The circuits of thy thighs like ornaments, &c. To describe the beautiful appearance of an object, the Orientals frequently compared it to some precious metal or gem; see supra, v. 11; Prov. xxv. 12. The simple metal or gem, however, seems not to suffice here to express the exquisite symmetry of these parts of the body; they are, therefore, compared with some beautifully-wrought and highly-finished ornaments, formed of such materials. The rendering of ‏פְּעָמִים‎ by steps (Sept., Vulg., Ewald, Döpke, Hengstenberg, &c.), and ‏חַמוּקֵי‎ by Schwingungen, movements (Hengstenberg), is contrary to the scope of the description, which obviously depicts the several members of the body (beginning with the feet and gradually ascending to the head), and not their actions. ‏חֲלָאִים‎ is not the dual (Luther), but the plural; according to the analogy of ‏צְבִי‎, ‏צְבָאִים‎; ‏פְּתִי‎, ‏פְּתָאִים‎. The ‏א‎ in the plural is preferred to the ‏י‎ in consequence of the preceding A sound. Gesen. § 93, 66; Ewald, § 186 e. 3. Thy navel is like a round goblet, &c. The reference and the import of the figure are obvious. ‏מֶזֶג‎, i.q. ‏מֶסֶךְ‎, mixture, mixed wine. The ancients were in the habit of mixing wine with spices, to make it more stimulating and exciting. Wine thus mixed was called ‏יַיִן הַרֶקַח‎, viii. 2, the vinum aromatites of the Greeks and Romans. (Comp. Ps. lxxv. 9; Prov. ix. 5; Isa. v. 22; Mishna, Maaser sheni, ii. 1; Baba Mez. v. 2; Pliny, Hist. Nat. xiv. 15; Gesen. Thesaurus, p. 808; Winer, Bib. Dict. s.v.) ‏שָׁרְרֵךְ‎ is one of the few instances in which ‏עע״‎ are resolved before suffixes, owing to the broadness of the vowels when preceding ‏ל‎, or ‏ר‎. Comp. ‏גַּל‎ with suffix ‏גַּלְלוֹ‎: ‏צִלְלוֹ צַל‎: ‏הַרֲרָם הַר‎, Ewald, § 265; Fürst, Lexicon, s.v. ‏–גַל‎. The particle ‏אַל‎ expresses a subjective wish, Gesen. Lexicon, ‏אַל‎, ii. 6, Ewald, § 320. Thy body is like a heap of wheat, &c. The point of analogy seems to subsist between the appearance of the body and that of a quantity of corn heaped up, ‏עֲרַמָה‎, which Ibn Ezra well explains ‏עבה מלמטה ודקה מלמעלה‎; so also Rashbam. Remembering that corpulency was deemed essential to an Eastern beauty, this comparison will appear obvious. Selden, who is followed by others, takes this passage as a prediction of the bride’s fertility: as:—“Wheat and barley were among the ancient Hebrews emblems of fertility; and it was usual for standers-by to scatter these grains upon the married couple, with a wish that they might increase and multiply.” Uxor Hebraica, lib. ii. cap. 15. “A custom,” adds Williams, “which might probably originate from this passage, or vice versâ.”