ᾿Απὸ πάντων τοίνυν τῶν χονιορτῶν τοῦ μυρεψοῦ θαυμάζουσιν αὐτῆς τὴν σμύρναν, καὶ τὸν λίδανον. Ἔχει μὲν γὰρ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρετὰς οἷον ἀπό τινος μυρεψοῦ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς ταύτας συλλέγουσα " ἐξαίρετα δὲ αὐτῆς ἡ σμύρνα καὶ ὁ λίθανος, τουτέστιν ἡ θεολογία τε καὶ οἰκονομία “5. Οὕτω τῆς νύμφης τὸ κάλλος θαυμάσαντε-, διηγοῦνται αὐτῇ τοῦ νυμφίου τὸν πλοῦτον, καί φασιν"

### English translation (Claude)

6. "Who is this coming up from the desert, like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and [frankincense, from all the powders of the perfumer]?" For seeing the bridegroom going up into heaven after his victory over the devil and the destruction of death, they marvel and say: "Who is this King of glory?" And they learn that "the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle" … they ask: "Who is this King of glory?" And they hear that "the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." So here too, marvelling at the bride's beauty, they say: "Who is this coming up from the desert?" [By the desert] they mean human nature, because of its former impiety. That is why Isaiah cries: "Be glad, thirsty desert; let the desert be glad and blossom like a lily." And as here they are amazed that such beauty has sprung up from the desert, so in the prophecy of Isaiah they marvel on seeing the bridegroom, and say: "Who is this who comes from Edom, the redness of his garments from Bosor?" Edom signifies the earth, and Bosor the flesh. And in amazement at his beauty they cry: "This one is beautiful in his robe, [coming] with force and strength. Why are your garments red, as from a trodden winepress, full, trampled down?" And they say: "In … body … shines." They have called his body his robe; and his beauty is forceful, overpowering all who see it. So here they are amazed not only that the bride is beautiful but that she comes up from the desert, that is, rises from the depth to the height and walks from lowly things to things on high.

"And she is like," he says, "a column of smoke perfumed." The construction is obscure; for the Seventy, keeping close to the Hebrew tongue, did not make the sense clear; but Aquila and Symmachus showed us the meaning by saying: "Like a likeness of smoke from incense." The smoke of incense often imitates a column too, taking shape as it were in the air. And fittingly they say that she resembles the smoke of incense, she who, according to the blessed Paul, has presented her members as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, and continually offers the sacrifice of praise, and has put to death her members that are on the earth, and has been buried with Christ, and has brought herself to God as a whole burnt offering. They teach also to what kind of incense smoke they have likened her; for they say "myrrh and frankincense." Frankincense is assigned to God under the Mosaic law, but myrrh is an ointment for dead bodies. By these names, then, those who marvel at the bride's beauty [indicate] that she is fragrant and likened to the vapour of incense because she worships both the humanity and the divinity, and, believing in the death, also confesses the existence before the ages. "From all the powders of the perfumer," then, they marvel at her myrrh and frankincense. For she has the other virtues too, gathering them as from a perfumer, the divine Scripture; but her special ones are the myrrh and the frankincense, that is, theology and the economy. Having thus marvelled at the bride's beauty, they describe to her the bridegroom's wealth, and say:

### Scripture references

- Song 3:6: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 24:8–10 (23:8-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Isa 35:1: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 63:1–2: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 12:1: allusion, high confidence
- Heb 13:15: allusion, high confidence
- Col 3:5: allusion, high confidence
- Rom 6:4: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 30:34–38: allusion, low confidence
- John 19:39: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 3:6 (its end lost in the scan; supplied in brackets from the comment). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. The speakers are the "divine powers" (angels) introduced at the end of 3:5. "Theology" means the teaching on Christ's divinity, "the economy" his incarnation and death.
- Quoted or alluded to: Ps 24:8–10 (LXX 23:8–10); Isa 35:1 (LXX); Isa 63:1–2; Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15; Col 3:5; Rom 6:4; Exod 30:34–38; John 19:39.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 3.6 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-6).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 3:7–8

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1/#p-3-7
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Solomon, the man of peace, stands for Christ; his bed is the divine Scriptures, and the sixty mighty men are the saints made perfect under the law, armed with the word that refutes and the hidden, mystical word.

### Greek text

ζ΄, η΄. Ἰδοὺ ἡ κιίνη τοῦ Σολομὼν "', ἢ δυνατοὶ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς, ἀπὸ δυνατῶν ᾿Ισραή,. Πάντες κατέχοντες ῥομφαίας, δεδιδαγμένοι πό- “εμον" ἀγὴρ ῥομφαία αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν μηρὸν αὖτοῦ, ἀπὸ θάμδους ἐν νυξίν. Ζητητέον δὲ πρὸ πάντων, τί δήποτε Σολομῶντα τὸν νυμφίον προσαγοκαὶ τοῦτο ἐν ταῖς Παραλειπομέναις ἔστιν εὑρεῖν " φησὶ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς βουληθέντα τὸν Δαδὶδ τὸν νεὼν οἰκοδομῆσαι " ε Ἰδοὺ υἱὸς τίκτεταί σοι" οὗτος ἔσται ἀνὴρ ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ ἀναπαύσω αὐτὸν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ κυκλόθεν, ὅτι Σολομών ὄνομα αὐτῷ " καὶ εἰρήνην, καὶ ἡσυχίαν δώσω ἐπὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ. Οὗτος οἰκοδομήσει οἶκον τῷ ὀνόματί μου, καὶ οὗτος ἔσται μοι εἰς υἱὸν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἔσομαι αὐτῷ εἰς πατέρα, καὶ ἑτοιμάσω τὸν θρόνον τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἰσραὴλ ἕως αἰῶνος. » Εὔδηλον δὲ ὅτι Σολομὼν τετελεύτηκεν οὐδὲ πολὺν βιώσας χρόνον, καὶ ὅτι ὁ θρόνος αὐτοῦ τέλος ἔλαδεν. Σολομῶντα ποίνυν προσαγορεύει τὸν εἰρηνικὸν ἡμῶν Κύριον, περὶ οὗ φησιν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος " «Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν, ὁ ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα ἕν, καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας. » Διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Δαδὶδ Εἰς Σοιομῶντα μὲν ἐπιγράφει τὸν οα' ψαλμὸν, τὰ δὲ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐν αὐτῷ διηγεῖται κατορθώματα. «Κρινεῖ γὰρ, φησὶ, τοὺς πτωχοὺς τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ σώσει τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν πενήτων, καὶ ταπεινώσει συκοφάντην “ καὶ συμπαραμενεῖ τῷ ἡλίῳ, καὶ πρὸ τῆς σελήνης γενεὰς γενεῶν: » Οὔτε δὲ τῷ ἡλίῳ συμπαραμεμένηχε Σολομὼν, οὔτε πρὸ τῆς σελήνης γενεὰς δ γενεῶν. ᾿Αλλὰ ταῦτα ἁρμόττει τῷ ἐκ Σολομῷντος βλαστήσαντι Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ κατὰ τὸ πινον" ὃς πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων ὑπάρχων, «ε Κατέδη ὡς ὑετὸς ἐπὶ πόκον, καὶ ὡσεὶ σταγὼν ἡ στάζουσα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.,» Πόκον δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὴν Παρθένον προσηγόρευσς. Καθάπερ δ᾽ γὰρ ὑετὸς ἐπὶ πόκον ἀψοφητὶ κάτεισιν, οὕτως ὁ σωτήριος ἐκεῖνος τόκος πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀγνοούντων ἐγένετο. Τούτοις ἐπιφέρει " « ᾿Ανατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ “Δῆθος εἰρήνης " ἕως οὗ “ ἀνταναιρεθῇ ἣ σελήνη.,ν Καὶ κατακυριεύσει ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἕως θαλάσσης, καὶ ἀπὸ ποταμῶν ξως περάτων τῆς οἰκουμένης, » καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἅπαντα τῆς αὐτῆς διανοίας ἐχόμενα" οὐ γὰρ νῦν καιρὸς τὸν ψαλμὸν ἑρμηνεύειν. Ἕως δὲ τῶν περάτων τῇς οἰκουμένης οὐκ ὁ Σολομὼν ἐκυρίευσεν, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ ἐκ Σολομῶντος βλαστήσας κατὰ τὸ ἀνθριυύπειον Ἰησυῦς Χριστὸς, καὶ Σολομὼν προσαγορευόμενος διὰ τὸ εἰρηνικὸν καὶ πρᾶον, καὶ εἰρήνης παρεκτικόν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τίς ὁ Σολομὼν μεμαθήκαμεν, φέρε τἧς ἑρμηνείας ἁψώμεθα. ε Ἰδοὺ ἡ κλίνη τοῦ Σολομών.» Κλίνην τοῦ νυμφίου τὰς θείας νοήσωμεν Γραφάς. Ἐν ἐκείναις γὰρ οἱονεὶ συναναχλινομένη ἣ νύμφη τῷ νυμφίῳ, καὶ τὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας σπέρματα δεχομένη, συλλαμθάνει, καὶ κύει, καὶ ὠδίνει, καὶ πίχτει τὴν πνευματικὴν ὠφέλειαν, ὡς βοᾷν μετὰ τοῦ προφήτου " ε Διὰ τὸν φόδον" σου, Κύριε, ἐν γαττρὶ ἐλάθομεν, καὶ ὠδινήσαμεν, καὶ ἐτέχομεν " πνεῦμα σωτηρίας σου ἐποιήσαμεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς "΄.» -- « Ἑξήκοντα, φησὶ, δυνατοὶ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς, ἀπὸ δυνα τῶν Ἰσραήλ. Πάντες κατέχοντες ῥομφαίας, δεδιδαγμένοι πόλεμον " ἀνὴρ ῥομφαία αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν μηρὸν αὐτοῦ, ἀπὸ θάμόους ἐν νυξίν. ν Τὸν ἐξέχοντα ἀριθμὸν ἐνταῦθα κεῖσθαι ἡγοῦμαι οὐκ ἐπὶ ταῦττς «ἧς ποσότητος, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ διαπρέψα»τας ἁγίους τούτῳ δηλοῦσθαι τῷ ὀνόματι. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ ᾿δέχα τέλειον εἶναί φασιν ἀριθμόν " τὸν δὲ ἐξ τοῖς ὑπὸ νόμον ἁρμόττοντα. « Ἕξ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἡμέραις ἐργᾷ. » Τοὺς ἐν νόμῳ τοίνυν τελειωθέντας κύκλῳ τῆς κλίνης ἀστάναι φασὶν, ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὸ γένος χατάγοντας, δυνατοὺς δὲ ὄντας ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας, καὶ ῥομκαὶ ἄλλας ῥομφαίας ἐπὶ τῶν μηρῶν φερομένους. « ᾿Απὸ θάμόδους, φησὶν, ἐν νυξίν. » Σαάφέστερον δὲ ὁ Σύμμαχος τοῦτο πεποίηκεν εἰρηκὼς, « διὰ φόδους γυχτερινούς. » Οὗτοι, φησὶν, οἱ δυνατοὶ πεοιέπουτιν αὐτοῦ τὴν κλίνην, διὰ τὰς τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπιδρομὰς τὴν νύμφην φυλάττοντες. Δύο δὲ ῥομφαίας ἐπιφέρονται, τὴν μὲν ἐν τῷ μηρῷ, τὴν δὲ ἐν τῇ χειρί " τὸν ἐλεγκτικὸν λόγον, καὶ τὺν κεκρυμμένον καὶ μυστικόν " καὶ τὸν μὲν ἐλεγκτικὸν ἐν προχεέρῳ, τὸν δὲ μυστικὸν, ἐν ταμιείῳ ἔνδον ἐν τῷ χολεῷ "5.

### English translation (Claude)

7–8. "Behold the bed of Solomon; sixty mighty men are around it, of the mighty men of Israel. All holding swords, trained for war; each man's sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the nights." Before everything else we must ask why he calls the bridegroom Solomon … and this can be found in the Chronicles; for God says to David, when he wished to build the temple: "Behold, a son is born to you; he shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about, for Solomon is his name; and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name, and he shall be a son to me and I will be a father to him, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever." It is plain that Solomon died without living a long time, and that his throne came to an end. He therefore calls our peaceable Lord Solomon, of whom the blessed Paul says: "For he is our peace, who has made both one and broken down the dividing wall of the partition." That is why the blessed David entitles the seventy-first psalm "For Solomon," but narrates in it the achievements of our Saviour. "For he will judge," it says, "the poor of the people, and save the sons of the needy, and humble the false accuser; and he will continue as long as the sun, and before the moon, for generations of generations." But Solomon neither continued as long as the sun nor [was] before the moon for generations of generations. These things fit Jesus Christ, who sprang from Solomon according to the [flesh]; who, existing before the ages, "came down like rain upon a fleece, and like drops falling upon the earth." By the fleece he here means the Virgin. For as rain falls noiselessly upon a fleece, so that saving birth took place while all men were unaware of it. To these words he adds: "In his days righteousness will spring up, and abundance of peace, until the moon is taken away. And he will have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the inhabited world," and all that follows, holding to the same sense; for now is not the time to interpret the psalm. It was not Solomon who held dominion to the ends of the inhabited world, but Jesus Christ, who sprang from Solomon according to his humanity, and is called Solomon because he is peaceable and gentle and the giver of peace.

Since, then, we have learned who Solomon is, let us take up the interpretation. "Behold the bed of Solomon." Let us understand the bridegroom's bed as the divine Scriptures. For in them the bride, reclining as it were with the bridegroom and receiving the seeds of teaching, conceives, and is with child, and is in labour, and brings forth spiritual benefit, so as to cry out with the prophet: "Because of the fear of you, O Lord, we conceived in the womb, and were in labour, and brought forth; we have wrought the spirit of your salvation upon the earth." "Sixty," he says, "mighty men are around it, of the mighty men of Israel. All holding swords, trained for war; each man's sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the nights." I think the number sixty is placed here not for the sake of this quantity, but that by this name the saints who were distinguished in the Old [Testament] are indicated. For they say that ten is a perfect number, and six fits those under the law: "For six days," it says, "you shall work." So they say that those made perfect in the law stand around the bed, tracing their descent from Israel and mighty beyond all, and [carrying swords in their hands] and other swords upon their thighs. "Because of fear," he says, "in the nights." Symmachus made this clearer by saying, "because of terrors of the night." These mighty men, he says, attend his bed, guarding the bride against the attacks of the enemies. They carry two swords, one on the thigh and the other in the hand: the word that refutes, and the hidden and mystical word; the refuting one ready to hand, and the mystical one within, in a storeroom, in the sheath.

### Scripture references

- Song 3:7–8: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Chr 22:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 2:14: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 72:4–8 (71:4-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Isa 26:18: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 20:9: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 3:7–8. Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. Sixty is explained as six (the working days of the law) times ten (a perfect number).
- Quoted or alluded to: 1 Chr 22:9–10; Eph 2:14; Ps 72 (LXX 71) title and 72:4–8; Isa 26:18 (LXX); Exod 20:9.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 3.7 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-7).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 3:9

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1/#p-3-9
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The litter is the apostles who carried Christ's name to the nations; made from Lebanon (the Jewish people), with pillars (Peter, James and John), a golden back (the gospel), and a floor of precious stones (the divine oracles).

### Greek text

θ’, ν΄. Φορεῖον 5 ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς Σοἡομὼν ἀπὸ ξύλων" τοῦ Λιδάγου. Στύλους αὑτοῦ ἐποίησεν ἀργύριον, καὶ τὸ ἀνάχλιτον αὐτοῦ χρυσίον ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ «λιθόσερωτον " ἀγάπην ἀπὸ θυγατέρων Ἵερουσαιϊὴμ". Πάλιν ἐνταῦθα φορεῖον τοὺς ἁγίους νοήσωμεν ἀποστόλους, βαστάσαντας τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου ἐνώπιον ἐθνῶν καὶ βασιλέων, υἱῶν τε Ἰσραήλ" καὶ γὰρ περὶ τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου τοῦτο τῷ ᾿Ανανία 6 φησὶν ὁ Χριστός " « Πορεύον ὅτι σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς μοί ἐστιν οὗτος, τοῦ βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐνώπιον ἐθνῶν, καὶ βασιλέων, υἱῶν τε Ἰσραήλ. » Καὶ αὐτὲς ὃδ ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος βοᾷ" « Εἰ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε ποὗὔ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ; ν Τούτους δὲ καὶ ἴπποὺς ὁ μακάριος ᾿Αδθαχοὺμ. ὀνομάζει" « Ἐπιθήσῃ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους σου, καὶ ἡ ἱππασία δου σωτηρία. ν» Καὶ πάλιν" « Ἐπεδίδασας εἰς θάλασσαν ποὺς ἵππους σον, ταράσσοντας ὕδατα πολλά. » θάλασσαν δὲ καλεῖ τὰ ἔθνη, ἃ τότε τῶν ἀποστέλλων χηρυπτόντων διεταράττετο" διὸ καὶ οἱ ἀπιστοῦντες περὶ αὐτῶν ἔλεγον " ε Οἱ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀναστατιὼσαντες, οὗτοι καὶ ἐνταῦθα πάρεισιν, οὗς ὑποδέδεχτο: Ἰάτων. » Οὺς ὁ ᾿ΑΛθθαχοὺμ τοίνυν ἵππους ὠνόμα::, εὑρίσκομεν. ε« Ἐποίησε τοίνυν ἑχυτο φορεῖον ὁ βασιλεὺς Σολομὼν ἀπὸ ξύλων τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, καὶ τὴν Ἴουδαίων πληθὺν, ἡ θεία πολλάκις προσαγορεύει Γραφ ἡ" καὶ τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς προοιμίοις τοῦ λόγου ἐκ χῶν ἀπεδείξαμεν συγγραμμάτων. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐξ ἐκείνων κατῆγον τὸ γένος οἱ μακάριοι ἀπόστολοι, Ὁ εἰκότως φησὶ τὸ φορεῖον ἀπὸ ξύλων τοῦ Λιδάνου κατασκευάσθαι. Τοὺς δὲ στύλους αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, ἐποίησεν ἐρτύριον, Εὐρίσκομεν δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ στύλους ὀνομαοὐέντας " ὁ γὰρ μακάριος Παῦλος Γαλάταις γράφων φησί" ς Πέτρος, καὶ Ἰάχωδος, καὶ Ἰωάννης, οἱ δοκοῦντες στύλο: εἶνα!, δεξιὰς ἔδωκαν ἐμοὶ καὶ Βαρνάδχ κοινωνίας, ἵνα ἡμεῖς μὲν εἰς; τὰ ἔθνη, αὐτοὶ δὲ εἰς τὴν περιτομὴν. ν Φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἀνάχλιτον αὐτοῦ χρυσίον εἶναι. Δηλοῖ δὲ τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν κήρυγμα, ᾧ ὁ θεῖος ἐπαναπαύεται λόγος. « Ἐπίόδασις αὐτοῦ πορφυρᾶ 5 » τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀρχομένοις τὸ βασιλεῖσθα:. Καὶ ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ λιθόστρωτον" μαργαρίταις γὰρ ἔοικε, καὶ λίθοις τιμίοις, τὰ θεῖα λόγια, κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα προφήτην" « Τὰ κρίματα Κυρίου ἀληθινὰ, δεδιχαιωμένα ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ, ἐπιθυμητὰ ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ λίθον τίμιον πολύν. » Καὶ πάλιν" « Ἰδοὺ ἐπεθύμησα τὰς ἐντολάς σου ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ τοπάζιον. » Καὶ « Ἡ βασιλεία δὲ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἔοικε, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνὴν, ἐμπόρῳ ζητοῦντι καλοὺς μαργαρίτας.» Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ δέ φησι" ε Μὴ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρωνῖδ. ν Τοιοῦτον εἶναι τὸ φορεῖον τοῦ βασιλέως σαλὴμ εἰς θεωρίαν ἐξελθεῖν τοῦ νυμφίον, ἰδεῖν ν᾽ τὸν

### English translation (Claude)

9–10. "King Solomon made himself a litter from the wood of Lebanon. Its pillars he made of silver, and its back of gold, [its seat of purple]; its interior paved with stones, love from the daughters of Jerusalem." Here again let us understand the litter as the holy apostles, who carried the name of the Lord before nations and kings and the sons of Israel; for Christ says this of the blessed Paul to Ananias: "Go, for this man is a chosen vessel to me, to carry my name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel." And the divine Paul himself cries: "Since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me?" The blessed Habakkuk names them horses too: "For you will mount," he says, "upon your horses, and your riding is salvation." And again: "You made your horses go into the sea, troubling many waters." By the sea he means the nations, which were thrown into turmoil when the apostles preached; that is why the unbelievers said of them: "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them." Those, then, whom Habakkuk named horses … we find. "So King Solomon made himself a litter from the wood [of Lebanon]." … Jerusalem and the multitude of the Jews the divine Scripture often calls [Lebanon]; and we showed this at the beginning of this discourse from the [prophetic] writings. Since, then, the blessed apostles traced their descent from them, he fittingly says that the litter was made of the wood of Lebanon. "Its pillars," he says, "he made of silver." We find them named pillars too; for the blessed Paul, writing to the Galatians, says: "Peter and James and John, who seemed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go to the nations and they to the circumcision." They say also that its back is of gold. This signifies the preaching of the gospel, on which the divine Word rests. "Its seat of purple": for to those who are ruled … to be ruled as by a king. "And its interior paved with stones": for the divine oracles resemble pearls and precious stones, according to the prophet who said: "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified altogether, more to be desired than gold and much precious stone." And again: "Behold, I have longed for your commandments above gold and topaz." And "the kingdom of heaven," according to the Lord's word, "is like a merchant seeking fine pearls." And elsewhere he says: "Do not throw your pearls before swine." Such is the litter of the king … [Jeru]salem to go out to behold the bridegroom, to see …

### Scripture references

- Song 3:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- Acts 9:15: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 13:3: quotation, high confidence
- Hab 3:8: quotation, high confidence
- Hab 3:15: quotation, high confidence
- Acts 17:6–7: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 2:9: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 19:9–10 (18:10-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 119:127 (118:127 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 13:45: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 7:6: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 3:9–10 (the seat of purple of 3:10 is lost in the lemma but commented on). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …; the section breaks off mid-sentence. Lebanon as Jerusalem and the Jewish people was argued in the lost beginning of this book of the commentary.
- Quoted or alluded to: Acts 9:15; 2 Cor 13:3; Hab 3:8; Hab 3:15; Acts 17:6–7; Gal 2:9; Ps 19:9–10 (LXX 18:10–11); Ps 119:127 (LXX 118:127); Matt 13:45; Matt 7:6.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 3.9 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-9).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 3:11

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-1/#p-3-11
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The crown with which his mother crowned Solomon is the crown of thorns given by Judaea, which Christ received as the crown of love on the day of his passion, his wedding day, when he gave his body and blood.

### Greek text

ια΄. Ἐξέλθετε, καὶ ἴδετε Σολομὼν, θυγατόρὲς Σιὼν, ἐν τῷ στεφάνῳ ᾧ ἐστεξάνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ νυμφρεύσεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εὑφροσύνης καρδίας αὖτοῦ. Δηλοῦσι δὲ, ἵνα συντόμως καὶ σαφῶς τὴν ἑρμηνείαν προσαγάγωμεν τὸ μῆκος φυγόντες " « Ὧ θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλὴμ. καὶ Σιών. » Σιὼν δὲ πάλιν τὴν ἐπουράνιον ἡμᾶς ἐδίδαξεν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγων " ε ᾿Αλλὰ προσεληλύθατε Σιὼν ὄρει, καὶ πόλει θεοῦ ζῶντος, Ἱερουσαλὴμ "' ἐπουρανίῳ, καὶ μυριάσιν ἀγγέλων πανηγύρει: "", καὶ Ἐκκλησίᾳ πρωτοτόκων ἀπογεγραμμένων ἐν οὐρανοῖς. ν --- « Ὑμεῖς τοίνυν, φασὶν, ὦ θυγατέρες Σιὼν καὶ Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἐξέλθετε, καὶ ἴδετε "» ἀμήχανον γὰρ ἡμᾶς 5" ἰδεῖν μὴ ἔξω τῶν βιωτικῶν γενομένους πραγμάτων. Βλέπετε τὸν βασϑέα τὴν ἀγάπην ἐστεφανωμένον ᾿ οὕτως γὰρ ἣγάπῆσε τὸν κόσμον, ὅτι ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐκ ἀρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε μορφὴν δούλου λαδών. Οὕτως ἠγάπησε κὸν κόσμον, ὅτι ὡς πρόθατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ προκείμενον αὐτῷ στέφανον, καί φασιν " ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐναντίον τοῦ κείροντος αὐτὸν ἄφωνος " καὶ ἐξηγόρασεν ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς κατάρας τοῦ νόμου, γενόμενος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κατάρα. Διό φησ! " « Μεέζονα ταύτῆς ἀγάπην οὐδεὶς δύναται δεῖξαι, ἵνα τις- θῇ τὴν ψυχὴν αὑτοῦ ὑπὲρ τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ. ν Οὕτω τοίνυν ἐστεφάνωσεν αὐτὸν" ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ. Μητέρα ὃὲ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν καλεῖ κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον, ἕτις αὐτῷ τοῦτον ἄχουυσα τὸν στέφανον δέδωκεν, Αὕτη μὲν γὰρ ἐστεφάνωσε ταῖς ἀκάνθαις, ὡς ἀτιμάξουσα " αὐτὸς δὲ διὰ τῶν ἀχαυθῶν τὸν τῆς ἀγάπης ἐδέχετο στέφανον. Ἑχὼν γὰρ τὴν ἀτιμίαν ὑπέφερε, καὶ ἐθελοντὶ τῷ πάθει προσήρχετο" διὸ καὶ νυμφεύσεως ἡμέραν ἐχείνην ἐκάλεσε, καὶ ἡμέραν εὐφροσύνης καρδίας αὐτοῦ. Κατ᾽ ἐχείνην γὰρ τὴν ἡμέραν ἣ τοῦ γάμου γέγονε κοινωνία. « Μετὰ γὰρ τὸ δεῖπνον λαθὼν, φησὶν, ἄρτον, καὶ εὐχαριστήσας, ἔκλασε καὶ ἔδωκε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ λέγων " Λάδετε, φάγετε ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες " τοῦτο γάρ ἔστι τὸ σῶμά μου, τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κλώμενον εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν - τοῦτο ποιΞξῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν.» Οἱ τοίνον ἐσθίοντες τοῦ νυμφίου τὰ μέλη, καὶ πίνοντες αὐτοῦ τὸ αἷμα, τῆς γαμικῆς αὐτοῦ τυγχάνουσι κοινωνίας. Διὰ τοῦτο τὰς θυγατέρας Σιὼν καὶ Ἱερουσαλὴμ προτρέπουσιν οἱ τοῦ νυμφίου διάκονοι, ὅτι Ἐξέλθετε, καὶ ἴδετε τὸν τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ στέφανον, ᾧ κατεκόσμησεν αὐτὸν παρὰ γνώμην ἡ τεκοῦσα αὐτὸν Ἰουδαία, καὶ ἐστεφάνωσεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς νυμφεύσεως αὐτοῦ 5, Τούτων οὕτως ὑπ᾽ ἐχείνων εἰρημένων, πάλιν ὁ νυμφίος τῇ νύμφῃ διαλεγόμενός φησιν "

### English translation (Claude)

11. "Go out and see Solomon, daughters of Zion, in the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the gladness of his heart." They indicate (to present the interpretation briefly and clearly, avoiding length): "O daughters of Jerusalem and Zion." Again, the blessed Paul taught us [that] Zion [is] the heavenly one, saying: "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in festal gathering, and to the church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven." "You, then," they say, "O daughters of Zion and Jerusalem, go out and see"; for it is impossible for us to see unless we have gone out of the affairs of this life. See the king crowned with love; for he so loved the world that, being in the form of God, he did not count being equal with God a thing to be seized, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. He so loved the world that he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and … the crown set before him, and they say … like a lamb before its shearer, dumb; and he redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us. That is why he says: "Greater love than this no one can show, that one lay down his life for his friends." So, then, his mother crowned him. By his mother he means Judaea, according to his humanity, which gave him this crown unwillingly. For she crowned him with the thorns in order to dishonour him; but he through the thorns received the crown of love. For he bore the dishonour willingly, and went to his passion of his own will; that is why he called that day the day of his wedding and the day of the gladness of his heart. For on that day the communion of the marriage took place. "For after supper," it says, "having taken bread and given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat of it, all of you; for this is my body, broken for you for the forgiveness of sins; do this in remembrance of me." Those, then, who eat the bridegroom's members and drink his blood obtain communion in his marriage. That is why the bridegroom's ministers urge the daughters of Zion and Jerusalem: Go out and see the crown of his love, with which Judaea, who bore him, adorned him against her own intent, and crowned him on the day of his wedding. When they had said these things, the bridegroom, speaking again with the bride, says:

### Scripture references

- Song 3:11: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 12:22–23: quotation, high confidence
- John 3:16: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 2:6–7: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 53:7: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 12:2: allusion, medium confidence
- Gal 3:13: quotation, high confidence
- John 15:13: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 27:29: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 11:23–25: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 22:19–20: quotation, medium confidence
- Matt 26:26–28: quotation, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 3:11. Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. Judaea, Christ's "mother" according to his humanity, crowns him with thorns to dishonour him; translated as written.
- The words of institution are a conflation (1 Cor 11:23–25; Luke 22:19–20; Matt 26:26–28). Quoted or alluded to: Heb 12:22–23; John 3:16; Phil 2:6–7; Isa 53:7; Heb 12:2; Gal 3:13; John 15:13; Matt 27:29; John 19:2.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 3.11 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/3-11).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 4:1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-1/#p-4-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bridegroom praises the bride part by part (her spiritual eyes, timely silence, hair, teeth washed in baptism, lips marked with his blood like Rahab's thread, neck and breasts of teaching), goes willingly to the mountain of myrrh (his death), and calls her wholly beautiful; a new book of the commentary begins with a prayer.

### Greek text

α'. Ἰδοὺ εἶ καλὴ, ἡ πλησίον μου’ ἰδοὺ εἶ καιϊή - ὀρθαιῖμοί σου περιστεραὶ, ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου 85. Τὸ κάλλος αὐτῆς ἐκπληττόμενος δεύτερον λέγει τό « Ἰδοὺ εἴ καλή. » Εἴτα κατὰ μέρος αὐτῆς διαγράφει τὴν ὥραν " καὶ τοὺς μὲν ὀφθαλμοὺς ὀνυμάζει περιστερὰς, τὴν πνευματικὴν αὐτῶν ἐπαινῶν θεωρίαν " καὶ ὅτι οὐ περὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ χεχήνασιν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἄνω ζητοῦσιν, « οὗ ὁ Χριστός ἔστι, κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον, ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθήμενος. » θαυμάζει δὲ αὑτῆς καὶ τὴν εὔκαιρον σιωπήν. Εὑρίσκομεν γὰρ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἀνδράσι ταύτην ἐπαινουμένην ᾿ διὸ καὶ ἐν Ἑαλμοῖς ἀκούομεν "ε Ἐθέμην φυλακὴν τῷ στόματί μου ἐν τῷ συστῆναι τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐναντίον μου. » Καὶ ψάλλοντες λέγομεν" «ε Θοῦ, Κύριε, ψυλαχὴν τῷ στόματί μου, καὶ θύραν περιοχῆς περὶ τὰ χείλη μον. » Καὶ τὸν Κύριον εὑρίσκομεν, κατὰ τὴν Ἡσαΐου προφητείαν, οὐκ ἀνοίγοντα αὑτοῦ τὸ στόμα ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὑτοῦ, καὶ, κατὰ τὴν τῶν Εὐαγγελίων ἱστορίαν, ἐρωτώμενον ὑπὸ Πιλάτου, καὶ μὴ ἀποχρινόμενον. Ἐπαινεῖ τοίνυν τῆς νύμφης ὁ Ὁ νυμφίος τὴν εὔκαιρον σιωπὴν, ἅτε δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς καιρὸν ταύτῃ "" χρησάμενος, Ἐπαινεῖ δ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ τρίχας" θαυμάζει καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας, καί φησι" Τρίχωμά σου, ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν αἰγῶν, αἵ ἀπεχαλύφθησαν"' ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλαάδ. (β) Ὁδόγτες σου, ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν κεκαρμέγων, αἱ ἀνέθησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐταῖς. Οὔτε δὲ τρίχας τὰς τρίχας "5 “ αὐτοῦ. γοητέον, οὔτε ὀδόντας τοὺς ὀδόντας " ἀλλὰ τρίχας μὲν τὸ οἱονεὶ περιττὸν καὶ σωματικὸν τῆς νύμφης " νεχραὶ γὰρ αἱ τρίχες, καὶ ἀναίσθητοι" δηλοζ δὲ, ὅτι Καὶ ἐν οἷς ἀνάγκη τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις ἐπιμίγνυσθαι πράγψασι,, καὶ ἐν ἐκείνοις τὸ ἑπαινετὸν ἔχεις, καὶ κόσμιον, καὶ ἔοικας τῇ ἀγέλῃ τῶν αἰγῶν, τῇ ἐν τῷ ὄρει Γαλαὰδ νεμομένῃ, καὶ διὰ τὸ ὕψος τοῦ ὄρους ἐπισήμῳ γινομένῃ. Περὶ δὲ τούτου τοῦ ὄρους ὁ προφήτης Ἱερεμίας φησί" ε Μὴ ῥητίνη οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν Γαλαὰδ, ἣ ἱατρὸς οὐκ ἔστιν" ἐκεῖ; » Καὶ ζητητέον, μήποτε τὴν τῶν αἰγῶν ἀγέλην τοὺς ἐξ ἁμαρτίας τῇ μετανοίᾳ προτιόντας, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ Γακαὶ ἰατρείας τύχωσιν, ἐνταῦθα ὁ λόγος αἰνίττετα:, καὶ δηλοξ ὅτε τὰ εὐτελῇ τῆς νύμφη:, καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα αὐτῆς μόρια, καὶ τὰ οἱονεὶ νεκρὰ καὶ ἀναίσθητα, τοῖς ἐκείνης τῆς ἀγέλης παραδάλλεται κατορθώμασιν. ΟἹ ὀδόντες σου δὲ οὕτως εἰσὶ καθαροὶ, καὶ πάσης περιττῆς διαλέξεως ἀπηλλαγμένοι, εὐτραπελίας τε χχὶ μωρολογίας, ψευδολογίας τε καὶ αἰσχρολογίας, ὡς ἐοικέναι ταῖς ἀγέλαις τῶν κεχαρμένων, καὶ τὸ περιττὸν ἀποθεμένων, αἷ ἀνέδησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ λουτροῦ. Ἡγοῦμαι δὲ τὰς τῶν χεχαρμένων ἀγέλας τοὺς διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀποχειραμένους, « Καὶ τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ῥήματι, » κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, κχκαθαρθέντας, παραδηλοῦν τὸν γυμφίον" οὕτως γὰρ, φησὶ, διέμεινας καθαροὺς ἔχουσα τοὺς ὀδόντας, καὶ ῥύπου λόγων πονηρῶν ἀπηλλαγμένους, ὡς ἐοικέναι σς τοῖς ἀρτίως τοῦ σωτηρίου βαπτίσματος ἠξιωμένοιξ, Ἐκεῖναι δὲ αἱ ἀγέλαι πᾶσαι διδυμεύουσαι, καὶ ἀτεχνοῦσα οὐκ ἔστι" ἐν αὐταῖς “ οὐ γὰρ ἀπειχάζω σε τοῖς μετὰ τὸ σο"τήριον βάπτισμα παλινδρομοῦσι πρὸς τὴν κακίαν" ἀλλὰ τοῖς τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὐτοῖς φυλάττουσι δωρεὰν, καὶ τὴν διπλῆν ἀρετὴν γεννῶσι, τὴν τε ἐν θεωρίᾳ, τὴν τε ἐν πράξει. Οὕτως ταῦτα τῆς νύμφης ἐπαιγέσας τὰ μόρια, ἐπὶ λοιπὰ" χωρεῖ, καί φησιν" Υ. Ὡς σπαρτίον κόκκινον χείλη σου, καὶ ἡ λαλιά σου ὡραία. Διὰ τοῦ κοκκίνου σπαρτίου ἀναμιμνήσκει αὐτὴν τῆς τὸν τύπον αὐτῆς πληρωσάσης ἐν Παλαιᾷ Διαθήκῃ Ῥαὰδ τῆς πόρνης. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνη τοὺς ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῇ κατασκόπους ἀποσταλέντας ὑποδεξαμένη, δι᾽ αὐτῶν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς ἀξία γεγένηται " καὶ ἐκείνη δὲ σημεῖον ἔλαδε τῆς σωτηρίας τὸ σπαρτίον τὸ κόκκινον " τοῦτο διὰ τῆς εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσεληλυθότων, φανὲν τὸ σημεῖον τῶν ἀναιρούντων αὐτὴν ἀπαλλάξῃ, καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτῇ προξενίσῃ. Τοῦτο τὸ σημεῖον ὁ νυμφίος ἐν τῷ στόματι τῆς νύμφης, οἷον ἐν τῇ θυρίδι κείμενον θεωρεῖ, καί φησιν" ε Ὥς σπαρτίον κόκκινον χείλη δου, καὶ ἣ λαλιά σου ὡραία. » Ἐδέξατο γὰρ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματός μου βαφὴν, καὶ προφέρει λόγους ἀληϑείας, οἷόν τινε σπαρτίῳ τοὺς ἀκροατὰς ἁλιεύοντάς τε καὶ δεσμοῦντας " κατακηλεῖ γὰρ αὑτοὺς ἡ ὡραία σοὺ λαλιὰ, καὶ καταθέλγει, καὶ ἀναχωρεῖν οὐκ ἐᾷ, Ἐπαινεῖ αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ μῆλον τῆς ὄψεως " « Ὡς λέπυρον "" γὰρ, φησὶ, τῆς ῥοᾶς μῆλόν σου", ἐκτὸς τῆς σου. » Σημαίνει δὲ τὸ ἐξ αἰδοῦς ἐρύ ἐγγινόμενον αὐτῇ " δι᾽ ἣν καὶ εὐκαίρως σιωπᾷ "7, κρύπτουσα εὐκαίρως τοὺς μυστιχωτέρους λόγους. ὡς λέπυρον τῆς ῥοᾶς τοὺς κόκκους "5. ἐπ᾽ αὑτὸν, πᾶσαι βοιιίδες " τῶν δυνατῶν. Τὸ δὲ Θαιϊειὼθ ὁ μὲν ᾿Ακύλας ἐπάλξεις ὠνόμασεν" ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, ὕψη. Καθάπερ τοίνυν, φησὶν, ὁ ὑπὸ ξεις, ἐφ᾽ ὧν χοδόμηται, καὶ ὑψηλός ἐστι", καὶ περιφανὴς, οὕτως ὁ ποὶ τράχηλος ὑψηλό; ἐστι, καὶ μετέωρος, τὰ ἄνω περισχοπῶν, τὰ ἄνω περιπολῶν. Οὐ γὰρ κέχηνεον εἰς γῆν τοῖς ἀλόγοις παραπλησίως, οὐδὲ εἰς γαστέρα νένευχε, τοὺς χοίρους μιμούμενος, ἀλλὰ μετάρσιός ἔστι, καὶ μετέωρος, καὶ χιλίους Ὃ δὲ ἀριθμὸς οὐκ ἐπὶ ῥητῆς ποσότητος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τὰ πλήθους τέτακται " ἔχει γὰρ ὁ τράχηλός δου, ὁ τὴν κεφαλήν σου φέρων καὶ τὸ στόμα, πάσας" τὰς τῶν ἄλλων διδασκαλίας, τροπικῶς βϑολίδας ὀνομαζομένας, αἷς τοὺς ἐναντίου; ἅπαντα; καταγωνίξῃ. Ἔχει καὶ μένα τοῦ πονηροῦ σθεννύεις βέλη περίχεισαι γὰρ τοῦ πνεύματος. καὶ ῥᾳδίως τιτρώτοὺς ἀντιδιατιϑεμένους, πάσα; τῶν δυνατῶν τὰς βολίδας ἔχουσα " καὶ νῦν μὲν αὐτοὺς διὰ προφητῶν, νῦν δὲ διὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ὅ ἐλέγχουσα, καὶ γυμνοῦσα αὐτῶν τὴν ἀσθένειαν ζ΄, Δύο μαστοί σου, ὡς δύο γεθροὶ δίδυμοι δορχάδος, οἱ νεμόμενοι ἐν κρίνοις. Ἕως οὗ διαἡ ἡμέρα, καὶ κιγηθῶσιν αἱ σκιαί. 'Ακολούθως καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς εἰρημένοις νοοῦμεν “ καὶ ἴσμεν πάλιν μαστοὺς τοὺς τῆς διδασκαλίας χρουνοὺς τοὺς προσφόρως ἑκάστῃ ἡλικίᾳ προσφερομένους, καὶ τοῖς μὲν γάλα προσφέρουσι, τοῖς δὲ τὴν στερεὰν χοτροφήν. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ νεδροζς αὐτοὺς ᾽ ἢ ἐπειδὴ, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, εἼΑρτι γινώσχομεν ἐκ μέρους, τότε καὶ ἐπιγνωσόμεθα, καθὼς καὶ "ἡ. » Καὶ ἐπειδὴ νῦν ἐκ μέρους γινώκαὶ ἐκ μέρους προφητεύομεν "', δορχάδος οἱ τῆ; διδασκαλίας προσαγορεύονται μαστοί" δὲ ἔλθῃ τὸ τέλειον, τότε τὸ "" ἐκ μέρους καταρ- Καὶ τούτους δέ φησιν ἐν κρίνοις τουτέστι πόα: εὐώδους μεταλαμβάνειν “ἔστι δὲ αὕτη τοῦ πνεύματος διδασκαλία. Κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχοῦν, « ἄνθη νέμειν 5,» φησί" τοὺς γὰρ ἀξιωθέντας ἄνθος γενέσϑαι τοῦ πνεύματος οἱ τῆς νύμφης μαστοὶ νέμουσε καὶ ποιμαένουσι, τὰ τὴς διδασκαλίας αὐτοῖς προσφέροντες νάματα, « ἕως διαπνεύσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα, » καὶ λήξῃ μὲν τὰ καύματα "", τουτέστιν ὁ ἐπίπονος βίος" « χινηθῶσι δὲ αἱ σκιαὶ,» τὰ παρόντα πράγματα, ταῖς σκιαῖς ἀπειχασμένα, ὡς προείρηται. Οὕτως ἐπαινέσας τῆς νύμφης τὰ μέλη, ε« Πορεύσομαι, φησὶν, ἐμαυτῷ πρὸς ὄρος τῆς σμύρνης, καὶ πρὸς βουνὸν τοῦ λιδάνου. » ᾿Ἐπειδὴ, φησὶν, οὕτω τυγχάνεις εὐπρεπὴς, οὕτως ὡραία, οὕτω λάμπεις τῷ κάλλει, οὕτως ἐτρώθης τῷ περὶ ἐμὲ φίλτρῳ, καταδέχομαι τὸν ὑπὲρ σοῦ θάνατον, καὶ πορεύσομαι ἐμαυτῷ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῆς σμύρνης " ἀλλὰ πάλιν ἀναστήσομαι, καὶ ἐπανήξω πρὸς τὸν βουνὸν τοῦ λιδάνου.". Καὶ ἤδη δὲ προειρήκαμεν, ὡς μὲν διὰ τῆς σμύρνης τὸν θάνατον παραδηλοῖ, διὰ δὲ τοῦ λιδάνου τὴν θείαν φύτιν. Ζητητέον τοίνυν, τίνος μὲν ἕνεκεν ὄρο: μὲν ἐπὶ θανάτου τέθεικεν͵ ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς θειότητος 5 βουνόν, Ὅτι μέγα, καὶ ἄῤῥητον, καὶ διανοίας ἐστὶν ἀνθρώτῶν ἀνέτιχτον, τὸ τὸν ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχοντα μὴ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσασθαι, τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτὸν χενώταντα μορφὴν δούλου λαθεῖν, καὶ ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενον καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθέντα ὡς ἄνδβρωπον "1, ταπεινῶσαι ἑαυτὸν μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ. Τὸ δὲ εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν δόξαν ἐπἀνελθεῖν, καὶ δοξασθῆναι τῇ δύξη ἧ εἶχε πρὸ τοῦ τὸν χύσμον γενέσθα!, οὐκ ἦν μέγα, οὐδὲ ἐπίπονον, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν ῥᾷδιον. Διὰ τοῦτο ὄρος μὲν τῆς σμύρνης 15 φηϑ, βουνὸν δὲ τοῦ λιδάνου, δεικνὺς ὅτι τοῦτο μέν ἔστιν εὐπετὲς αὐτῷ, καὶ μάλα ῥάδιον, ἐκεῖνο δὲ πρόσαγτες διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον "9, Διὸ καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτὸ γενόμένος τὸ πάθος φησί’ Νῦν ἡ Ψυχή μου τετάρακται "» καὶ͵ « Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, παρελθέτω τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ.» ᾿Αλλὰ πάλιν ἐπάγει" « Καὶ τί εἴπω; Πάτερ, σῶσόν με ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης " ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἐλήλυθα εἰς τὴν ὥραν ταύτην. » Τοῦτο καὶ ἐνταῦθα παραδηλῶν φησι " ε Πορεύσομαι ἐμαυτῷ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῆς σμύρνης, καὶ πρὸς τὸν βουνὸν τοῦ λιδάνου.» Ἑκάτερον γὰρ ἑχὼν ποιῶ, οὐκ ὑπό τινος βιαζόμενος ἣ ἀναγκαζόμενος " ε Ἐξουσίαν γὰρ ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχὴν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαθεῖν αὐτήν. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ αἴρει αὐτὴν ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ " ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ὑπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ, ἵνα πάλιν λάδω αὐτήν ".. » ζ, Ὅλη καλὴ εἶ, ἡ πλησίον μου, δλη καιλὴ "", καὶ μῶμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν σοί. "Ἔοικε ταῦτα τοῖς τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου ῥήμασι " καὶ ἐκεῖνος περὶ τοῦ νυμφίου φησίν " ε Ἵνα παραστήσῃ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἕνδοδον τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν μὴ ἔχουσαν σπῖλον, ἣ ῥυτίδα, ἢ τι τῶν τοιούτων "ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα ἦ ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος.» δὲ γέγονε καὶ καλὴ ἣ τλησίον τοῦ νυμφίον γενομένη καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖθεν μαρμαρυγὰς δεξαμένη, καὶ φωτοειδὴς ἐκ τοῦ φωτὸς γενομένη ᾽". Γένοιτο δὲ ἡμᾶς ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου κατοπτριζομένους τὴν αὑτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφοῦσθαι ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος, μεθ᾽ οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ σὺν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι ἡ δόξα, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ᾿λμήν. Εὐχῇς γὰρ ἡμῖν δεῖ καὶ εὐχῆς ἐπιμελοῦς καὶ σπουδαίας, ἵνα οἱ ἡμέτεροι ὀφθαλμοὶ γένωνται περιστεραὶ πνευματικῶς ὁρῶντες, καὶ ὑπερδαίνοντες τὸ τοῦ γράμματος κάλυμμα,, καὶ διαρθροῦντες ἐναργῶς τὰ κεκρυμμένα μυστήρια. Οὔτε γὰρ δυνατὸν ἑτέρως τῆς θείας Γραφῆς καταμαθεῖν τὴν διάνοιαν, διαφερόντως δὲ τοῦ "λσματος τῶν ἀσμάτων, εἰ μὴ αὐτὸς ὁ τοῖς φωτίσειε, χάριτος ἀκτῖνας πέμψας, καὶ τὸν κεκρυμμένον ὑποδείξειε νοῦν. Φέρε τοίνυν, τὸν ἀποκαλύπτοντα μυστήρια κατὰ τὸν σοφὸν Δανιὴλ ἐπικαλεσάμένοι βοηθὸν, τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἁψώμεθα τοῦ συγγράμματος τὴν ἀκολουθίαν φυλάττυντες. Ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ τέλει τοῦ πρὸ τούτου συγγράμματος ἠκούσαμεν τοῦ νυμφίου τῆς νύμφης τὸ κάλλος θαυμάζοντος, καὶ ἑκάστῳ μορίῳ εὐφημίαν προσάγοντος, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ὅλην αὑτὴν. ὡς ἄμωμον ἐγχωμιάζξοντος ᾽2" οὐ γὰρ ἔχει σπῶλον, ἢ ῥυτίδα, ἢ τι τῶν τοιούτων, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, τῶν ἐν ἀρετῇ τετελειωμένων ψυχῶν ὁ χορός. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ καλεῖ αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ

### English translation (Claude)

1. "Behold, you are beautiful, my companion; behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are doves, apart from your silence." In amazement at her beauty he says a second time: "Behold, you are beautiful." Then he describes her loveliness part by part. He calls her eyes doves, praising their spiritual contemplation, and because they do not gape at things of sense but seek the things above, "where Christ is," according to Paul, "seated at the right hand of God." He admires also her timely silence. For we find this praised among the men of old as well; that is why we hear in the Psalms: "I set a guard on my mouth when the sinner stood up against me." And when we sing psalms we say: "Set a guard, O Lord, on my mouth, and a door of enclosure about my lips." And we find the Lord, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, not opening his mouth in his humiliation, and, according to the narrative of the Gospels, questioned by Pilate and not answering. So the bridegroom praises the bride's timely silence, since he himself had used it at the right time.

He praises her hair too, and admires her teeth, and says: "Your hair is like flocks of goats that have been revealed from Gilead. 2. Your teeth are like flocks of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and there is none barren among them." We must understand neither the hair as hair nor the teeth as teeth. By hair he means what is, as it were, superfluous and bodily in the bride, for hair is dead and without feeling. He shows that even in the matters in which you must mix with human affairs you have what is praiseworthy and orderly, and you are like the flock of goats that pastures on Mount Gilead and becomes conspicuous through the height of the mountain. Of this mountain the prophet Jeremiah says: "Is there no balm in Gilead, or is there no physician there?" And we must ask whether by the flock of goats the word here hints at those who come forward out of sin by repentance and therefore obtain healing in Gilead; and it shows that the humble parts of the bride, the lowest and as it were dead and insensible, are compared with the achievements of that flock. And your teeth are so pure and so free from all superfluous talk, from coarse jesting and foolish talk, from lying and shameful speech, that they resemble the flocks of ewes that are shorn and have put off what is superfluous, "which have come up from the washing." I think that by the flocks of shorn ewes the bridegroom indicates those who through baptism have shorn off sin and have been cleansed "by the washing of water with the word," according to the blessed Paul. For so, he says, you have kept your teeth pure and free from the filth of wicked words that you resemble those who have just been counted worthy of saving baptism. "And those flocks all bear twins, and there is none barren among them"; for I do not liken you to those who after saving baptism run back to wickedness, but to those who guard the gift given them and bring forth the twofold virtue, that of contemplation and that of practice.

Having thus praised these parts of the bride, he passes on to the rest and says: 3. "Like a scarlet thread are your lips, and your speech is lovely." By the scarlet thread he reminds her of Rahab the harlot, who in the Old Covenant filled out the type of her. For Rahab received the spies sent by Joshua the son of Nun, and through them became worthy of eternal life; and she received the scarlet thread as a sign of salvation, … so that, when [the Israelites] had entered the city, the sign, once seen, might keep off those who would kill her and procure her salvation. This sign the bridegroom beholds in the bride's mouth, lying as it were in the window, and says: "Like a scarlet thread are your lips, and your speech is lovely." For it has received the dye of my blood, and brings forth words of truth, fishing for the hearers as with a thread and binding them; for your lovely speech charms and enchants them and does not let them go away. He praises also the apple of her cheek: "For like the rind of a pomegranate," he says, "is your cheek, apart from your [silence]." He signifies the blush that comes upon her from modesty; because of it she also keeps a timely silence, hiding at the right time the more mystical words, as the rind of a pomegranate hides the seeds.

[4. "Like the tower of David is your neck, built for Thalpioth; a thousand shields hang] upon it, all the darts of the mighty." Thalpioth Aquila rendered "battlements," and Symmachus "heights." As, then, he says, [the tower] built upon battlements is high and conspicuous, so your neck is high … and lofty, looking around at the things above and moving among the things above. For it does not gape at the earth like the irrational animals, nor is it bent down toward the belly in imitation of swine, but it is raised up and lofty, and a thousand … The number is set not for a definite quantity but for a multitude; for your neck, which carries your head and your mouth, has all the teachings of the others, figuratively called darts, with which you overcome all your adversaries. It has also … you quench the [flaming] darts of the evil one; for you are clothed with … of the Spirit, and you easily wound those who oppose you, having all the darts of the mighty, refuting them now through the prophets, now through the apostles, and laying bare their weakness.

5. "Your two breasts are like two twin fawns of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies, 6. until the day breathes and the shadows are moved." We understand these words too in keeping with what has been said; and we know again that the breasts are the streams of teaching that are offered suitably to each age, giving milk to some and solid food to others. That is why [he likens] them to fawns, since, according to the blessed Paul, "Now we know in part, but then we shall know fully, even as we have been fully known." And since now we know in part and prophesy in part, the breasts of teaching are called [fawns] of a gazelle; [but when] the perfect comes, then what is in part will be done away. And of these he says that [they feed] among the lilies, that is, partake of a fragrant pasture; and this is the teaching of the Spirit. According to Symmachus he says "to pasture flowers"; for those who have been counted worthy to become a flower of the Spirit the bride's breasts pasture and shepherd, offering them the streams of teaching, "until the day breathes" and the scorching heat ends, that is, the toilsome life, "and the shadows are moved": present affairs, likened to shadows, as was said before.

Having thus praised the bride's members, he says: "I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense." Since you are so comely, he says, so lovely, so shining with beauty, so wounded with love for me, I accept death for your sake and will go my way to the mountain of myrrh; but I will rise again and return to the hill of frankincense. We have already said that by myrrh he indicates death and by frankincense the divine nature. We must ask, then, why he has put "mountain" for death and "hill" for the divinity. Because it is great and unspeakable and beyond human thought that he who was in the form of God did not count being equal with God a thing to be seized, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, and being born in the likeness of men and found in appearance as a man, humbled himself to death, even death on a cross. But to return to his own glory and to be glorified with the glory he had before the world came to be was nothing great or laborious, but very easy. That is why he says "mountain of myrrh" but "hill of frankincense," showing that the latter is easy for him and very simple, but the former steep because of his humanity. That is why, when he came to the passion itself, he says: "Now my soul is troubled," and "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me." But again he adds: "And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this reason I have come to this hour." Indicating this here too, he says: "I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense." For I do each of these willingly, not forced or compelled by anyone: "For I have authority to lay down my life, and I have authority to take it again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of myself, that I may take it again."

7. "You are all beautiful, my companion, all beautiful, and there is no blemish in you." These words resemble the words of the blessed Paul; he too says of the bridegroom: "that he might present the church to himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it might be holy and without blemish." … And she who has come near the bridegroom has become beautiful too, … having received the radiance from there and become luminous from the light. May it be granted to us, beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, to be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord the Spirit; with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

We need prayer, diligent and earnest prayer, that our eyes may become doves, seeing spiritually, passing beyond the veil of the letter and clearly unfolding the hidden mysteries. For it is not possible otherwise to learn the sense of the divine Scripture, and above all of the Song of Songs, unless he himself enlightens …, sending rays of grace, and shows the hidden meaning. Come, then, let us call upon the revealer of mysteries, as the wise Daniel says, as our helper, and take up the interpretation of the writing, keeping to its sequence. At the end of the preceding book we heard the bridegroom admiring the bride's beauty, offering praise to each part, and after that praising her whole as without blemish; for the choir of souls made perfect in virtue has no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, according to the blessed Paul. Here he calls her from the …

### Scripture references

- Song 4:1–7: quotation, high confidence
- Col 3:1: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 39:1 (38:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 141:3 (140:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Isa 53:7–8: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:12–14: allusion, high confidence
- Jer 8:22: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 5:4: allusion, medium confidence
- Eph 5:26: quotation, high confidence
- Josh 2:1–21: allusion, high confidence
- Eph 6:16: allusion, high confidence
- Heb 5:12–14: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 13:9–12: quotation, high confidence
- Phil 2:6–8: quotation, high confidence
- John 17:5: quotation, high confidence
- John 12:27: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 26:39: quotation, high confidence
- John 10:18: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 5:27: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 3:18: quotation, high confidence
- Dan 2:28: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 4:1–7 (4:4 only partly preserved in the scan; bracketed words supply the lemma). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. The doxology after 4:7 ends one of Theodoret's books on the Song; the next book begins with a prayer and breaks off as it introduces 4:8.
- Quoted or alluded to: Col 3:1; Ps 39:1 (LXX 38:2); Ps 141:3 (LXX 140:3); Isa 53:7–8; Matt 27:12–14; Jer 8:22; Eph 5:4; Eph 5:26; Josh 2:1–21; Eph 6:16; Heb 5:12–14; 1 Cor 13:9–12; Phil 2:6–8; John 17:5; John 12:27; Matt 26:39; John 10:18; Eph 5:27; 2 Cor 3:18; Dan 2:28.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 4.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 4:10

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-1/#p-4-10
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bridegroom calls the bride away from Lebanon (idolatry) and Sanir and Hermon (life under the law), as Psalm 45 bids her forget her father's house; she is his sister by shared nature, his bride by receiving his teaching, and his companion by clinging to him.

### Greek text

τ΄. Δεῦρο " ἀπὸ Λιδάνγου, γύμφη, δεῦρο, ἀπὸ τοῦ Λιδάνου ἐλεύσῃ" καὶ διελεύσῃ" ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ἀπὸ μανδρῶν λεόντων, ἀπὸ ὀρέων παρδάλεων. Ἐοικέναι δὲ ταῦτά μοι δοκεῖ τοῖς ἐν τῷ μδ' ψαλμῷ πρὸς τὴν νύμφην εἰρημένοις " « ΓΑχουσον, θύγατερ, καὶ ἴδε, καὶ κλῖνον τὸ οὕς σου, καὶ ἐπιλάθου τοῦ λαοῦ σου, καὶ τοῦ οἴχου τοῦ πατρός δου, καὶ ἐπιθυμήσει ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ κάλλους σον, ὅτι αὐτός ἔστι Κύριός σου.» Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ παραίνεσιν αὑτῇ καὶ λιοῦ αὐτῆς καὶ τοῦ οἴχου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς παρακελεύεται, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἑτέρως τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ κάλλους αὐτῆς ἐπιθυμήσοντος, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο γένοιτο. δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ οἶχογ πατρὸς τὰ παλαιὰ ἔθη καλεῖ, περὶ ὧν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλός φησιν" « Ἦμεν γάρ ποτε καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀνόητοι, ἀπειθεῖς, πλανώμενοι, δουλεύοντες ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ ἡδοναῖς ποικίλαις, ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ φθόνῳ διάγοντες, στυγητοὶ, μισοῦντες ἀλλήλους. Ὅτε δὲ ἧἦ χρηστότης καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ ἐπεφάνη" οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ὧν " ἐποιήσαμεν ἡμεῖς"), ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ πολὺ ἔλεος αὑτοῦ ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας καὶ ἀναἁγίου, οὗ ἐξέχεεν ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς πλουσίως, ν καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ "' τῷ συγγράμματι ἀπὸ Λιθάνου καλεῖ αὐτὴν, καὶ ἀπὸ Σανήρ᾽ διὰ μὲν τοῦ Λιδάνγυ τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν σημαίνων, διὰ δὲ τοῦ Σανὴρ, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται λύχνων ὁδὸς, τὴν ἐν νόμῳ πολιτείαν. Λύχνος γὰρ ὁ νόμος, ὁ ἐν νυκτὶ λάμπων " Ἥλιης δὲ ὁ Χριστὸς, ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ φαίνων. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τοῦ προφήτου φησίν " Τοῖς δὲ φοβουμένοις με ἀνατελεῖ "5 ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ἴασις τ. » ἐν ταῖς πτέρυξιν αὐτοῦ. » Προστίθησι δὲ καὶ τὸ 'Δερμὼν ὄρος, καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸν νόμον παραδηλῶν φησὶ γὰρ ἐν Ῥαλμοῖς ὁ μέγας Δαδίδ'" « Ὥς δρόσος 'λερμὼν ἢ καταβαίνουσα ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Σιὼν,» τουτέστι τὰ τοῦ νόμου διδάγματα, τοῖς ὄρεσι τῆς Σιὼν χορηγούμενα. ἴὍρη δὲ νοητέον τοὺς ἐν ἀρετῇ τελείους, ὡς ὑψηλοὺς καὶ ἐπισήμους 55, καὶ κατὰ τὸ φρόνημα θεῖον ὑπερανεστηχότας. Καλεῖ τοιγαροῦν ὁ νυμ- δεδιδαγμένους " τοὺς δὲ ἀπὸ Σανὴρ καὶ ᾿Αερμὼν, ὡς τοῦ νόμου τὴν δρόσον δεχομένους, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν θείων δρῶν λεόντων, ἀπὸ ὀρέων παρδάλεων" ν» μάνδρας μὲν λεόντων τοὺς σοφοὺς, οὗ τῇ ποιχιλίζ τῶν λόγων, καὶ τῇ τεχνολογίᾳ τῶν σοφισμάτων, τὴν χαλέτας τὴν νύμφην, καὶ συναγαγὼν αὑτὴ» ἀπὸ τῶν διατόρων ὁρῶν, καὶ διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτῇ τὴν σωτη- ρίαν πραγματευπάμενος, καὶ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν αὐτῇ γενόμενον θεασάμενος κάλλος, φησὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν " 6. ᾿Εκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς ὅ". ἀδειφή μου νύμφη, ἡμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀπὸ " τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου, ἐν ἑνὶ ἐσθέματι τραχήλου " σου. Τὸ δὲ, ε ἐκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς, ν ὁ Σύμμαχος, « ἐθάρσυνας, ν ἔφη. Ὃ δὲ λέγε: τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν - Οἱ μὲν δύο ὀφθαλμοί σοῦ θαυμα- στοὶ, καὶ πνευματικοὶ, καὶ περιστεραὶ εἰκότως προσ- τοῦ μυστικοῦ πόματος, πλείονα εὐμορφίαν οἱ μαστοί σου προσεχτήσαντο᾽ μαστοὺς δὲ τοὺς τῆς διδασκαλίας προείπομεν ἤδη εἶναι κρουνούς. Καὶ ὁσμὴ "" δὲ τῶν μεστὴ, καὶ ἐμὲ γὰρ ἐνδέδυσαι τὸν νυμφίον " καὶ μάρτυς Ἡσαΐας προαγορεύων, καὶ λέγων" « ᾿Αγαλλιάσθω ἡ ψυχῆ μου δα πὶ ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ " ἐνέδυσε γάρ με ἱμάτιον σωτηρίου, καὶ χιτῶνα εὐφροσύνης περιέθηκέ μοι. » Ταῦτά σου τὰ ἱμάτια τοσαύτην εὐωδίαν ἀφίησιν, ὡς νικᾷν τὴν νομικὴν ἀρετὴν, ἀρώματα τροπικῶς προσηγορευμέ-νην, τὴν ἐκ τῶν σῶν ἱματίων πανταχοῦ διατρέχουσαν εὐοσμίαν. Καλεῖ δὲ αὐτὴν οὐ μόνον νύμφην, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀδελφὴν "5, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλός φησιν" δὰ ς Εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν πρωτότοκον ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελ-φοῖς. ν Καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ἀναστὰς ταῖς παρὰ τὸ φησὶν, τατε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου,» καὶ τῷ Πέτρῳ" Ἰδοὺ προάγω ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν. » Καὶ ἀδελφὴ τοίνυν ἐστὶν αὑτοῦ "᾽, καὶ νύμφη, καὶ πλησίον ’ πλησίον μὲν, κατὰ τὸ, « Ἐχολλήύθη ἡ Ψυχή μου ὀπίσω σον" »ν νύμφη δὲ, ὡς παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας σπέρματα δεχομένη, καὶ τίκτουσα τὸν τῆς εὐσεδείας καρπόν" ἀδελφὴ δὲ ὡς τὴν αὐτὴν αὐτῷ φύσιν περίκειμένη κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον. Ἐπιμένει τοίνυν αὐτῆς διςξξιὼν τὸ ἐγκώμιον, καί φησι"

### English translation (Claude)

8. "Come from Lebanon, bride, come from Lebanon; you will come and pass through, from the beginning …, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards." These words seem to me to resemble what is said to the bride in the forty-fourth psalm: "Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty, for he is your Lord." For there too [she receives] exhortation, and is bidden [to forget] her people and her father's house, as though the king would not otherwise desire her beauty unless this took place. By her people and her father's house he means the old customs, of which the blessed Paul says: "For we too were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various desires and pleasures, passing our lives in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Saviour appeared, not because of works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his great mercy, he saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal [of the] Holy [Spirit], whom he poured out on us richly," and what follows. In this writing he calls her from Lebanon and from Sanir, signifying by Lebanon idolatry, and by Sanir, which is interpreted "way of lamps," the life under the law. For the law is a lamp, shining in the night, but Christ is the sun, shining as in the day. That is why God says through the prophet: "But for you who fear me the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings." He adds also Mount Hermon, and by it too he indicates the law; for the great David says in the Psalms: "Like the dew of Hermon that comes down upon the mountains of Zion," that is, the teachings of the law supplied to the mountains of Zion. By mountains we must understand those who are perfect in virtue, as being lofty and conspicuous and raised up in divine thought. The bridegroom therefore calls … taught; and those from Sanir and Hermon, as receiving the dew of the law and … by the divine … "from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards": by the dens of lions [he means] the … wise, who by the intricacy of their words and the technical art of their sophisms … the bride; and having gathered her from the … mountains, and procured her salvation through faith, and beheld the beauty that came to her from it, he says to her:

9. "You have heartened us, my sister, bride; [you have heartened] us with one of your eyes, with one ornament of your neck." For "you have heartened us" Symmachus said "you have emboldened us." What he says is this: Your two eyes are admirable and spiritual, and are rightly called doves … [10.] … of the mystical drink, your breasts have acquired greater comeliness; and we have already said that the breasts are the streams of teaching. And the fragrance … full; for you have put me on, the bridegroom; and Isaiah is witness, foretelling and saying: "Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, and put a tunic of gladness around me." These garments of yours give off such fragrance that the fragrance of your garments, spreading everywhere, surpasses the virtue of the law, figuratively called spices. He calls her not only bride but also sister, since the blessed Paul too says: "that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." And the Lord himself, after rising, says to the women at the [tomb]: "Tell my brothers," and to Peter: "Behold, I go before you into Galilee." So she is his sister, and bride, and companion: companion according to the words "My soul has clung to you"; bride, as receiving from him the seeds of teaching and bearing the fruit of godliness; and sister, as clothed with the same nature as he according to his humanity. He continues, then, going through her praise, and says:

### Scripture references

- Song 4:8–10: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 45:10–11 (44:11-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Titus 3:3–6: quotation, high confidence
- Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 133:3 (132:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Isa 61:10: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 8:29: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 28:10: quotation, high confidence
- Mark 16:7: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 63:8 (62:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 4:8–10 (4:10 is largely lost in the scan; lines are lost where marked …). Theodoret's numeral for 4:8 is misread in the scan. Sanir is interpreted "way of lamps."
- Quoted or alluded to: Ps 45:10–11 (LXX 44:11–12); Titus 3:3–6; Mal 4:2 (LXX 3:20); Ps 133:3 (LXX 132:3); Isa 61:10; Rom 8:29; Matt 28:10; Mark 16:7; Ps 63:8 (LXX 62:9).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 4.10 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-10).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 4:11

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-1/#p-4-11
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The lips of the church are her teachers, dripping the honey of the Scriptures' hidden meaning and the milk of simple teaching; she is a garden enclosed and a sealed fountain for the worthy, and her pomegranates, spices and well stand for love, the orders of the saved, pious writings, and the spiritual sense of the law.

### Greek text

ια΄. Κηρίον ἀποστάζει "» τὰ" χείλη σου, νύμφη" μέλε καὶ γάλα ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶσσάν σου, καὶ ὀσμὴ ἱματίων σον, ὡς ἀσμὴ «ιδάγου. ᾿Αναγκαῖον τούτοις παραθεῖναι τὴν ἀποστολικὴν διδασκαλίαν τὴν λέγουσαν" « Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα ἕν ἔστι, καὶ μέλη ἔχει πολλὰ, πάντα δὲ τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώτο; τοῦ ἑνὸς πολλὰ ὄντα ἕν ἔστι σῶμα ""οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστός" καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἑνὶ Πνεύματι ἡμεῖς οἱ πάντες εἰς ἕν σῶμα ἐθαπτίσῆημεν, εἴτε Ἰουδαῖοι, εἶτε Ἕλληνες, εἴτε δοῦλοι, εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι, καὶ πάντες εἰς ἕν Πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθημεν " καὶ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἕν μέλος, ἀλλὰ πολλά" » καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγα, « Εἰ ἦν, φησὶ, τὰ πάντα ἕν μέλος, ποῦ τὸ σῶμα; » καὶ πάλιν, ε Ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε σῶμα Χριστοῦ, καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέρους. » Οὐκοῦν ἐκ πολλῶν μελῶν ἡ Ἐκκλησία συγκειμένη ἕν σῶμα πληροῖ " νοήσωμεν τοίνυν, τινὰς μὲν αὑτῆς εἶναι ὀφθαλμοὺς, τινὰς δὲ ἀκοὰς, τινὰς δὲ χείλη - διὸ καὶ ὁ νυμφίος φησὶν αὐτῇ ᾿ «Κηρίον ἀποστάζει χείλη σοῦ νύμφη Μέλι καὶ γάλα ὑπὸ τὴν Ὑλῶστάν σου. Δηλοῖ δὲ ἐνταῦθα τοὺς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδασκάλους, τὴν εὐσεθῃ διδασκαλίαν προσφέροντας, καὶ οἱονεὶ κηρίον μελισσῶν ἐν τοῖς χείλεσι φέροντας, καὶ τὰς σταγόνας τοῦ μέλιτος ἀποστάζοντας " ἔχοντας δὲ οὐ μόνον μέλι, ἀλλὰ καὶ γάλα, καὶ ἑκάστῳ τὴν πρόσφορον προσφέροντας τροφὴν, καὶ τοῖς νηπίοις τὴν ἀρμόττουσαν, καὶ τοῖς τελείοις τὴν προσήκουσαν. Τὰ δὲ χη ρία τοῦ μέλιτος, τὰ ἐν τοῖς χείλεσι τῶν δ:ξασχάλων φερόμενα, αἱ θεῖαι τυγχάνουσι Γραφαὶ, σας, τοὺς ἱεροὺς προφήτας καὶ ἀποστόλους " ἐχξῖνοι γὰρ τοὺς λειμῶνας τοῦ παναγίου περιιπτάμενοι Πνεύματος, τὰ κηρία τῶν θείων ἡμῖν Γραφῶν οἷον πηξάμενοι, καὶ τοῦ μέλιτος τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐμπλήσαντες, εἰς ἡμᾶς τὴν ὠφέλειαν παρέπεμψαν. Καὶ ἔοικε κηρῷ μὲν τὸ γράμμα, μέλιτι δὲ τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ κρυπτόμενον νόημα - τούτου τοῦ μέλιτος τὰς σταγόνας ἀφίησι τῶν εὐσεδῶν διδασκάλων τὰ χείλη. Ὀρέγει δὲ καὶ γάλα ἀπὸ τῆς γλώττης αὐτῶν φερόμενον τοῖς τοῦ γάλακτος δεομένοις " ἐπιμένει δὲ πάλιν θαυμάζων τῆς νύμφης τὰ ἱμάτια, καί φησι’ ε« Καὶ ὀσμὴ ἱματίων σου, ὡς ὀσμὴ τοῦ λιδάνου. ν» Προειρήκαμεν ὡς αὐτὸς αὐτῇ γέγονεν ἱμάτιον ὁ νυμφίος " καὶ μάρτυς ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγων" «ε Ὅσοι εἰς Χριστὸν ἐδαπτίσθητε, Χριστὸν ἐνεδύσασθε. » Ὁ δὲ νυμφίος, καὶ Θεός ἐστι προαιώνιος, καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτων οἱ γὰρ Χοιστὸν ἐνδέδυται, ὅς ἔστι Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος " αυΐ δος τι ἡμερῶν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου γεννηθείς - καὶ μένων ὃ ἦν, προσέλαδε τὸ ἡμέτερον, καὶ τὴν πάλαι γεγυμνωμένην ἡμφίασε νύμφην. Διό φησι πρὸς αὐτὴν" ε« Ὀσμὴ ἱματίων σου, ὡς δ" ὀσμὴ τοῦ λιδάνου " ν τὸν θεολογίας δὲ σύμδολον ὁ λίθανος, ἐπε!δὴ κατὰ τὸν ιϑ΄. Κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, ἀδε.1;ή μου, γύμφη, κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, πηγὴ ἐσφραγισμένη. καὶ καλεῖ μὲν αὐτὴν κῆπον, ὡς οὐκ ἕνα καρπὸν εὑσεδείας καὶ ἀρετῆς, ἀλλὰ πολλοὺς καὶ ποικίλους τίκτουσαν " κεκλεισμένον δὲ, ὡς περιπεφραγμένον, καὶ ἀνεπιδούλευτον " « Πύλαι γὰρ ἄδου, φησὶν, οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς" » οὐ γάρ ἔστι κατ᾽ ἐχείνην τὴν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ρευόμενοι τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ ἐλυμήνατο ὕς ἐκ δρυμοῦ, παρέοιχε, πολλοὺς μὲν καὶ παντοδαποὺς ἔχοντι καρπὸὺς, τοὺς δὲ χλῶπας οὐ δεχομένῳ, ἀλλὰ φεύγοντι τῶν ἐπιδουλευόντων τὰς χεῖρας. Καὶ πηγὴ δέ ἐστιν ἐσφραγισμένη " οὐ γὰρ πᾶσι προχεῖται, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀξίοις ταῦτα τὰ νάματα " περὶ ταύτης τῆς πηγῆς καὶ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ὁ Κύριός φησιν " « Ὃς ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴ διψήσει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ γενήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ζῶντος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. » Εἰχότω; τοίγυν αὐτὴν πηγὴν ἐσφραγισμένην καλεῖ, ὡς μὴ πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀξίοις προκειμένην. Οὐ γὰρ τοῖς ἀμυήτοις, οὐ τοῖς ἐν ἀνομίαις μετὰ τὴν μύησιν καλινδουμένοις, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀχριδείᾳ συζῶσιν, ἢ διὰ μετανοίας χαθατρομένοις " οὐ μόνον δέ φησι, ε Κῆπος κεκλεισμένος, καὶ πηγὴ ἐσφραγισμένη, » ἀλλὰ χα " μετὰ 5“. πάντων ξύλων τοῦ Λιδάγου 5." σμύρνα, ἀλόη μετὰ πάντων πρώτων μύρων. Πηγὴ κήπων, φρέαρ ὕδατος ζῶντος, καὶ ῥοιζοῦντος ἀπὸ Λιθάνου. Ταῦτα πάντα, φησὶν, ἀπέστειλάς μοι, καὶ προσήνεγχάς μοι κατὰ τὸν τοῦ γάμου καιρόν " καὶ πρῶτον μὲν, τὸν παράδεισον τῶν ῥοῶν, ὅς οὐκ ἣν ἄμοιρος οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀκροδρύων " ῥοὰν δὲ ἡγοῦμαι τροπικῶς νομίζεσθαι τὴν ἀγάπην, ἐπειδὴ ὑφ᾽ ἐνὶ χα λύμματι μυρίοι κατὰ ταυτὸν “5 συγκείμενοι χόχχϑι, καὶ ἀλλήλοις ἡνωμένοι, ἀλλήλους οὐκ ἀποθλίδουσιν, οὐδὲ διαφθείρουσιν, ὑγιαίνοντες εἰ μή τις σηπεδὼν ἐν μέσῳ γένοιτο ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν μέσων διαφραγμάτῶν καὶ ἑτέραν εὑρεῖν θεωρίαν " καὶ γὰρ ἐν» τοῖς σωζομένοις πολλὰ ὁρῶμεν τάγματα - ἄλλο γὰρ τάγμα παρθενευόντων, καὶ ἄλλο ἐγχρατενομένων, καὶ ἄλλο τὸν τοῦ γάμου ζυγὰ; ἐφελχόντων, καὶ τῶν πλούτῳ δούλων τὴν εὐσέθδειαν ἀγαπώντων, καὶ ἄλλο δεσποτῶν ἐννόμως κυριευόντων. Ἔχει τοίνυν καὶ ἡ ῥοὰ οἷόν τινα διατειχίσματα, κατὰ συμμορίας τινὰς τοὺς κόκκους διακρίνοντα " διὰ τοῦτο τὰς τῆς νύμφης αὐτῆς θαυμάζει τὸν τῆς ἀγάπης καρπὸν, λέγει δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τῆς ἀρετῆς εἴδεσι κομᾷν" «Μετὰ καρποῦ ἀκροδρύων. » γὰρ μετὰ νάρδων.» Κύπρος ὃξ εἶδος δένδρου, ἀφ᾽ οὗ θερμὸν κατασκευάζεται ἔλαιον. Καὶ ἡ νάρδος δὲ, ἄρωμα εὐῶδες, ἀφ᾽ οὗ πάλιν ἕλαιον ὁμὦνυμον γίνεται, καὶ αὐτὸ θερμὸν, καὶ εἰς θεραπείαν σωμάτων ἐπιτήδειον. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ χρόχον λέγει τὸν παράδεισον ἔχειν " χρεία γὰρ ἡμῖν οὐ μόνον τῶν μαινόντων ἡμᾶς, καὶ πυρσευόντων ἐν ἡμῖν τὴν περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν διαψυχόντων τὰς ἀκολάστους ἐπιθυμίας τῶν διαψυχόντων γὰρ ὁ κρόκος. « Καὶ κάλαμος, φησὶ, καὶ χινάμωμον. » Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἀρωμάτων μὲν εἴδη, τροπικῶς δὲ νοούμένα. Διὰ γὰρ τοῦ καλάμου τὰ εὐσεδῇ σημαίνει συγἡράμματα " ε Ἡ γλῶσσά μου κάλαμος γραμματέως ὀξυγράζου " ν εὐώδης ὃὲ ὁ ἀρωματικὸς κάλαμος" καὶ γὰρ τῶν τῆς εὐσεδείας διδασκάλων ἡ γλῶττσ. πάσης εὐοσμίας πεπλήρονιται " συνῆπται δὲ τῷ καλάμῳ τὸ κινάμωμον, ὅπερ τῷ Θεῷ κατὰ τὸν παλαιὸν προσεφέρετο νόμον, ἵνα μάθωμεν ὅτι τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ συγγράμματα ἐπαινετά τέ ἐστι, καὶ εὐώδη, καὶ τοῖς προειρημένοις ἡδύσμασιν ἀπειχασμένα, Τούτοις ἐπιφέρει " «Μετὰ πάντων ξύλων τοῦ Λιδάνοῦ - » Ἔχει τὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ τὴν ἐν νόμῳ πολιτευομένην ἀρετὴν, οὐ τὴν κατὰ τὸ γράμμα δ", ἀλλὰ τὴν κατὰ τὸ πνεῦμα" διὰ γὰρ τοῦ Λιδάνου τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ σημαίνεσθαι πολλάκις ἐδιδάχθη. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ « σμύρναν καὶ ἀλόην μετὰ πάντων τῶν πρώτων μύρων. ν Τουτέστε τὴν νέκρωσιν τῶν παθῶν " νεκρῶν γὰρ ἴδιον ἡ σμύρνα " καὶ τὸ τειχρὸν τῶν πειρασμῶν " πικρὰ γὰρ ἡ ἀλόη. Καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς πάντα τὰ πρῶτα ἔχει τῶν μύρων, οὐ τὰ δεύτερα, οὐδὲ τὰ τρίτα, ἀλλὰ τὰ πρῶτα " τῶν γὰρ τελείων τὰ τέλεια, Ἔχει δὲ καὶ « πηγὴν, καὶ φρέαρ ὕδατὸς ζῶντος, καὶ ῥοιζοῦντος ἀπὸ τοῦ Λιδάνου. » Οὐ γὰρ μόνον τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἔχει διδασκαλίαν προφανῶς ῥέουσαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ νόμου τὸ φρέαρ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ φρέαρ ὕδατος ζῶντος, καὶ κεκρυμμένα μὲν ἔχον 55 τὰ νάματα, ῥοιζοῦντα δὲ, καὶ ἦχον ἀποτεσολύμοις γὰρ ἤνθει ἡ νομικὴ πολιτεία, ἥτις Λίδανος τροπικῶς ὀνομάζεται μετέδη δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ φρέαρ εἰς τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου νύμφην, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν" καὶ ἔστι χρυπτόμεγον, ἀλλὰ ῥοίζῳ φερόμενον καὶ ἄρδον τὸν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας παράδεισον. Τῶν ἄνωθεν ἡ νύμφη ἐπαίνων ἀκούσασα, καὶ ἡσθεῖσα, καὶ εὐφρανᾧ. ἐπι" γὲ- ἡ θεῖσα ὅτι οὐ μόνον αὐτῆς τὸ κάλλος ἐθαύμασεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς στολὰς αὐτῆς ἐπήνεσε, φησίν" 

### English translation (Claude)

11. "Your lips drip a honeycomb, bride; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon." It is necessary to set beside these words the apostolic teaching that says: "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many"; and a little after: "If all were one member, where would the body be?" and again: "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." The church, then, made up of many members, forms one body. Let us understand, therefore, that some of its members are eyes, some ears, some lips. That is why the bridegroom says to her: "Your lips drip a honeycomb, bride; honey and milk are under your tongue." He indicates here the teachers of the church, who offer the pious teaching and carry as it were a honeycomb of bees on their lips and let fall the drops of honey; and who have not only honey but milk as well, and offer each person suitable food, the fitting kind to infants and the proper kind to the perfect. The honeycombs carried on the lips of the teachers are the divine Scriptures, … the holy prophets and apostles; for they, flying about the meadows of the all-holy Spirit, built as it were the honeycombs of the divine Scriptures for us and filled them with the honey of teaching, and so sent the benefit on to us. The letter is like the wax, and the meaning hidden in it like the honey; the drops of this honey are what the lips of the pious teachers let fall. They hold out milk too, carried from their tongue, to those who need milk.

He continues admiring the bride's garments, and says: "And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon." We said before that the bridegroom himself has become her garment; and the blessed Paul is witness, saying: "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." The bridegroom … is God before the ages and man in the last [times]; for she has put on Christ, who is God and man: … born of the holy Virgin [in the last] days; and remaining what he was, he took what is ours, and clothed the bride who had long been naked. That is why he says to her: "The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon"; and frankincense is a symbol of theology, since according to the …

12. "A garden enclosed, my sister, bride, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed." He calls her a garden as bearing not one fruit of godliness and virtue but many and various; and enclosed as fenced about and safe from plots: "For the gates of Hades," he says, "will not prevail against her." For she is not like that [vine] from Egypt, [whose fruit all who] pass along the road [plucked], and the boar from the wood ravaged it; she resembles [a garden] that has many fruits of every kind, but does not admit thieves, and escapes the hands of those who plot against it. And she is a sealed fountain; for these streams are not poured out for all, but for the worthy. Of this fountain the Lord says in the Gospels: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but it will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life." Fittingly, then, he calls her a sealed fountain, as one set before the worthy, not before all. For [it is] not for the uninitiated, nor for those who after initiation wallow in lawlessness, but for those who live with strictness or are cleansed by repentance. And he says not only "a garden enclosed and a fountain sealed" but also: 13. "[Your shoots are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruit of fruit trees, henna with nard, 14. nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,] with all the trees of Lebanon, myrrh, aloes, with all the first perfumes. 15. A fountain of gardens, a well of living water, rushing down from Lebanon."

All these, he says, you sent me and brought me at the time of the marriage: first the paradise of pomegranates, which had its share of the other fruit trees too. I think the pomegranate is figuratively taken for love, since under one covering countless seeds lie together in the same place, and, united with one another, do not crush or spoil one another, but stay sound unless some rot arises among them. One may find another interpretation also from the partitions between them; for among those who are being saved we see many orders: one order of virgins, another of the continent, another of those who bear the yoke of marriage, and of … rich, … of slaves who love godliness, and another of masters who rule lawfully. So the pomegranate too has, as it were, partition walls that separate the seeds into certain groups. That is why he admires the bride's … the fruit of love; and he says that she is adorned with the other kinds of virtue too: "With the fruit of fruit trees." … "For [henna] with nard." Henna is a kind of tree from which a warming oil is made. And nard is a fragrant spice from which again an oil of the same name is made, also warming and suitable for treating the body. He says that the paradise has saffron too; for we need not only things that warm us and kindle in us love for God, but also things that cool unruly desires; and saffron is one of the cooling plants. "And calamus," he says, "and cinnamon." These too are kinds of spices, but understood figuratively. By the calamus (the reed) he signifies the pious writings: "My tongue is the reed of a swift scribe"; and the aromatic reed is fragrant; for the tongue of the teachers of godliness is full of every fragrance. And cinnamon, which was offered to God under the old law, is joined to the calamus, so that we may learn that writings about God are praiseworthy and fragrant and like the sweet spices mentioned. To these he adds: "With all the trees of Lebanon." For she has, he says, the virtue of the life under the law too, not according to the letter but according to the spirit; for we have often been taught that Jerusalem is signified by Lebanon. She has also "myrrh and aloes with all the first perfumes," that is, the deadening of the passions (for myrrh belongs to the dead) and the bitterness of temptations (for aloes is bitter). And, in a word, she has all the first of the perfumes, not the second nor the third but the first; for to the perfect belong the perfect things. She has also "a fountain and a well of living water, rushing down from Lebanon." For she has not only the gospel teaching, flowing openly, but also the well of the law, which is a well of living water, keeping its streams hidden, yet rushing and giving off a sound … [in Jeru]salem the life under the law flourished, which is figuratively called Lebanon; and this well too passed over to the Lord's bride, the church; and it is hidden, yet borne along with a rush and watering the paradise of the church.

Having heard the praises from above, the bride, delighted and gladdened … that he had not only admired her beauty but also praised her robes, says:

### Scripture references

- Song 4:11–15: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 12:12–14: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 12:19: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 12:27: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 5:12–14: allusion, medium confidence
- Gal 3:27: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 16:18: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 80:12–13 (79:13-Ps LXX): allusion, high confidence
- John 4:14: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 45:1 (44:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Exod 30:23: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 4:11–15 (the opening of 4:13–14 is lost in the lemma; bracketed words supply it from the comment). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. "Lebanon" (λίβανος) also means "frankincense," on which Theodoret plays. The pomegranate's partitions are read as the orders of the saved (virgins, the continent, the married, slaves and masters).
- Quoted or alluded to: 1 Cor 12:12–14, 19, 27; Heb 5:12–14; Gal 3:27; Matt 16:18; Ps 80:12–13 (LXX 79:13–14); John 4:14; Ps 45:1 (LXX 44:2); Exod 30:23.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 4.11 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-11).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 4:16

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-1/#p-4-16
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride calls on the north and south winds to blow through her garden.

### Greek text

ις΄. Ἐξεγέρθητι, βοῤῥᾶ, καὶ ἔρχου, γότε, καὶ "΄ διάπγευσον κῆπόν μου, καὶ ῥευσάτωσαν ἀρώματά μου “..

### English translation (Claude)

16. "Awake, north wind, and come, south wind, and blow through my garden, and let my spices flow."

### Scripture references

- Song 4:16: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 4:16a only; the comment on it is not in this section of the scan.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 4.16 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/4-16).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 5:1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-1/#p-5-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride bids the north wind (the hostile spirit) depart and the south wind (divine grace) blow; the bridegroom gathers the myrrh of her death with him in baptism and invites the perfect to a sober drunkenness.

### Greek text

α΄. Καταδήτω ἀδε.1.Σι,ιδυῦς μου εἰς κῆπον αὖτοῦ, καὶ φαγέτω καρπὸν ἀκροδρύων αὑτοῦ. Τῶν διαθαλλομένων ἐστὶν ὁ βοῤῥᾶς παρὰ τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ " διὸ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς διὰ Ἱερεμίου φησὶ τοῦ προφήτου, ὅτι « ᾿Απὸ βοῤῥᾷ ἐχχαυθήσεται κακά. » Καὶ πάλιν, « Καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ ἐχδιώξω ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν. ν Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ - ε Ἰδοὺ κακὰ ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ ἔρχεται, καὶ συντριδὴ μεγάλη.» Παρακελεύεται τοίνυν τῷ βοῤῥᾷ ἐξεγερθῆναι καὶ ὑποχωρῆσαι, ἵνα ὁ νότος διαπνεύσῃ, καὶ διαῤτῶν καρπῶν αὐτῆς ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς ἀπολαύσῃ. Ὁ δὲ νότος εὔδηλον, ὅτι ἀπὸ μεσημθρίας πνεῖ, νότος προσαγορευόμενος διὰ τὸ ὑγρὸς εἶναι, καὶ νοτίδος πληροῦν ἐν τῷ πνεῖν τὰ σώματα " πλέον δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς μεσημδρίας εἰσρεζ τὸ φῶς " διὸ καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἀπὸ μεσημόρίας ἥξειν ὁ ᾿Αδδαχοὺμ προλέγει" « Ὁ Θεὸς γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀπὸ θαιμὰν ἥξει " τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τῇ Ἑδραίων καὶ τῇ Σύρων ἑρμηνεύεται φωνῇ.» Παραχελεύετα! τοίνυν ἀποστῆναι μὲν τὸ ἐναντίον Πνεῦμα, τὴν δὲ θείαν πνεῦσαι χάριν, ἵνα πεπανθέντας τοὺς τῶν ἀρωμάτων αὐτῆς καρποὺς ὃ γἱνομένου, ἣ πρὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐχπέπτοντος. «Εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸν κῆπόν μου, ἀδελφή μου, νύμφη. » --- « Ἐτρύγῆσα 7" σμύρναν μου μετὰ ἀρωμάτων μου, ἔφαγον ἄρτον μου", μετὰ μέλιτός μου, ἔπιον οἶνόν μου μετὰ γάλακτός μου. Φάγετε, πλησίον, μου καὶ πίετε, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἐμὸν κἥπον, τὸν ὑπὸ σοῦ μοὶ προσενεχθέντα, καὶ ἐτρύγησα πρώτην τὴν σμύρναν μου, τουτέστιν ἂν ἐγὼ ἐν σοὶ κατεφύτευσα " πρῶτος γὰρ ἐγὼ τὸν ὑπὲρ σοῦ θάνατον χατεδεξάμην, εἶθ᾽ οὕτως σὺ συναποθανεῖν μοι καὶ συνταφῆναι ἐπεθύμησας. Συνετάφης γάρ μοι διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον, καὶ ἐνέχρωσᾶς σου τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Ἐτρύγησα τοιγαροῦν τὴν σμύρναν μου μετὰ ἀρωμάτων μου " καὶ τὴν ἄλλην γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀρετὴν, ἣν παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐδιδάχθης, ἐχαρπωσάμην καὶ ἔλαθον " ἔφαγον δὲ καὶ ἄρτον μου μετὰ μέλιτός μου, τὴν στερεὰν καὶ γλυκεῖαν τροφὴν, τὴν παρὰ τοῖς τελείοις εὑρισκομένην. « "Ἔπιον οἶνόν μου. » Καὶ καλῶς τὴν ἀντωνυμίαν προστέθειχεν. Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀληθινὴ ἄμ πελος, ἀφ᾽ ἧς ὁ οἶνος οὗτος ἐγεωργήθη. ε« Ἕπιον οἶνόν μου μετὰ γάλακτός μου.» Οὐκ ἀποσείεται γὰρ οὐδὲ τοὺς νηπίους, καὶ οἱονεὶ ὑπομαζίους, καὶ γαλακτοτρογουμένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν σύμμετρον παρ᾽ ἐχείνων δέχεται καρπὸν, καὶ ἀγαθὸς ὧν καὶ τοὺς φίλους εἰς τὴν εὐωχίαν καλεῖ, καί φησι" εΦάγετε, οἱ πλησίον βου, καὶ πίετε, καὶ μεθύσθητε, ἀδελφιδοῦ μου. » Πλησιάζουσι δὲ αὐτῷ οἱ τετελειωμένοι, καὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν αὐτοῦ αὐχοῦσι συγγένειαν, οἱ τὴν εἰκόνα φυλάττοντες ἀδιάφθορον. Καὶ οὐ μόνον αὑτοῖς πιεῖν, “ἀλλὰ καὶ μεθυσθῆναι παρακελεύεται " ἔστι γὰρ μέθη ᾿σωφροσύνην, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ παραφροσύνην ἐργαζομένη " οὐ (παραλύουσα τὰ μέλη, ἀλλὰ ῥωννύουσα. «Τὸ γὰρ ποιπήριον αὐτοῦ μεθύσκον ὡσεὶ κράτιστον. » ᾿Αλλαχοῦ δ᾽ δὲ πάλιν ὁ μακάριος Δαδίδ" ε Μεθυσθήσονται, φησὶν, ἀπὸ πιότητος οἴκου σου, καὶ τὸν χειμάῤῥουν "' τῆς ῥηθέντων, φησὶν ἡ νύμφη τρυφῆς σου ποτιεῖς αὐτούς 55.» Τῶν ἄνωθεν οὕτως

### English translation (Claude)

1. "Let my kinsman come down into his garden and eat the fruit of his fruit trees." The north wind is among the things spoken against in the divine Scripture; that is why God says through Jeremiah the prophet that "from the north evils will be kindled." And again: "And the one from the north I will drive out from you." And elsewhere: "Behold, evils come from the north, and great destruction." So she bids the north wind arouse itself and withdraw, so that the south wind may blow through and the kinsman may enjoy [the] fruits of her [garden]. The south wind (notos), plainly, blows from the south, and is called notos because it is moist and fills bodies with moisture as it blows; moreover, light streams in more from the south; that is why Habakkuk foretells that the Lord will come from the south: "For God," he says, "will come from Thaiman"; and this is how the word is interpreted in the Hebrew and in the Syriac tongue. So she bids the opposing spirit depart and the divine grace blow, so that [her kinsman may enjoy] the fruits of her spices once they are ripened, … not falling before their time.

"I have entered into my garden, my sister, bride. I have gathered my myrrh with my spices, I have eaten my bread with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, companions, and drink, [and be drunk, kinsmen]." … into my garden, which you brought to me, and I gathered first my myrrh, that is, what I planted in you; for I first accepted death for your sake, and then you desired to die with me and to be buried with me. For you were buried with me through baptism into death, and you put to death your members that are on the earth. I gathered, then, my myrrh with my spices; for the rest of the virtue too, he says, which you were taught by me, I have reaped and received. And I have eaten my bread with my honey: the solid and sweet food that is found among the perfect. "I have drunk my wine." He has rightly added the pronoun; for he himself is the true vine from which this wine was cultivated. "I have drunk my wine with my milk." For he does not shake off even the infants, those still at the breast, as it were, and fed on milk, but receives from them too the fruit proportionate to them; and, being good, he also calls his friends to the feast, and says: "Eat, companions, and drink, and be drunk, kinsmen." Those who have been made perfect draw near to him and boast of their kinship with him, those who keep the image uncorrupted. And he bids them not only drink but also be drunk; for there is a drunkenness that produces soundness of mind, not derangement, that does not loosen the limbs but strengthens them. "For your cup that makes drunk, how excellent it is." And elsewhere again the blessed David says: "They will be drunk with the fatness of your house, and you will give them drink from the torrent of your delight." When the words from above had been spoken thus, the bride says:

### Scripture references

- Song 4:16–5:1: quotation, high confidence
- Jer 1:14: quotation, high confidence
- Joel 2:20: quotation, high confidence
- Jer 4:6: quotation, medium confidence
- Hab 3:3: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 6:4: allusion, high confidence
- Col 3:5: allusion, high confidence
- John 15:1: allusion, high confidence
- Heb 5:12–14: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 23:5 (22:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 36:8 (35:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 4:16b–5:1 (numbered 5:1 in Theodoret's text). The words "and be drunk, kinsmen" of 5:1 are lost in the first citation of the lemma. Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. "Sober drunkenness" is a traditional image.
- Quoted or alluded to: Jer 1:14; Joel 2:20; Jer 4:6 (or 6:1); Hab 3:3; Rom 6:4; Col 3:5; John 15:1; Heb 5:12–14; Ps 23:5 (LXX 22:5); Ps 36:8 (LXX 35:9).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 5.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 5:2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-1/#p-5-2
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride's heart stays awake for the bridegroom who knocks; her delay in opening teaches the harm of sloth, and the watchmen who wound her stand for the rulers and tyrants who persecuted the saints.

### Greek text

β΄. ᾿Εγὼ καθεύδω, καὶ ἡ καρδία μου ἀγρυπνεῖ. Κἂν γὰρ ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀναγχασθῷ μύσαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ τὸν ὕπνον δέξασθαι, κατὰ διάνοιαν ἐγρήγορα, καὶ τὸν τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας ὕπνον σὺ χαταδέχομαι, τοῦ νυμφίου τὴν παρουσίαν προσμένουσα. Διὸ καὶ αἰσθάνομαι τῶν ἐχείνου κρουμάτων. « Φωνὴ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀδελφιδοῦ μου κρούει ἐπὶ θύραν. ν Παραθήσωμεν, εἰ δοκεῖ, τούτοις τὰ ἐν τοῖς θείοις Εὐαγγελίοις ὑπὸ τοῦ καλοῦ ποιμένος εἰρημένα " «ε Τὰ πρόδατα γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούει. ν Καὶ πάλιν " ε᾿Αλλοτρίῳ δὲ οὐ μὴ ἀχολουθήσωσιν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τὴν φωνήν. ν Μακάριος τοίνυν ὁ ποιμαινόμενος, καὶ τοῦ ποιμένος τὴν φωνὴν ἐπιγινώσκων. Μακάριος ὁ νυμφοστολούμενος, καὶ διακρίνειν ἐπιστάμενος φωνὴν μοιχοῦ καὶ νυμφίου μακάριος ὁ λέγων « Οὐ δ" δώσω ὕπνον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ν μου, καὶ τοῖς βλεφάροις μου νυσταγμὸν, » ἀλλ᾽ ἐγρηγορὼς καὶ τὸν νυμφίον ἀναμένων κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου παραίνεσιν" « ΓρηγορΞῖτε γὰρ, φησὶν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε ποίᾳ ὥρᾳ ὁ Κύριος ὑμῶν ἔρχεται. » Ταύ- «ἣν δὲ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος προσφέρει τὴν συμθουλὴν, λέγων " «Γρηγορεῖτε, στήχετε ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἀνδρίζεσθε, κραταιοῦσθε, πάντα ὑμῶν ἐν ἀγάπῃ γινέσθω.» Ἐγρηγορυῖζα τοίνυν ἡ νύμφῃ, καίτοι χαθεύδε: τὸν σωματικὸν ὕπνον, ἐν ἀπολαύσει γίνεται τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ νυμφίου, καὶ τῶν κρουμάτων τῆς θύρας ἀκούει " τίνες δὲ αἱ θύραι τῆς ψυχῆς, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ τοῦ σώματος αἱ αἰσθήσεις, δι’ ὧν ἡ νύμφη τὸν ἀνοιγῆναι αὐτῷ τὴν θύραν παρακαλοῦντα; γάρ μοι, φησὶν, ἀδελφὴ μου, ἡ πλησίον μου, περιστερά μου, τελεία μου, ὅτι ἡ κεφαλή μου ἐπλήσθη “δρόσου, καὶ οἱ βόστρυχοί μου ψεκάδων νυκτός. » Σημαίνει δὲ δικ μὲν τῆς νυκτὸς τὴν ἐν νυκτὶ γενομένην αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐπανάστασιν " διὰ δὲ τῆς δρόσου, καὶ τῶν ψεχάδων, τὸν τριήμερον θάνατον, ὃν οἱ βόστρυχοι τῆς κεφαλῆς, καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸς ὑπεδέξατο. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν, φηόδὶ, τὸν ὑπὲρ σοῦ θάνατὸν χατεδεξάμην, καὶ διὰ σὲ ταῦτα ὑπέμεινα, ἄνοιξόν μοι, καὶ ὑπόδεξαί με " ἀγαπῶ γάρ σου τὴν πνευματικὴν εὐμορφίαν, καὶ τὴν ἐν ἀρετῇ τελειότητα. Διὸ καὶ ἀδελφὴν μου καλῶ, καὶ πλησίον μου, καὶ περιστεράν μου, καὶ τελείαν μου. Τελείαν μὲν, ὡς τὴν ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ νομοθετηθεῖσαν τελειότητα τελοῦσαν " ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔφην " « Γίγεσθε τέλειοι, καθὼς ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τέλειός ἐστι. » Καὶ πάλιν «ε Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος γενέσθαι, πώλησόν δου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυῤὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς - καὶ λαθὼν τὸν σταυρόν σου, ἀχολούθεε μοι. » Περιστερὰν δέ μου καλῶ, ὡς πνευματικὴν γενομένην, καὶ τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπεχδυσαμένην σὺν τοῖς παθήμασι καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις, καὶ πνευματικῶς ὁρᾷν δυναμένην. Πλησίον δέ μου, ὡς κατ᾽ ἴχνος μου βαίνουσαν, καὶ ἐγγίζειν μοι ἐπιθυμοῦσαν " ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔφην Ἐγγίσατέ μοι, καὶ ἐγγιῶ ὑμῖν" ν» καλῶ δὲ καὶ ἀδελφὴν μου " οὐ διὰ τὸ συγγενὲς μόνον τῆς φύσεως, ἧς ἀνέλαθον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὴν τῆς εὐσεδείας οἰκειότητα "5. Τῶν ἄνωθεν οὖν ῥημάτων ἢ νύμφη ἀκχούουσα, ἀποχρίνεται λέγουσα" γ΄. Ἐξεδυσάμην τὸν χιτῶνά μου, πῶς ἐνδύσομαι αὐτόν"; Ἐνιψάμην τοὺς πόδας μου, πῶς μοζυνῶ αὑτούς; Διδασκόμεθα ἐντεῦθεν, ὅσην τίκτει βλάδην, καὶ ὅσον ἐπιφέρει πόνον τοῖς χρωμένοις ὁ ὄκνος " ἀναδολαῖς γὰρ ἡ νύμφη χρησαμένη, χοὶ εὖθὺς ἀνοῖξα: τῷ νυμφίῳ τὴν θύραν οὐ βουληθεῖσα, ἀναγκάζεται μετὰ βραχὺ, οὐ μόνον μέχρι τῆς θύρας βαδίζειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν τρέχειν, καὶ εἰς τὰς ἀγὸρὰς περινοστεῖν, καὶ περιπεσεῖν φύλαξί τισι, παρ᾽ ὧν καὶ τὰ τραύματα λαμθάνει, καὶ μόλις εὑρίσκει τὸν ποθούμενον νυμφίον. Εἰ δὲ εὐθὺς ὑπήκουσε τῷ χαλέσαντι, τούτων ἂν ἀπάντων ἀπηλλάγη τῶν πόνων " νῦν δέ φησιν" ε Ἐξεδυσάμην τὸν χιτῶνά μου, πῶς ἐνδύσομαι αὐτόν; Ἐνιψάμην τοὺς πόδας μου, πῶς μολυνῷ αὐτούς; » Καὶ μὴν οὐ τοῦτο αὐτῇ ὁ νομφίος παρὰκελεύεται " οὔτε γὰρ βούλεται αὐτὴν ἀπεχδυσαμένην τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον πάλιν αὑτὸν ἐνδύσασθαι, οὔτε θέλει νιψαμένην αὐτὴν τοὺς πόδας, καὶ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ χειρῶν ἀπολαύσασαν, πάλιν τούτους μολῦναι - ἀλλ᾽ ἀνοῖξαι αὐτῷ ἀπόνως καὶ ἀμολύντως, ἢ τῆς ἀκοῆς, ἢ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ τὴν θύραν " ἵνα ἣ διὰ νώσεως, ἣ δι᾽ ἀκροάσεως εἰσελθὼν ὁ νυμφίος ταῖς λετο ἐκείναις ταῖς προφάσεσι χρησαμένη, ἑτέρως αὐτὴν ὁ νυμφίος διεγείρει, οὐκ ἔτι χρούων ἔξωθεν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν χεῖρα διά τινος ὀπῆς εἰσάγων " χεῖρα δὲ νοοῦμεν τὴν αἴσθησιν τῆς ἁφῆς, καὶ τὴν θείαν αὐτοῦ ἐνέργειαν, ἧς αὐτὴν ἐν αἰσθήσει πε-" δ΄. Αδεϊφιδοῦς μου χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλε διὰ τῆς ὀπῆς " καὶ ἡ κοιλία μου" ἐθροήθη ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ "". ᾿Αγέστην ἐγὼ ἀνοῖξαι τῷ ἀδειϊφιδῷ μου" χεῖρές μου ἔσταξαν σμύρναν, δάκχευνλοί "5 μου σμύρνα" πλήρη " ἐπὶ χεῖρας τοῦ Ἥνοιξα ἐγὼ τῷ ἀδειϊφιδῷ μου" ἀδειλριδοῦς μον Ἑζήτησα αὑτὸν, καὶ οὐκ εὗρον αὐτόν" ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ ὑπήκουσέ μου. Εὕροσών μὲ οἱ με, ἐτραυμάτισάν με" ἦραν τὸ θέριστρόγ μου" ἀπ' ἐμοῦ οἱ φύλακες τῶν τειχέων. Ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἐῤουλήθη εὐθὺς ἀνοῖξαι χρούσαντι, ἅπτεται μὲν αὐ- πυρά τῆς διά τινος τῶν αἰσθητηρίων, ὅπερ ὀπὴν προσηγόρευσεν, εἰσαγαγὼν τὴν χεῖρα, τουτέστι τὴν ἐνέρ- δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ πυρσεύει τὸν ἔρωτα᾽' ς αὐτόν" » ὅπερ ὁ Θεοδοτίων « ἐθερμάνθη» εἴρηκεν᾽ ἡ δὲ ἀνίσταται μεθυσθεῖσα τῷ πόθῳ, καὶ τρέχει πρὸς τὴν θύραν, καί φησιν" «Ὅτι χεῖρές μου, τὸ ναν, καὶ οἱ δάκτυλοΐ μου σμύρναν πλήρη» τὴν γὰρ τελείαν περίχειμαι νέκρωσιν, μέχρις αὐτῶν τῶν ἀκροτάτων μορίων. ᾿Ανοίξασα δὲ τὴν θύραν, ὁρῶ τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν μου παρατρέχοντά με, καὶ εἰσελθεῖν οὐ βουλόμενον. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐξηρτημένη τοῦ φίλτρου, καὶ κρεμαμένη τῶν ἱερῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων, τῆς ζητήσεως εἰχόμην, καὶ βοῶσα διετέλουν, καὶ διηνεκῶς καλοῦσα᾽ ὁ δὲ οὐκὶ " ὑπήκουσεν, οὐδὲ ἀποκρίσεώς με ἠξίου" περινοστοῦσα δὲ, καὶ τὸν ποθούμενον ἐπιζητοῦσα, τοῖς τὴν πόλιν οἰκοῦσι καὶ φυλάττουσιν᾽ οἱ δὲ οὐ μόνον με ἠκίσαντο, ἣ ἐμαστίγωσαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τραύματα περιέθηκαν, καὶ τὸ θέριστρόν μον ε" ἀφεῆοντο. Φύλακας ὃξ τειχῶν ὑπὸ τῆς νύμφης ἡγοῦμα: καλεῖσθαι καὶ φύλακας πόλεως, καὶ ἄρχοντας, καὶ τυράννους, πάλαι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ πατάξαντάς τε καὶ τραυματίσαντας, καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ παραδεδωκότας, καὶ τὰ; ψυχὰς τας, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν οἷόν τι θέριστρον Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι τὸν νυμφίον ποθοῦντες, καὶ πάντοτε τοῦτον κηρύττοντες ἐν ταῖς ἀγροῖς, καὶ ἐσχατιαῖς, ταῦτα πάντα ὑπέμειναν. Διδασκόμεθα τοίνυν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων, πάντα ὄκνον ἀποθέσθαι, καὶ τῷ νυμφίῳ κρούοντι παραυτίκα ἀνοίγειν, ἵνα μὴ ἀπελθόντος πάντοσε ἀναγχασθῶμεν, καὶ ζητεῖν τὸν ποθούμενον ".

### English translation (Claude)

2. "I sleep, but my heart is awake." For even if I am compelled by nature to close my eyes and take sleep, in mind I am awake, and I do not accept the sleep of sloth, as I await the coming of the bridegroom. That is why I perceive his knocking too: "For the voice of my kinsman," she says, "knocks at the door." Let us set beside these words, if you please, what was said by the good shepherd in the divine Gospels: "For my sheep," he says, "hear my voice." And again: "A stranger they will not follow, because they do not know the voice of strangers." Blessed, then, is the one who is shepherded and recognizes the voice of the shepherd. Blessed is the one who is being adorned as a bride and knows how to tell the voice of an adulterer from the voice of a bridegroom. Blessed is the one who says, "I will not give sleep to my eyes, nor slumber to my eyelids," but is wakeful and awaits the bridegroom according to the Lord's own exhortation: "Watch, for you do not know at what hour your Lord is coming." This counsel the blessed Paul too offers, saying: "Watch, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong; let all that you do be done in love." The bride, then, being awake, although she sleeps the sleep of the body, enjoys the voice of the bridegroom and hears the knocking at the door. And what are the doors of the soul but the senses of the body, through which the bride [hears] the one who asks that the door be opened to him? "[Open] to me," he says, "my sister, my companion, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." By the night he signifies the uprising of the Jews against him, which took place at night; and by the dew and the drops the three-day … death, which the locks of the head, and not he himself, … received. Since, then, he says, I accepted death for your sake and endured these things because of you, open to me and receive me; for I love your spiritual comeliness and your perfection in virtue. That is why I call you my sister, and my companion, and my dove, and my perfect one. Perfect, as fulfilling the perfection laid down by me; for I said: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." And again: "If you wish to be perfect, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and take up your cross and follow me." I call you my dove, as having become spiritual, having put off the old man with its passions and desires, and able to see spiritually. My companion, as walking in my footsteps and desiring to come near me; for I said: "Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you." And I call you my sister, not only because of the kinship of the nature that I assumed, but also because of the closeness of godliness.

Hearing the words from above, the bride answers, saying: 3. "I have taken off my tunic; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I soil them?" We are taught from this how much harm sloth brings forth and how much toil it brings upon those who give in to it. For the bride, having made delays and having been unwilling to open the door to the bridegroom at once, is compelled a little later not only to walk as far as the door but also to run into the city, to go about the markets, and to fall in with certain watchmen, from whom she even receives wounds; and she barely finds the bridegroom she longs for. Had she obeyed the one who called her at once, she would have been spared all these toils. But now she says: "I have taken off my tunic; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I soil them?" And yet the bridegroom does not bid her do this. He does not want her, having put off the old man, to put him on again, nor does he wish her, having washed her feet and enjoyed his holy hands, to soil them again, but to open to him, without toil and without soiling, the door either of hearing or of the eye, so that the bridegroom may enter either through understanding or through listening … having used those pretexts, the bridegroom rouses her in another way, no longer only knocking from outside but also putting his hand in through an opening. By the hand we understand the sense of touch and his divine activity, by which … her to perception.

4. "My kinsman put his hand through the opening, and my belly was stirred for him. 5. I rose to open to my kinsman; my hands dripped myrrh, my fingers full myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt. 6. I opened to my kinsman; my kinsman had passed on. … I sought him, and did not find him; I called him, and he did not hearken to me. 7. The watchmen [who go about in the city] found me, they struck me, they wounded me; the guards of the walls took my veil from me." Since she was not willing to open at once to the one who knocked, he touches her through one of the organs of sense, which she has called an opening, putting in his hand, that is, his activity … and he kindles her love. "[My belly was stirred for] him": which Theodotion rendered "was warmed." And she rises, drunk with longing, runs to the door, and says: "For my hands [dripped myrrh], and my fingers full myrrh"; for I am clothed with the perfect deadening, even to the very extremities of my members. But opening the door, I see my kinsman passing me by and not wishing to come in. But I, bound by love and hanging upon his sacred words, kept up the search, and went on crying out and calling him continually; but he did not hearken, nor did he count me worthy of an answer. And going about and seeking the one I longed for, … those who live in the city and guard it; and they not only mistreated me or scourged me, but also inflicted wounds on me, and [took away] my veil. By the guards of the walls, I think, the bride means the guards of the city too, the rulers and tyrants who of old struck and wounded [the saints] of God and handed them over to death, and … the souls, and [took] the body from the souls like a veil. For those [saints], longing for the bridegroom and always proclaiming him in the … fields and remote places, endured all these things. We are taught, then, from what has been said, to put away all sloth and to open at once to the bridegroom when he knocks, so that we may not, after he has gone away, be compelled [to go] everywhere and seek the one we long for.

### Scripture references

- Song 5:2–7: quotation, high confidence
- John 10:27: quotation, high confidence
- John 10:5: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 132:4 (131:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 24:42: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 16:13–14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 5:48: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 19:21: quotation, high confidence
- Col 3:9: allusion, high confidence
- Jas 4:8: quotation, high confidence
- John 13:5: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 5:2–7 (5:6b "my soul went out at his word" is lost in the scan). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. The night of 5:2 is read as the Jews' nighttime uprising against Christ, and the dew as his death; translated as written. Theodotion is the second-century Greek translator of the Old Testament.
- Quoted or alluded to: John 10:27, 5; Ps 132:4 (LXX 131:4); Matt 24:42; 1 Cor 16:13–14; Matt 5:48; Matt 19:21; Col 3:9; Jas 4:8; John 13:5.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 5.2 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-2).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 5:8

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-1/#p-5-8
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride asks the maidens to tell the bridegroom that she is wounded with love; they, still imperfect, do not know who he is.

### Greek text

η΄. Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες ᾿Ιερουσαλὴμ, ἐν Ὁ ἐὰν εὕρητε τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν μου, ἀπαγγείλατε αὑτῷ", ὅτι τετρωμένη ἁγώπης ἐγώ. Ἐπιφαίνεται γὰρ πολλάκις καὶ τοῖς ἀτελέσιν ἕτι καὶ νηπίοις ὁ νυμφίος, συγχαταδαίνων τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ, καὶ προτρέπων εἰς τελειότητα “ « Οὐ χρείαν γὰρ ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες - » Ὁρχίζειτοιγαροῦν τὰς νεάνιδας, εἰ εὕροιεν τὸν» ἀδελφιδοῦν αὐτῆς, ἀπαγγεῖλαι ὅσον ἔχει περὶ αὐτὸν ἔρωτα, καὶ ὅτι τῷ ἐκλεκτῷ βέλει τῇς ἀγάπης τέτρωται. σιν αἱ νεάνιδες τὸ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ ὄνομα " ἔτι γὰρ ἀτελεῖς εἰσι, καὶ τῶν μυστηρίων τὸ βάθος ἀγνοοῦσιν. Διό φασι"

### English translation (Claude)

8. "I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, by … if you find my kinsman, tell him that I am wounded with love." For the bridegroom often appears even to those who are still imperfect and infants, condescending to their weakness and urging them on to perfection: "For those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." So she adjures the maidens, if they find her kinsman, to tell him how great a love she has for him, and that she has been wounded by the chosen arrow of love. [But] the maidens … the name of the kinsman; for they are still imperfect and do not know the depth of the mysteries. That is why they say:

### Scripture references

- Song 5:8: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 9:12: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 49:2: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 5:8 (part of the Septuagint wording, "by the powers and by the strengths of the field," is lost in the scan). Lines are lost where marked …. The "chosen arrow" recalls Isa 49:2.
- Quoted or alluded to: Matt 9:12; Isa 49:2.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 5.8 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-8).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 5:9

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-1/#p-5-9
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride describes the bridegroom's marks: white as God and ruddy through his passion, his head the divinity, his eyes doves watching over baptism, his lips the divine words teaching self-denial, his hands his deeds, his belly the hidden mysteries, his appearance frankincense and cedar for his two natures; the maidens then ask where he has gone.

### Greek text

θ'. Τί ἀδελφιδοῦς σου ἀπὸ ἀδελφιδοῦ ", ἡ καλὴ ἐν γυναιξί; Τί ἀδελφιδοῦς σου ἀπὸ ἀδειϊφιδοῦ. ὅτι οὕτως ὥρκισας ἡμᾶς; Πολλάκις γὰρ, φησὶν, ἠκούσαμεν λεγούσης 7" « ᾿Αδελφιδοῦς μον, τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου,» καὶ ἀγνοοῦμεν τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ λεγομένων τὴν δύναμιν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ὄρκος ἐστὶν ἐν μέσῳ, οὐ δυνάμεθα σιγῇ παραπέμψασθαι τὰ ὑπὸ σοῦ προσταχθέντα᾽ δίδαξον ἡμᾶς τοίνυν, ὦ καλὴ ἐν γυναιξί" πασῶν γὰρ εὐπρεπεστέρα τυγχάνεις, καὶ νεανίδων, καὶ παλλαχίδων, τί σοι βούλεται τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα; Διαπαντὸς γὰρ τοῦτο προσφέρεις ", λέγουσα νῦν μὲν « τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου" » νῦν δὲ, ε ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου" » εἰ γὰρ μάθοιμεν παρὰ σοῦ τίς οὗτος, καὶ οἷα σημεῖα περίκειται, θεραπεύσομέν σε καὶ πληρώσομέν σου τὸ πρόσταγμα " διδάσκει τοίνυν τὰς μαθητευομένας ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς ἣ νύμφη τὰ τοῦ νυμφίου σημεῖα. καί φησιν αὐταῖς" “ογισμένος ἀπὸ μυριάδων". Κεφαλὴ αὑτοῦ μέλαγες ὡς κόραξ" Οἱ ὀφρθαλμοὶ αὑτῷ ὡσεὶ πεγαι ἐν γάλακτι, καθήμεναι ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων". Σιαγόγες αὑτοῦ, ὡς φιάλαι δ τοῦ χείλη αὑτοῦ κρίνα στάζοντα σμύρναν πιήρη. Χεῖρες αὖτεθεμειιωμένοι ἐπὶ βάσεις χρυσᾶς " εἶδος αὑτοῦ αὐτοῦ γλυκασμὲς "", καὶ ὅλος ἐπιθυμία" οὗτος ἀδειϊφιδοῦς μου, καὶ οὗτος πλησίον μου, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλήμ. Ἑρωτὴσάσας τὰς νεάνιδας διδάσκει ἣ νύμφη τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ τὰ σημεῖα, καί φησιν" « ᾿Αδελφιδοῦς μου λευκὸς καὶ πυῤῥός. » Πρῶτον μὲν τίθησι τὸ ελευχὸς, »δεύτερον δὲ τὸ «πυῤῥός"ν» Θεὸς γὰρ ἀεὶ ἦν, ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ ἀφεὶς ὅ ἦν, οὐδὲ τραπεὶς εἰς ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνθρωπείαν ἐνδυσάμενος φύσιν. Λευκὸς τοίνυν ἐστὶν, ὡς Θεός" τί γὰρ φωτὸς λαμπρότερον; φῶς δέ ἐστιν ἀληθινὸν, κατὰ τὴν τῶν Εὐαγγελίων φωνήν" ε Ἦν γὰρ, φησὶ, ἂν τοῖς ἱματίοις - δηλοῖ δὲ τὸν τριήμερον θάνατον. Καὶ προσεκτέον ἀκριθῶς, ὡς οὐ λέγει κατεῤῥάνθην ἐγὼ, ἀλλὰ χατεῤῥάνθη τῷ κχατανιχήματι αὑτῶν τὰ α ἱμάτιά μου, τουτέστι τὸ σῶμά μου ἀπαθὴς γὰρ ἡ θεία φύτις, τὸ ὃὲ σῶμα τὸ πάθος ἐδέξατο" σύροντος μὲν αὐτὸ τοῦ ἑνωθέντος Θεοῦ Λόγου, πάθος δὲ ἐκεῖθεν οὐκ ἑλκύσαντος, ἐπειδὴ φύσει τὸ Θεῖον πάθου; ὑπέρτερον. Διὰ τοῦτό φῆσιν ἡ νύμφη᾽ « ᾿Αδελφιδοῦς μου λευκὸς καὶ ποῤῥὸς, ἐκλελεγμένος ἀπὸ μυριάδων. » ᾿Απάσης γὰρ φύσεως κρείττων ἡ ἀπαρχῆ" « ᾿Αμαρτίαν γὰρ οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδὲ εὑρέϑη δύλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ» δὼ θυτία ἄμωμος ὑπὲρ παντὸς προσηνέχθη τοῦ γένους " τούτου χάριν καὶ διὰ Ἡσαῖου τοῦ προφήτου ὁ τῶν ὅλων προαγορξύει θεὸς λέγων" « Ἰδοὺ ὁ παῖς μον, ὃν μτν, ὁ ἔκλεκτός μου, ὃν ηὐδόκησεν ἡ ψυχὴ μου" θύσω τὸ Πνεῦμά μου ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν χρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐξοίσει. » Εἰκότως τοίνυν ἡ νύμφη φησίν᾽ « ᾿Αδελφιδοῦς μου λευκὸς καὶ πυῤῥὸς, ἐκλελεγμένος ἀπὸ μυριάδων. ν» Ἔπρεπε γὰρ τῷ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἀνειληφότι, αἵτινες ἦσαν πυῤῥαὶ ὡς φοινικοῦν, καὶ ὡς κόκκινον, πυῤῥῷ γενέσθα! καὶ προσαγορευϑῆναι" « ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ, φητὶ, ὀφάτζ " ν κατὰ μὲν τὸν Σύμμαχον,« ὡςλίθος τίμιος "» κατὰ δὲ τὴν πέμπτην ἔκδοσιν, « ἐπίτημος χρυτῷ. » Κεφαλὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ τροπικῶς καλεὶ τὸ Θεῖον, τὸ λευκὸν φῶ; τὸ ἀληθινὸν, ὅ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἄνω προσαγορενθέν. Διὸ χρυσῷ καὶ λίθῳ αὐτὴν χάζει, ταῖς παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τιμιωτάταις ὕλαις " οὗ γὰρ εὗρεν ἕτερον ὄνομα εὐπρεπέστερον ᾿". ἐ Βόστρυχοι αὐτοῦ ἐλάτα!, μέλανες ὡς κόραξ. » Τὰς ἐκ τῆς κεφᾶ λῆς ἐκείνου " προχεομένας χάριτας ἡγοῦμαι βοστρύχους ὀνομάζεσθαι μέλανας μὲν κατ᾽ ἄλλο, ἐλάτὰς δὲ καθ᾽ ἕτερον ὀνομαζομένους ᾽δ. Αἱ γὰρ ἐλάται, καρπός εἰσι φοινίκων ἀρσένων, τοῖς θέλεσιν ἐχείνων καρπούς. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τῶν ποικίλων αὖτοῦ χαρισμάτων ἀπολαύοντες οἱ πεπιστευκότες αὐτῷ καρποφοροῦσιν αὐτῷ τὴν εὐσέδειαν, ἐλάταις εἰκότως ρξύει, διὰ τοῦ βαθέος χρώματος καὶ σκοτεινοῦ, τὸ ἐλάται, μέλανες ὡς κόραξ᾽ » τὸν δὲ κόρακα ἐνταῦθα περιείληφε τῆς χρόας ἕνεκα μόνης" « Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, ὡσεὶ περιστεραὶ ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων᾿ πάλιν ἐνταῦθα διὰ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τὸ ὀπτιχὸν αὐτοῦ θαυμάζει. Διὸ ὡς περιστερὰς αὐτοὺς εἶναι λέγει ἐπὶ πληρώματα 8" ὑδάτων " καὶ ἀναμιμνήσκει ἡμᾶς τῆς ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ κατελθούσης ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν περιστερᾶς. Καὶ μηδένα ξενιζέτω τὸ ε« ὡς περιστεραὶ, » ἀλλὰ μὴ « περιστερὰ » ῥηθῆναι εὑρίσκομεν γὰρ οὐ μόνον « πνεῦμα, ν ἀλλὰ καὶ ε πνεύματα » παρὰ τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ προσαγορευόμενα" οὐκ ἐπειδὴ πολλὰ Πνεύματα ἅγια, ἕν γάρ ἐστι Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ὁ Παράκλητος - ἀλλὰ τὰ τούτου χαρίσματα πνεύματα οἶδε καλεῖν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος" « Καὶ πνεύματα γὰρ, φησὶ, προφητῶν προφήταις ὑποτάσσεται. » Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν πάντα εἶχεν ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς τοῦ Πνεύματος τὰ χαρίσματα, κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον, διό φησιν ἡ νύμφη «ε Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ περι-᾿ στεραὶ ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων. » Διηνεκῶς γὰρ εἰς τὴν τοῦ βαπτίσματος βλέπουσι χορηγίαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ, τοὺς σωζομένους ἀναμένοντες, καὶ πάντων τὴν σωτηρίαν ποθοῦντες" ἀλλὰ καὶ « λελουμέναι ἐν γάλακτι, φησὶν, αἱ περιστεραὶ, καὶ χαθήμεναι ἐπὶ πληρώματα ὑδάτων. » Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ γαλαχτοτροφοῦσι, ταύτης τῆς τροφῆς δεομένους " τοὺς δὲ γεουργοῦσι καὶ ἀνανεοῦσιν, ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πακαὶ ταῦτα ἁγιάζουσαι. Καὶ εἰκότως ἔφη « πληρώματα ὑδάτων δ" » τοὺς γὰρ ἀτελῇ τὴν πίστιν κεκτημένους, καὶ μετὰ εἰλικρινοῦς πίστεως μὴ προσιόντας οὐκ ὑποδέχετα: " ὁποῖος ἣν ὁ Σίμων, ὃς ἐδαπτίσθη μὲν, ἀνάξιος δὲ ὥφθη τῆς χάριτος, μὴ γενόμενος ᾿᾽ πεπληρωμένος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐλλείπων, καὶ τὸ τέλειον οὐκ ἔχων τῆς πέστεως, σαι μυρεψικὰ, καὶ χείλη αὐτοῦ κρίνα στάζοντα ναν πλήρη. » Σιαγόνας δὲ πάλιν καὶ χείλη τὴν διδασκαλίαν καλεῖ᾽ ὄργανα γὰρ τοῦ λόγου καὶ χείλη, καὶ σιαγόνες " τούτων γὰρ κινουμένων ἢ ἕναρθρος ἀποτελεῖται φωνή " φιάλας δὲ ἀρώματος ταύτας προσαγορεύει, διὰ τὸ τῆς διδασκαλίας εὐῶδες " λέγει δὲ αὐτὰς καὶ φύειν μυρεψιχά" ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ τὰς τῆς δὲισχαλίας ἀφορμὰς λαμθάνοντες οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὕίατος, καὶ τὸ μύρον τῆς ὠφελείας κατασκευάζουσι. Κρίνοις δὲ, φησὶν, ἔοικεν αὑτοῦ τὰ χείλη " λάμπουσι γὰρ οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι, οὐδὲν ἀνθρώπινον ἔχοντες " οὔτε γχρνήθεις, οὔτε ὑφαίνει ᾽5 τὰ κρίνα, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου διδασκαλίαν, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ Πατὴρ ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀμφιένννσιν αὐτά. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν πάσης ἀνθρωπίνης συφίας οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι γεγύμνωνται, μόνον δὲ τὸ θεῖον ᾿ἔχηυσι κάλλος, εἰκότως φησί" « Χείλη αὑτοῦ κρίνα στάζοντα σμύρναν πλήρη, » τουτέστι τὴν ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ νέκρωσιν ἐχπαιδεύοντα. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου διδάγματα" ε« Ὁ μὴ καταλιμπάνων πατέρα, καὶ μητέρα, καὶ γυναῖκα, καὶ ἀγροὺς, καὶ ἀμπελῶνας ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, οὐκ ἔστι μου ἄξιος " » καί" « Ὃς οὐ λαμθάνει τὸν σταυρὸν αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖ ὀπίσω μου, οὐκ ἔστι μον ἄξιος" ν» καί " « Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος γενέσθαι, πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ λαδὼν τὸν σταυρόν σου ἀκολούθει μοι" » διὰ τοῦτο στάζει χείλη αὐτοῦ σμύρναν πλήρη. ε Χεῖρες δὲ αὐτοῦ τορενυταὶ, πεπληρωμέναι Θαρσεῖς. » Χεῖρας δὲ τὴν πρακτικὴν ἀρετὴν ὀνομάζει, ἣν μετὰ πάσης ἁρμονίας μετελήλυθεν, οἷον διατορεύων καὶ ἀπευθύνων πρᾶξιν ἐκάστην. Διὸ καὶ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἔλεγεν «Ἄφες ἄρτι " οὕτω γὰρ πρέπον ἡμῖν ἐστι πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην.» Χρυτᾶς δὲ πάλιν καλεῖ, ὡς τιμίους καὶ σπανίους. Τὸ δὲ Θαρσεῖς διὰ τὸ δόκιμον ἔλαδε τοῦ χρυσίου ἐχεῖθεν γὰρ λέγει ἡ θεία Γραφὴ τὸ ἀχίδδηλον καὶ ἄπ- καὶ δόχεμον χρυσίον κομίζεσθαι. « Κοιλία αὐτοῦ πυξίον ἐλεφάντινον ἐπὶ λίθου σαπφείρου. » Ὃ γὰρ βυθὸς αὐτοῦ τῶν μυστηρίων, καὶ τὸ ταμιεῖον τῆς γνώσεως, ἔνθα εἰσὶ πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι, πυξίον εἰσὶν ἐλεφάντινον τοῖς τῆς, ἀποκαλύψεως ἀξίοις. Καὶ τῇ μὲν φύσει ἐστὶν ἀκατάληπτα " διὸ « ἐπὶ λίθου σαπφείρου" » ὃ" παραδηλοῖ τὸ βαθὺ καὶ κεκρυμμένον τῶν θείων. Ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως τοῦτο τὸ βαθὺ, καὶ κεκρυμμένον, καὶ ἄδηλον, πυξίον ἐλεφάντινον γίνεται τοῖς ἀξίοις " διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος βοᾷ" ε “Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε, καὶ οὗς οὐκ ἤκουσε, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέθη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν" ἡμῖν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπεκάλυψε διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὖτοῦ!» καὶ πάλιν" ε Τὸ μυστήριον αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀποκεκρυμμένον ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν, ὃ ἑτέραις γενεαῖς οὐκ ἐγνωρίσθη, ὡς νῦν ἀπεκαλύθη τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ προφήταις. » διὸ τὴν κοιλίαν αὐτοῦ φησὶ πυξίον εἶναι ἐλεφάντινιν ἐπὶ λίθου σαπφείρου" καὶ τοὺς μὲν βοστρύχους δῆλους ὄντας μέλανας ἔφη " τοῖς γὰρ μηδέπω τῆς θείας ἀποκαλύψεως τετυχηχόσι, καὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα εἶνα: δῆλα ἄδηλα, καὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ ἀκατάληπτα " τοῖς δὲ τῶν θείων μυστηρίων ἐντὸς γεγενημένοις, καὶ τὰ ἄδηλα γίνεται φανερά. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μαχάριης φησι" ε Τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῆς σοφίας σου ἐδήλωσάς μοι. » Τοῦτο τοίνυν καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγει" « Ἡ κοιλία αὐτοῦ πυξίον ἐλεφάντινον ἐπὶ λίθου σαπλιωμένοι ἐπὶ βάσεις χρυσᾶς" » τὸ ἑδραῖον αὑτοῦ, καὶ σταθηρὸν, καὶ μόνιμον, καὶ διαρκὲς, διὰ τῶν μαρμαρίνων στύλων ἐδήλωσε" καὶ τὰς βάσεις δὲ αὑτῶν χρυσᾶς ὠνόμασε, τὸ τίμιον τῶν πράξεων διὰ τούτων παραδηλῶν, «Εἶδος αὐτοῦ ὡς λίδανος, ὡς κέδροι "". » Πάλιν ἐνταῦθα τὸ διπλοῦν ἑρμηνεύει τῶν φύσεων" λίθανον "" μὲν τὴν θείαν προσαγορεύει, ἐπειδὴ λίθανος κατὰ τὸν νόμον Θεῷ προσεφέρετο. Κέδρον δὲ καλεῖ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν, ὡς σηπεδόνα τῇς ἁμαρτίας οὐ δεξαμένην' ἄσηπτος γὰρ ἐν ξύλοις ἣ θείων λογίων γλυκύτερον; Διὸ καὶ ὁ μέγας Δαδίδ- « Ὡς γλυκέα τῷ λάρυγγί μου τὰ λόγιό σου, ὑπὲρ μέλι καὶ κηρίον τῷ στόματί μου" » χα!" ε Τὰ κρίματά σου ἀληθινὰ, δεδιχαιωμένα ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ, ἐπιθυμητὰ ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ λίθον τίμιον πολὺν, καὶ γλυκύτερα ὑπὲρ μέλι κηρίον. » Διὸ καὶ οἱ ὑπηρέται" τῶν ἀρχιερέων, οἱ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ἀποσταλέντες, καὶ χαταχηληθέντες, καὶ ἑαλωχότες τῷ πόθῳ τῆς τῶν )όγων γλυκύτητος, φασὶ τοῖς ἀποστείλασιν" ε« Οὐδέποτε οὗ τως ἐλάλησεν ἄνθρωπος, ὡς οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος " ν καὶ ἄλλοι ἐθόων᾽" ε« Μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασά σε, καὶ μαστοὶ οὺς ἐθήλασας. » ---- Φάρυγξ τοίνυν αὐτοῦ γλυχασμός" ν» ἀλλὰ καὶ, « ὅλος ἐστὶν ἐπιθυμία" » ἀπορήσας γὰρ λοιπὸν ἄλλων ἐπαίνων ἑνὶ αὐτὸν ὁνήματι ὀνομάζει. Τί δήποτε γὰρ, φησὶ, κατὰ μέρος, αὖτοῦ διηγοῦμαι τὸ κάλλος; ὅλος γάρ ἐστιν ἐπιθυμία, ἕλκων ἅπαντας εἰ; ἔρωτα, βιαζόμενος εἰς ἀγάπην, ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμθάλλων, οὐ τοῖς "" ὁρῶσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀκούουσι" ταῦτα εἰρηχυΐζα, φησὶ ταῖς νεάν:σιν᾽ « Οὗτος ν᾽ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου, καὶ οὗτο; πλησίον μου, θυγατέρες Ἱερουσαλήμ.» Ἐπειδὴ ἠἢγνοεῖτε, καὶ ἡἠρωτᾶτε, Τί ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς σου ἀπὸ ἀδελφιδοῦ; ἰδοὺ λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι « Τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς μον, καὶ τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ὁ πλησίον μου" φροντίσατε τοίγυν τοῦ ὄρκον, καὶ μὴ ἀμελήσητε, ἀλλὰ ζητήσατε αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπαγγείλατέ μου τὸν πόθον "4. Μαθοῦσαι τοίνυν ἐκεῖναι τοῦ νυμφίου τὰ σημεῖα, πάλιν ἔπερωτῶσι καὶ πυνθάνονται, ποῦ πορεύεται, καὶ ποῦ ἐξιζ΄. Ποῦ ἀπῆλθεν ὃ ἀδελφιδοῦς σου, ἡ κα.λὴ ἐν γυναιξί; ποῦ ἀπέδλεψεν ὁ ἀδεϊριδοῦς σου, καὶ ζητήσομεν αὐτὸν μετὰ σοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ μάθοιμεν τὸν «ἧς ἀποδημίας τόπον, οὐκ ἀμελήσομεν, ἀλλὰ κοινωσοι τοῦ πόνου, καὶ ζητήσομεν Πάλιν τοίνυν αὐταῖς ἀποχρίνεται, λέγουσα "

### English translation (Claude)

9. "What is your kinsman more than a kinsman, O beautiful among women? What is your kinsman more than a kinsman, that you have so adjured us?" For we have often heard you, they say, saying "my kinsman," "of my kinsman," and we do not know the force of what you say. Since, then, there is an oath in the midst, we cannot pass over in silence what you have commanded. Teach us, then, O beautiful among women (for you are more comely than all, both maidens and concubines), what this name means to you. For you bring it up continually, saying now "of my kinsman," now "my kinsman." If we learn from you who he is and what marks he bears, we will serve you and fulfil your command. So the bride teaches those whom she is instructing the marks of the bridegroom, and says to them: 10. "[My kinsman is white and ruddy,] chosen out of ten thousands. 11. His head [is fine gold, kephaz; his locks are palm spathes,] black as a raven. 12. His eyes are like doves by full pools of waters, [washed in milk,] sitting by full pools of waters. 13. His cheeks are like bowls [of spice, putting forth perfumes]; his lips are lilies dripping full myrrh. 14. His hands [are turned on the lathe, golden, full of Tharsis; his belly is an ivory tablet upon a sapphire stone. 15. His legs are marble pillars,] founded upon golden bases; his appearance [is as Lebanon, choice as cedars]. 16. His throat is sweetness, and he is all desire. This is my kinsman, and this is my companion, daughters of Jerusalem."

When the maidens have asked, the bride teaches the marks of the kinsman, and says: "My kinsman is white and ruddy." First she sets "white," second "ruddy"; for he was always God, and he also became man, not letting go of what he was, nor changed into a man, but putting on human nature. He is white, then, as God; for what is brighter than light? And he is the true light, according to the word of the Gospels: "For it was," it says, … in the garments; and it indicates the three-day death. And we must observe carefully that he does not say "I was sprinkled," but "my garments were sprinkled with their juice," that is, my body. For the divine nature is impassible, but the body received the suffering, the God the Word who was united with it sustaining it, yet drawing no suffering from it, since by nature the divine is above suffering. That is why the bride says: "My kinsman is white and ruddy, chosen out of ten thousands." For the firstfruits is better than all nature: "For he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth"; that is why he was offered as a blameless sacrifice for the whole race. For this reason the God of all also foretells through Isaiah the prophet, saying: "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my chosen one, in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will bring forth judgment to the nations." Fittingly, then, the bride says: "My kinsman is white and ruddy, chosen out of ten thousands." For it was fitting that he who had taken up our sins, which were red as crimson and as scarlet, should become ruddy and be called so.

"And his head," she says, "is fine gold, kephaz"; according to Symmachus, "like precious stone," according to the fifth edition, "marked with gold." By his head she figuratively means the divinity, the white …, the true light that enlightens every man … named above. That is why she likens it to gold and stone, the most precious materials among men; for she found no other, more fitting name. "His locks are palm spathes, black as a raven." I think the graces poured out from that head are named locks, called black in one respect and palm spathes in another. For the spathes are the fruit of male palms, … to the females their fruit. Since, then, those who have believed in him, enjoying his various gifts, bear him the fruit of godliness, she fittingly [likens them] to palm spathes, and by the deep and dark colour … "palm spathes, black as a raven"; the raven she has included here for its colour alone.

"His eyes," she says, "are like doves by full pools of waters." Again here, by the eyes, she admires his power of sight. That is why she says that they are like doves by full pools of waters, and reminds us of the dove that came down upon him at the Jordan. And let no one be surprised that "like doves" is said, and not "dove"; for we find in the divine Scripture not only "spirit" but also "spirits" named, not because there are many Holy Spirits, for there is one Holy Spirit, the Paraclete; but the blessed Paul is accustomed to call his gifts spirits: "For the spirits of prophets," he says, "are subject to prophets." Since, then, Christ the Master had, according to his humanity, all the gifts of the Spirit, therefore the bride says: "His eyes are like doves by full pools of waters." For his eyes look continually to the supply of baptism, awaiting those who are being saved and longing for the salvation of all. But also "washed in milk," she says, are the doves, "and sitting by full pools of waters." For some they nourish with milk, those who need this food; and others they make new and renew, [those made old] by sin, … sanctifying these too. And fittingly she said "full pools of waters"; for it does not receive those who possess an imperfect faith and do not come with sincere faith. Such was Simon, who was baptized but was found unworthy of the grace, not having become full but lacking, and not having the perfection of faith.

["His cheeks are like bowls of spice, putting forth] perfumes; his lips are lilies dripping full myrrh." Again by cheeks and lips she means teaching; for lips and cheeks are instruments of speech, since by their movement articulate sound is produced. She calls them bowls of spice because of the fragrance of the teaching; and she says that they put forth perfumes; for the [teachers] of the church take from there the starting points of their teaching and prepare the ointment of benefit. And his lips, she says, are like lilies; for the divine words shine, having nothing human: the lilies neither toil nor spin, according to the Lord's teaching, but the Father who is in heaven clothes them. Since, then, the divine words are bare of all human wisdom and have only the divine beauty, she fittingly says: "His lips are lilies dripping full myrrh," that is, teaching the deadening of self in the present life. For such are the Lord's teachings: "Whoever does not leave father and mother and wife and fields and vineyards for my sake is not worthy of me"; and: "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me"; and: "If you wish to be perfect, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and take up your cross and follow me." That is why his lips drip full myrrh.

"His hands are turned on the lathe, full of Tharsis." By the hands she names his practical virtue, which he pursued with all harmony, as though turning and straightening each action. That is why he said to John: "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness." She calls them golden, again, as precious and rare. And Tharsis she took because of the excellence of the gold there; for the divine Scripture says that unalloyed, … and tested gold is brought from there. "His belly is an ivory tablet upon a sapphire stone." For the depth of his mysteries and the storehouse of knowledge, where all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden, are an ivory tablet to those worthy of revelation. By nature they are incomprehensible; that is why it says "upon a sapphire stone," which indicates the depth and hiddenness of divine things. Nevertheless, this deep and hidden and obscure thing becomes an ivory tablet to the worthy; that is why the blessed Paul cries: "What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and has not entered the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him, God has revealed to us through his Spirit"; and again: "his mystery hidden from the ages and from the generations, which was not made known to other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets." That is why she says that his belly is an ivory tablet upon a sapphire stone; and the locks, which are plain to see, she called black; for to those who have not yet obtained the divine revelation even the things that seem plain are obscure, and the things of sense incomprehensible; but to those who have come within the divine mysteries even obscure things become plain. That is why the blessed [David] says: "The obscure and hidden things of your wisdom you have made plain to me." This, then, the bride too says: "His belly is an ivory tablet upon a sapphire [stone. His legs are marble pillars,] founded upon golden bases." By the marble pillars she has shown his steadiness, firmness, permanence and endurance; and she named their bases golden, indicating by them the preciousness of his deeds.

"His appearance is as frankincense, as cedars." Again here she interprets the twofold reality of the natures: frankincense she calls the divine, since frankincense was offered to God under the law; and cedar she calls the human, as having received no rot of sin; for among woods the cedar does not rot. … [what is sweeter than the] divine oracles? That is why the great David says: "How sweet your oracles are to my throat, more than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth"; and: "Your judgments are true, justified altogether, more to be desired than gold and much precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." That is why the officers of the high priests, who were sent against him and were charmed and captured by longing for the sweetness of his words, say to those who sent them: "Never has a man spoken like this man"; and others cried out: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked." "His throat," then, "is sweetness"; and also, "he is all desire"; for, at a loss now for other praises, she names him with a single word. Why, she says, do I describe his beauty part by part? For he is all desire, drawing all to love, compelling them to affection, casting desire not only into those who see him but also into those who hear him. Having said this, she says to the maidens: "This is my kinsman, and this is my companion, daughters of Jerusalem." Since you did not know, and asked, "What is your kinsman more than a kinsman?", behold, I tell you that such is my kinsman, and such is my companion. Take thought, then, for the oath, and do not neglect it, but seek him and tell him of my longing.

Having learned, then, the marks of the bridegroom, they ask again and inquire where he goes and where … [6:1] "Where has your kinsman gone, O beautiful among women? Where has your kinsman turned, and we will seek him with you." For if we learn the place of his journey, we will not neglect it, but [will share] the toil with you, and we will seek him. Again, then, she answers them, saying:

### Scripture references

- Song 5:9–6:1: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:9: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 63:2–3: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Pet 2:22: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 42:1: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 1:18: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 3:16: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 14:32: quotation, high confidence
- Acts 8:13–24: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:28–29: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 10:37–38: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 19:29: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 19:21: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 3:15: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Kgs 10:22: allusion, low confidence
- Col 2:3: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 2:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 3:5: quotation, high confidence
- Col 1:26: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 51:6 (50:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Exod 30:34: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 119:103 (118:103 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 19:9–10 (18:10-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- John 7:46: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 11:27: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 5:9–16 and 6:1 (several clauses of 5:10–15 are lost in the scan's citation of the lemma and are supplied in brackets from the comment). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. "Kephaz" transliterates the Hebrew word for fine gold; the "fifth edition" is the anonymous Greek version (Quinta) of Origen's Hexapla. ἐλάται (here "palm spathes") are the flower-sheaths of the date palm.
- Christological statements (two natures; the divine nature impassible, the body suffering) and the reading of Simon Magus as baptized without full faith are translated as written.
- Quoted or alluded to: John 1:9; Isa 63:2–3; 1 Pet 2:22; Isa 42:1 (cf. Matt 12:18); Isa 1:18; Matt 3:16; 1 Cor 14:32; Acts 8:13–24; Matt 6:28–29; Matt 10:37–38; Matt 19:29; Matt 19:21; Matt 3:15; 1 Kgs 10:22; Col 2:3; 1 Cor 2:9–10; Eph 3:5; Ps 51:6 (LXX 50:8); Exod 30:34; Ps 119:103 (LXX 118:103); Ps 19:9–10 (LXX 18:10–11); John 7:46; Luke 11:27.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 5.9 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/5-9).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 6:1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-1/#p-6-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The one garden and the many gardens are the one church and the many local churches, all shepherded by Christ.

### Greek text

α΄. ᾿Αδειλριδοῦς μου κατέθδη εἰς κῆπον αὐτοῦ, εἰς φιάλας " τοῦ ἀρώματος, ποιμαίνειν ἐν κήποις, καὶ συλλέγειν κρίνα. Ζητητέον δὲ, τί δήποτε καὶ ἕνα λέγει κῆπον, καὶ πολλούς " « Κατέδη γὰρ εἰς κῆπον αὑτοῦ, ποιμαίνειν ἐν χἥποις. » Καὶ γὰρ μία ἐστὶν Ἐκκλησία, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον " « Ἦρ- ᾿ μοσάμην γὰρ ὑμᾶς, φησὶν, ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ, παρθένον ἀγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ. » Καὶ πάλιν" « Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας ἑαυτῶν "5, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸ; ἡγάπησε τὴν Ἐκχκχλησίαν. » ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ πολλὰς δὲ αὐτὰς πάλιν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος καλεῖ" οὐ κατὰ τὴν πνευματικὴν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τοπικὴν διαίρεσιν τοῦτο ποιῶν" ε Παῦλος γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ ἀπόστολος, οὐκ π᾿ ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ δι’ ἀνθρώπων, ταῖς Ἐχλησίαις τῆς Γαλατίας. » Καὶ Κορινθίοις δὲ γράφων φησίν " « Καὶ γυναῖκες ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις σιγάτωσαν. » Διὰ τοῦτο ἡ νύμφη φησίν"» ᾿Αδελφιδοῦς μου χατέδη εἰς κῆπον αὐτοῦ, εἰς φιάλας τοῦ ἀρώματος, ποιμαίνειν ἐν χήποις, καὶ συλλέγειν κρίνα"» πάσας γὰρ ποιμαίνει τὰς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ καίρει ταῖς φιάλαις τοῦ ἀρώματος, τοῖς τὴν εὐοσμίαν αὑτοῦ κεκτημένοις, καὶ τοὺς τῆς νύμφης τὸ κάλλος μιμησαμένους καὶ κρίνα γενομένους συλλέγει, καὶ τῇ νύμφῃ συνάπτει. Τούτοις ἐπιφέρει ἡ νύμφη"

### English translation (Claude)

1. "My kinsman has gone down into his garden, to the bowls of spice, to shepherd in the gardens and to gather lilies." We must ask why she speaks both of one garden and of many: "For he has gone down into his garden, to shepherd in the gardens." For the church is one, according to the blessed Paul: "For I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." And again: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church." But the blessed Paul also calls them many, doing so not according to the spiritual but according to the local division: "For Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through men, to the churches of Galatia." And writing to the Corinthians he says: "Let your women keep silent in the churches." That is why the bride says: "My kinsman has gone down into his garden, to the bowls of spice, to shepherd in the gardens and to gather lilies"; for he shepherds all the churches, and rejoices in the bowls of spice, those who have acquired his fragrance, and gathers those who have imitated the bride's beauty and become lilies, and joins them to the bride. To these words the bride adds:

### Scripture references

- Song 6:2: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 11:2: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 5:25: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 1:1–2: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 14:34: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 6:2 (numbered 6:1 in Theodoret's text, which places 6:1 with chapter 5).
- Quoted or alluded to: 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25; Gal 1:1–2; 1 Cor 14:34.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 6.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 6:2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-1/#p-6-2
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride belongs wholly to the bridegroom; he calls her "good pleasure" because he took pleasure in her, lovely as the heavenly Jerusalem and amazing in her good order.

### Greek text

β΄. Ἐγὼ τῷ "" ἀδειλριδῷ μου, καὶ ὁ ἀδειριξοῦς μου ἐμοί" ὁ ποιμαίνων ἐν τοῖς χρίγοις. Αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἐξήρτημαι, καὶ αὐτῷ ἐμαυτὴν ἀνέθηχα. Καὶ γὰρ αὐ- ν τός με πάσης προτετίμηχε τῆς οἰκουμένης, καὶ ἑαυτῷ συνῆψε, καὶ γεγηραχυζαν ἀνενεώσατο, καὶ πεἰάσατο, καὶ εὐωδίας ἐπλήρωσε " διὰ τοῦτο λέγω᾽ « Ἐγὼ τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μον, καὶ ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου ἐμοί" ὁ" ποιμαίνων ἐν τοῖς κρίνοις, » ἢ ε ὁ ποιμαίνων τὰ ἄνθη, » κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον " καὶ γὰρ τοὺς γενομένους κρίνα ποιμαίνει, καὶ ἐν κρίνοις τοὺς ἀξίους ποιμαίνει " οὐδὲν δὲ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν εὐωδέστερὸν δι, ᾿Ακούσας ὁ νυμφίος τῶν λόγων τῆς νύμφης, καὶ ἐλεήσας αὐτὴν ποθοῦσαν αὐτὸν, καὶ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν φανταζομένην καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ διαλεγομένην, καὶ τὸ κάλλος αὑτοῦ διεξιοῦσαν, ἐπιφαίνεται αὑτῇ, λέγων " Υ. Καλὴ εἶ, ἡ πλησίον μου, ὡς εὐδοκία "", ὡραία ὡς ἹΙερουσαλήμ " θάμδος, ὡς τεταγμένη "5. Καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτῇ ὄνομα τὸ δι᾽ αὐτὴν γενόμενον πρᾶγμα. « Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ηὐδόκησε Κύριος τὴν γῆν αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἀπέστρεψε τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν Ἰαχὼδ, καὶ ἁφῆκε τὰς ἀνομέας τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐχάλυψς πάσας τὰς ἀμχρτίας αὐτοῦ, εἰκότως αὑτὴν εὐδοκίαν προσαγορεύει " καὶ ὥσπερ αὕτη αὐτὸν ἐπιθυμίαν ἄνω ὠνόμασεν, ἀπὸ τοῦ οἰκείου πάθους τὴν προσηγορίαν θεμένη " ἐπιθυμοῦσα γὰρ αὐτοῦ διηνεκῶς, ἐπιθυμίαν καλεῖ ’ οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς εὐδοκήσας, καὶ θελήτας μνηστεύσασθαι αὐτὴν καὶ ἑαυτῷ συνᾶψαι, εὐδοκίαν ὀνομάζει. Οὕτως γὰρ, φησὶν, εἴ καλὴ, ὡς εὐδοχηθεῖσα παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἀγαπηθεῖσα ᾿ οὐ μόνον δὲ καλὴ εἶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡραία, καὶ οὐκ ἁπλῶς ὡραία, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς Ἱερουσαλήμ " οὐκ αὕτη ἡ κάτω, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ἄνω, περὶ ἧς ὁ μακάριος λέγει Παῦλος" « Ἢ δὲ ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐλευθέρα ἐστίν - ἥτις ἐστὶ μήτηρ πάντων ἡμῶν.» Ἐκείνῃ ἔοικας, ὦ πλησίον μου “ τὴν γὰρ ἀγοὐράνια, καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ περιπατοῦσα οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατεύῃ, καὶ κατὰ σκοπὸν διώκεις ἐπὶ τὸ βραδεῖον τῆ; ἄνω κλήσεως, καὶ τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖς, οὗ ἐγώ εἰμι ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθήμενος. Διὰ τοῦτο ε ὡραία εἰ, ὡς Ἱερουσαλὴμ,» καὶ οὐκ ἀπλῶς ὡραία, ἀλλὰ θάμξος ἐμποιοῦσα τοῖς ὁρῶσί σε" ἐχπλήττονται γὰρ οἱ τὴν τάξιν σου θεώμενοι" οὐδὲν γὰρ παρὰ σοὶ ἄτακτον, οὐδὲν ἀόριστον, οὐδὲ ἀδιάκριτον, ἀλλὰ πάντα τεταγμένα καὶ χεχριμένα. καὶ οἶδας ἀχριδῶς τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων ἀκολουθίαν, πάντων προτιμᾷν τὸν νυμφίον δεδίδαξαι, καὶ μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τοὺς ἐκείνῳ πλησιάζοντας. Τούτοις προστίθησιν"

### English translation (Claude)

2. "I am my kinsman's, and my kinsman is mine, he who shepherds among the lilies." For I hang upon him, and I have dedicated myself to him. For he has honoured me above the whole inhabited world, and joined me to himself, and renewed me when I had grown old, and … and filled me with fragrance. That is why I say: "I am my kinsman's, and my kinsman is mine, he who shepherds among the lilies," or "he who shepherds the flowers," according to Symmachus; for he both shepherds those who have become lilies and shepherds the worthy among lilies; and nothing is more fragrant than the divine Scriptures.

Having heard the bride's words, and pitying her as she longed for him, imagined him night and day, talked about him and recounted his beauty, the bridegroom appears to her, saying: 3. "You are beautiful, my companion, as good pleasure, lovely as Jerusalem, an amazement, as [armies] set in array." And he makes her name the thing that came about for her sake. "For since the Lord took pleasure in his land, and turned back the captivity of Jacob, and forgave the iniquities of his people, and covered all their sins," he fittingly calls her good pleasure. And as she named him "desire" above, taking the name from her own feeling (for, desiring him continually, she calls him desire), so he too, having taken pleasure in her and wished to betroth her and join her to himself, names her good pleasure. For you are beautiful, he says, as one in whom I have taken pleasure and whom I have loved; and you are not only beautiful but also lovely, and not simply lovely, but lovely as Jerusalem, not this one below but the one above, of which the blessed Paul says: "But the Jerusalem above is free; she is the mother of us all." You are like her, my companion; for … heavenly things, and walking in the flesh you do not wage war according to the flesh, and you press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call, and seek the things above, where I am seated at the right hand of God. That is why "you are lovely as Jerusalem," and not simply lovely, but causing amazement in those who see you; for those who behold your order are astonished. For nothing in you is disorderly, nothing undefined or undiscerning, but all is ordered and judged. And you know exactly the order of things: you have been taught to prefer the bridegroom above all, and after him those who are near him. To these words he adds:

### Scripture references

- Song 6:3–4: quotation, high confidence
- Song 5:16: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 85:1–2 (84:2-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Gal 4:26: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 10:3: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 3:14: allusion, high confidence
- Col 3:1: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 6:3–4 (numbered 6:2–3 in Theodoret's text). Lines are lost in the scan where marked ….
- Quoted or alluded to: Song 5:16; Ps 85:1–2 (LXX 84:2–3); Gal 4:26; 2 Cor 10:3; Phil 3:14; Col 3:1.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 6.2 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-2).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 6:4

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-1/#p-6-4
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bridegroom tells the bride not to gaze beyond measure at him, who is incomprehensible even to angels, lest her sight be harmed.

### Greek text

δ΄ ᾿Απόστρεψον ὀρθαλμούς σου ἀπεναντίον ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἀνεπτέρωσάν μὲ "". Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι" τὸ κάλλος τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου, καὶ ἡ θεωρία τοῦ ὀπτιχοῦ σου, καὶ τὸ ὀξυδερχὲς τῆς διανοίας σον, εἴλκυσάν με εἰς ἔρωτά σου" ἀλλὰ μὴ πέρα τοῦ μετρίου εἰς ἐμὲ ἀτενίσῃς, ἵνα μὴ βλάδην ἐντεῦθεν ἐλκύσης᾽ ἀνέφιχτος γάρ εἶμι, καὶ ἀκατάληπτος, καὶ πᾶσαν ὑπερδαίνων κατάληψιν, οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνην μόγὴν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγγελικήν κἂν βουληθῇς ὑπερθῆναι τοὺς ὅρους, καὶ περιεργάσᾳσθαι τὰ τῆς σῆς δυνάμεως ἐπέκεινα, οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν εὑρήσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμαυρώσεις τὸ ὄμμα, καὶ ἀμθλύτερον τοῦτο ποιήσεις. Τοιαύτη γὰρ τοῦ φωτὸς ἡ φύσις “ ὥσπερ γὰρ φωτίζει τὸ ὄμμα, οὕτως τούτου τὴν ἀπληστίαν κολάζει τῇ βλάδῃ" « ᾿Απόσρεψον τοίνυν τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς: σου ἀπεναντίον μου" » χαλεπώτερά σου μὴ ἐρεύνα, καὶ ἰσχυρότερά σου μὴ ζήτει" ἃ προσετάχθη σοι, ταῦτα διανοοῦ. Τούτοις δ᾽ πάλιν ἐπιφέρε: τοὺς προτέρους ἐπαίνους, καὶ λέγει"

### English translation (Claude)

4. "Turn your eyes away from before me, for they have given me wings." What he says is this: The beauty of your eyes, and the contemplation of your power of sight, and the keenness of your mind have drawn me to love of you; but do not gaze at me beyond measure, lest you draw harm from it. For I am unattainable and incomprehensible, surpassing all comprehension, not only human but angelic as well; and if you wish to overstep the limits and busy yourself with what lies beyond your power, not only will you find nothing, but you will also darken your eye and make it duller. For such is the nature of light: as it illuminates the eye, so it punishes its greed with harm. "Turn away, then, your eyes from before me": do not search into things too hard for you, and do not seek things too strong for you; think on what has been commanded you. To these words he again adds the earlier praises, and says:

### Scripture references

- Song 6:5: quotation, high confidence

### Extrabiblical texts

- Sir 3:21-22 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 6:5a (numbered 6:4 in Theodoret's text). The closing advice paraphrases Sir 3:21–22.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 6.4 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-4).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 6:5–6

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-1/#p-6-5
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The repeated praises remind the bride to keep her beauty; the queens, concubines and maidens are those who serve God for the kingdom, from fear of judgment, or carelessly, while the bride loves the bridegroom for his own sake; a new book of the commentary begins with a prayer.

### Greek text

ε', ς΄. Τρίχωμά σου, ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν αἰγῶν, αἵ ἂννεἐφάγησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Γαλαάδ". ᾽οδόντες σου, ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν κεκαρμένων “᾽ αἱ ἀνέθησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐταῖς. Ὡς σπαρτίον κόκκινον χείλη σου, καὶ ἡ 1αλιά σου ὡραία 5". ς΄. Ὡς.1ἐ- Α πυρὸν ῥοᾶς μῆ.ά " σου, ἐκτὸς τῆς σιωπήσεώς σου. Ταῦτα ἑρμηνεύσαντες ἄνω, περιττὸν ἡγούμεθα δὶς ἑρμηνεύειν" δυνατὸν γὰρ, κἂν ἐπιλάθηταί τις τῆς ἑρμηνείας, εἰς ἐκεῖνα ἀναδραμόντα “"" τὴν σαφήνειαν εὑρεῖν. Οὐκ ἁπλῶς δὲ δ, οὐδὲ ὡς ἔτυχε δὶς τὰς αὐτὰς εὐφημίας τῇ νύμφῃ προσήνεγκεν, ἀλλὰ ἀναμιμνήὄχων αὐτὴν τοῦ οἰκείου χάλλου:, καὶ παραινῶν σῶον τοῦτο φυλάξαι, καὶ μηδένα δέξασθαι μῶμον " Ἰδοὺ γὰρ, φησὶν, οζαν σε ἀνθ᾽ οἵας ἠργασάμην “΄, καὶ ὁποίαν "οὶ ὥραν ἐχαριΞάμην, καὶ ἡλίκον σοὶ κάλλος ἐδωρησάμην " τοῦτό μο! εἰς τέλος ἀδλαδὲς λεὶ γάρ σοι συγγενόμενος, ἐῤευνῶ σου τὰ μέλῃ, καὶ πολυπραγμονῶ μή τις αὐτοῖς ἐπεγένετο βλάδη ". Αέγει καὶ ταῦτα πρὸς ἐκείνας ὁ νυμφίος, ἐπιμεῖναι τῷ κάλλει τὴν νύμφην προτρέπων. ζ, η΄. Εξήχοντάεϊσιβασίλισσαι, καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα παϊλακαὶ, καὶ νεάνιδες, ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός “1. Μία ἐστὶ περιστερά μου, τε.ϊεία μου, μία ἐστὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς, ἐκιεχτὴ ἐστι τῇ τεχούσῃ αὐτήν" εἴδοσαν αὐτὴν θυγατέρες καὶ μακαριοῦσιν αὐτὴν βασίλισσαι, καί γε παι1λακαὶ, καὶ ἐϊνγέσουσιν" αὐτήν. Πολλὰ τάγματα καὶ διάφορα τῶν εὐσεθῶν ἐδιδάχθη μεν εἶναι " καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκων ὁ Κύριος ἔλεγε " « Πολλαὶ μοναὶ παρὰ τῷ Πατρί μου.» Καὶ ἐν τῇ διανομῇ δὲ τῶν ταλάντων" « Οὐ πάντες ἀνὰ πέντε ἔλαδον τάλαντα, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν πέντε, ὁ δὲ δύο, ὁ δὲ ἕν, τὰ κατὰ δύναμιν ἕκαστος, » Καὶ ἐν τῇ παραδολῇ δὲ τοῦ σπόρου φησί" ε Τὰ δὲ ἕπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν καλὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐποίησε καρπὸν ἀνὰ τριάκοντα, ν καὶ ἐξήκοντα, καὶ ἔκατόν"» καὶ πᾶσαν καλὴν ὀνομάζει γῆν, οὗ μόνον τὴν τὰ ἑκατὸν ποιήσασαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν τὰ ἑξήκοντα, καὶ τὴν τὰ τριάκοντα " Ἔστι μὲν γὰρ ὃ τριάκοντα ἀριθμὸς τῶν ἐπαινουμένων " τρεῖς γὰρ ἔχει δεκάδας τῇ τριάδι ἡνωμένας " ὁ δὲ ἑξήκοντα διπλῆν ἔχει τὴν εὐλογίαν" διπλασιαζόμενος γὰρ ὁ τριάκοντα γεννᾷ τὸν ἑξήκοντα " ὁ δὲ ἑκατόν ἔστι τελειότατος, καὶ τῆς μὲν εὐωνύμου χειρὸς ἀπηλλαγμένος, ἀρχὴν δὲ ἔχων τῆς δεξιᾶς, καὶ ἐν δέκα διχάσι συμπληρούμενος " τετράγωνον δὲ τοῦτον οἱ περὶ ταῦτα καλοῦσι δεινοί. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως εἰ καὶ τέλειος ὁ ἑκατὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ἐξήκοντα καὶ ὁ τριάκοντα τῶν ἐπαινουμένων " πάντας γὰρ καλὴν γῆν ὠνόμασεν ὁ Κύριος, Νοήσωμεν τοίνυν, νύμφην μὲν εἶναι τὰς ἐν πάσῃ φιλοσοφίᾳ καὶ ἀρετῇ τετελειωμένας ψυχὰς, τὰς “5 διὰ μόνην τὴν περὶ τὸν νυμφίον ἀγάπην τῶν πόνων τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀνεχομένας, καὶ πάντα ποιεῖν καὶ πάσχειν αἰρουμένας. Ὁποῖος ἦν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγων " «Πέπεισμαι γὰρ, ὅτι οὔτε θάνατος, οὔτε ζωὴ, οὔτε ἄγγελοι, οὔτε ᾿Αρκαὶ, οὔτε Δυνάμεις, οὔτε ἐνεστῶτα, οὔτε μέλλοντα,οὔτε ὕψωμα, οὔτε βάθος, οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. ν» Διδάσκει γὰρ ἡμᾶς διὰ τούτων, ὅτι οὐ διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν ποθεξ τὸν Χριστὸν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι αἱρεῖται τῆς βασιλείας ἐκπεσεῖν, καὶ εἰς γέενναν ἐμπεσεῖν μετὰ τοῦ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀγαπᾷν, ἢ βασιλεύειν τῆς ἀγάπης ἐκείνης ἐστερημένος " αἱ τοίνυν τοιαῦται ψυκαὶ τῆς νύμφης πληροῦσι: τὸ σύνταγμα, αἱ μόνῳ τῷ πόθῳ τοῦ νυμφίου κατεχόμεναν" εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἷον μισθωτοὶ, τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν τοὺς ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς ἱδρῶτας φέρειν ἀνεχόμενοι " τούτους ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἡγοῦμαι βασιλίδας ὀνομάζεσθαι, ὡς τῆς βασιλείας ἐπιθυμοῦντας, καὶ δι᾽ ἐχείνην φέρειν αἱρουμένους τῇς εὑσεύδείας τοὺς πόνους. Εἰσὶ“ ὃὲ ἕτεροι οὐδέπω τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἠξιωμένοι, ἔτι δὲ δουλεύειν ἐθέλοντες, καὶ φόδι τῆς γεέννης τοὺς θείους νόμους πληροῦντες “τούτους ὑποκαὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις ὁ νυμφίος πᾶσι πάντα γινόμενος. Εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλο: ῥᾳθυμίᾳ συζῶντες, καὶ μὲτε τῷ φίλτρῳ τοῦ νυμφίου κατεχόμενοι, μῆτε τῷ πόθῳ τῆς βασιλείας ἑλκόμενοι, μήτε τῷ τόξῳ τῆς γεέννης νυττόμενοι, ἀμελέστερον τὰ καθ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς οἰκονομοῦντες" καὶ τὴν μὲν πίστιν ἀκίνητον ἔχοντες, καὶ τὰ τῆς εὑσεθείας δόγματα σῶα διαφυλάττοντες, καὶ πᾶσαν αἱρετικὴν καὶ ἀλλόφυλον διδασκαλίαν ἀποστρεφόμενοι, ἀμελέστερον δὲ βιοῦντες, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν σφῶν αὖτῶν ἐπιμελούμενοι, ποτὲ δὲ πάλιν εἰς ῥᾳθυμίαν χυλινξδούμενοι, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν ἁμαρτάνοντες, ποτὲ δὲ φίος ἐνταῦθα νεάνιδας προτχαγορεύξ'..“ καὶ ἐπειδῇ πλείους οἱ τοιοῦτοι τῶν τε βασιλίδων, καὶ παλλαχίδων, φησί" «ε Καὶ νεάνιδες, ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμὸς, κυ οὗ μόνον διὰ τὴ πλῆθος ἀριθμεῖσθαι αὑτοὺς οὐκ ἔστι, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ χὰ διὰ τὸ ἀναξίους εἶναι ἀριθμοῦ. Τῶν γὰρ ἀξίων καὶ αἱ τρίχες ἡριθμημέναι εἰσὶ παρὰ τῷ Πατρί ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ ταύταις ὁ νυμφίο: ἔστιν ὅτε συγγίνεται, τῆς ῥᾳθυμία; αὐτὰς ἀφέλχειν βουλόμενος, καὶ ποδηγῶν ἐπὶ τὰ τέλεια, καὶ πανταχόθεν αὐταῖς τὴν σωτηρίαν πραγματενόμενος. Ζητήσωμεν δὲ τί δήποτε βασιλίδας ἐξέχοντα, παλλακὰς δὲ ὀγδοήκοντα ἔφη. Ὃ ἑξήκοντα ἀριθμὸς ἕξ ἔχει δεκάδας, καὶ ἡ μὲν δεκὰς σημαίνει τὴν τελειότητα, ἡ δὲ ἑξὰς τὸν τῆς κοσμοποιῖας ἀριθμὸν περιέχει - ἐν γὰρ ἐξ ἡμέραις ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὺς τὴν κτίσιν ἐδημιούργησεν ἅπασαν. Ἰὰς τοίνυν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ κόσμῳ τετελειωμένας ἐν ἀρετῇ ψυχὰς, καὶ τῇς βασιλείας ἐπιθυμοῦσας, ἐξήκοντα βασιλίδας "5 ὠνόμασεν" ἡ γὰρ νύμφη ὑπὲρ τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον πολιτεύεται, καὶ ἔξω τούτου τυγχάνε!, καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦτον ἔπταται, καὶ ὅλη τοῦ νυμφίου γίνεται, καὶ διηνεκῶς ἐκεῖνον φαντάξεται" αὗται δὲ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ πολιτευόμεναι, τὸ τέλειον τῇ: ἀρετῆς ὡς ἕνι μάλιστα μετίασι, τῆς βασιλείας τυχεῖν ἐφιέμεναι " αἱ δὲ φόδῳ τῆς χρίσεως ἐχπληρηῦσαι τοὺς τ τῆς χρίσεως καιρὸν ὀγδότιν Γραφῇ. Ὁ γὰρ μακάριος Δαβὶδ, τὰ περὶ τῆς χρίσεως ἐν Ῥαλμοῖς διηγούμενος, ἐπέγραψε μὲν αὐτὸν, « Ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀγδόης,» φησὶ δὲ ἀρχόμενος "ε Κύριξ, μὴ τῷ θυμῷ σου ἐλέγξης- με, μηδὲ τῇ ὀργῇ σοῦ παιδεύσῃς με.» Καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγα " ε Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ ὁ μνημονεύων σου, ἐν ὃξ τῷ ἄδῃ τἰς ἐξομολογήσεταί σο!;» διδάσκων ὡς ἐν τῷ τῆς χρίσεως χατρῷ οὐδεμία χώρα μετανοίας τοῖς ἡμαρτηκόσι καὶ μὴ μετεγνωχόσι δοθήτεται. ᾿Επειδὴ τοίνυν ταῦτα δεδοικότες, τοῖς θείοις ἐχολούθη σαν νόμοις, καὶ οὔτε τῷ πόθῳ τῆς βασιλείας, οὗτε τῷ ἔρωτι τοῦ νυμφίου, εἰκότως ὀγδοήκοντα εἶ- "αι λέγονται " ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὀκτὼ ἀριθμὸς τὴν ὀγδόην σημαΐγξι, ἡ δὲ δεκὰς τὴν τελειότητα " ἀλλὰ τούτων κρείττονα λέγει τὴν νύμφην, καὶ τῶν ἑξήκοντα, καὶ τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα " « Μία γάρ ἔττι περιστερά μου, τελεία μου,» πάλιν αὐτὴν 1" πνευματικὴν ὀνομάζων, καὶ μίαν. Ὑπὲρ γὰρ τὰς τἰ κλύσαι καὶ τὰς ὀγδοΐχοντα͵ μία ἐπτὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς " μητέρα δὲ ἔχει « Ἐκλεκτὴ δέ ἐστι τῇ τεχούσῃ αὐτήν. ν Κἀκεῖναι μὲν γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐτέχθησαν " ταύτην ὃξ ἐκ πασῶν προτετίμηχε, καὶ ἐκλεκτὴν ἔχει θυγατέρα διὸ « εἴὅοταν αὐτὴν θυγατέρες, καὶ μακαριοῦσιν αὐτὴν.» πουτέστ! νεάνιδες, οὐ μόνον δὲ ἐκεῖναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ βασίλισσαι καὶ παλλακαὶ αἰνέσουσιν αὐτήν. Ὑπερἀναδέδηχε γὰρ αὐτὰς, ὡς οὔτε διὰ μισθὸν, οὔτε διὰ φόδον κολάσεως, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν τοῦ νυμφίου πόθον τὴν ἄκραν μετιοῦσα φιλοσοφίαν. Γένοιτο δὲ ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τῆς θείας βοηθουμένους χάριτος φθάσαι εἰς τὴν τῆς νύμφης τελειότητα Εἰ δὲ ἀτονήσαιμεν, τῶν γοῦν βασιλίδων γενέσθαι " εἰ δὲ καὶ τούτων διαμάρτοιμεν, μὴ πόῤῥω γενέσθαι τῶν παλλαχίδων " εἰ δὲ καὶ τούτων ἀνάξιοι φανείημεν, ταῖς γε νεάνισιν ἐγχαταδιαφυλάξαι, καὶ μὴ παντελῶς στερηθῆναι τῆς τοῦ νυμφίου κοινωνίας, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπολαῦσαι αὐτοῦ πἧς ὡραιότητος χάριτι αὐτοῦ " ὅτι αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἱἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ᾿Α μήν. ἡ θεία προσαγορτύτι Πιστεύοντες τῷ εἰρηκότι" «ε Αἰτεῖτε καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν, ζητεῖτε καὶ εὑρήσετε, κρούετε καὶ αἱ" πᾶς γὰρ ὃ αἰτῶν λαμβάνει, καὶ ὁ ζητῶν εὑρίσχει, καὶ τῷ κρούοντι ἀνοιγήσεται". » αἰτήσομεν οἱ πὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τῶν ὑπολοίπων ῥημάτων τοῦ Λσματος τῶν ἀσμάτων τὴν σαφήνειαν, καὶ βϑοήσομεν λέγοντες᾽ ε ᾿Αποκάλυψον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐμῶν, κσὶ χατανοΐσομεν τὰ θαυμάσιά δου ἐκ τοῦ νόμου σου "1 αὐτὸς γὰρ δίδωσι ῥῦ,μα τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνάμε: πολλῇ. Αὐτὸς εἶπε " « Πλάτυνον τὸ στόμα σου, καὶ πληρώσω αὐτό. » Μεταδίδωσι δὲ καὶ τοῖς οὐκ ἀξίοις πολλάκις τῆς χάριτος διὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ὠφέλειαν. Θαῤῥοῦμεν τοίνυν ὡς καὶ ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος δώσει τοῦ τῆς λέξεως βάθους τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν, οὐ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀξίαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἐντευξομένων, ἢ ἀκουσομένων τῆς ἑρμηνείας ὠφέ-

### English translation (Claude)

5–7. "Your hair is like flocks of goats that have appeared from Gilead. Your teeth are like flocks of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and there is none barren among them. Like a scarlet thread are your lips, and your speech is lovely. Like the rind of a pomegranate is your cheek, apart from your silence." Since we have interpreted these words above, we think it superfluous to interpret them twice; for even if someone forgets the interpretation, he can run back to that place and find the explanation. But it was not idly or at random that he offered the bride the same praises twice; he was reminding her of her own beauty and urging her to keep it intact and to admit no blemish. For see, he says, what I have made you in place of what you were, what loveliness I have graciously given you, how great a beauty I have bestowed on you: keep it unharmed for me to the end; for whenever I am with you I examine your members and inquire carefully whether any harm has come upon them. The bridegroom says these things to them too, urging the bride to remain in her beauty.

8–9. "There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and maidens without number. One is my dove, my perfect one; she is the only one of her mother, the chosen one of her who bore her. Daughters saw her and will call her blessed; queens too, and concubines, and they will praise her." We have been taught that there are many different orders of the pious; and teaching this the Lord said: "There are many dwellings with my Father." And in the distribution of the talents: not all received five talents each, but one five, another two, another one, each according to his ability. And in the parable of the sower he says: "But some fell on the good ground and bore fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold"; and he calls all of it good ground, not only that which produced a hundred but also that which produced sixty and that which produced thirty. For thirty is a number of the praiseworthy, since it has three decades united in the triad; sixty has a double blessing, for thirty doubled produces sixty; and a hundred is most perfect, being freed from the left hand and having the beginning of the right, and completed in ten decades; those skilled in these matters call it a square. Yet even though a hundred is perfect, sixty and thirty too are among the praiseworthy; for the Lord called them all good ground.

Let us understand, then, that the bride is the souls made perfect in all philosophy and virtue, which endure the labours of virtue solely out of love for the bridegroom and choose to do and to suffer everything. Such was the blessed Paul, who says: "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." For he teaches us by these words that he longs for Christ not for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, but that he would choose to fall from the kingdom and fall into Gehenna while loving Christ rather than reign deprived of that love. Such souls, then, those held by longing for the bridegroom alone, fill up the company of the bride. But there are some who, like hirelings, endure to bear the sweat of virtue out of desire for the good things to come; these, I think, are here named queens, as desiring the kingdom and choosing to bear the labours of godliness for its sake. There are others who have not yet been counted worthy of freedom, but are still willing to be slaves, and fulfil the divine laws out of fear of Gehenna; these … and the bridegroom is present with such people too, becoming all things to all. And there are still others who live in sloth, neither held by love for the bridegroom, nor drawn by longing for the kingdom, nor pricked by the dart of Gehenna, managing their own affairs rather carelessly; they hold the faith unmoved, and keep the doctrines of godliness intact, and turn away from all heretical and foreign teaching, but they live rather carelessly, at times taking care of themselves, at times again wallowing in sloth, at times sinning, at times … [the bride]groom here calls maidens. And since such people are more numerous than both the queens and the concubines, he says: "And maidens without number"; not only because they cannot be counted for their multitude, he says, but also because they are unworthy of being counted. For even the hairs of the worthy are numbered by the Father. Nevertheless, the bridegroom is with these too at times, wishing to draw them away from sloth, guiding them toward what is perfect, and contriving their salvation from every side.

Let us ask why he said sixty queens and eighty concubines. The number sixty has six decades; the decade signifies perfection, and six contains the number of the making of the world, for in six days the God of all made the whole creation. So the souls that are perfected in virtue in this world and desire the kingdom he has named sixty queens. For the bride lives above this world, is outside it, flies above it, belongs wholly to the bridegroom, and pictures him continually; but these, living in this world, pursue the perfection of virtue as far as possible, aiming to obtain the kingdom. And those who fulfil the [divine laws] out of fear of the judgment … the divine Scripture calls the time of the judgment the eighth. For the blessed David, recounting in the Psalms the things concerning the judgment, entitled the psalm "For the eighth," and says at the beginning: "Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath." And a little after: "For in death there is no one who remembers you; and in Hades who will confess you?" teaching that at the time of the judgment no room for repentance will be given to those who have sinned and not repented. Since, then, they followed the divine laws for fear of these things, and neither out of longing for the kingdom nor out of love for the bridegroom, they are fittingly said to be eighty; for the number eight signifies the eighth day, and ten perfection.

But he says the bride is better than these, than both the sixty and the eighty: "For one is my dove, my perfect one," again calling her spiritual, and one. For above the sixty and the eighty, she is the only one of her mother; and she has as mother … "And she is the chosen one of her who bore her." For those too were born of her; but she has preferred this one above them all and holds her as a chosen daughter. That is why "daughters saw her and will call her blessed," that is, the maidens; and not only they, but queens and concubines too will praise her. For she has surpassed them, since she pursues the highest philosophy neither for reward nor for fear of punishment, but out of longing for the bridegroom. May it be granted to us, helped by divine grace, to attain to the perfection of the bride; or, if we lack the strength, at least to be among the queens; and if we fail of these too, not to be far from the concubines; and if we prove unworthy even of these, at least to be kept among the maidens and not to be wholly deprived of communion with the bridegroom, but to enjoy his loveliness by his grace; for to him be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

… Believing him who said: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened," we shall ask … for the present the clarity of the remaining words of the Song of Songs, and we shall cry out, saying: "Unveil my eyes, and I will perceive the wonders of your law." For he himself gives a word to those who proclaim the good news with great power. He himself said: "Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it." And he often grants a share of grace even to the unworthy, for the benefit of the many. We are confident, then, that he will grant us too, for the present, the revelation of the depth of the text, not because of our worth but because of the benefit of those who will read or hear the interpretation.

### Scripture references

- Song 6:5–9: quotation, high confidence
- John 14:2: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 25:15: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 13:8: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 8:38–39: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 15:19: allusion, low confidence
- 1 Cor 9:22: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 10:30: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 2:2: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 6:1: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 6:5 (6:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 7:7–8: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 119:18 (118:18 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 68:11 (67:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 81:10 (80:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 6:5b–9 (numbered 6:5–8 in Theodoret's text). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. The doxology after 6:9 ends one of Theodoret's books on the Song; the next begins with a prayer and breaks off before 6:10. The remark about a hundred being "freed from the left hand" refers to ancient finger-counting, in which units and tens were shown on the left hand and hundreds on the right. "For the eighth" is the title of Psalm 6.
- Quoted or alluded to: John 14:2; Matt 25:15; Matt 13:8; Rom 8:38–39; Luke 15:19; 1 Cor 9:22; Matt 10:30; Gen 1:31–2:2; Ps 6 title and 6:1, 5; Matt 7:7–8; Ps 119:18 (LXX 118:18); Ps 68:11 (LXX 67:12); Ps 81:10 (LXX 80:11).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 6.5 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-5).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 6:9

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-1/#p-6-9
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride looks out like the dawn now and will shine like the moon and finally the sun at the Lord's day; she goes down to the garden of this passing life to care for the fruitful, and is astonished that those she sought to save, driven by the devil like chariots, attacked her.

### Greek text

θ΄. Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἐκκύπτουσα ὡσεὶ ὄρθρος, Ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς πρὸ τούτου ῥητοῖς ὁ νυμφίο; τῇς νύμφης τὸ κάλλος τῷ λόγῳ διέγραψε, καὶ χωρὶς μὲν ἔκαστον εὐφήμησε μέλης, κοινὴν δὲ πάλιν τὴν εὐφημίαν προσήνεγκε, καὶ ὡς ἐγχωμίου κατὰ τέχνην συγγρατφον μένου, καὶ τὴν σύγκρισιν ἐποιήσατο, παρεξετάσας τὴν νύμφην, καὶ ταῖς νεάνισι, καὶ ταῖς παλλαχίσι, καὶ ταῖς βασιλίσι, καὶ πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ κρείττονα. Τοσαύτην γὰρ αὐτὴν ἔφη τὴν εὐμορφίαν ἔχειν, ὡς καὶ ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐχείνων τῶν παρεξετασϑεισῶν μὴ ζηλοτυπεῖσθαι ὁμολογοῦσαι γὰρ τὴν ἧτταν, μακαρίαν αὑτὴν καὶ τρισμαχαρίαν ἀποχαλοῦσιν " ἐνταῦθα δὲ οἱ τοῦ νυμφίου διάκονοι, διδαχθέντες παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τῆς νύμφῆς τὴν εὐμορφίαν, τὴν εὐκοσμίαν, τὴν εὐπρέπειαν, καὶ ἀχριδέστερον αὐτὴν καταμαθεῖν προτραπέντες, ὑπὸ τῆς πολλὴς εὐθυμίας (ἐχέχρυπτο γὰρ αὐτῆς ἔτι τὸ ψυχικὸν κάλλος ἐν τῷ χαλύπτρῳ τοῦ σώματος), βοῶσι" « Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἐκχύπτουσα ὡσεὶ ὄρθρος; » Ἐκ μέρους γὰρ αὐτῆς τέως ὡρᾶτο τὸ φῶς, τῷ φθαρτῷ τούτῳ συγχαλυπτόμενον σώματι" καὶ καθάπερ ὁ ὄρθρος νυκτός ἐστι καὶ ἡμέρας μεθόριον, καὶ τῆς μὲν τὴν ἀρχὴν, τῆς δὲ τὸ τέλος κηρύττει, καὶ στιμαΐνει τῆς ἡμέρας τὴν παρουσίαν, οὕτως κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον αἱ ἐν εὐσεδείᾳ καὶ πάσῃ σοφίᾳ τετελειωμένα! ψυκαὶ, ἃ; Ἐκκλησίαν καὶ νύμφην ἣ θεία προσαγορεύει Γραφὴ, βραχείας τινὰς λαμπηδόνας ἐκ «ἧς οἰκείας ἀφιᾶτιν ἀρετῆς. « Ὅταν δὲ,» κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, ε« τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσηται ἀφθαρσίοσν, καὶ τὸ θνητὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσηται ἀθανασίαν,ν ἅπαν αὑτῶν γυμνοῦται τὸ φῶς. Καὶ τοῦτο προορῶντες οἱ τοῦ νυμφίου διάκονοι, οὐ μόνον αὐτὴν ἀπειχάζουσιν ὄρθρῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλὴν λέγουσιν ὡς σελῆνην ἐχλεχτὴῆν, καὶ ὡς ἥλιον θάμδος ἐμποιοῦντα ποῖς ἐνατενίζειν αὐτῷ τολμῶσι " προστεθείχασι δὲ ἐκλεκτὴν, οὐ μόνον τὸ διάφορον τὸ πρὸς τοὺς ἀστέρας σημαίνοντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς σελήνης παραδτλοῦντες τὸ τέλειον " ἀντὶ τοῦ, ὡς σελήνη πεπληρωμένη πλησιφαὴς, οὐ μηνοειδὴς, οὐ διχότομος, οὐδὲ ἀμφίκυρτος, ἀλλὰ τελεία παυσέληνος, οὐδὲν ἀτελὲς ἔχουσα, πάντα τὸν κύκλον πεφωτισμένον δεικνύουσα. Οῦτον τυΐνυν. φησὶν, ε ἐστὶ καλὴ, ὡς ἐκλεκτὴ σελήντ. » Φασὶ δὲ τὴν σελήνην οἱ περὶ ταῦτα δεινοὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἡλιακῶν ἀκτίνων ὑποδεχομένην τὸ φῶς, βραχὺ μὲν λαμθδάνειν φῶς δ", ὅταν βραχὺ μόριον αὐτῆς βλέπῃ τὸν ἥλιον" ὅταν δὲ χατάντιχρυς γενομένη ἕλον θεωρῇ τὸν ἥλιον, οἷόν τι κάτοπτρον ὅλον αὖτοῦ "5 τὸν δίσκον ἐχματτομένη, ὅλη φωτίζεται, καὶ οὐδὲν τοῦ σώματος μέρος ἀφώτιστον χαταλείΐπει. Οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησία, τῶν ἐν ἀρετῇ τετελειωμένων ψυχῶν τὸ σύστημα, « ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου χατοπτριζομένη,» κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, ε τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφοῦται ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος " » καὶ γίνεται ὅλτ, φωτοειδὴς, ὡς ἐοικέναι σελήνῃ, καὶ σελήνῃ ἐκλεκτῇ, τουτέστι πετὰγρωμένῃ. Οὐ μόνον δὲ σελήνῃ ἔοικεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡλίῳ, καὶ ἡλίῳ θάμδος ἐμποιοῦντι τοῖς ὁρῶσιν. Οὐκ ἁπλῶς δὲ ταύτην ἡγοῦμαι κεῖσθαι τὴν λέξιν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ὡς ἔτυχεν ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου λέγεται Πνεύματος. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ νὺξ ὁ βίος, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον " ε Ἢ νὺξ γὰρ, φησὶ, προέκοψεν, ἡ δὲ ἡμέρα ἤγγικεν, » ἀναγκαίως ὡς ἐν νυκτὶ οἷόν τις σελήνη ἐστὶν ἡ Ἐκκλησία, τοὺς ὁδοιπόρους φωτίζουσα, καὶ τὴν εὐθεῖαν ὁδὸν ἀποδειχνύουσα. “Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ὡς ἔρθρος - ἐπειδὴ οἷόν τις ὄρθρος ἐστὶν ὁ μετὰ τὴν Κυριακὴν παρουσίαν χρόνος, τὴν μέλλουσαν σημαίνων κατάστασιν οἷόν τινο; ἡμέρας παρουσίαν: « Ὡς ὄρθρον γὰρ, φησὶν, ἕτοιμον εὑρήσομεν αὑτόν.» Ὅταν ὃὲ ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ἡ μεγάλη καὶ ἐπιφανὴς ἀφίκηται, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνὴν, περὶ ἧς ὁ μακάριος λέγει Παῦλος, ὅτι ε Ἡ ἡμέρα ἤγγιχξ,» τότε οὐκ ἕτι ὡς σελήνη λάμψει "7, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἥλιο; θάμθος ἐμποιοῦσα οὐ μόνον τοῖς ἀπίστοις ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ καὶ «“ὶς νεάνισι, καὶ ταῖς παλλαχίσι, καὶ ταῖς βασιλίσι, καὶ αὐταῖς ταῖς ἀσωμάτοις δυνάμεσι. Καὶ μάρτυς αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος λέγων" ε Τότε ἐκλάμψουσιν οἱ δίκαῖος ὡς ὁ ἥλιος. » Καὶ ὁ μακάριος δὲ Παῦλός φησιν" «Γ!Αλλη δόξα ἡλίου, καὶ ἄλλη δόξα σελήνης, καὶ ἄλλη δόξα ἀστέρων - ἀστὴρ γὰρ ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ.» Ἐχκύπτει τοίνυν ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ νύμφη ὡσεὶ ὄρθρος" ἐκ μέρους γὰρ αὑτῆς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὸ δ" κάλλος γινώσκεται. ε Καὶ καλή ἐστιν ὡς σελήνη ἐκλεκτὴ, ν τοῦ Κυριακοῦ πεπληρωμένη φωτὸς, καὶ ταῖς ἀκτῖσιν αὑτῆς τὴν οἰκουμένην φωτίζουσα “ δ'ὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ἔλεγε τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς " «ε Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου - ν καὶ δεικνὺς ὁποῖον φῶς, ἐπάγει λέγων" « Οὕτως λαμφάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα γνόντες τὰ χαλὰ ἔργα ὑμῶν δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.» Οὐ μόνον δέ ἐστιν ἡ νύμφη σχλτιρὺν καὶ ἀντίτυπον τὸ ὃὲ ἐδώδιμον, οἷον ἐν θαλάμῳ τινὶ ἀποκείμενον, καὶ κεκρυμμένον, καὶ νὼς οὐκ ἐκφερόμενον. Τὸ οὗτος δὲ καὶ ὁ παρὼν βίος, ἔχων ὀδύνας πικρὰς χκοὶ λύπας, ἔχων πόνους καὶ ἱδρῶτας, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀγόνους, οὐδὲ ἀχάρπους, μένον δὲ τὸν χκαρπὸὺν ἔχοντας. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλός φησίν, ὅτι « Ἢ ζωὴ ἡμῶν κέκρυπται σὺν ἡ ζωὴ ἡμῶν, τότε καὶ ἡμεῖς ξησόμεθα ἐν αὐτῷ. »--τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον. Καὶ τί χατέδης, ὦ νύμφη; τὰ παρόντα προσηγόρευσεν᾽ οὐ γὰρ ἀένναος ὁ χειμάῤῥους, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν χειμῶνι μὲν φερόμενος, ἐν δὲ καὶ ξηρχινόμενος. Τοιαῦτα ὃὲ τὰ τοῦ βίου τερπνά" ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ παρόντος, οἷόν τις χειμάῤῥους, καὶ δόξα φέρεται, καὶ πλοῦτος, καὶ βασιλεία, καὶ τρυφὴ, καὶ τ᾿ ἄλλα τοῦ βίου δὲ μέλλοντος βίου φανέντος, φθίνει καὶ λήγει, καὶ παύεται, δίκην χειμάῤῥου. ε Κατέδην τοίνυν, φησὶν, εἰ; τὸν τῇς χαρύας κῆπον, τοῦ ἰδεῖν ἐν τοῖς τοῦ χειϑάῤῥου γεννήματι, καὶ καταμαθεῖν βουλομένη εἰ ἔνηησαν αὲ ῥοαί.» Ἔχει γὰρ ὁ βίος τινὰς μὲν ἀνθρώτοὺς τροπικῶς: ἀμπέλους ὀνομαζομένους, τινὰς δὲ ῥοὰς κατὰ τὰ διάφορα τῆς ἀρετῆς κατορθώματα. υἱ μὲν γὰρ τὴν ἀγάπην φύουσι, καὶ τὴν ὁμόνοιαν ἀγαπῶσι, συνημμένοι κατὰ τὸ φρόνημα, καθάπερ «ἧς ῥοᾶς οἱ χόχχοι" οἱ δὲ καὶ οἶνον γεωργοῦσι, τῶν ληνῶν ἄξιον τῶν πατρικῶν, τῇ θεωρίᾳ προσέχειν σιν" καὶ Ὑὰρ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος ἐγένετο τοῖς ἀπθενέσιν ὡς ἀσθενὴς, ἵνα τοὺς ἀτθενεῖς καὶ τοῖς ἀνόμοις ὡς ἄνομος, μὴ ὧν ἄνομος Θεῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἔννομο; Χριστῷ, ἵνα κερδήσῃ ἀνόμους. « ἐθην τοίνυν, φησὶν, εἰς τὸν τῆς χαρύας κῆπον,» φροντίδα ποιουμένη τῶν τοῦ χειμάῤῥου γεννημάτων, καὶ τῶν τῆς ἀμπέλου καὶ ῥοᾶς καρπῶν. Οὐκ ἀφέζομαί σου, οὐδὲ ἐκεῖ - ἀλλ᾽ « Ὁρέξω σοι τοὺς μαστούς μου, ν τουτέστι, τοὺς τῆς διδασκαλίας μου κρουνούς. Οἰχειοῦσαι γὰρ τὰ εἰς ἐκείνους γινόμενα, καὶ λέγεις" « Ἐφόσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τῶν μικρῶν πούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων. ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε. » Τούτοις ἐπιφέρει" « Οὐκ ἔγνω ἡ Ψυχῆ μου, ἔθετό με ἄρματα ᾿λμιναδάδ. » Σαφέστερον τοῦτο ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσεν, εἰρηκώς " ε Ἡ ψυχή μου ἐπόρησέ με ἀπὸ ἁρμάτων " λαοῦ ' ἡγουμένου. » Ταῦτα γὰρ, φησὶ, ποιοῦσα ἐν ἀπορίᾳ γίνομαι ", καὶ ἐκστάσει, ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν αὐτοῖς ἐπραγματευσάμην σωτηρίαν " αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐπέθεντό μοι, τῷ στρατηγοῦντι διαδόλῳ πειθόμενοι, καὶ οἱονεὶ ἅρματα ἐκείνου γινόμενοι, καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἐχείνου ἡἠνιυχούμενοι “ τὸ γὰρ ᾿Αμιναδὰδ λαοῦ ἡγουμένου, ἣ λαοῦ ἄρχοντος ἑρμηνεύεται. Καὶ τοῦτο ἔστιν ἀχριθῶς νοεῖν ἢ, ἔχ τε τοῦ ᾿Ακύλα καὶ τοῦ Συμμάχου, καὶ τῆς πέμπτη ἐχδόσεω; " λέγει τοίνυν ἡ νύμφη, τοῦτἐστιν ὁ τῶν ἐ" ἀρετῇ τετελειωμένων χορὸς, ὅτι Ἡμεῖς μὲν πᾶταν ποιούμεθα τῶν ἀπίστων φροντίδα, παντινὲς δὲ αὐτῶν, οἱονεὶ ἄρματα γενόμενοι τοῦ ἄρχον τὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, ἐπέθεντό μοι, κακὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν ἀποδιδόντες. Καὶ τοῦτο ἔστι σαφῶς εὑρεῖν, καὶ ἐν ταῖς Πράξεοιν τῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ ἐν ταῖς τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου Ἐπιστολαῖς ἡ, Κηρύττοντες γὰρ τῆς εὐσεδείας τὸν λόγον, τοὺς μὲν ἔπειθον πιστεύειν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἀπίστων μυρίων θανάτῶν ὑπέμενον εἴδη " καὶ μάρτυς ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγων: ε« Ἐν κόποις περισσοτέρως, ἐν πληγαῖς ὑπερθαλλόντως, ἐν φυλακαῖς περισσοτέρως, ἐν θανάτοις πολλάκις, πεντάκις τεσσαράχοντα παρὰ μίαν ἔλαθον, γυχθήμερον ἐν τῷ βυθῷ πεποίηκα “ ὁδοιπορίαις πολκινδύνοις ποταιλῶν, κινδύνοι: λῃστῶν, : ἰπ κινδύνοις ἐκ γένους, κινδύνοις ἐξ ἐθνῶν, κινδύνοις ἐν πόλει, κινδύνοις ἐν ἐρημίᾳ, κινδύνοις ἐν θαλάσσῃ, κινδύνοις ἐν ψευδαδέλφοις, ν καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ". Τούτων ὑπὸ τῆς νύμφης ῥηθέντων, οἱ τοῦ νυμφίου διάκονον ἀποκρίνονται, καί φασιν αὐτῇ"

### English translation (Claude)

10. "Who is this who looks out like the dawn, [beautiful as the moon, chosen as the sun, an amazement as armies set in array]?" In the preceding passages the bridegroom described the bride's beauty in words, praising each member separately, and then offering a common praise; and, as when an encomium is composed according to the rules of the art, he made the comparison too, setting the bride beside the maidens, the concubines and the queens, and [showing her] better by a great measure. He said that she had such comeliness that she is not envied even by those compared with her; for, admitting their defeat, they call her blessed and thrice blessed. Here the bridegroom's ministers, having been taught by him the bride's comeliness, her good order and her seemliness, and having been urged to learn about her more exactly, cry out in their great joy (for her beauty of soul was still hidden in the veil of the body): "Who is this who looks out like the dawn?" For her light was so far seen only in part, veiled together with this corruptible body. And as the dawn is the boundary between night and day, and proclaims the end of the one and the beginning of the other, and signifies the coming of the day, so in the present life the souls made perfect in godliness and in all wisdom, which the divine Scripture calls church and bride, send out certain brief flashes from their own virtue. "But when," according to the blessed Paul, "this corruptible puts on incorruption, and this mortal puts on immortality," all their light is laid bare. Foreseeing this, the bridegroom's ministers not only liken her to the dawn but also say that she is beautiful as the chosen moon, and as the sun, which causes amazement to those who dare to gaze at it. They have added "chosen," not only signifying her difference from the stars, but also indicating the perfection of the moon itself; that is, like a moon that is full and bright all over, not crescent, not half, nor gibbous, but a perfect full moon, having nothing incomplete and showing its whole circle illumined. Thus, then, "she is beautiful as the chosen moon." Those skilled in these matters say that the moon receives its light from the sun's rays, and takes only a little light when a small part of it faces the sun; but when, standing directly opposite, it beholds the whole sun, it receives the impression of its whole disc like a mirror, is wholly illumined, and leaves no part of its body unlit. So too the church of Christ, the assembly of souls perfected in virtue, "beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face," according to the blessed Paul, "is transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord the Spirit"; and it becomes wholly luminous, so as to resemble the moon, and the chosen moon, that is, the full moon. And it resembles not only the moon but also the sun, and the sun that causes amazement to those who see it.

I do not think this expression is set down idly; for nothing is said at random by the divine Spirit. But since life is night, according to the blessed Paul ("For the night is far gone, and the day is at hand"), the church is necessarily like a moon in the night, illuminating the travellers and showing them the straight way. And she is also like the dawn, since the time after the Lord's coming is like a dawn, signifying the future state as the coming of a day: "For as the dawn," he says, "we shall find him ready." But when the great and manifest day of the Lord arrives, according to the word of the prophet, of which the blessed Paul says that "the day is at hand," then she will no longer shine as the moon but as the sun, causing amazement not only to unbelieving men but also to the maidens, the concubines, the queens, and the bodiless powers themselves. And the Lord himself is witness, saying: "Then the righteous will shine like the sun." And the blessed Paul says: "There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory." So the bride of Christ looks out like the dawn, for her beauty is known in part at present; "and she is beautiful as the chosen moon," filled with the Lord's light and illuminating the world with her rays. That is why the Lord in the holy Gospels said to his holy disciples: "You are the light of the world"; and showing what kind of light, he adds: "So let your light shine before men, that, knowing your good works, they may glorify your Father in heaven." Not only is the bride …

[11. "I went down into the garden of nuts …"] … hard and resistant, but the edible part stored as it were in a chamber, hidden and not brought out … So too is the present life, having bitter pains and griefs, having labours and sweat, yet not barren nor fruitless, but having its fruit [hidden]. That is why the blessed Paul says: "Your life is hidden with [Christ in God. When Christ appears,] our life, then we too shall live in him." … human life. And why did you go down, O bride? … she has called the present things [the torrent]; for the torrent is not ever-flowing, but runs in winter and in [summer] dries up. Such are the pleasures of life: in the present, like a torrent, glory flows, and wealth, and royal power, and luxury, and the other things of life; but when the life to come appears, they wane, and cease, and stop, like a torrent. "So I went down," she says, "into the garden of nuts, to see the produce of the torrent," and wishing to learn "whether the pomegranates had blossomed." For life has some people who are figuratively called vines, and some pomegranates, according to the different achievements of virtue. Some bring forth love and cherish concord, united in mind like the seeds of the pomegranate; others cultivate wine worthy of the fathers' winepresses, attending to contemplation … For the blessed Paul too became to the weak as weak, that he might [win] the weak, and to those without law as without law, not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ, that he might win those without law. "I went down, then," she says, "into the garden of nuts," taking care for the produce of the torrent and for the fruits of the vine and the pomegranate. I do not spare myself for you, even there, but "I will give you my breasts," that is, the streams of my teaching. For you make your own what is done to them, and say: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me."

To these words she adds: 12. "My soul did not know; it set me as the chariots of Aminadab." Symmachus interpreted this more clearly, saying: "My soul put me at a loss because of the chariots of the leading people." For in doing these things, she says, I am at a loss and in astonishment, because I procured salvation for them, but they attacked me, obeying the devil who commands them, becoming as it were his chariots and driven by him; for Aminadab is interpreted "of a leading people" or "of a ruling people." And this can be understood exactly from Aquila and Symmachus and the fifth edition. The bride, then, that is, the choir of those made perfect in virtue, says: We take every care for the unbelievers, but some of them, becoming as it were chariots of the ruler of this age, who is now at work in the sons of disobedience, according to the blessed Paul, have attacked me, returning evil for good. And this can clearly be found both in the Acts of the Apostles and in the letters of the blessed Paul. For in preaching the word of godliness they persuaded some to believe, but from the unbelievers they endured countless forms of death; and the blessed Paul is witness, saying: "In labours more abundantly, in stripes beyond measure, in prisons more abundantly, in deaths often; five times I received forty stripes less one; a night and a day I have spent in the deep; in journeys often, … in dangers of rivers, in dangers of robbers, in dangers from my own race, in dangers from the nations, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers," and what follows. When the bride has said these things, the bridegroom's ministers answer and say to her:

### Scripture references

- Song 6:10–12: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 15:53–54: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 3:18: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 13:12: quotation, high confidence
- Hos 6:3: quotation, high confidence
- Joel 2:31 (3:4 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Matt 13:43: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 15:41: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 5:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 5:16: quotation, high confidence
- Col 3:3–4: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 9:21–22: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 25:40: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 2:2: allusion, high confidence
- 2 Cor 11:23–26: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 6:10–12 (much of 6:10 and the whole of 6:11 are lost in the scan's citation of the lemma; the comment on the garden of nuts begins mid-sentence). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. Aminadab is interpreted "of a leading (or ruling) people"; Symmachus and Aquila are second-century Greek translators, and the "fifth edition" the Quinta of Origen's Hexapla.
- Quoted or alluded to: 1 Cor 15:53–54; 2 Cor 3:18; Rom 13:12; Hos 6:3; Joel 2:31; Matt 13:43; 1 Cor 15:41; Matt 5:14, 16; Col 3:3–4; 1 Cor 9:21–22; Matt 25:40; Eph 2:2; 2 Cor 11:23–26.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 6.9 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-9).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 6:12

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-1/#p-6-12
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The Shulammite is "she who is at peace"; the bridegroom's ministers urge the persecuted bride to return and keep preaching, as the Lord strengthened Paul in his weakness.

### Greek text

ιβ΄. ᾿Επίστρεφε, ἐπίσερεφε, ἡ Σουϊαμίτις - ἐπί: στρεφε ", ἐπίστρεφε" καὶ ὀψόμεθα ἐν σοί. Σαφές στερὸν αὐτὰ ὁ ᾿Ακύλας ἡρμήνευσεν" ε« Ἐπίστρεξε τὰρ, φησὶν, ἐπίστρεφε εἰρηνεύουσα. » "Ὥσπερ Σολομῶντα τὸν εἰρηνικὸν ἡμῶν Κύριον ὀνομάζει τὸ σύγγραμμα, οὕτω καὶ τὴν νύμφην αὐτοῦ εἰρηνεύουσαν, ὡς τῆς παρ᾽ αὑτοῦ τυχοῦσαν εἰρήνης, καὶ τοῦ προτέρου ἀπαλλαγεῖσαν πολέμου. 'θρῶντες τοίνυν αὐτὴν οἱ τοῦ νυμφίου διάκονοι ὑπὸ τῶν ἁρμάτων ῥύνοντες, φασίν" ε Ἑπίστρεφέ εἰρηνεύουσα, ἐπίστρεφε, ἐπίστρεφε, καὶ ὀψόμεθα ἐν σοί" » ἀντὶ τοῦ, μὴ φοθιθῇς τοὺς διώκοντας, ἀλλ᾽ ἔχου τῆς διδασκαλίας" ποόφερε τῆς διδασκαλίας " τὸ κήρυγμα“ μὴ καλουμένη. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἐπιμείνῃς κηρύττουσα, ὀψόμεθά σου τὴν βασιλείαν. Τούτοις ἔοικε τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίηυ πρὸς τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον ῥηθέντα " καμὼν γὰρ κὰκεῖνος, καὶ τοὺς πολλοὺς πειρασμοὺς δυσχεράνας, φησίν" « Ἐδόθη μοι σχόλοψ τῇ σαρκὶ, ἄγγελος Σατὰν, ἵνα με χκολαφίζῃ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραέρωμαι " καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου τρὶς τὸν Κύριον παρεκάλεσα, ἵνα ἀποστῇ ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ.» ᾿Αποχρίνεται τοίνυν αὐτῷ λέγων « ᾿Αρχεῖ σοι ἡ χάρις μου ἡ γὰρ δύναμίς μου ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται. » Καὶ τοῦτο ἐνταῦθά φασιν οἱ τοῦ νυμφίον διάκονοι " ε« Ἐπίστρεφε, ἐπίστρεφε, ἡ Σουλαμέτις, ἐπίστρεφε, ἐπίστρεφε, καὶ ὀψόμεθα ἐν "ὁ σοί. ν Πρὸφ οὺς ὁ νυμφίος φησίν "

### English translation (Claude)

13. "Return, return, O Shulammite; return, return, and we will look upon you." Aquila interpreted this more clearly: "Return," he says, "return, you who are at peace." As the writing names our peaceable Lord Solomon, so it names his bride "she who is at peace," as having obtained peace from him and been freed from her former war. The bridegroom's ministers, then, seeing her [fleeing] from the chariots, say: "Return, you who are at peace; return, return, and we will look upon you"; that is: Do not fear your persecutors, but hold fast to the teaching; bring forward the preaching of the teaching even when you are not called. For if you persevere in preaching, we shall see your kingdom. Like this are the words spoken by the Lord to the blessed Paul. For he too, weary and distressed by his many trials, says: "A thorn was given me in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me, so that I might not be too elated; concerning this I three times besought the Lord that it might depart from me." He answers him, saying: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And this is what the bridegroom's ministers say here too: "Return, return, O Shulammite; return, return, and we will look upon you." To them the bridegroom says:

### Scripture references

- Song 6:13 (7:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 12:7–9: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 6:13 (7:1 in the Septuagint). Aquila's rendering takes the name as "she who is at peace," matching Solomon as "the peaceable." "Even when you are not called" renders μὴ καλουμένη as printed; it may be a misreading of κωλυομένη ("even when hindered") (uncertain).
- Quoted or alluded to: 2 Cor 12:7–9.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 6.12 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/6-12).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 7:1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-1/#p-7-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The Shulammite is both an army and a choir; her straight steps shod with the gospel, the "daughter of Nadab" who brings the new fire, and the bridegroom now praises her from her deeds upward to her contemplation, setting her navel and nose against those of unfaithful Judaea.

### Greek text

α'. Τί ὄψεσθε ἐν τῇ Σουλαμίτιδι, ἣ ἐρχομένη "ἢ ὡς χοροὶ τῶν παρεμιδοιϊῶν; Τί γὰρ, φησὶ προσδοκᾶτε ἰδεῖν ἐν τῇ εἰρηνενούσῃ; Μὴ ἐλπίσητε εὐτελῆ τινα καὶ μερικὰ θεάσασθαι ἀγαθά ἰδοὺ γὰρ « ἔρχεται ὡς χοροὶ τῶν παρεμβολῶν.» Καὶ δοκεῖ πως ἐναντία εἶναι ἀλλήλοις τὰ ὀνόματα " οὔτε γὰρ συμθαίνουσιν οἱ χοροὶ ταῖς παρεμθολαῖς" οἱ μὲν γάρ εἰσι κανηγυριχοὶ, αἱ δὲ στρατιωτιχκαί. Ἐναντίον δὲ πολέμῳ πανήγυρις. Ἀλλ᾽ αὕτη ἡ νύμφη, ἡ ἐκ πολλῶν ἁγίων συγχεχροτημένη, καὶ παρεμθολαῖς ἔοικε διὸ τὸ ἀνδρεῖον αὐτῆς καὶ γενναῖον φρόνημα καὶ τὴν στρατιωτικὴν πανοπλίαν ΄ καὶ χορός ἐστι τὴν θείαν ὑμνῳδίαν ἐν τῷ στόματι φέρων. Καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ὁ μακάριος Δαδὶδ δηλοῖ λέγων “ « Φωνὴ ἀγαλλιάσεως καὶ οωτηρίας ἐν σκηναῖς δικαίων. » Καὶ πάλιν" ε Συστῆἑορτὴν ἐν τοῖς πυκάζουσιν, ἕως τῶν χεράτοῦ θυσιαστηρίου. » Τὰς δὲ παρεμδολὰ: ὁ "ἡ μακάριος Παῦλος ὑποδείκνυσι φάσχιυν" « ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικὰ, ἀλλὰ δυνατὰ τῷ Θεῷ πρὸς ρξσιν ὀχυρωμάτων λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντες, καὶ κἂν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντες πᾶν νόημα εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, » Καὶ πάλιν" ε ᾿Αναλάθετε, φησὶ, τὴν παν- ". » οπλίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα δυνηθῆτε ἀντιστῆναι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρφ τῇ πονηρᾷ, καὶ πάντα κατεργασάμενοι στῆναι. ν Χορηγεῖ δὲ τοῖς στρατιώταις, οἷόν τις στρατηγὸς, καὶ τὰ ὅπλα, καί φησι᾿ « Στῆτε οὖν περιζωσάμενοι τὴν ὑμῶν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ὑποδησάμενοι τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης" καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἀναλαδόντες τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως, ἐν ᾧ δυνήσεσθε πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυρω- μένα σθέσαι “ καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίον δέξασθε, καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστι ῥῆμα θεοῦ. » Ὅτι δὲ οὐ μόνον οἱ ἅγιοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ χοροῖς, ἀκούσωμεν τοῦ Κυρίον λέγοντος " « Τότε ὁμοιωθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν δέκα παρθένοις, αἵτινες, λαδοῦσαι τὰς λαμπάδας αὑτῶν, ἐξῆλθον εἰς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ νυμφίου. » δ Εἰκότως τοίνυν ὁ νυμφίος φησὶν, ὅτι « Τί ὄψεσθε ἐν τῇ Σουλαμίτιδι, ἢ ἐρχομένη ὡς χοροὶ τῶν λῶν; » Καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν, αἱ παρεμδολαὶ τῶν χορῶν, ἀλλ᾽, ε οἱ χοροὶ τῶν παρεμβολῶν.» Ὑπὸ δ γὰρ τῶν παρεμθολῶν γίνονται χοροὶ, καὶ νικῶντες ἐν ταῖς παρεμθολαῖς οἱ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθληταὶ παιανίξοντες Ταῦτα πρὸς τοὺς διακόνους εἰρηκὼς ὁ νυμφίος, πρὸς τὴν νύμφην τρέπει τὸν λόγον, καί φησι" ε Τί ὡραινώθησαν διαδήματά σου ἐν ὑποδήμασι, θύγατερ Ναδάδ᾽5} » Ὁ μὲν ᾿Ακύλας, ἄρχοντος εἴπεν" ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, ε ἡγεμόνο:. » Τίς δ᾽ ἂν εἴη ἕτερος οὗτο; ὁ ἡγεμὼν, ἣ ὁ ἄρχων, ἣ ὁ παράκλητος Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον; Ὃς καὶ ἐν τῷ μδ΄ ψαλμῷ φησι. πρὸς αὐτέν " εἼΑχουσον, θύγατερ, καὶ ἴδε, καὶ κλῖνον τὸ οἷς σου, καὶ ἐπιλάθου τοῦ λαοῦ σου, καὶ τοῦ οἴχου Ξοῦ πατρός σου, καὶ ἐπιθυμήσει ὁ ϑασιλεὺς τοῦ κάλλους σου, ὅτι αὐτός ἔστιν ὁ " Κύριός σου. ν Ὅτι δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἡγεμόνος ἔχει προτηγορίαν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὁ μακάριος διδάσκε: Δαδὶδ λέγων " « τὴν ἀγαλλίασιν τοῦ σωτηρίου σου, καὶ Πνεύματι ἠγεμονικῷ στήριξόν με. ν Ἐπαινεῖ τοίνυν ὁ νυμφίος πρῶτον τῆς νύμφης τὰ διαδήματα εὐθέα ὄντα, καὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν ὁδὸν ὀδεύοντα, καὶ καλῶς ἐν λάμποντα. Τίνα δὲ τὰ ὑποδήματα, ἐδίδαξεν ἡμᾶς ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγων" « μενοι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης. » Τούτων δὲ τῶν ποδῶν τὸ κάλλος καὶ ὁ προφήτης Ἡσαΐας προορῶν ἔλεγεν’ ει ᾿ῆς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων εἰρήνην "", τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων ἀγαθά! » Τοῖς αὐτοῖς ῥήμασι καὶ ὁ νυμφίος ἐν τῷδε τῷ συγγράμματι κεχρημένος φησί" « Τί ὡραιώθησαν διαδήματἄ σον, θύγατερ Ἵνα δὲ μὴ μόνον ἀπὸ τῆς ἑρμηνείας τοῦ ὀνόματος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὀνόματος λάδωμέν τινα θεωρίαν, φέρε ζητήσωμεν τίς ὁ Ναδάθδ. Υἱὸς ᾿Ααρὼν ἐγένετο" πῦρ δὲ ἀλλότριον εἰς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ σκηνὴν εἰσενεγκὼν, τὸ τέλος τοῦ βίου ἐδέξατο. Εὑρίσκομεν τοίνυν καὶ τοῦ Κυρίου τὴν νύμφην, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν φημὶ, οὐ τὸ νομικὸν πῦρ, ἀλλὰ τὸ καινὸν " εἰς τὴν θείαν εἰσενεγχοῦσαν σκηνήν. "Ἔλαδε δὲ τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ νυμφίου. « Πῦρ γὰρ Ὦλθον βαλεῖν εἰς τὸν κόσμον' καὶ τί θέλω "", εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη; » Τοῦτο τὸ καινὸν πῦρ διὰ τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης εἰς τὴν θείαν εἰσενεγχοῦσα σκηνὴν, βοᾷ καὶ λέγει" « Τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονε τὰ πάντα καινά.» Εἰκότως τοίνυν « θυγατέρα Ναδὰδ » αὐτὴν προσαγορεύει, ἅτε δὴ τῷ καινῷ πυρὶ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων θυσίαν ὁλοχαυτώσασαν. [δὶ γὰρ καὶ κατὰ τὸ φρόνημα τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς ἐναλλαγῆς διαφέρουσιν, ἀλλὰ ἕν ὑπ᾽ "2 ἐχείνου καὶ ταύτης τὸ πρᾶγμα γεγένηται. Ταῦτα δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος εἰρήκαμεν, ἵνα μηδὲ τὴν προσηγορίαν καταλίπωμεν ἀθεώρητον. Πάλιν τοίνυν ὁ νυμφίος κατὰ μέρος αὑτῆς τὰ μέλη διέξεισι, καὶ ἐκάστῳ τὴν πρόσσ φορον εὐφημίαν προσφέρε!:, καί φησι" 'Ρυθμοὶ "5 μηρῶν σου ὅμοιοι ἁρμίσκοις ἔργῳ σου ὡς δύο γεδροὶ δίδυμοι δορχάδος. σου ὡς πύργος ἐλεφάγντιγος " οἱ ὀρθαΐϊμοί σου ὡς ἐν πύλαις θυγατρὸς ποι- «λῶν. λυκτήρ σου ὡς πύργος τοῦ Λιθδάνου, σκο- Κάρμηλος ἐπὶ σέ" καὶ πιόχιον κεραλῆς σου ὡς πορφύρα, βασιλεὺς δεδεμένος ἐν παραδρομαῖς 55. Πρότερον μὲν οὖν ὁ νυμφίος ἀπὸ "7 τῶν ἄνωθεν τῆς γύμφης ἀρξάμενος ἐπήνεσεν αὐτήν " ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ παρὄντος, ἀπὸ τῶν διαδημάτων καὶ τῶν ὑποδημάτων τὴν ἀρχὴν ποιησάμενος, ἄκρι τοῦ πλοχίου τῇς κεφαλῆς ἀνελήλυθε, Καὶ θαυμάζει, μετὰ τὰ ὑποδήματα καὶ τὰ διαδήματα, οὐ τοὺς μηροὺς, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς τῶν μηρῶν, καὶ λέγει αὑτοὺς ἐοικέναι ὁρμίσλοις ὑπὸ τεχνίτου κατεσχευασμένοις- Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι, φησὶ, μετὰ πάσης ἁρμονίας ἔχουσι τοὺς λίθους τῷ χρυσῷ ἐμπεπηγότας, ὥστε τοὺς ὁρῶντας μὴ μόνον τὰς ὕλας τοῦ χρυσοῦ καὶ τῶν λίθων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν τέχνην τοῦ χρυσοχόου θαυμάζειν οὕτως ἕχαστον τῶν τῆς πρακτικῆς ἀρετῆς ᾽"5 μορίων ῥυθμῷ καὶ ἁρμονίᾳ κεκόσμηται. Τοὺς γὰρ μηροὺς τροπικῶς τὴν πρακτικὴν ὠνόμασεν ἀρετὴν, ἐπειδὴ διὰ τούτων τὴν πορείαν ποιούμενοι δρῶμεν βουλόμεθα. Θαυμάζϑι τοίνυν ὁ νυμφίος τὴν νύμφην, ἀπὸ τῇς πραχτιχῖς ἀρξάμενος, καὶ ἄνεισιν ἐπὶ τὴν θεωοίαν, ἐν ἀρχῇ τοὐναντίον ποιήσας ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς θεωρίας ἀρξάμενος, ἐπὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐλήλυθεν. « Ὀφθαλμοΐί σου γὰρ, ἔφη, περιστεραὶ,» τὸ πνευματιχὺν τοῦ ὀπτιχοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς διὰ τούτου στ μαίνων. Ἕνταῦθα δὲ τὴν πρακτικὴν ἀρετὴν πρώτην θαυμάζει, καὶ μάλα εἰκότως" πρότερον γὰρ φωτιζόμενοι, καὶ τοὺς μεμυχότας τῆς Ψυχῆς ἀνοίγοντες ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ τὸ θεῖον φῶς εἰσδεχόμενοι, τῇ πίστει βεἐχιοὐμεθα- εἶθ᾽ 3" οὕτως ἐπὶ τὴν πρακτικὴν ὁδεύομεν ἀρετήν. Διὰ τοῦτο πρῶτον ᾽᾽ ἐγκώμιον ὁ νυμφίος ὑφαίνων, ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἤρξατο, τῶν πρώτων ἣν θεραπείαν δεξαμένων. Νῦν δὲ ἐπειδὴ τέλειον τῆς νύμφης τὸ κάλλος ἐγένετο, κάτωθεν ἀπὸ τῆς πραχτιχῖς ἀρχόμενος ἀρετῆς, ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν ἄνεισι, τῆς νύμτης τὴν εὐμορφίαν ἐγχωμιάξζξων. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἐταινεῖ τὰ διαδήματα καὶ τὰ ὑποδήματα, εἶτα τῶν μηρῶν τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς, τουτέστιν ἕχαστον ᾽" τῶν γινομένων" μετὰ δὲ τοὺς μηροὺς τὸν ὀμφαλόν " « Ὀμνὸς κράμα. » Παραθῶμεν δὲ, εἰ δοκεῖ, τὰ περὶ τοῦ ὀμφαλοῦ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων εἰρημένα διὰ Ἱεζεχιὴλ τοῦ προφήτου, Τὴν ὙΧρ ἀκολασίαν αὐτῇ: θριαμδεύων, καὶ τὴν πολλὴν αὐτῆς δημοσιείων ἀσέδειαν, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ λόγῳ διεξεληλύθαμεν, τῷ προφήτῃ φησί" ε Διαμάρτυραι τῇ Ἵερουσαλὴμ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐρεῖς " Τάδε λέγει Κύριος τῇ “Ἱερουσαλήμ: Ἡ ῥίζα σου καὶ ἡ γένεσίς σουὲχ γῆς Χαναὰν, ὁ πατὴρ σου ᾿Αμοῤῥαῖος, καὶ ἡ μήτηρ σου Χετταία. Καὶ ἡ γένεσίς σου ἐν ἧ ἡμέρᾳ ἐτέχθης, οὐκ ἐτμήθη ὁ ὀμφαλός σου.» Ἑκείνῃ μὲν οὖν φησιν, «Οὐκ ἐτμήθη ὁ ὀμφαλός σου" ν ταύτῃ μενος κράμα. » Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τεχθεῖτα οὐκ ἔτεμεν αὑτῆς τὸν ὀμφαλὸν, ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ διά τινος ῥΐζης εἴλκεν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τὴν πονηρίαν τῆς δυσσεθοῦς διδασκαλίας. Αὕτη δὲ οὐκ ἁπλῶς τὸν ὀμφαλὸν αὑτῆς ἔτεμεν, ἀλλ᾽ οὕτως ἐθάθυνε τὴν τορὴν, ὥστε πᾶσαν καὶ τὸ κράμα τῆς εὑςροσύνης διηνεκῶς ἔχειν, καὶ μηδέποτε ἐλλείπειν αὐτῇ τὴν ἐκ τῆς εὐσεδείας ἐγγινομένην αὐτῇ θυμηδίαν. ᾿Αλλχ καὶ ε« Ἡ κοιλία σου θημωνία σίτου, πεφραγμένη ἐν κρίνοις. » Τουτέστι, μεστὰ τὰ ταμιεῖά σοῦ τῆ: Ψυχῆς τῶν κεκρυμμένων μυστηρίων, ὧν ἡ εὐοσαία μόνη τοῖς ἀτελέσιν ἔτι καὶ νηπίοις γνώριμος. ε Κρίνοις γὰρ, φησὶ, περιπέφραχται, » ἵνα διὰ τοῦ περιφράγματος τὸ κεκρυμμένον νοήσωμεν, διὰ δὲ τῶν κρίνων, τὴν ἐκεῖθεν πανταχοῦ δια ῤῥέῥουσαν εὐοσμίαν. ε Καὶ οἱ μαστοί σου δὲ οἱ δύο νεδροῖς μοῖς δορχάδο: ἐοίκασιν. » Οἱ γὰρ τῆς διδασκαλίας σηυ χρηυνοῖ, τὰ καινὰ προφέροντες νάματα, ὀξυδοργίαν ξιδάτχουσι, καὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν ἢ γὰρ δορκὰς ὀξυδορχίας ἐπώνυμος, χοὶ ὁ νεδρὸς τοῦ νέου « Ὃ δὲ τράχηλός σου, ὡς πύργος ἐλεφάντινος. » ᾿Απηλλάγη γὰρ τοῦ μέλας εἷναι. καὶ ἐλευχάνθη τὸν ζυγόν μου δεξάμενος " καὶ φοδερός ἔστι τοῖς πολεμίοις ὡς πύργος, καὶ ποθεινός ἔστι τοῖς φίλοις ὡς λάμπων. « Οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοί σου, ὡς λίμναι ἐν Ἐσσεβὼν 3", ἐν πύλαις θυγατρὸς πολλῶν.» Τοῦτο δὲ ὁ ᾿Ακύλας ἐρμηνεύων, ἀντὶ τοῦ ε« Ἐσσεθὼν » ἐπιλογισμὸν τέθεικε. Διδάσκει τοίνυν ὁ νυμφίος, ὅτι τῶν εὐσεδῶν ψυχῶν τὸ ὀπτιχὸν λίμναι εἰσὶ, τὰ θεῖα νάματα δεχόμεναι, καὶ διηνεκῶς πλημμυροῦσαι' ἅτε δὴ ἀπὸ πολλῶν πυλῶν, τουτέστι στομάτι." (τροπικῶς γὰρ τὰ στόματα πύλας ὠνόμασε), τὰ ῥεῖθρα δεχόμεναι. Καὶ γὰρ παρὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Μωσέως, καὶ παρὰ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ, καὶ Σαμουὴλ τοῦ προφήτου, καὶ παρὰ Δαδιδ, τοῦ προφήτου καὶ βασιλέως, καὶ παρὰ Ἡσαῖον, καὶ Ἱερεμίου, καὶ Δανιὴλ, καὶ Ἰεζεχιὴλ, καὶ παρὰ τῶν δώδεκα προφητῶν, καὶ παρὰ τῶν θείων Εὐαγγελίων, καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ παρὰ τῶν μετ᾽ ἐκείνους γενομένων διδασκάλων, δέχονται τῆς ὠφελείας τὰ νάματα. Διό φησιν ὁ νυμφίος" « Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὡς λίμναι ἐν Ἑσσεδὼν, ἐν πύλαις θυγατρὸς πολλῶν ᾽". ν Αἱ γὰρ θεωρίαι τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ τῶν εὐσεδῶν σου λογισμῶν τὸ πλῆθος ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἀπὸ πολλῶν στομάτων ὑποδέχῃ τῆς διδασκαλίας τὰ νάματα. ε Καὶ ὁ μυκτήρ σου δὲ, ὡς πύργος ἐστὶ τοῦ Λιδάνου, σχοπεύων πρόσωπον Δαμασκοῦ. » Τῆς μὲν οὖν Ἰουδαίας ὁ μυκτὴρ, διὰ τὸ ἀπειθὲς καὶ δυσήνιον, ἐνώτιον ἔλαδεν οἷόν τινα χαλενὸν, καθάπερ ταῦρος χερατίζων ᾽5, τοῦ νόμου τὴν ἀπειλὴν, ἐπειδὴ ὡς δάμαλις παροοιστρῶσα παροΐατρησεν Ἰσραήλ᾽". Ὁ δὲ τῆς νύμφης « μυκτὴρ ὡς πύργος, φησὶν, ἐστὶ τοῦ ωπον Δαμασκοῦ.», ψηλὸς γάρ ἔστι καὶ μετέωρος. καὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν εὐοσμίας ἀντιλαμδανόμενος, καὶ τῷ μύρῳ τοῦ νυμφίου προσδεδεμένος, καὶ βοῶν" « Ὁπέσω σου εἰς ὀσμὴν μύρων σου δραμοῦμεν. » Διὰ τοῦτο ἀπείκασται πύργῳ ἐπάνω μὲν τοῦ Λιδάνου κειμένῳ, σχοπεύοντι δὲ τῆς Δαμασκοῦ πρόσωπον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ μετασχηματιζόμενος εἰς ἄγγελον φωτὸς διάθολος, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, καὶ εἰς μύρον πνευματικὸν σχηματίζεται, ἀναγκαίως ὁ μυκτὴρ τῆς νύμφης Δαμασχοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἀπατηθεῖσα τὸ μὲν ἀληθινὸν καταλίπῃ μύρον, τῷ δὲ ψευδεῖ καὶ πλανῶντι ἀκολουθήσῃ" τὴν δὲ Δαμασχὸν ἐπὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ τῆς τηνικαῦτα κρατούσης ἀσεδείας, ἡ θεία πολλάκις τίθησι Ἰραφῇ ἀμέλει καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἡσαΐας τὰ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου γεννήσεως προφητεύων, καὶ εἰρηκὼς ἐκ προσὦπον τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὅτι « Προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, ν τουτέστι πρὸς τὴν παρθένον, ε καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαδεν, καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱὸν, » ὑπάγει λέγων " « Καὶ εἶπε αἴματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ διηνθισμένην " οὐ γὰρ οὕτω λόμπει βασιλεὺς ἁλουργίδα περι:βεθλημένος, ὡς ὁ τῆς εὑφεδείας διδάσκαλος τὸ τῆς θεογνωσίας χέρυγμα ἐξυφαίνων, καὶ τοῖς τροφίμοις τῆς ἀληθείας προσφέρων 5"),

### English translation (Claude)

1. "What will you see in the Shulammite? She comes like dances of the camps." For what, he says, do you expect to see in her who is at peace? Do not hope to behold some paltry and partial goods; for behold, "she comes like dances of the camps." The names seem somehow opposed to each other, for dances do not go with camps: the one belongs to festivals, the other to soldiers, and a festival is the opposite of war. But this bride, gathered together from many saints, is like camps because of her manly and noble spirit and her soldier's full armour, and she is a dance, carrying the divine hymnody in her mouth. The blessed David shows this, saying: "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous." And again: "Bind the feast with thick boughs, up to the horns of the altar." And the camps the blessed Paul points out, saying: "[For the weapons of our warfare are] not fleshly, but powerful for God for the destruction of strongholds, as we overthrow reasonings and every high thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." And again: "Take up the full armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand." And like a general he supplies the soldiers with their weapons, and says: "Stand, then, having girded your [loins] with truth, and having put on the [breastplate] of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace; and in all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one; and receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." And that the saints [are likened] not only [to camps] but also to dances, let us hear from the Lord, who says: "Then the kingdom of heaven will be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom." Fittingly, then, the bridegroom says: "What will you see in the Shulammite? She comes like dances of the camps." And he did not say "the camps of the dances," but "the dances of the camps." For dances arise from the camps, and the athletes of virtue, victorious in the camps, sing the song of victory …

Having said these things to the ministers, the bridegroom turns his speech to the bride, and says: "How beautiful your steps have become in sandals, daughter of Nadab!" Aquila said "of a ruler," and Symmachus "of a leader." Who else could this leader or ruler be but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit? He it is who says to her in the forty-fourth psalm: "Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty, for he is your Lord." And that the Holy Spirit also bears the title of leader, the blessed David teaches, saying: "[Restore] to me the joy of your salvation, and establish me with a leading Spirit." The bridegroom, then, first praises the steps of the bride, which are straight and travel the royal road, and shine finely in [sandals]. What the sandals are the blessed Paul taught us, saying: "[having shod] your feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace." The prophet Isaiah too foresaw the beauty of these feet, and said: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace, of those who bring good news of good things!" Using the same words, the bridegroom in this writing says: "How beautiful your steps have become, daughter [of Nadab]!" …

And so that we may take some insight not only from the interpretation of the name but also from the name itself, come, let us ask who Nadab was. He was a son of Aaron; and having brought strange fire into the tabernacle of God, he met the end of his life. We find, then, that the bride of the Lord too, I mean the church, brought into the divine tabernacle not the fire of the law but the new [fire]. She received this fire from the bridegroom himself: "For I came to cast fire upon the world, and what do I wish, if it is already kindled?" Bringing this new fire into the divine tabernacle through the New Covenant, she cries out and says: "The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Fittingly, then, he calls her "daughter of Nadab," since with the new fire she has offered the sacrifice of men as a whole burnt offering. For even if they differ in intention in the change of the fire, yet one and the same deed was done by him and by her. We have said this for the present so as not to leave even the name without contemplation.

Again, then, the bridegroom goes through her members one by one, and offers each the fitting praise, and says: "The curves of your thighs are like necklaces, the work [of a craftsman's hands. 2. Your navel is a turned bowl, not lacking mixed wine; your belly is a heap of wheat, fenced about with lilies. 3. Your two breasts are] like two twin fawns of a gazelle. 4. [Your neck] is like an ivory tower; your eyes are like [pools in Heshbon], by the gates of the daughter of many; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, looking toward [the face of Damascus. 5. Your head upon you is like] Carmel, and the braid of your head like purple; a king bound in the galleries." Previously the bridegroom praised the bride beginning from her upper parts; but now, making his start from the steps and the sandals, he has gone up as far as the braid of the head. After the sandals and the steps he admires not the thighs but the curves of the thighs, and says they are like necklaces made by a craftsman. For as those, he says, have the stones set in the gold with all harmony, so that those who see them admire not only the materials, the gold and the stones, but also the goldsmith's art, so each part of practical virtue has been adorned with rhythm and harmony. For figuratively he named practical virtue the thighs, since through them we make our journey [and do] … we wish. The bridegroom, then, admires the bride beginning from practical virtue, and goes up to contemplation, having done the opposite at the beginning; for there he began from contemplation and came to practice: "For your eyes," he said, "are doves," signifying by this the spiritual quality of the soul's sight. But here he admires practical virtue first, and very fittingly; for first we are enlightened, we open the closed eyes of the soul, we receive the divine light, and we are made firm in faith; and then we travel on to practical virtue. That is why the bridegroom, weaving his first encomium, began from the eyes, which were the first to receive healing. But now, since the bride's beauty has become perfect, he begins below, from practical virtue, and goes up to contemplation, praising the comeliness of the bride. First he praises the steps and the sandals, then the curves of the thighs, that is, each of the deeds done; and after the thighs the navel: "[Your] navel [is a turned bowl, not lacking] mixed wine."

Let us set beside this, if you please, what was said by the God of all through the prophet Ezekiel about the navel of Judaea. For, exposing her licentiousness and publishing her great impiety, as we went through in the first discourse, he says to the prophet: "Testify to Jerusalem her iniquities, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord to Jerusalem: Your root and your birth are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel was not cut." To her, then, he says, "Your navel was not cut"; but to this one, "[Your navel is a turned bowl, not lacking] mixed wine." For the one born out of Egypt did not cut her navel, but drew from Egypt, as through a root, the wickedness of impious teaching. But this one not only cut her navel, but so deepened the cut that … and she has the mixed wine of gladness continually, and the delight that springs up in her from godliness never fails her. Moreover, "Your belly is a heap of wheat, fenced about with lilies." That is, the storerooms of your soul are full of hidden mysteries, of which only the fragrance is known to those who are still imperfect and infants. "For it is fenced about," he says, "with lilies," so that by the fence we may understand what is hidden, and by the lilies the fragrance that flows out from there everywhere. "And your two breasts are like two twin fawns of a gazelle." For the streams of your teaching, bringing forth new waters, teach keenness of sight and spiritual contemplation; for … the gazelle is named from its keen sight, and the fawn from the word "new" … "And your neck is like an ivory tower." For it has been freed from being black and has become white, having received my yoke; and it is fearsome to enemies like a tower, and longed for by friends as shining.

"And your eyes are like pools in Heshbon, by the gates of the daughter of many." Aquila, rendering this, put "reckoning" instead of "Heshbon." The bridegroom teaches, then, that the sight of pious souls is pools, receiving the divine streams and continually overflowing, since they receive their streams from many gates, that is, mouths (for figuratively he named the mouths gates). For from the great Moses, and from Joshua the son of Nun, and from Samuel the prophet, and from David the prophet and king, and from Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel and Ezekiel, and from the twelve prophets, and from the divine Gospels, and from the holy apostles, and from the teachers who came after them, they receive the streams of benefit. That is why the bridegroom says: "Your eyes are like pools in Heshbon, by the gates of the daughter of many." For the contemplations of your soul and the multitude of your pious reasonings [are like pools], since you receive the streams of teaching from many mouths. "And your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, looking toward the face of Damascus." The nose of Judaea, because of its disobedience and unruliness, received a ring, like a bridle, as a goring bull does, namely the threat of the law, since "Israel ran wild like a heifer stung by the gadfly." But the bride's "nose," he says, "is like the tower [of Lebanon, looking toward the face] of Damascus"; for it is high and lofty, and perceives the fragrance from above, and is bound to the bridegroom's ointment, and cries: "We will run after you, toward the fragrance of your ointments." That is why it is likened to a tower set upon Lebanon and looking toward the face of Damascus. For since the devil, who disguises himself as an angel of light, according to the blessed Paul, disguises himself also as spiritual ointment, of necessity the bride's nose [watches toward] Damascus, lest she be deceived and leave the true ointment and follow the false and deceiving one. And the divine Scripture often uses Damascus for the nations and for the impiety that then prevailed. Indeed the blessed Isaiah too, prophesying about the birth of the Lord and saying in the person of the Spirit, "I went in to the prophetess," that is, to the virgin, "and she conceived in the womb and bore a son," continues, saying: "And [the Lord] said …" … blossoming with the blood of Christ; for a king clothed in purple does not shine as the teacher of godliness does, weaving the proclamation of the knowledge of God and offering it to the nurslings of the truth.

### Scripture references

- Song 6:13–7:5 (7:1-Song LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 118:15 (117:15 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 118:27 (117:27 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 10:4–5: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 6:13–17: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 25:1: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 45:10–11 (44:11-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 51:12 (50:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Isa 52:7: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 10:15: quotation, medium confidence
- Lev 10:1–2: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 12:49: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 5:17: quotation, high confidence
- Ezek 16:2–4: quotation, high confidence
- Hos 4:16: quotation, high confidence
- Song 1:4: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 11:14: allusion, high confidence
- Isa 8:3–4: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 6:13b–7:5 (7:1b–6 in the Septuagint; several clauses of the lemma are lost in the scan and supplied in brackets from the comment). Lines are lost where marked …. "Steps" renders διαβήματα (printed with δ for β, as often in this text); Nadab is likewise printed Ναδάδ. Aquila read "Heshbon" as "reckoning"; Aquila and Symmachus read "Nadab" as "ruler" or "leader."
- Judaea's uncut navel (Ezek 16) and unruly nose are contrasted with the bride; translated as written. Nadab and his brother were struck down for offering strange fire (Lev 10:1–2); the church's "new fire" is set against it.
- Quoted or alluded to: Ps 118:15 (LXX 117:15); Ps 118:27 (LXX 117:27); 2 Cor 10:4–5; Eph 6:13–17; Matt 25:1; Ps 45:10–11 (LXX 44:11–12); Ps 51:12 (LXX 50:14); Isa 52:7; Rom 10:15; Lev 10:1–2; Luke 12:49; 2 Cor 5:17; Ezek 16:2–4; Hos 4:16; Song 1:4; 2 Cor 11:14; Isa 8:3–4.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 7.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 7:6–7

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-1/#p-7-6
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride's height is like the palm reaching to heaven, yet like the palm's hanging clusters her teaching bends down to the weak.

### Greek text

ς΄, ζ΄. τί ὡραιώθης, καὶ τί ἡδύγθης, ἀγάπη, ἐν ει να Τὸ "δ μέγεθός σου ὡμοιώθη τῷ καὶ οἱ μαστοί σου τοῖς βέτρυσιν. Ὥραία γὰρ ἐγένου μὴ οὖσα πρότερον ὡραία" καὶ ἀηδίας ἁπάσης ἡγησαμένη τὸ περὶ τοῦτον φίλτρον, πάντων ὁμοῦ κατ" διὸ « ὡραιώθης, καὶ ἡδύνθης, ἀλλὰ καὶ "7 Ὁ τὸ μέγεθός σου ὡμοιώθη τῷ φοίνικι, καὶ οἱ μαστοί σου τοῖς βότρυτιν. ι Οὐ γὰρ μόνον κάλλος ἔχεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὕψος ἀπεικασμένον φοίνικι. ε« Οἱ δὲ μαστοί σοὺ » Οὐ μετέωρος, καὶ τῶν οὐρανίων ἁψίδων ἐφιχνουμένη, : « : οἱ συγχαταθαΐνεις τοῖς ἀσθενέσι, καὶ ὀρέγεις τοὺς μαστούς σου καὶ τὰς τῆς διδασκαλίας σου θηλὰς τεῖς «ἧς διδασκαλίας δεομένοις" καὶ γὰρ ὁ φιῖνιξ κάτω νεύοντας ἔχει τοὺς βότρυας. Τοῦτο καὶ διὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Δαθὶδ τὸ Πνεῦμα λέγει τὸ ἅγιον: ε Δίκαιος ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει. » ᾿Ακούσασα τοιγαροῦν " τῶν ἐπαίνων ἡ νύμφη, καὶ τῶν πολλῶν ἐγχω:μίων πτερωθεῖσα, καὶ πυρσευθεῖσα τῷ φίλτρῳ, φησίν "

### English translation (Claude)

6–7. "How beautiful you have become, and how sweet, O love, in [your delights]! This stature of yours is like a palm tree, and your breasts like clusters." For you have become beautiful, not having been beautiful before; and … all unpleasantness, having held love for him [above] all things together … That is why "you have become beautiful and sweet"; and moreover "your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts like clusters." For you have not only beauty but also a height like a palm tree's. "And your breasts …" … lofty, and reaching to the vaults of heaven, … and you condescend to the weak, and hold out your breasts and the nipples of your teaching to those who need teaching; for the palm too has its clusters hanging downward. This the Holy Spirit also says through the blessed David: "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree." Having heard the praises, then, the bride, given wings by the many encomia and kindled with love, says:

### Scripture references

- Song 7:6–7 (7:7-Song LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 92:12 (91:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 7:6–7 (7:7–8 in the Septuagint). Lines are lost in the scan where marked ….
- Quoted or alluded to: Ps 92:12 (LXX 91:13).

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 7.6 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-6).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 7:8–9

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-1/#p-7-8
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride presses on to climb the palm, which bears the vine's clusters of saving teaching; her speech is guarded by her teeth, and she shuns every alien communion while longing to share the bridegroom with others.

### Greek text

"η΄, θ΄. Εἴπον, ᾿Αναδήσομαι ἐπὶ τῷ φοίνικι, κρατήσω τῶν ὕψεων αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται δὴ μαστοὶ σου ὡς βότρυες τῆς ἀμπέλου, καὶ ὀσμὴ ῥινός σου ὡς μῆλα. Καί Ἰάρυγξ σου, ὡς οἷνος ἀγαθὸς πο- »ρευόμεγος τῷ ἀδε.ϊιδῷ μου εἰς εὐθύτητα 59: 'χεαγούμεγος δ' χείλεσί μου καὶ ὀδοῦσιν. Ἔστιν ἐντεῦθεν ἀχριθῶς καταμαθεῖν, ὅπως ποθεῖ τὸν νυμφίον ἡ νύμφη, καὶ τῆς ἀναδάσεως ἐφίεται, καὶ τὸ ὕψος φαντάζεται, καὶ, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, « οὗ νομίζειν κατειληφέναι, ἀλλὰ διώκει ἵνα χαταλάδῃ" καὶ τῶν μὲν ὄπισθεν ἐπιλανθάνεται, τοῖς δὲ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτείνεται, ν» Ζητητέον δὲ πῶς ὁ νυμφίος καὶ φοῖνίξ ἐστι καὶ ἄμπελος καὶ φοίνικος μὲν οὐκ ἔχει καρπὸν, ἀμπέλου δὲ βότρυας ἐκφέρει. ᾿Οδτγήσει δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν κεκρυμμένην διάνοιαν ἥ τοῦ ᾿Ακύλα ἑρμηνεία" ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ « κρατήσω τῶν ὕψεων αὐτοῦ, » τέθεικε ε κρατήσω τῶν ἐλατῶν αὐτοῦ" » οἱ δ" δὲ ἐλάται τῶν ἀῤῥένων εἰσὶ φοινίκων καρποί" τοῖς θήλεσι ἐχείνων καρποὺς ἐργάζονται. Ἱξπείγεται τοίνυν ἧ νύμφη λαθεῖν παρὰ τοῦ νυμφίου τὰς τῶν εὐσεδῶν γονῶν ἀφορμὰς, καί φησιν ε Εἶπον, ᾿Αναδήσομαι ἐπὶ τῷ φοίνικι, καὶ κρατήσω τῶν ὕψεων αὐτοῦ" » ἣ, ὡς ὁ ᾿Ακύλας, «τῶν ἐλατῶν αὑτοῦ. »---ε Καὶ ἔσονται δὴ μαστοί σου ὡς βότρυες τῆς ἀμπέλου. ν Σὺ γὰρ εἴ ἀληθινὴ ἄμπελος, ἀφ᾽ ἧς ὁ σωτήριος οἶνος γεωργούμενος ἐν ταῖς πνευματικαῖς ἀποθλίδεται ληνοῖς, ἀφ᾽ ὧν τὸ ποτήριον πληροῦται τὸ μεθύσκον ὡσεὶ κράτιστον, « Καὶ ὀσμὴ ῥινός σου τῇ τοῦ μήλου ἔοικεν εὐωδίᾳ. ν Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς ὀσφρήσεώς σου δοχεῖον, καὶ αὑτό μοι εὐωδίαν ἐκπέμπει μήλοις ἀπειχασμένην. Ἱκανὰ δὲ τὰ περὶ τῶν μήλων εἰρημένα ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ τῆς βίόλου ἀρχῇ. ε Καὶ ὁ λάρυγξ δέ σου, ὡς οἶνος ἀγαθὸς δ" πορευόμενος τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μὸν εἰς εὐθύτητα, ἱχανούμενος χεἰλεσί μου καὶ ὀδοῦσιν. » Ἢ γὰρ ἐκ τῆς φάρυγγός σον προσφερομένη διδασχαλέα, οἴνου παντὸς ἀνθοσμίου καὶ πάσης εὐφροσύνης διευθῦναι βουλόμενος τὰς εἰς σὲ πεπιστευκυίας Ψψυχάς᾽ ἱκανὴ δέ μοι αὕτη καὶ ἀποχρῶσα, ἵνα τὰ "" μὲν μένη" τὰ δὲ φρουρῷῶ καὶ φυλάττω, τοὺς ὀδόντας ἀντὶ τειχίου περιτιθεῖσα. Τούτοις ἁρμόττει καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλον εἰρημένα" «Ἤκουσα γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀῤῥητα ῥήματα, ἃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἀνθρώπῳ λαλῆσαι. » Διὰ «οὔτο καὶ ἡ νύμφη φησίν᾽ « ἱχανούμενος χείλεσί μου Τούτοις ἐπιφέρει" (. ᾿Εγὼ τῷ ἀδελριδῷ μου, καὶ " ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ ἡ ἐπιστροφὴ αὑτοῦ. Αὐτῷ γὰρ ἐμαυτὴν ἀνατέθειχα, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀλλοτρίαν κοινωνίαν ἐθδελυξάμην, Ἰουδαϊκὴν, αἱρετικήν᾽ καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς πάντων με τῶν ἄλλω, προτέθειχε, καὶ πρὸς ἐμὲ τὴν ἀποστροφὴν ἔχεν οὐ γὰρ ἔχων πρότερον ποῦ κλίναι τὴν κεφαλὴν, εἷρΞ: νῦν ποῦ κλίνῃ τὴν κεφαλήν' καὶ πολλὰς ἔχων παλλαχίδας, καὶ βϑαπιλίδας, καὶ νεάνιδας, πάντων προτίθητ με’ ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀνέχομαι μόνη τῆς ἱερᾶς αὺ- «κοὐ κοινωνία: ἀπολαύειν.

### English translation (Claude)

8–9. "I said: I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its heights; and now your breasts shall be like clusters of the vine, and the fragrance of your nose like apples, 9. and your throat like good wine, going to my kinsman for uprightness, sufficing for my lips and teeth." One may learn exactly from this how the bride longs for the bridegroom, aims at the ascent, and pictures the height, and, according to the blessed Paul, "does not consider that she has laid hold, but presses on so that she may lay hold; and forgetting what lies behind, she stretches out to what lies ahead." We must ask how the bridegroom is both a palm tree and a vine, and how he does not have the fruit of the palm but bears the clusters of the vine. Aquila's rendering will guide us to the hidden meaning; for instead of "I will take hold of its heights" he put "I will take hold of its spathes"; and the spathes are the fruit of male palms; they produce the fruit for the females. The bride, then, hastens to receive from the bridegroom the beginnings of pious offspring, and says: "I said: I will go up to the palm tree and take hold of its heights," or, as Aquila has it, "its spathes." "And now your breasts shall be like clusters of the vine." For you are the true vine, from which the saving wine, once cultivated, is pressed in the spiritual winepresses, from which the cup that makes drunk, how excellent it is, is filled. "And the fragrance of your nose" resembles the fragrance of the apple. For the very organ of your sense of smell sends out to me a fragrance like apples. What we said about apples at the beginning of the book is sufficient. "And your throat is like good wine, going to my kinsman for uprightness, sufficing for my lips and teeth." For the teaching offered from your throat [surpasses] every fragrant wine and every gladness, as you wish to set straight the souls that have believed in you; and it is sufficient and enough for me, so that some things I … and others I guard and keep, putting my teeth around them as a wall. With these words agree also those of the blessed Paul: "For I heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." That is why the bride too says: "sufficing for my lips [and teeth]."

To these words she adds: 10. "I am my kinsman's, and his turning is toward me." For I have dedicated myself to him, and I have loathed every alien communion, Jewish or heretical; for he too has preferred me above all others and has his turning toward me. For though formerly he had nowhere to lay his head, he has now found where to lay his head; and though he has many concubines and queens and maidens, he prefers me above them all. But I cannot bear to enjoy his holy communion alone.

### Scripture references

- Song 7:8–10 (7:9-Song LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Phil 3:12–13: quotation, high confidence
- John 15:1: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 23:5 (22:5 LXX): quotation, medium confidence
- Song 2:3: allusion, medium confidence
- 2 Cor 12:4: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 8:20: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 7:8–10 (7:9–11 in the Septuagint). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. "Spathes" (ἐλάται) are the flower-sheaths of the date palm; Aquila is the second-century Greek translator. The bride's rejection of "Jewish or heretical" communion is translated as written.
- Quoted or alluded to: Phil 3:12–13; John 15:1; Ps 23:5 (LXX 22:5); Song 2:3, 5; 2 Cor 12:4; Matt 8:20.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 7.8 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-8).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 7:11

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-1/#p-7-11
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride asks the bridegroom to go with her to the field and villages, the lowly souls, to see who has begun to bear fruit; the mandrakes are souls asleep to sin, and the new and old fruits are the precepts of the two covenants she has kept.

### Greek text

ια', τῷ’, ιγ΄. ᾿Ε.ϑὲ, ἀδειςιδέ μου, καὶ ἐξέλθωμεν εἷς ἀγρὸν, αὐ«τσγῶμεν ἐν κώμαις. ᾿Ορϑρίσωμεν εἰς ἀμπελῶνας, ἴδωμεν εἰ ἤνθησεν. ἡ ἄμπειλος, ἢ " ἤνθησεν ὁ κυπρισμὲς δ᾽, εἰ ἤγθησαν αἱ ῥοαί. Ἐκεῖ δώσω τοὺς μαστούς μού " σοι. Οἱ μαγδρωγόραι ἔδωκαν ἐσμὴν. καὶ ἐπὶ θύραις ἡμῶν πάντα ἀκρόδρυα "' γέα πρὸς παλαιὰ, ὅσα "" ἐδωκέ μοι ἡ μήτηρ μου, ἀδελφιδέ μου, ἐτήρησά σοι. Προπρέπει τὸν νυμφίον ἡ νύμφη. καὶ τῶν εὐτελῶν ἔτι καὶ ταπεινῶν φροντίσαι ψυχῶν, ἃς τροπικῶς ἀγρὸν καὶ κώμας ὀνομάζει, ὡς ταπεινὰς καὶ μικράς. Οὐ γὰρ λέγει, ἐξέλθωμεν εἰς πόλιν, ἀλλ᾽, « ἐξέλθωμεν εἰς ἀγρὸν, αὐλισθῶμεν ἐν κώμαις, ὀρθρίσωμεν εἰς ἀμπελῶνας, ἴδωμεν εἰ ἤνθησεν ἡ ἄμπελος. » Ἐπισχεψώμεθα, φησὶ, τοὺς ἄρτι τὸ χέρνγμα δεξαμένους" « εἰ ἔνθησεν ὁ χυπρισμός.» Ἴδωμεν καὶ τούτους ἀμείνους, οἴτινες οὗ μόνον φύλλα, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἄνθο; ἐδλά- « εἰ ἤνθησαν αἱ ῥοαί" ν εἰ γέγονε, φησὶν, ἔν τισιν ἀγάπης ἀρχὴ. Χρὴ γὰρ ἡμᾶς περινουτῆσαι, καὶ Τοῦτο γὰρ ποιοῦσα σε θεραπεύσω" « ἐκεῖ, φησὶ, ξώτω τοὺς μαστούς μού οι. ν Οἰκειοῦσαι γὰρ τὰ εἰς ξχείνους γιγνόμενα, καὶ λέγεις᾽ ε Ἔφ᾽ ὅσον ἐποιήσατε δὰ τῶν μικρῶν τῶν ἐλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ μανδραγόραι ἔδωκαν ὀσμήν. ν Ὕπνον οἶδεν ἐμποιεῖν ὁ μανδραγόρας, ὡς ἰατρῶν παῖδές φασιν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίυυν «νεκροῦν τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῖ,ς) προστετάγμεθα, οὐκ ἵνα αὑτὰ τὰ μέλη “5 παραδῶμεν τῷ θανάτῳ, ἀλλ᾽ Ἦν νεκρὰ ταῖ: κακαὶς ἀποφήνωμεν ἐνεργείαις, εἰκότως τὺν φτ τιν" « Οἱ μανδραγόραι ἔδωκαν ὁτμῆν" ν ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἤρξαντο καθεύδειν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις οἱ ἄνθρωποι" καὶ καθάπερ οἱ μανδραγόραν πεπωχότες οὐκ αἰσθάνονται τῶν τοῦ σώματος χινηλάτων" οὕτως οἱ τῆς τὰ πάθη χοιμίζειν σπουκαὶ ὀδοῦσί μου, » ἵνα τὰ μὲν προτέρω, τὰ ὃς φυλάττω" ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ θύραις ἡμῶν πάντα τὰ ἀχρέδρυα. Πᾶν γὰρ εἶδο; καρποφοροῦσιν οἱ τὴν ἡμετέραν διδασκαλίαν δεξάμενοι. Ἐγὼ δὲ νέα πρὸς παλαιὰ, ὅσα ἔδωκέ μοι ἣ μήτηρ μον, ἐτήρησά σοι, ἀδελφιδέ μον. Καὶ γὰρ τῆς Παλαιᾶς Διαθέκῃς τὰς ἐντολὰς, καὶ τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκῆς τὰς ὑποθήκας, ἃς ὑπὸ τῆς μητρός μου, τῖςς τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριτος ἐδεξάμην, ταύτας σοι τετήρηκα, καὶ τὴν παρακαταθήκην ἄσυλον διεφύλαξα. Τούτοις ἔοικε τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου Τιμοθέῳ γραφέντα’ « Τὸν χαλὸν ἀγῶνα ἡγώνιομαι, τὸν δρόμον τετέλεκα, τὴν πίστιν τετήρηκα᾽ λοιπὸν ἀπόκειταί μοι ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης στέφανος, ὃν ἀποδώσει μοι Κύριος ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ὁ δίκαιος κριτής.» Καὶ πάλεν τὸ ἐν Εὐαγγελίῳ “1 ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰρημένον, ὅτι « Πᾶς γραμματεὺς μαθητενθεὶς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ ἐχδάλλοντι ἐκ τοῦ θησαυροῦ αὑτοῦ νέα καὶ παλαιά 48.»

### English translation (Claude)

11–13. "Come, my kinsman, let us go out into the field, let us lodge in the villages. 12. Let us rise early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine has blossomed, whether the blossom has appeared, whether the pomegranates have blossomed. There I will give you my breasts. 13. The mandrakes have given fragrance, and at our doors are all fruits, new with old, which my mother gave me; my kinsman, I have kept them for you." The bride urges the bridegroom to take thought also for the souls that are still paltry and lowly, which she figuratively calls field and villages, as lowly and small. For she does not say, Let us go out into the city, but "Let us go out into the field, let us lodge in the villages, let us rise early to the vineyards, let us see whether the vine has blossomed." Let us visit, she says, those who have just received the preaching; "whether the blossom has appeared": let us see these too, who are better, who have put forth not only leaves but the blossom itself; "whether the pomegranates have blossomed": whether, she says, there has come about in some a beginning of love. For we must go about … For by doing this I will serve you: "There," she says, "I will give you my breasts." For you make your own what is done to them, and say: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least, you did it to me." "The mandrakes have given fragrance." The mandrake is known to induce sleep, as the sons of the physicians say. Since, then, we have been commanded "to put to death the members that are on the earth," not so that we may hand over the members themselves to death but so that we may render them dead to evil activities, she fittingly … says: "The mandrakes have given fragrance," that is, men have begun to sleep to their sins; and as those who have drunk mandrake do not feel the movements of the body, so those who … are eager to put the passions to sleep … "and my teeth," so that some things I bring forward and others I guard … "but also at our doors are all fruits." For those who have received our teaching bear fruit of every kind. "And I have kept for you, my kinsman, new with old, all that my mother gave me." For the commandments of the Old Covenant and the precepts of the New Covenant, which I received from my mother, the grace of the Spirit, these I have kept for you, and I have guarded the deposit inviolate. Like this is what the blessed Paul wrote to Timothy: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day." And again what was said by the Lord in the Gospel: "Every scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a man who brings out of his treasure new and old."

### Scripture references

- Song 7:11–13 (7:12-Song LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 25:40: quotation, high confidence
- Col 3:5: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 6:20: allusion, medium confidence
- 2 Tim 4:7–8: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 13:52: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 7:11–13 (7:12–14 in the Septuagint; the lemma adds "which my mother gave me" from 8:1–2). Lines are lost in the scan where marked …; a stray line repeating the comment on 7:9 ("my teeth, so that some things I bring forward and others I guard") stands in the scan text and is translated where it stands.
- Quoted or alluded to: Matt 25:40; Col 3:5; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 4:7–8; Matt 13:52.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 7.11 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/7-11).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:1–2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-1
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Christ shared our nature and nursed at the same breasts, and was baptized not for his own need but to show the bride the gifts of baptism; she longs to bring him into her mother's house, the temple of the Spirit.

### Greek text

α', β΄. Τίς δῴη σε, ἀδειλριδέ μου“, μαστοὺς μητρός μου; εὑροῦσά σεἶ ἔξω, «βιλήσω σε καὶ γε οὐκ ἐξουδεγώσουσί με. Παραλήψομαί σε, εἰσάξω σε εἰς οἶκον μητρός μου, καὶ 1" εἰς ταμεῖον τῆς συλλαδούσης με. Διδάξεις μεῖ. ποτιῶ σε ἀπὸ οἵνου τοῦ μυρεψικοῦ, καὶ ἀπὸ νάμοτος ῥοῶν μου. Κατὰ γὰρ τὸ ἀνθρώπιιον καὶ αὐτὸς ἅπασαν ἐδέξατο τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν χάριν. « Τὸ γὰρ παιδίον, φησὶν, Ἰησοῦς ηὔξανε, καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο Πνεύματι, χἀὶ χάρις Θεοῦ ἦν ἐπ᾽ αὐτό. » Φησὶ τοίνυν ἡ νύμφη, ἐχπληττομένη τὴν ἄῤῥητον τ τὰ "φιλανθρωπίαν, ὅτι Καὶ σὺ ἐθήλασας τοὺς μαστοὺς τῆς μητρός μου. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀχολουθίέαν τῶν ῥητῶν, καὶ τὴν ἁρμονίαν φυλάξωμεν, μικρὸν ἄνωθεν ἀρξάμενοι, ἐν κεφαλαίῳ τὴν διάνοιαν διεξέλθωμεν, Ἐδεξάμην, φησὶν, οὐ μόνον νέα, ἀλλὰ καὶ παλαιὰ «ἧς μητρός μου, καὶ ταῦτά σοι διατηρήσω. δὲ, διὰ πολλὴν φιλανθρωπίαν, καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν ἐμὴν φύσιν ἀναλαδὼν, τοὺς αὐτούς μοι θηλάσαι μαστοὺς, ἵνα καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὴν ἀδελφότητα δείξῃς. Ἐθήλασας δὲ οὐ δεόμενος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμὲ διδάσκων, ὅπως ὀφείλω θηλάσαι, καὶ διὰ ποίας θηλῆς τὴν χάριν ἑλκύσαι. Διὰ τοῦτο τῷ βαπτίσματι προσελήλυθας, οὐκ ἵνα τὸν ῥύπον τῶν ἀμαρτημάτων ἀποσμέξῃ " ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ οὖκ ἐποίησας, οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματί σου" Ὁ οὔτε μὴν ἵνα τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος ὑποδέξῃ τὴν χάριν᾽ πλήρης γὰρ τούτου ἐτύγχανες " ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ δεικνὺς, ὁποῖα τοῦ βαπτίσματος τὰ δῶρα, καὶ ποίῳ πρόπῳ δύναμαι θηλάσαι τὴν χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς κάτεισι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, οὐκ ἵνα σοι παράσχῃ ἃ μὴ εἶχες " πλήρης γὰρ αὑτοῦ τῶν χαρίτων ἐτύγχανες “ ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα ἐμοὶ δείξῃς «ἰς ἡ δωρεὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐχπλητμαποὺς μητρός μου; ν “Ὑπὸ ταύτης σου τῆς φιλαὐρωπίας ἑξλχομένη, ε εὑροῦσά σε ἔξω, φιλήσω σε, ταί γε οὐκ ἐξουδενώσουσί με" παραλήψομαί σε, εἰσάξω σε εἷς οἶκον μητρός 'μου, καὶ εἰς τὸ ταμεῖον τῖς συλλαδούσης με " ποτιῶ σε ἀπὸ οἴνου τοῦ μυρε-᾿ ψιχοῦ, καὶ ἀπὸ νάματος ῥοῶν μου" » μεθύουσα γὰρ τῷ "5 περὶ σὲ φίλτρῳ, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ θαλάμῳ, καὶ͵ ἐν τῇ παστάδι, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν καὶ δηοὐχ ἐπιμέμψοντα: δέ μοι τοῦτο ποιούσῃ οἱ θβώμενοι, «ἣν φλόγα τῆς ἀγάπης εἰδότες. Ἐκεῖθεν δὲ παραλαδοῦσά σε, εἰσάξω σε εἰς τὸν τῆς μητρός μὸν εἶχον, καὶ εἰς τὸ ταμεῖον τῆς συλλαθούσης με. ». Τίς δὲ ὁ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος οἶκος. (αὐτὸ γὰρ τὴν νύμφην ἐγέννησεν), εἰ μὴ ὁ θεῖος νεὼς, ὁ τὴν ἄνω μιμηύμενος Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἔνθα εἰσιόντες μετὰ, παῤῥησίας τῷ νυμφίῳ προσδιαλέγονται, τὸ τῆς γύμφης ἀξίωμα λαδόντες. Καὶ ἐκεῖσε, φησὶ, ποτιῶ σε ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ μυρεψιχοῦ, καὶ ἀπὸ νάματος ῥοῶν μου" ν μυρεψιχὸν δὲ οἶνον καλεῖ τὴν τῇ θείᾳ χάριτι διηρτυμένην διδασκαλίαν, καὶ οἱονεὶ μεμυρισμένην, καὶ εὐώδη τυγχάνουσαν. ε Νᾶμα δὲ ῥοῶν» καλεῖ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν τῆς ἀγάπης τικτομένην ὠφέλειαν. Ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον εἰρηχυῖα ἡ νύμφη, καὶ ταῖς νεάνισι διαλέγεται, καί φησιν"

### English translation (Claude)

1–2. "Who would give you, my kinsman, [to be as a brother to me, nursing at] my mother's breasts? Finding you outside, I would kiss you, and they would not despise me. 2. I will take you, I will bring you into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. You will teach me; I will give you to drink of the spiced wine and of the juice of my pomegranates." For according to his humanity he too received all the grace of the Spirit: "For the child Jesus," it says, "grew and became strong in the Spirit, and the grace of God was upon him." So the bride, amazed at his unspeakable love for mankind, says: You too nursed at my mother's breasts. And so that we may keep both the sequence of the words and their harmony, let us begin a little further back and go through the sense in summary. I received, she says, not only new things but also old from my mother, and I will keep them for you. [But you,] out of great love for mankind, took my nature yourself and nursed at the same breasts as I, so that in this too you might show your brotherhood. You nursed not because you needed it, but to teach me how I ought to nurse and through what nipple to draw grace. That is why you came to baptism, not to wash off the filth of sins, for you committed no sin, nor was deceit found in your mouth; nor indeed to receive the grace of the all-holy Spirit, for you were full of it; but to show me what the gifts of baptism are and in what manner I can draw the grace of the Spirit. That is why the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, not to give you what you did not have, for you were full of his graces, but so that you might show me what the gift of baptism is. That is why, in amazement, [I say: "Who would give you … at] my mother's breasts?" Drawn by this love of yours for mankind, "finding you outside, I would kiss you, and they would not despise me; I will take you, I will bring you into my mother's house and into the chamber of her who conceived me; I will give you to drink of the spiced wine and of the juice of my pomegranates." For, drunk with love for you, [I would kiss you] not only in the chamber and in the bridal room but also in the market and …; and those who see me would not blame me for doing this, knowing the flame of my love. And taking you from there, "I will bring you into my mother's house and into the chamber of her who conceived me." And what is the house of the all-holy Spirit (for it is he who bore the bride) but the divine temple, which imitates the Jerusalem above, where those who enter converse with the bridegroom with boldness, having received the dignity of the bride? "And there," she says, "I will give you to drink of the spiced wine and of the juice of my pomegranates." Spiced wine she calls the teaching seasoned with divine grace, perfumed as it were and fragrant; and "the juice of pomegranates" she calls the benefit that springs from the fruits of love. Having said these things to the bridegroom, the bride also converses with the maidens, and says:

### Scripture references

- Song 8:1–2: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 2:40: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Pet 2:22: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 3:13–17: allusion, high confidence
- Gal 4:26: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 8:1–2 (the words "to be as a brother to me, nursing at" are lost in the scan). Lines are lost where marked …. The bride's "mother" is the Holy Spirit (grammatically neuter in Greek: "it bore the bride"), and her house the church's temple.
- Quoted or alluded to: Luke 2:40; 1 Pet 2:22; Matt 3:13–17; Gal 4:26.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-3
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride is beyond the threat of punishment (the left hand) and receives the blessings of the right.

### Greek text

γ΄. Εὐώγυμος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν μου, καὶ ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ περιλήψεταί με. ΓΆνω γάρ εἶμι τῆς χυλαστιχῆς ἀπειλῆς, καὶ τῆς σοὺ δεξιᾶς τὰς εὐλογίας δρέπομαι" διὰ τοῦτο τὴν εὐώνυμον αὑτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν μου τίθησι, τῇ δεξιᾷ μὲ

### English translation (Claude)

3. "His left hand is upon my head, and his right hand will embrace me." For I am above the threat of punishment, and I gather the blessings of the right hand; that is why he puts his left hand upon my head, and with his right hand [embraces] me …

### Scripture references

- Song 8:3: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 8:3 (the printed lemma reads "upon" my head, where the Septuagint has "under"). The section breaks off in the scan.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.3 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-3).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:4

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-4
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride's third oath urges the maidens to keep their love for the bridegroom always kindled.

### Greek text

δ΄. Ὥρχισα ὑμῦς, θυγατέρες ἹἹερουσωλὴμ, ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσι τοῦ ἀγροῦ, ἐὰν ἐγείρητε καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην, ἕως ἂν θελήσῃ. Χρὴ γὰρ ὑμᾶς διηνεκῶς πυρσεφύειν αὐτὴν, καὶ διεγείρειν, ἵνα θερμῶς αὐτὸν ποθήσητε, καὶ ὡς αὐτὸς βούλεται, ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα φθάσητε 7". Τούτων παρ᾽ αὐτῆς εἰρημένων, θεασάμεναι αὐτῆς τοῦτ! “᾽

### English translation (Claude)

4. "I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the strengths of the field, if you rouse and awaken love, until it please." For you must continually kindle it and rouse it, so that you may long for him warmly and attain perfection as he wishes. When she had said these things, [the maidens], seeing her …

### Scripture references

- Song 8:4: quotation, high confidence
- Song 2:7: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 8:4, which repeats 2:7 and 3:5. The section breaks off in the scan.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.4 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-4).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-5
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride, once black, comes up made white by sharing the bridegroom's whiteness; he asks her to set him as a seal on heart and arm, contemplation and action, for love is stronger than death.

### Greek text

ε΄. Τίς αὕτη ἀναδαίνουσα ἐπὶ τὸν ἀδεϊφιδοῦν αὑτῆς; Καὶ "ἢ λέγουσι μέλαινα γάρ. Ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ νυμφίου φησὶν νύμφη, ε ἀδελφιδοῦς μου λευκός " » καὶ οὐκ εἶπε λελευχανθισμένος " ούτε γὰρ ἦν τοιοῦτος. Αὕτη δὲ μελανθεῖσα (παρἐόλεγε γὰρ αὐτὴν ὁ ἥλιος) ἐλευχάνθη, καὶ τῆς τοῦ νυμφίου λευκότητος μετείληφε. Καὶ ὥσπερ φῶς ὑπάρχων φῶς αὐτὴν εἰργάσατό τε καὶ προσηγόρευσε, χα! ἅγιος ὑπάρχων ἁγίαν αὑτὴν ἐποίησε, καὶ ἀνάστατι: γωόμενος ἀναστάσεως αὐτὴν ἠξίωσεν" οὕτω καὶ αὐτῇ τῆς οἰκείας λευκότητος μετέδωκε. Διό φασιν αἱ ὁρῶσαι αὐτὴν νεάνιδες " ε Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἀνᾳδαίἡ μήτηρ σου" ἐκεῖ ὠδίνησέ δε ἡ τεκοῦσά σε" » καὶ βουλόμενος τίς ἡ μήτηρ, ἀνέμνησε τοῦ τόκου. Μετὰ νύμφῃ ε Ὑπὸ μῆλον ἐξήγειρά σε" ἐκεῖ ὠδίνησέ σε ὁ διπλασιασμὸς οὐκ ἁπλῶς πρόσκειται" δεῖξαι γὰρ ταῦτα παρακελεύεται αὑτῇ, λέγοωιν " ('. Θές μὲ ὡς σφραγίδα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν σου» ὡς σφραγίδα ἐπὶ τὸν βραχίονά σου " ὅτι κραταιὰ ὡς θάνατος ἡ ἀγάπη, σκληρὸς ὡς ἄδης ζῆλος " σπινθῆρες δ᾽ αὐτῆς ὡς σπινθῆρες πυρὸς, ἄνθραφῶων ἀντὶ τοῦ ἄνθρακες πυρὸς "", σπινθῆρες αὐεῆς, σπινθῆρες πυρὸς, ἔχουσι πυρὸς φλόγες αὐτῆς. Λέγει τοίγυν ὁ νυμφίος ταῖς εὐσεδέσι ψυχαῖς, ἃς γύμφτ,ν ἡ θεία προσαγορεύει Γραφὴ" « θές με ἀντὶ σφρα- Υἷδος ἐν τῇ χαρδέᾳ σου 55, καὶ ἐν τῷ βραχίονί σου 5.» καρδίαν μὲν τὸ θεωρητικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ὀνομάτπας, βραμίονα δὲ τὸ πρακτικόν᾽ διὸ καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι ἀφώριστο παρὰ τοῦ λαοῦ ὅ τε βραχίων ὁ δεξιὸς, καὶ τὸ στηθήένιον. Βούλετα! τοίνυν ἡμᾶς ὁ Σωτὴρ ὁ ἡ μέτερος ἀντὶ σφραγίδος αὐτὸν ἔχειν, καὶ διαλεγομέγους, καὶ λογιζομένου:, καὶ τῷ αὑτοῦ χαρακτῆρι τυποὺν τά τε λεγόμενα, τά τε πραττόμενα " οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται βασιλικὰ νομίσματα, οὐ παρμαχεχαραγμένα, ἀλλὰ τὸν βασιλικὸν ἔχοντα χαρακτῆρα. Τοῦτο ὃὲ ἑἐάδιόν σοι, φησὶ, ποιῆσαι, εἰ τὴν εἰς ἐμὲ κτήσῃ ἀγάπην. ε Ἰσχυρὰ γάρ ἐστιν ὡς θάνατος. » Καὶ καθάπερ ἐκεῖνος, μετὰ τὴν θείαν ἀπόφασιν, πάντων ἐχοάτησεν" οὕτω καὶ αὕτη πάντων κρατεῖ, καὶ αὖτοῦ τοῦ θανάτου ἰσχυροτέρα τυγχάνει. Κτῆςαι καὶ «ζῆλον " εἰ γὰρ τοῦτον πρόσοχτήσαιο, οὐκ ἀνέξῃ ἄλλην σου τιμιωτέραν φανῆναι, κτὶ σὲ μὲν εἶνα: ἀπαῤῥηοἴαπστον, ἐχείνην δὲ τῆς ἐμῆς κοινωνίας τυνχάνειν " ι Σκληρὸς γάρ ἔστι, καὶ δυτχαταγώνιστος ὁ ζῆλος τῷ ἄδῃ παραπλησίως "» ἄδην δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς χατεχούσ σης: δόξης ὠνόμασε, τῷ θανάτῳ καὶ ταύτην ἐπιθεὶς τὴν προσηγορίαν. Οὕτω δέ ἐστιν ἰσχυρὰ ἡ ἀγάπη, ὅτι πρῶτον μέν ἐστιν ὑπόπτερος, περὶ δὲ τὰ πτερὰ αὑτῆς φλόγα ἔχει πυρὸς, καὶ σπινθῆρας μένους. Τί δὲ τῆ: οὕτω πυρσευοιένης γένοιτ᾽ ἂν δυνατώτερον; καὶ τὸ πῦρ δὲ αὐτῆς οὐκ ἔστι τῶν

### English translation (Claude)

5. "Who is this coming up … upon her kinsman?" And they say … for she was black. Of the bridegroom the bride says, "My kinsman is white," and she did not say "made white"; for he was not such. But she, having been blackened (for the sun had looked askance at her), was made white and has received a share of the bridegroom's whiteness. And as he, being light, made her light and called her so, and being holy made her holy, and being the resurrection counted her worthy of resurrection, so too he gave her a share of his own whiteness. That is why … the maidens who see her [say]: "Who is this coming up …?" … your mother; there she who bore you travailed with you"; and wishing [to show] who the mother is, he recalled the birth. After … to the bride: "Under the apple tree I roused you; there [your mother] travailed with you": the repetition is not set down idly. For he urges her to show these things, saying: 6. "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy hard as Hades; its sparks are sparks of fire, its flames." … coals, instead of "sparks of fire" … "its sparks, sparks of fire" … flames of fire.

The bridegroom, then, says to the pious souls, which the divine Scripture calls bride: "Set me as a seal upon your heart and upon your arm," naming the contemplative part of the soul the heart, and the practical part the arm; that is why for the priests the right arm and the breast were set apart from the people. So our Saviour wishes us to have him as a seal, both when we speak and when we reason, and to stamp with his character both what is said and what is done; for so we shall be royal coins, not counterfeit but bearing the royal image. This is easy for you to do, he says, if you acquire love for me. "For it is strong as death." And as death, after the divine sentence, ruled over all, so love too rules over all, and is stronger even than death itself. Acquire jealousy too; for if you acquire it, you will not bear that another should appear more honoured than you, so that you should be without boldness and she should share my communion. "For jealousy is hard," and as difficult to overcome as Hades; he named death Hades according to the prevailing opinion, giving death this name too. And love is so strong because, first, it is winged, and about its wings it has a flame of fire and sparks … What could be more powerful than one so kindled? And its fire is not of the …

### Scripture references

- Song 8:5–6: quotation, high confidence
- Song 5:10: quotation, high confidence
- Song 1:6: allusion, high confidence
- John 8:12: allusion, medium confidence
- John 11:25: allusion, medium confidence
- Lev 7:34: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 3:19: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 8:5–6 (the lemma of 8:5 is largely lost in the scan; "whitened" is the Septuagint reading the comment presupposes). Lines are lost where marked …; the section breaks off mid-sentence. The scan preserves fragments of an alternative rendering ("coals" for "sparks of fire"), whose source is lost.
- Quoted or alluded to: Song 5:10; Song 1:6; John 8:12; John 11:25; Lev 7:34; Gen 3:19.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.5 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-5).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:7

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-7
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: No flood can quench love for God: Abraham, Joseph, the three youths, Daniel and above all Paul show it, and those who lack love despise those who give everything for it.

### Greek text

ζ΄. Ὕδωρ γὰρ, φηαὶ, πολὺ οὐ δυνήσεται σδέσαι τὴν ἀγάπην, καὶ ποταμοὶ οὗ συγκλύσουσιν αὐτήν. Καὶ μαρτυροῦσιν ἅπαντες οἵ τε ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ, οἵ τε ἐν τῇ Νέᾳ διαπρέψαντες ἅγιοι " τοῦ γὰρ ᾿λόραλᾳ τὴν περὶ Θεὸν ἀγάπην, οὔτε ἡ ἐν ξένῃ διαγωγὴ, οὔτε ἡ τοῦ λιμοῦ ἀνάγκη, οὔτε ἡ τῆ: γυναικὸς ἁρπατγὴ, οὔτε τοῦ παιδὸς ἡ προσχομιδὴ, οὔτε ἡ περὶ πῶν φρεάτων μάχη ἴσχυσε χατασδέσαι" οὔτε τοῦ οἱ διηνεχεῖς πόνοι, καὶ αἱ διὰ βίου ὀδύναι. Τί σφοδρύτερον τῶν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ πειρασμῶν, ὃς ἐπράθη ὑπὸ ἀδελφῶν, ἀπεστερήθη δὲ μητρὸς καὶ πατρὸς ἀγαπῶντος, καὶ προγονιχῇς οἰκίας, καὶ ἐλευθερίας, καὶ εὐπορίας, ἐδούλευσε δὲ παρ᾽ ἀξίαν, καὶ ὑπὲρ σωδεσμωτηρίῳ παρεπέμπετο, καὶ μυρία ὑπέμεινε δεινά; ἀλλὰ τούτων ἁπάντων ἡ περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπη κρείττων ἐδείχγυτο. Καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν περὶ τοῦ μεγάλου Μωσέως, καὶ Ἰωπτυοῦ 5" τοῦ στρατηγοῦ, καὶ τῶν μεγάλων προφητῶν Σαμουὴλ, καὶ Δαὶδ, καὶ Ἤλίου, καὶ Ἑλισσαίου, Τί μανικώτερον τῶν Βαδυλωνίων ἐγένετο; Τί τῆς παρ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐξαφθείσης καμίνου φοθερώτερον; ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως οὐδὲ ἐκείνη "" τῶν τριῶν ἐχείνων παιδαρίων "" ἔσδεσε τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν φλόγα, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον αὐτὴν ἐπύρσξυσε, καὶ διἥγειρς. Τί τῶν λεόντων ἐχείνων φρικωδέστερον, οἷς ὁ μέγας παρεδόθη Δαν:ἠλ; ἀλλὰ χἀχεῖνουν ἧ περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπη δυνατώτερον ἵνα τοὺς ἄλλου; ἁγίους ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος χαταλίτιω, ἀπόχρη καὶ μόνος ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος διδάξαι αὐτῆς τὴν ἰσχὺν, ἅτε δὴ πάντων μάλιστα πεῖραν αὐτῇς εἰληφώς. « Τίς γὰρ ἡμᾶς χωρίσει, φησὶν, ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; θλίψις; ἢ στενοχωρία; ἣ διωγμός; ἢ λιμό;; ἢ γυμνότης; ἣ κίνδυνος; ἣ μάχαιρα; καθὼς γέγραπται, “Ἑνεχέν σου θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόθατα σφαγῆς: ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τούτοις πᾶσι, φησὶν, ὑπερνικῶμεν διὰ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς Χριστοῦ. ν Ἱκανὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα δεῖξαι τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν νίκην " τὰ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα σαφέστερον ταύτην " κηρύττει, ᾿Ἐπάγε: γάρ " ε Πέπεισμαι γὰρ ὅτι οὔτε θάνατος, οὔτε ζωὴ, οὔτε ᾿ ἄγγελο!, οὔτε δυνάμεις, οὔτε ὕψος, οὔτε βάθος, οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. » Καὶ ἵνα" δείξῃ πάντων αὐτὴν δυνατωτέραν, καὶ τῶν ὁρωμένων, καὶ τῶν ἀοράτων, τὴν μὴ οὖσαν κτίσιν ἀναπλάττεται τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ ταύτῃ πάλιν παρἐξετάζει, καὶ δείκνυσι ταύτης τὴν περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπην ἰσχυροτέραν. Εἰκότως τοίνυν ὁ νυμφίος φησίν- « ὕδωρ πολὺ οὐ δυνήσεται σθέσαι τὴν ἀγάπην, καὶ ποταμοὶ οὐ συγχλύσουσιν αὐτήν. Ἑχν δῷ ἀνὴρ πάντα τὸν ϑίον αὑτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἐξουδενώσουσιν αὑτόν.» Ἐξουδενώσουσι δὲ τὸν πάντα "5 βίον ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ διδόντα οἱ τῆς ἀγάπης ἐστερημένοι καὶ γεγυμνωμένοι " διὸ καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔλεγε Παῦλος " ε Λοιδορούμενοι εὐλογοῦμεν, διωκόμενοι ἀν- ἐγενήθημεν, πάντων περὲψημα ἕως ἄρτι. » Καὶ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι τοῦτο τῶν ἐλιγγιώντων "7 τὸ πάθος " αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἱ μὴ καθεστηκότες περιδινεῖσθαι πᾶντα νομίζουσιν." οὕτω καὶ οἱ τῆς ἀγάπης ἐστερημένοι τοὺς τῆς ἀγάπης τροφίμους ὡς ἀνοήτους ἐθλασφήμουν καὶ ἄφρονας. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως οὐδὲ τοῦτο τὴν ἀγάπην ἐλυμήνατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ θερμοτέραν εἰργάσατο. Λοιδορούμενοι οἱ ἀπόστολοι ηὐλόγουν, καὶ βλασφημούμενοι παρεκάλουν, καὶ ὡσπερεὶ χαθάρματα τοῦ κόσμου γενόμενοι, ἔλεγον εἶναι πάντῶν περίψημα ἕως ἄρτι",

### English translation (Claude)

7. "For much water," he says, "will not be able to quench love, and rivers will not drown it." All the saints who were distinguished in the Old and in the New bear witness to this. For [Abraham's] love for God neither life in a foreign land, nor the pressure of famine, nor the seizure of his wife, nor the offering of his son, nor the fight over the wells could quench; nor … the continual labours and lifelong pains. What is more severe than the trials of Joseph? He was sold by his brothers, deprived of his mother and of a loving father, of his ancestral home, of freedom and prosperity; he served as a slave beyond his worth, and for [his chastity] … was sent to prison and endured countless terrors; yet love for God proved stronger than them all. And what need is there to speak of the great Moses, and of Joshua the general, and of the great prophets Samuel and David and Elijah and Elisha? What was more frenzied than the Babylonians? What more fearful than the furnace they kindled? Yet not even that quenched the flame of love of those three youths, but rather fanned and roused it. What was more terrifying than those lions to which the great Daniel was handed over? But love for God proved more powerful than they … to pass over the other saints for the present, … the blessed Paul alone suffices to teach its strength, since he more than all had experience of it. "For who will separate us," he says, "from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written: For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep for slaughter. But in all these things," he says, "we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us." These words are enough to show the victory of love, but what follows proclaims it more clearly. For he adds: "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And to show that it is more powerful than all things, both the seen and the unseen, he forms in words a creation that does not exist, sets that too beside it, and shows that love for God is stronger than it. Fittingly, then, the bridegroom says: "Much water will not be able to quench love, and rivers will not drown it. If a man gives all his living for love, they will utterly despise him." Those who are deprived and stripped of love will despise the one who gives all his living for love. That is why the blessed Paul said: "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; [being slandered, we entreat; we have become like the refuse of the world,] the offscouring of all, until now." And indeed this is what happens to the dizzy: those who are not steady themselves think that everything is spinning round. So too those deprived of love reviled the nurslings of love as senseless and foolish. Yet not even this harmed love, but made it warmer. When reviled, the apostles blessed; when slandered, they entreated; and having become as it were the refuse of the world, they said they were the offscouring of all, until now.

### Scripture references

- Song 8:7: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 12:10–20: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 22:1–14: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 21:25: allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 37:28: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 39:20: allusion, high confidence
- Dan 3:19–25: allusion, high confidence
- Dan 6:16–22: allusion, high confidence
- Rom 8:35–39: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 44:22 (43:23 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 4:12–13: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 8:7. Lines are lost in the scan where marked …; the name of Abraham is garbled in the scan but certain from the context.
- Quoted or alluded to: Gen 12:10–20; 22:1–14; 26:15–22 (the wells, strictly Isaac's); Gen 37–39; Dan 3; Dan 6; Rom 8:35–39; Ps 44:22 (LXX 43:23); 1 Cor 4:12–13.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.7 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-7).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:8–9

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-8
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The prophets, as matchmakers, prepare the still immature church for the king; she answers that she is a wall and a vineyard, the vineyard taken from Israel and given to a fruitful nation and entrusted to the priests as keepers.

### Greek text

η΄, θ΄, ᾿Αδεϊιφὴ ἡμῶν μικρὰ, καὶ μαστοὺς οὐκ ἔχει" τὶ ποιήσομεγ"" τῇ ἀδε.1:» ἢ ἡμῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, θιὲν ἦ ἂν 1α1ηθῇ αὐτῇ;; Εἰ τεῖχός ἐστιν, οἰκοδεμήσωμεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν" ἐπάλξεις ἀργυρᾶς " εἰ θύρα ἐστὶ, διαγράψωμεν ὃ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν σενίδα Ἡγοῦμαι τοὺς ἁγίους προφήτας, τοὺς ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ διαπρέψαντας, τὸ βραχὺ τῆς πνευματικῆς ἡλικίας τῆς νύμφης ὁρῶντας, καὶ τὸ τῶν μαστῶν ἀτελὲς ξτε καὶ" κεκρυμμένον, ἅτε δὴ προμνήστορας καὶ μηνυτὰς τοῦ γάμον, ταῦτα ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λέγειν, ὅτι Μέλλει λοιπὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς λαμθάνειν τὴν γύμφην τὴν ἧμε- Α τέραν ἀδελφὴν, μικρὰ δέ ἔστι καὶ μαστῶν ἑστερημένη" οὔπω γὰρ ἔχει τὸ γόνιμον, οὐδὲ τὸ διδασκαλικὸν χορηγεῖν δύναται γάλα, οὐδὲ τὴν τελείαν ὀρέγειν τοῖς δεομένοις τροφήν " χρὴ τοίνυν ἡμᾶς τὸ πρακτέον λογίσασθαι. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ μέλλει τῷ μεγάλῳ συνάπτεαϑαι βασιλεῦ, καὶ ὥσπερ τεῖχος εἶναι τῆς οἰκίας αὖτοῦ, οἰχουροῦσα τὰ ἔνδον. καὶ φυλάττουσα, καὶ θύρας τὖπον ἔχειν φρουρούσης τὰ ἀποκείμενα, οἰχοδομήὅωμεν ἢ ὡς ἐν τείχοι « ἐπάλξεις ἀργυρᾶς, » τουτέστι )ηγιχὰς καὶ διαλαμπούσας ἐν λόγῳ. ε Τὰ λόγια γὰρ " Κυρίου, λόγια ἁγνὰ, ἀογύριον πεπυρωμένον, δηχίμιον τῇ γῇ “ν ἵνα ἐπ᾽ αὐταῖς ᾿ ἱσταμένη ϑάλλῃ τοὺς πολεμους, διώχῃ τοὺς ἐπιξούλους. Ὡς δὲ θύρᾳ ἐπιθῶ- Πρὸς ταῦτα ἀποχρίνεται ἡ νύμφη θαῤῥοῦσα τῇ τοῦ νυμφίου φιλοτιμίᾳ καὶ εὐπορίᾳ " τς Ἐγὼ τεῖχος, καὶ μαστοί μου ὡς πύργοι. Ἐγὼ ἤμην" ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ ὡς εὑρίσκουσα εἰρήνην. Προγνοὺς γάρ με, καὶ προώρισε, καὶ γνοὺς ὡς ζητήσω τὴν εἰρήνην, καὶ διώξω αὐτὴν, καὶ διώξασα καταλήψομαι, καὶ εἰρηνικήν με προσηγόρευσε, καὶ Σουλαμῖτιν, καὶ πεποίηκε τεῖχο; ἀῤῥαγὲς, φοθερὺὴν τοῖς ἐναντίοις " τοὺς δὲ μαστούς μου, τουτέττ' τὴν ἠθικὴν καὶ θεολογιχὴν διδασκαλίαν, εἰς ὕψος γεῖρε, χχὶ πύργῳ παραπλησίαν ἀπέφηνεν, ἵν᾽ ἐκεῖθεν πολεμοῦσα τοὺς τοῦ νυμφίου δυσμενεῖς χαταλύσω. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τεῖχος, ὡς "" εἶπον, εἰμὶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμπελών. ιχ΄, ᾿Αμπελὼν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐγεγήθη τῷ ἐὼν ἐν Βειλεαμών. "Ἔδωκε τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὑτοῦ τοῖς τηροῦσιν " ἀνὴρ οἴσει ἐν’ καρπῷ αὐτοῦ χιἰους ἀργυρίους "δ, Ὃ μὲν Σύμμαχος τὸ, « ἐν Βελεαὁ δὲ ᾿Ακύλας, ἐν ἔχοντι χλήθει"". Τοῦτον μὲν οὖν τὸν ἀμπελῶνα πάλαι ὁ θεὸς τῷ Ἰσραὴλ ἐνεπίστευσεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀποσταλέντας δούλους εἰς ἀπαίτησιν τῶν καρπῶν χατέλευσέ τε καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν κληρονόμον ἐσταύρωσεν, ἀφῃρέθη μὲν κατὰ τὴν δεσποτικὴν φωνὴν ἀπ᾽ ἐχείνων ὁ ἀμπελὼν, ἐδόθη δὲ ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ. Διὰ τοῦτό φησιν ἢ νύμφη, ὅτι ε τῷ Σολομῶντι, »τουτέστι τῷ εἰρηνικῷ, «ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη ἐν Βελεαμὼν, ν» τουτέστιν ἐν κατ- “"ἢ λαοῦ, ἢ ἐν ἔχοντι πλήθει, καὶ « τοῦτον ἐξέδωκε τοῖς τηροῦσιν. » ᾿Αμπελῶνα δὲ καλεῖ τοὺς τῇ εὑσεθείᾳ προσεληλυθότας ἀνθρώπους " τοὺς ὃὲ τηροῦντας καὶ γεωργοῦντας καὶ φυλάττοντας, τοὺς τῇ ἱερωσύνῃ τετιμημένους, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς πνευματικῆς διδασκαλίας ἀρδείαν ὁμοῦ καὶ φυλακὴν προσφέρειν προστεταγμένους. Λέγει δὲ, ὅτι « Ὃ ἀνὴρ οἴσει ἐν καρπῷ αὑτοῦ χιλίους ἀργυρίους - » σημαίνει δὲ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῆς δεξιᾶς χειρὸς τὴν μονάδα " δηλοῖ δὲ τοῦτο τὴν τοῦ καρποφοροῦντος σωτηρίαν " οὐδένα γὰρ ἄλλον ὁ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα φυτεύσας παρὰ τούτον λαμθάνει καρπὸν, ἣ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ φυτευθέντος καὶ χαρποφοροῦντο; σωτηρίαν. Διό φησι ταῦτα λέγουσα ἣ νύμφη "

### English translation (Claude)

8–9. "Our sister is little, and has no breasts; what shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for? 9. If she is a wall, let us build on her battlements of silver; if she is a door, let us carve on her a panel [of cedar]." I think that the holy prophets who were distinguished in the Old [Covenant], seeing the small spiritual stature of the bride and her breasts still undeveloped and hidden, said these things among themselves, as matchmakers and heralds of the marriage: The king is now about to take the bride, our sister; but she is little and lacks breasts; for she does not yet have fruitfulness, nor can she supply the milk of teaching, nor hold out the perfect food to those who need it. We must therefore consider what is to be done. And since she is about to be joined to the great king, and to be as it were the wall of his house, keeping the house and guarding what is within, and to have the figure of a door guarding what is stored up, let us build upon her, as upon a wall, "battlements of silver," that is, battlements of words, shining in speech. "For the words of the Lord are pure words, silver tried in the fire, proved in the earth"; so that standing upon them she may strike the enemies and pursue those who plot against her. And as upon a door let us set …

To this the bride answers, confident in the bridegroom's munificence and wealth: 10. "I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers; I was in his eyes as one who finds peace." For he foreknew me and predestined me, and knowing that I would seek peace and pursue it, and having pursued it would lay hold of it, he called me peaceable, and Shulammite, and made me an unbreakable wall, fearsome to the enemies; and my breasts, that is, my moral and theological teaching, he raised to a height and made like a tower, so that fighting from there I might [overthrow] the bridegroom's foes … I will loose. And not only am I a wall, as I said, but also a vineyard. 11. "For Solomon had a vineyard in Beelhamon; he gave his vineyard to keepers; each man will bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver." Symmachus [renders] "in Beelhamon" …, and Aquila "in one that has a multitude." This vineyard God long ago entrusted to Israel. But since Israel not only stoned and killed the servants sent to demand the fruits but also crucified the heir himself, the vineyard was taken from them, according to the Master's word, and given to a nation producing its fruit. That is why the bride says that "Solomon," that is, the peaceable one, "had a vineyard in Beelhamon," that is, in … of a people, or in one that has a multitude, and "gave it to keepers." By the vineyard she means the people who have come to godliness; and by those who keep, cultivate and guard it, those honoured with the priesthood and commanded to supply both the watering of spiritual teaching and protection. And she says: "A man will bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver." The number signifies … the unit of the right hand; and this indicates the salvation of the one who bears fruit; for the one who planted the vineyard receives from it no other fruit than the salvation of what was planted and bears fruit. That is why the bride says this:

### Scripture references

- Song 8:8–11: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 12:6 (11:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Rom 8:29: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 34:14 (33:15 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Song 6:13 (7:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 21:33–43: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemmas: Song 8:8–11. Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. Aquila renders Beelhamon "in one that has a multitude"; Symmachus's rendering is lost in the scan. The transfer of the vineyard from Israel, which killed the heir, to another nation follows the parable of the tenants; translated as written. The "unit of the right hand" refers to ancient finger-counting, in which thousands began on the right hand.
- Quoted or alluded to: Ps 12:6 (LXX 11:7); Rom 8:29; Ps 34:14 (LXX 33:15); Song 6:13; Matt 21:33–43.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.8 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-8).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:12

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-12
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The thousand pieces of silver are the bride's own salvation, which the bridegroom returns to her; the two hundred, a fifth, are the keepers' wage for guarding the five senses, for nothing goes unrewarded with God.

### Greek text

ιβ΄. ᾿Αμκειλὼν μου ἐμὸς ἐνώπιόν μου, οἱ χίκἴιοι τῷ Σολομών. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἔστι (χρὴ γὰρ ἀσαφὲς ὃν σαφὲς εἰς δύναμιν ᾽"" καταστῆσαι) " Καὶ ὁ ἀμπελὼν, φησὶν, ἐμὸς, καὶ ὁ καρπὸς ἐμός. Οἱ γὰρ νομιζόμενοι παρέχεσθαι τῷ εἰρηνικῷ μου νυμφίῳ, τουτέστι τῷ Σολομῶντι, χίλιοι ἀργυρίου ἐνώπιόν μού εἰσιν᾽ ἀποδώσει μοι γὰρ αὐτοὺς πάλιν. Καὶ νῦν μὲν γὰρ ἀπαιτεῖ καρπὸν, τὴν ἐμὴν ποθῶν σωτηρίαν, καὶ σωζομένην με θέλει ἰδεῖν. « ᾿Αμπελών μου ἐμὸς ἐνώπιόν μου, οἱ χίλιοι Σολομὼν, καὶ οἱ διακόσιοι τοῖς τηροῦσι τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ. » Λαμδάνουσι μισθὸν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος οἱ φύλακες, καὶ μισθὸν ὡρισμένον "7. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὰς πέντε αἰσθήσεις τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος φυλάττουσι, ὄψιν, καὶ γεῦσιν, καὶ ὄσφρησιν, καὶ ἀκοὴν, καὶ ἁφὴν, ἀναγκαίως τοὺς διαχοσίους οἵπερ εἰσὶ τῶν χιλίων τὸ πέμπτον " ἄξιοι γὰρ οἱ τὸν θεῖον ἀμπελῶνα φυλάττοντες, τῶν παρὰ τοῦ φυτουργοῦ τυχεῖν ἁμοιδῶν " διὸ οὐ μόνον ὁ νυμφίος, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὕτη ἡ νύμφη, τούτοις δώσει τὰς ἀντιδόσεις. Καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλός φησιν" « Εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον μένει, ὃ ἐπῳχοδόμησε μισθὸν λήψεται. » Καὶ τοῖς ἐργασαμένοις δὲ εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα, τῆς ἑσπέρας ρίον δοθῆναι. Δῆλον τοίνυν ὡς οὐδὲν ἄμισθον παρὰ θεῷ: εἰ γὰρ ὁ ποτήριον ψυχροῦ ἑνὶ τῶν μικοῶν τῶν ἐλαχίστων προσφέρων οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσει τὸν μισθὸν αὑτοῦ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὁ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα φυλάττων τῶν παρὰ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἀμοιδῶν ἀπολαύσεται. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ ἀμπελὼν τὴν διὰ τῶν πέντε αἰσθήσεων ὑπακοὴν παρέξει, καὶ τοὺς διαχοαίους πληρώσει" οζ πεντάκις τοσοῦτοι γινόμενοι διαιρέται ὑπάρχουσι τῶν κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν φυλασσόντων αὐτάς " καὶ γὰρ ὁ μὲν χίλια ἀριθμὸς τὴν ἐν Χριστῷ " ἐμφαίνει τελειότητα, ἀπροσδεὴς ὑπάρχων μονάς " ὡς μὴ μόνον τὸν δυνάμει, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἐνεργείᾳ ταύτης λόγον ἐν ἑαυτῷ φέρων, ὅτι ἐκ μονάδος ἄρχεται, καὶ διὰ μονάδος δηλοῦται, καὶ μονάδος ἐστὶ ποιητικός " ἡ γὰρ χιλιὰς καὶ ἡ μυριὰς τῷ τῆς μονάδος στοιχείῳ γνωρέζονται" ὁ δὲ διαχόσιος πάλιν ἀριθμὸς τὴν τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἢ εἰς ἑαυτὴν διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας δηλοῖ ἀποκατάστασιν, ὡς δεχαπλασιάζων κατὰ τὴν δεκάδα τῶν ἐντολῶν τὸν ἐκ τοῦ τετράχις πέντε συντιθέμενον" κἀντεῦθεν δηλοῦντα τόν ἐξ ὕλης καὶ εἴδους τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν σύνθετον ᾽" εἰκοστὸν ἀριθμόν. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις " εἰρημένοις, ἦ νύμφη, καὶ τάδε πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον, δι᾽ ἄκραν τε μετριοφροσύνην καὶ ἐπιτεταμένον πόϑον τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, διέξεισιν"

### English translation (Claude)

12. "My vineyard, mine, is before me; the thousand are Solomon's." What she says is this (for one must make what is unclear as clear as possible): The vineyard is mine, she says, and the fruit is mine. For the thousand pieces of silver that are thought to be given to my peaceable bridegroom, that is, to Solomon, are before me; for he will give them back to me. Now he demands fruit, longing for my salvation, and he wishes to see me saved. "My vineyard, mine, is before me; the thousand are Solomon's, and the two hundred are for those who keep its fruit." The keepers receive a wage for the vineyard, and a fixed wage. And since they guard the five senses of the vineyard, sight and taste and smell and hearing and touch, they necessarily [receive] the two hundred, which are a fifth of the thousand; for those who guard the divine vineyard are worthy to obtain rewards from the one who planted it. That is why not only the bridegroom but the bride herself will give them their recompense. And the blessed Paul says: "If anyone's work that he has built on it remains, he will receive a wage." And to those who worked in the vineyard, [the master ordered] in the evening [a dena]rius to be given. It is clear, then, that nothing goes unrewarded with God; for if one who offers a cup of cold water to one of the least will not lose his reward, much more will one who guards the vineyard enjoy the rewards from the vineyard. And the vineyard itself will render obedience through the five senses and will make up the two hundred, who, becoming five times as many, are the distributors among those who guard them in act. For the number thousand shows forth the perfection in Christ, being a self-sufficient unit, since it bears in itself the principle of the unit not only in potency but also in act: it begins from the unit, is denoted by the unit, and produces the unit; for the thousand and the ten thousand are known by the letter of the unit. And the number two hundred, again, indicates the restoration of our nature to itself through the working of the commandments, since it multiplies by ten, according to the decade of the commandments, the number made up of four times five, and thereby shows the number twenty, compounded of the matter and form of our nature. Besides these words, the bride also sets out the following to the bridegroom, out of extreme modesty and intense longing for the good things to come:

### Scripture references

- Song 8:12: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 3:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 20:8–10: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 10:42: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 20:1–17: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 8:12. Lines are lost in the scan where marked …. The closing number speculation (the thousand as a unit in potency and act; two hundred as ten times four times five, matter and form) differs in style from the rest of the commentary and may be a scholion by another hand printed within Theodoret's text (uncertain); translated as printed. In Greek numerals the letter for one thousand is the letter for one (alpha) with a mark.
- Quoted or alluded to: 1 Cor 3:14; Matt 20:1–16; Matt 10:42; Exod 20:1–17.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.12 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-12).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:13

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-13
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The bride, still bound to a body and fearing change, asks to hear Christ's final words of welcome to the blessed, which the angels, free of the body, already enjoy.

### Greek text

ιγ΄. Ὁ καθήμενος ὃν κήποις, ἑταῖροι προσἔχοντες, τὴν φωνήν σου “ ἀχούτισόν' μα. Εἴτουν, ὯὮ νυμφίς μου, σὺ ὁ ἑπαναπαυόμενος τῇ τε νοητῇ κτίσει, καὶ τῇ αἰσθητῇ, ὡς τοὺς δοῖς θελήμασι δίκην χῆπων πεφυτευμέναις " ἄλλοι παρ᾽ ἡμᾶς εἷσιν οἱ ἀμεταστρεπτὶ πρὺς σὲ ἀτενίζοντες, διὰ τὸ μὴ μερίζεσθαι δεσμῷ σώματος, αἱ ἄῦλοι πάντως καὶ ἀγγελικαὶ τάξεις - ἐγὼ δὲ ὡς ὑπυχειμένη τῷ τοιούτῳ δισμῷ,, δέδοικα τὴν τροπὴν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν δευστὴν μοι ποίησον τὴν εὐχταίαν ἐχείνην φωνὴν σου, τὸ, « Δεῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μον, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν. ν Καὶ οὕτως "

### English translation (Claude)

13. "You who sit in the gardens, companions are attending to your voice; let me hear it." That is: O my bridegroom, you who rest upon both the intelligible and the sensible creation, planted by your will like gardens; there are others besides us who gaze at you without turning away, since they are not divided by the bond of a body, namely the immaterial and angelic orders; but I, being subject to such a bond, fear change, and therefore make me hear that longed-for voice of yours: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you." And so:

### Scripture references

- Song 8:13: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 25:34: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 8:13. Like 3:3–4 and the end of 8:12, this section uses the language of the intelligible and sensible creation and may be a scholion by another hand printed within Theodoret's text (uncertain); translated as printed.
- Quoted or alluded to: Matt 25:34.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.13 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-13).

## Commentary on Song of Songs 8:14

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-1/#p-8-14
- Source: PG 81
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: At the end Christ draws the righteous up to the heights of deifying grace and, like a deer that kills serpents, destroys the evil spirits; whoever is bitten should look to him who was lifted up.

### Greek text

ιδ΄, Φύγε, ἀδελριδέ μου, καὶ ὁμοιώθδηξι κῷ δόρἣ γεδρῷ ἐλάφων ἐπὶ ὄρη ἀρωμάτων, Προσκαλούμενος γὰρ τοὺς δικαίους εἰς τὴν ἀπὸ χαταθολῆῇς κόσμου ἡτοιμασμένην αὐτοῖς βασιλείαν σου, ἀφίστασαι πάντως τῆς διὰ τῶν αἰσθητῶν προνοίας ἡμῶν, ἐφελκόμενος τοὺς ἀξίους ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη τῶν πνευματικῶ: εὐωδιαζουσῶν αὐτοὺς κατὰ θέωσιν χαρίτων " ἐν αἷς ὥς τις δόρχων, ἣ ἐλάφου νεδρὺς, ἀναιρετικὸς τῶν ἱοδόλων θηρίων, τὰ μαινόμενα καθ' ἡμῶν τῆς πονηρίας πνεύματα νεκροῖς, καταπαύων τὸν πρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτῶν "5 πόλεμον. Εζη δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς διαφυγεῖν τὰ τῶν ὄφεων δήγματα! εἰ δὲ καὶ δηχθείημεν, εἰς τὸν ὑψωθέντα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπιδεῖν, καὶ τὴν θεραπείαν 

### English translation (Claude)

14. "Flee, my kinsman, and be like the gazelle or the fawn of deer upon the mountains of spices." For when you call the righteous to your kingdom, prepared for them from the foundation of the world, you withdraw altogether from your providence over us through the things of sense, drawing the worthy up to the heights of the spiritual graces that make them fragrant through deification; in which, like a gazelle or a fawn of deer that destroys venomous beasts, you put to death the spirits of wickedness that rage against us, bringing their war against us to an end. May it be granted to us too to escape the bites of the serpents; and if we should be bitten, to look upon the one who was lifted up for us, and [to obtain] healing …

### Scripture references

- Song 8:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 25:34: allusion, high confidence
- Eph 6:12: allusion, medium confidence
- Num 21:8–9: allusion, high confidence
- John 3:14: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Lemma: Song 8:14, the end of the Song; the commentary breaks off in the scan. The language of deification suggests, as at 8:13, a scholion printed within the text (uncertain).
- Quoted or alluded to: Matt 25:34; Eph 6:12; Num 21:8–9; John 3:14.

### Citation (SBL)

Theodoret, Comm. Cant. 8.14 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-canticum/8-14).