mountains which separate thee from me: this is followed by Luther, Ewald, De Wette, Hengstenberg, Philippson, Hitzig, and is most consonant with the context. We have seen (ver. 9), that there were mountains separating the houses of the lovers, which the shepherd had to cross to reach the Shulamite; and as she told him to go back and return in the evening, it was evident that he had to cross again those separating mountains. 1. When on my nightly couch, &c. Through some means or other her beloved did not come in the evening according to request, and, unable to wait any longer, she retired. Her thoughts, however, kept her awake, and her confidence in him made her look for him even when on her couch. The words ‏עַל מִשְׁכָּבִי וְגו״‎ do not mean, “I sought him in my bed,” at which unnecessary umbrage has been taken, but “Even when I reclined upon my nocturnal couch, I could not give him up; I still sought to find him.” ‏מִשְׁכָּבִי בַּלֵילוֹת‎ means my couch used at nights, i.q. ‏מִשְׁכַּב הַלֵּילוֹת‎, in contradistinction to ‏מִשְׁכַּב הַצָהֳרַיִם‎, a couch used at noonday, 2 Sam. iv. 5. This is evident from the plural ‏בַּלֵילוֹת‎, in the nights, and from ver. 8, where the same plural is used to describe nocturnal marauders. The affirmation of Harmer, therefore, that no reasonable doubt can be made that these are the words of one to whose bed the beloved was no stranger, falls to the ground. The Sept. adds, ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐχ ὑπηκούσεν ἐμὲ, from chap. v. 6. 2. I must arise now, &c. Seeing, however, that her beloved did not come, and apprehending that some disaster might have befallen him on his way, the Shulamite determined to go and find him. The ‏–ָה‎ in ‏אֲקוּמָה‎ is expressive of self-summons and determination: “I said to myself, Come! I must arise now!” Comp. Ps. ii. 3; lv. 3; Gesen. § 128, 1; Ewald, § 228 a. 3. The watchmen, &c., found her whilst engaged in seeking her beloved, and she at once inquired of them whether they had seen him. The interrogative particle is here omitted. This is sometimes the case when the whole sentence, as here, is interrogative, in which case it is distinguished by the prominence given to the word upon which the force or weight of the interrogation more especially falls; as by the tone in which it is uttered, e.g. ‏זֶה חַסְדְּךָ אֶת־רֵעֶךָ‎, “This thy kindness to thy friend!” 2 Sam. xvi. 17; xviii. 29; Gesen. § 153, 1; Ewald, § 324 a. 4. Scarcely had I passed them, &c. The abruptness of the description here is very characteristic. She informs us that she had put a question to the watchmen, but, in her hurry to find her beloved, does not tell us the answer which she received. The construction ‏כִּמְעַט שֶׁ—עַד‎, scarcely when, is nowhere else to be found in the Old Testament; it may be resolved to ‏זמן אשר עברתי מהם כמעט‎, the time that I passed them amounted to a little while.