The Song of Songs 3:6

The Royal Wedding Procession

The Speaker: ¹ 

3:6 Who is this coming up from the desert

like a column of smoke,

like ²  a fragrant billow ³  of myrrh and frankincense, ⁴ 

every kind of fragrant powder ⁵  of the traveling merchants? ⁶ 

Isaiah 63:1

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ⁷ 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ⁸ 

Who ⁹  is this one wearing royal attire, ¹⁰ 

who marches confidently ¹¹  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ¹² 

Luke 5:21

5:21 Then ¹³  the experts in the law ¹⁴  and the Pharisees began to think ¹⁵  to themselves, ¹⁶  “Who is this man ¹⁷  who is uttering blasphemies? ¹⁸  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Luke 7:49

7:49 But ¹⁹  those who were at the table ²⁰  with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

Luke 9:9

9:9 Herod said, “I had John ²¹  beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus. ²² 

Luke 20:2

20:2 and said to him, ²³  “Tell us: By what authority ²⁴  are you doing these things? ²⁵  Or who it is who gave you this authority?”

John 2:18

2:18 So then the Jewish leaders ²⁶  responded, ²⁷  “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” ²⁸ 

Acts 9:5

9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!

[3:6]  ¹ sn It is not certain whether the speaker here is the Beloved or not.

[3:6]  ² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:6]  ³ tn The proper nuance of מְקֻטֶּרֶת (mÿqutteret, Pual participle fs from קָטַר, qatar, “to make a sacrifice, go up in smoke”) is illusive. The lexicons take the participle adjectivally and translate מְקֻטֶּרֶת מוֹר (mÿqutteret mor) as “completely filled with fragrance or incense” (HALOT 1094 s.v. I קטר) or “fumigated with myrrh” (BDB 883 s.v. קָטַר). Most translations take it adjectivally: “perfumed with myrrh” (KJV, NASB, NIV); however, NJPS takes it as a substantive: “clouds of myrrh.” It is better to take the participle as a substantive and to nuance מְקֻטֶּרֶת מוֹר as “billow of myrrh,” as suggested by its parallelism with כְּתִימֲרוֹת עָשָׁן (kÿtimarot ’ashan, “like a column of smoke”). While this is the only usage of the Pual stem of the verb, the root קטר appears frequently in other stems, all of which connote smoke, e.g., Piel: “to make a sacrifice, to go up in smoke” and Hiphil: “to cause to go up in smoke” (HALOT 1094-95 s.v. I קתר). In Middle Hebrew the root קִטְרָא (qitra’) meant “to steam, smell” (Qal) and “to smoke” (Hiphil). The Hebrew root is related to Ugaritic qtr “smoke, incense” (UT 19.2220; WUS 1404); Akkadian qataru “to billow (of smoke)” (AHw 2:907; CAD Q:166); Old South Arabic mqtr “incense; Ethiopic qetare “fragrance, spice”; Arabic qatara “to smell, smoke”; and Syriac `etar “vapour, fume, incense” (HALOT 1094). Due to the rarity of the Pual stem of this root, the Targum mistakenly vocalized the form as Piel participle מִקְּטֹרֶת (miqqÿtoret, “going up in smoke”).

[3:6]  ⁴ tn The term לְבוֹנָה (lÿvonah, “frankincense”) refers to fragrant incense (Exod 30:34; Lev 2:1, 15; 5:11; 6:8; 24:7; Num 5:15; Isa 43:23; 66:3; Jer 6:20; 17:26; 41:5; Neh 13:5, 9; 1 Chr 9:29; Song 3:6; 4:6, 14). It is composed of the white (sometimes yellow) resin of Boswellia Carteri and Frereana from Hadramawt and Somaliland (HALOT 518 s.v. לְבֹנָה).

[3:6]  ⁵ tn The term אַבְקַת (’avqat, “fragrant-powder”) means “scent-powders” (HALOT 9 s.v. אַבָקָה) or “ground spice” (HALOT 1237 s.v. I רכל 2.a). The noun אֲבָקָה (’avaqah) is from the root אָבָק (’avaq, “dust, powder”) (HALOT 9 s.v.).

[3:6]  ⁶ tn The singular form of רוֹכֵל (rokhel, “merchant”) may be classified as a generic singular, representing the genus of the merchant guild of which there are many. The term רוֹכֵל means “trader, vendor,” as small retailer (HALOT 1237 s.v. I רכל) distinct from סָתַר (satar) “shopkeeper, dealer” as large wholesaler (HALOT 750 s.v. סתר). It may refer to a traveling merchant, as in Middle Hebrew רוֹכְלָה (rokhÿlah) “traveling merchant” and Old South Arabic rkl “to go about as a trader” (Conti 242a). The general nuance appears in Judean Aramaic רוֹכְלָא (rokhÿla’, “hawker, peddler”) and Syriac rakkala “merchant.”

[63:1]  ⁷ sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ⁹ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).

[63:1]  ¹² tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[5:21]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Then the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[5:21]  ¹⁵ tn Or “to reason” (in a hostile sense). See G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.

[5:21]  ¹⁶ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[5:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “this one” (οὗτος, Joutos).

[5:21]  ¹⁸ sn Uttering blasphemies meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

[7:49]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).

[7:49]  ²⁰ tn Grk “were reclining at table.”

[9:9]  ²¹ tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.

[9:9]  ²² tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.

[20:2]  ²³ tn Grk “and said, saying to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[20:2]  ²⁴ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.

[20:2]  ²⁵ sn The leadership is looking back to acts like the temple cleansing (19:45-48). How could a Galilean preacher do these things?

[2:18]  ²⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[2:18]  ²⁷ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[2:18]  ²⁸ sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).