Chapter 658 of 1261

Song of Solomon 5:10

My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

The church having, in verse 8 given the daughters of Jerusalem a strict and solemn charge, that when they found her beloved, they would tell him that she was sick of love, made them, in verse 9 very inquisitive after him; being as it were uneasy till they knew what he was, and wherein he excelled others; and therefore put this question to her, "What is thy beloved more than another beloved?" to which an answer is returned by her, in this and the following verses; in which she first gives a more general description of him, and then descends to particulars. The general description of him is in the words now under consideration; in which she describes him,

I. Positively, in regard to what he was in himself, as to his favor and complexion; "my beloved is white and ruddy."

II. Comparatively, as he may be considered with regard to others; "the chiefest among ten thousand."

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