Psalms · Psalm 45

"on shoshannim" — They founded this psalm in honor of the Torah scholars, who are as tender as roses and as beautiful as roses, and perform good deeds as fresh as roses. "a maskil" — Through an interpreter. "a song of loves" — Heb. שיר ידידות, a song of loves, a song of praise for them [the Torah scholars] to endear them to the people and to endear their Torah to them [the people].

"For the Leader, upon Shoshannim" — this names a liturgical poem that began in this way. "Of loves" [yedidot] — like "ahavot" [loves].

"Upon Shoshannim" — a musical instrument called "shoshannah" (lily); and this psalm is said concerning the King Messiah, and is called "a song of loves" because it speaks of Hashem's love for His anointed one.

"Shoshannim" — the name of a musical instrument, made in the shape of a lily. "Maschil" — meaning, a skillful [composition]. "Of loves" — meaning, beloved things.

"For the leader" — the sons of Korah founded this song in honor of the king and the queen, on the day of his wedding and on the day of the joy of his heart, with the daughter of the king of Tyre who had converted. It is possible that it was composed in the days of Solomon, who took the daughter of the king of Tyre and converted her, and for this reason they called it by the name "a song of loves."

"My heart is astir" — In this manner, the Psalmist commenced his song: My heart caused a good theme to swarm within me in your praise, O Torah scholar. "is astir" — Heb. רחש, an expression of moving, and so is every expression of swarming and crawling. "I say, “My works are for a king”" — This song, which I have founded and composed, I say to one who is fit to be a king, as it is stated (Prov. 8:15): “Kings reign with me.” "my tongue is" — as poetic as the pen of an expert scribe. I saw in the commentary of Rabbi Moses the Preacher: מָהִיר in Arabic means expert.

"Overflows" [rachash] — his heart speaks the poet's own words. And some say: [it means] the words that he brings forth from his heart. And this psalm was said concerning David, or concerning the Messiah his son — for so is his name: "and David My servant shall be their prince forever" (Ezekiel 37:25). "My work" — this is the song that he composed.

"Overflows" (rachash) — [means] my heart stirred, and the heart is the source of all words. "I say: My work is concerning a king" — I say, at the opening of my words, that the composition of this song is on behalf of a king. "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer" — my tongue speaks of him swiftly, like the pen of a skilled scribe, who writes without delay.

"My heart overflows" — That is to say, my heart thinks a thought of something good. "I say" — At the opening of my words I say that the subject of this song concerns King Messiah. "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer" — My tongue is quick to speak in song, like the pen of a ready scribe.

"Overflows" — the matter of motion and stirring; and in the words of our Sages, "her lips were moving" (Sanhedrin 67). From this [root] is also said, "a meal-offering of the stirred pan" (Leviticus 2:7), because its preparation involves stirring and shaking. "Pen" — meaning, a quill, as in "with a pen of iron" (Job 19).

"My heart overflows" — the excellence of a song is assessed by three considerations. First, with respect to the words of intellect and wisdom woven throughout it — hence it says, "My heart overflows with a goodly matter," meaning that beneath the outer covering of poetic style and the external speech of the song, there stirs a living matter expressing wisdom and good sense. Second, with respect to the subject for which the song was founded, for the excellence of a song grows according to the excellence of the subject about which honorable things are spoken — hence it says, "I say, my work concerns a king," meaning that it was founded in honor of the king. Third, with respect to the poetic style and diction of the song itself — whether the poet has a learned tongue to clothe the images of his heart in lofty and exalted words — hence it says, "My tongue is the pen of a ready scribe," just as a scribe quick at the craft of writing (stenography) transcribes with his pen all the words of the speaker and does not omit a single word of what he heard, so too my tongue, which is the pen of the scribe of the heart, will transcribe every thought of the heart, and will be able to speak all that the heart spoke, in rational speech. — Now the song begins.

"You are more handsome than [other] men" — who engage in the work of transitory life. Why? Because charm is poured into your lips to instruct according to the halachah. הוּצַק means “poured,” as (Exod. 38:27): “to cast (לצקת)”; (Gen. 28:18), “and he poured (ויצק) oil.” "Therefore...blessed you" — as it is stated (below 29:11): “The Lord shall grant strength to His people.” And what is their reward? “The Lord shall bless His people with peace.”

"You are fairer" [yafyafita] — some say that it is a doubled form, like "shecharchoret" [swarthy] and "socharchar" [in tumult], which indicate diminution — and "levanah admademet" [reddish-white], because it is not fully red. If so, how could "yafyafita" indicate diminution?! And the answer is: the doubling of the ayin and lamed [the second and third root letters] indicates diminution, but when the pe and ayin [the first and second root letters] are doubled, they indicate increase; and the proof is "tisgasgi" [you shall flourish greatly], which is more than "tisgi" [you shall grow]. "You are fairer" — [describing] his form and his appearance. "Grace is poured" — from the same root as "and they poured upon the burnt offering," as if grace was poured upon his mouth. And behold, openly it tells of the form of his body and his speech, that they are pleasant; and by way of metaphor it tells of his soul, that it is upright, and of his wisdom, that it is broad — for inner speech is found in the soul of man.

"You are fairer" — I see that you are far more beautiful in form than the rest of mankind; and likewise, when you speak, your words are words of grace, as though grace were poured upon your lips. "Therefore" — I say that God has blessed you forever, for you have found favor in the eyes of all.

"You are fairer" — You, King Messiah, are more beautiful in your deeds than all men, and the words of your mouth are full of grace, as though grace were poured out onto your lips; and because of this, God has blessed you forever.

"You are fairer" — from the language of "beautiful" (יפה). "Is poured" — from the language of pouring.

"You are fairer than the children of men" — it is the way of poets, when recounting excellences and praises, to borrow for them titles and comparisons from the offspring of nature, as one might say of a person tall of stature, that he is as tall as the cedars and sturdy as the oaks, fierce as a leopard, swift as a deer, mighty as a lion, light as an eagle, and the like. But this is so only for material qualities. If, however, one comes to praise spiritual qualities the like of which is not found among the creatures of nature — such as the quality of speech and wisdom — one must take comparisons from human beings, as one might say, "and he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol" (I Kings 5:11), or "behold, you are wiser than Daniel" (Ezekiel 28:3). Hence it says: if I wished to give a picture and comparison for your excellence, I could not say that you are superior to one of the creatures of nature; rather I would need to take a picture from the finest of human beings, and I say to you that you are "fairer than the children of men" — for I do not praise you for a material quality, such as strength and the like, saying of you that you are mightier than the lion; rather, what I praise you for is that "grace is poured upon your lips," which pertains to the quality of speech and the intellect within you — for this I cannot take a picture and comparison from animals, only from human beings who were great sages, and you are fairer and superior to them. "Therefore God has blessed you for ever" — for material qualities, whose root is in the vital force, perish along with the body and do not endure for ever; but since your excellence is a human, spiritual excellence, which is eternal and does not perish, therefore your blessing is for ever, eternal.

"Gird a sword on your thigh" — to wage the war of Torah, and that is your majesty and that is your glory.

"Gird" — it also tells of his mighty deeds, for so is it fitting for the perfect warrior to be. And the sense of "mighty one" — [is] "you are the mighty one"; or the letter kaf is missing, in the manner of "and he called out, a lion" (Isaiah 21:8), meaning "like a lion"; or the kaf is missing understood as a complete predication [not a comparison], and this word is [equivalent to] "your glory."

"Gird" — for there are swords that are girded at the waist, and there are some that are girded upon the thigh. "Mighty one" — this is a form of address, as if to say, "you, mighty one." "Your glory and your majesty" — the sword will be your glory and your majesty; even though in the days of the Messiah there will be peace, at the beginning of his reign there will be the war of Gog and Magog.

"Gird" — And this (is) the blessing: you, mighty one, gird your sword upon your thigh, and it is your glory and your majesty, for by it you shall be victorious in battle.

"Gird" — and although, together with the quality of intellect and speech, you also possess the other qualities required of a king, chief among which is might and the sword for war against his enemies, nevertheless I say: even though I command you, saying, "gird your sword upon your thigh," you, "the mighty one" — for you too have an arm with might — yet it is not for war that you shall gird a sword; rather it is because it is "your glory and your majesty," which is the splendor of kingship, that he should have mighty men of valor and weapons of war. But in any case, the essential "majesty," if you are "to succeed," is not by sword and not by war, but rather by the fact "that you ride upon the word of truth" — as if the horse upon which you ride were not a horse prepared for the day of battle, but rather truth were the horse upon which you ride, and by it you shall succeed; and you shall not ride upon the horse that exalts itself, but rather you shall ride upon "the humility of righteousness" (meaning: truth in theory, and righteousness in deed). "And your right hand shall teach you awesome things" — meaning, this humble righteousness, which is the rational horse upon which you ride and succeed, it is what teaches you the awesome deeds of your right hand, as if this horse, which is humility without war, shows you the awesome things that you could have done by your right hand through war and battle — meaning, that through the truth and righteousness upon which you ride and by which you conduct yourself, you will defeat your enemies and perform awesome deeds. For "your arrows" — the verse is to be understood: "in the heart of the king's enemies, your sharp arrows — peoples shall fall under you," meaning that the king's enemies, that is, your enemies, will think in their hearts that your arrows are so sharp that peoples will fall under you; and so they will think in their hearts and will fear to rebel and to make war against you.

"for the sake of truth" — To instruct according to the law and to behave with righteous humility. "and it shall instruct you" — The Torah and the matter of truth in which you shall engage shall teach you tactics of war so that your right should perform awesome things. Since he mentions the study of Torah in an expression of war, the expression of the right hand, prepared to fight, is appropriate (i.e., it is customary to fight with the right hand).

"And your majesty" — the letter bet is missing, like "for in six days He made" (Exodus 20:11), as if it were written [with a bet, meaning]: "and in Your majesty, prosper," in the sense of "a man shall not prosper in his days" (Jeremiah 22:30); and the sense is that you shall prosper at the time when you ride. And some say that "tzalach" is from the same root as "lest it spread like fire" (Amos 5:6); and behold, [the verse] tells, along with his might, of his faithfulness, his humility, and his righteousness. And the phrase "meekness [and] righteousness" — whether taken as absolute or as construct, the sense is "meekness together with righteousness." "And let it teach you" — "your right hand" is the subject, and the object is missing, as if it were written: "your right hand shall teach you to perform mighty deeds and awesome feats of war," in the manner of "glorious things are spoken of you" (Psalm 87:3). And Rabbi Yosi said that "ve-torkha" ["and let it teach you"] is from the same root as "and God shot them" (Psalm 64:8), and the proof is that written right after it is: "Your arrows are sharp." And this would have been correct, were it not that the word "va-yorem" there means He shot at them as a term of disgrace, whereas here it is meant for praise.

"And prosper" (u-tzelach) — like "and pass over"; meaning, when you pass over your enemies and ride, your riding will not be in pride and haughtiness of heart, but for the sake of truth, meekness, and righteousness; and then your right hand will teach you awesome and wondrous things to do against your enemies. "And meekness" (va-anvah) — [written] with a heh, like "va-anvat" with a tav, since it is in construct form; or alternatively, "va-anvah" is of a different pattern, on the pattern of "achvah" (fellowship), and the word "tzedek" (righteousness) would then be lacking a vav, and its original order would be "anvah v-tzedek" (meekness and righteousness).

"And your majesty" — That is to say, the majesty that will be yours through your succeeding and riding in the heights of dominion — this shall be given to you because of the truth that you did, and because you were humble in righteousness, not [seeking] to be haughty. "And let ... teach you" — Therefore, your right hand, which has taught you to perform awesome deeds without instruction or help from anyone else.

"In behalf of" — meaning, for the sake of. "And shall teach you" — meaning, and it shall instruct you.

"Your arrows are sharpened, etc., in the heart of the king’s enemies" — Heb. שְּׁנוּנִים, is aiguises in French, sharpened. This is a transposed verse. We find that the disciples are called arrows, as it is stated (above 127:4): “As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth.” And Torah scholars who argue with each other about halachah are called enemies to each other for the time, as it is stated: “they will not be ashamed when they speak with the enemies in the gate.” "nations shall fall under you" — As a reward for Torah, nations shall fall under Israel.

"Your arrows" — at first he mentioned your sword, and now he says also "your arrows," which are sharp, at the time when the peoples [fall] beneath you. "They fall" — the sense is "your arrows fall into the heart" — [namely, into the heart] of your enemies; therefore the word "they fall" appears at the place of the atnach [the mid-verse pause], as though it were in construct, for it serves for two clauses.

"Your arrows" — they were sharpened, not blunt. "They fall" — it is connected both to what precedes it and to what follows it; therefore it says "they fall in the heart of his enemies," and it is vocalized with a shva even though it bears an atnach [a pausal accent], in order to connect its sense with "in the heart of the king's enemies" — as if it said, "your arrows fall in the heart of your enemies."

"Your arrows" — The arrows that you shoot will be sharpened, and by this your enemies will fall beneath you, for those arrows will fall into the heart of the king's enemies (and the word "fall" refers both to what precedes and to what follows).

"Sharp" — meaning, sharpened, as in "If I sharpen My glittering sword" (Deuteronomy 32:41).

"Your throne, O judge" — Your throne, O prince and judge, shall exist forever and ever, as the matter that is stated (Exod. 7:1): “I have made you a judge (נתתיך אלהים) over Pharaoh.” And why? Because “a scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom,” that your judgments are true, and you are fit to govern.

"Your throne" — some say [that "God" here is used] like [in] "you shall not curse God" (Exodus 22:27). And the Gaon said: [it means] "God shall establish Your throne." But in my opinion, the word "Your throne" serves in place of another [word], in the manner of "and the prophecy, Oded the prophet" (2 Chronicles 15:8), which is like saying "and the prophecy of Oded the prophet"; and likewise here, "Your throne" means "the throne of God," as in "and Solomon sat on the throne of Hashem" (1 Chronicles 29:23). And whoever says that "Your throne" addresses Hashem directly — the verse that follows will refute him.

"Your throne" — [understood as] God establishes [it]. "A scepter of equity" — since the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of equity, therefore your throne will be forever and ever.

"Your throne, O God" — The throne of kingship given to you by God shall endure forever and ever. "A scepter" — Because the dominion of your kingdom is a dominion of equity, for you conduct the kingship with righteousness and uprightness.

"Scepter" — a ruler is called "shevet" [rod/scepter], because in his hand is the rod of discipline; and so, "the scepter shall not depart from Judah" (Genesis 49:10).

"Your throne" — since "your throne" is "the throne of God," for you sit upon the throne to render true judgment and righteousness like God, therefore the throne shall stand "for ever and ever," for divine things are not worn away by time and are not destroyed by it. "A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom" — in its poetic style, it pictures equity as a living being that guides the kingdom with its scepter, and as if this scepter, which equity holds in its hand and with which it governs, is itself the scepter of your kingdom — meaning, that your governance is itself the governance of uprightness. "You love righteousness" — meaning, that your conducting the kingdom with uprightness and righteousness has become an acquired trait within your soul, to the point "that you love righteousness and hate wickedness," so that it is altogether impossible for you to turn away from righteousness and uprightness. "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you," in such a way that you attain "the oil of gladness above your fellows," for those who love you will anoint you with the oil of gladness, because they rejoice over your success.

"anointed you...with oil of joy" — Every expression of greatness is depicted by the anointment of oil, as is the custom of the kings.

"You have loved" — if the psalm speaks of David, then "your fellows" would be Saul; and if of the Messiah, then his fellows are the other pious men of his generation.

"You have loved... the oil of gladness" — for the whole world rejoiced when God anointed you. "Above your fellows" — when He raised you up from among your fellows and chose you as king.

"Therefore" — Because of the merit of your deeds, God has anointed you as king. "Oil of gladness" — When you are anointed with oil to reign over the people, gladness beyond that of your fellows will be upon you, for everyone will desire you.

"Myrrh and aloes and cassia" — Heb. קדה (Exod. 30:24) is translated קציעתא, cassia. "all your garments" — All your garments smell with the fragrance of spices. Its midrashic interpretation is: All your betrayals (בגידותיך) and sins are expiated and smell of a fragrant scent. "more than ivory palaces, those that are Mine will cause you to rejoice" — More than the best ivory palaces, are the palaces that are prepared for you in Paradise to cause you to rejoice with them. שֵּׁן is ivoire in French, ivory. "those that are Mine will cause you to rejoice" — The palaces that are Mine they will make you rejoice, those that give you your reward.

"Myrrh" [mor] — there is a dispute about this word; and those who say that "ahalot" [aloes] is a substance found among fish of the sea are not correct, for it is written: "like aloe-trees Hashem has planted" (Numbers 24:6). And some say that "ketziot" [cassia] is likewise a certain [plant] with a good scent; and it is the way of the holy tongue to say, [for example,] "a ruby, a topaz, and a smaragd" (Exodus 28:17), placing the vav ["and"] with the last item, or without any vav at all, as in "Adam, Seth, Enosh" (1 Chronicles 1:1). If so, it should have been written: "mor, ahalot, ketziot," or "mor, ahalot ve-ketziot"; perhaps this word came in an irregular manner. And the correct view is that "ketziot" is from the same root as "ha-miktzo'ot" [the corners], and the word is in construct with "your garments" — meaning the trimmed edges of your garments. And the sense connecting "your garments" with "ivory palaces" is that there, in the ivory palaces, they [the garments] are stored away in chests. And the sense is: when they come forth from the ivory palaces — and the word "asher" ["which"] is missing, as though it read: "from the ivory palaces, from which they have made you glad"; or, it refers back to "the ivory palaces," for from there they were brought. And the one who says that "shen" [ivory] is the name of a nation or a province is not correct, because "shen" is vocalized with a small kamatz, in the manner of every word marked with a disjunctive accent that is not in construct with another word.

"Cassia" — like "ve-ketzi'ot." "And myrrh" — this is musk, according to most of the commentators; but many explained that it is a tree resin with a pleasant fragrance, called in Arabic "lubna." "Aloes" — it is explained that this is the spice called in Arabic "anbar" (ambergris). "Cassia" — Targum renders "kiddah" as "ketzi'ata," and it is called in Arabic "sandal" (sandalwood). "All your garments" — have a pleasant fragrance, as though they were made of these very spices. "Out of ivory palaces" — the garments are brought out to you from the ivory palaces, where they are kept. "Have made you glad" (mini simechukha) — the yod is extra, and its meaning is "because they have made you glad," that is, the ivory palaces that made you glad, for a pleasant dwelling gladdens a person's heart. And some explain that the whole verse is a metaphor for good deeds.

"All your garments" — They will all be perfumed with kinds of spices, for such is the way of the great, to fumigate [their garments] with perfume, to bring themselves a [pleasant] scent. "Out of ivory palaces" — From the joy and expansiveness of mind that belongs to one who sits in ivory palaces — from that joy will come to you some of the things that will gladden you. That is to say, every kind of joy that you will have will be like the joy of one who sits in ivory palaces, which is a great and abundant joy.

"Myrrh, aloes, and cassia" — names of kinds of spice. "Your garments" — from the language of "garment" (בגד). "Ivory" — the tooth of the elephant. "Mini" — like "min" (from), the yod being extra.

"Myrrh, and aloes, and cassia are all your garments" [reading "your garments" (בגדותיך) also on the root meaning "to betray"] — even those who betrayed you and did not want your kingship will throw upon you myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices, at the time that you go "out of the ivory palaces" — for then he went out to meet his bride — "that have made you glad," at the time that you go from the place of rejoicing to the joy of the wedding, on the day of the joy of your heart; then even the traitors threw before you every kind of spice in your honor.

"The daughters of kings" — will visit you, as the matter that is stated (Isa. 49:23): “and their princesses your wet nurses.” "will visit you" — lit. your visitors. Heb. ביקרותיך. The “kaph” is punctuated with a “dagesh” because it is an expression of visiting, although it is preceded by a “yud.” I saw in Rav Saadia’s punctuation that this word is arranged with (Isa. 42:24), “Who subjected Jacob to plunder (למשיסה),” which is written with a “yud” although the “sammech” is punctuated with a “dagesh.” Menachem, however, associated it as an expression of value, as (Job 28:16): “with precious (יקר) onyx. "the queen" — Heb. שגל, the queen, as (Neh. 2:6): “and the queen (השגל) was sitting beside him”; (Dan. 5:2), “and they shall drink with them, the king and his nobles, his queen (שגלתה) and his concubines.” Your wife will stand at your right. "with golden jewelry from Ophir" — with a collection of golden ornaments that comes from Ophir.

'Daughters,' 'your precious ones' — from the root meaning 'precious,' [meaning] that the precious maidservants who are with them are themselves daughters of kings. And one who says that it is from the pattern of the phrase 'there shall be a scourging' has not spoken correctly, for there is no dispute that it is written with a yod; the dispute is only between the masoretes and the grammarians of reading, for one reads it in the manner of 'in our days,' and the other in the manner of 'those who sleep in the dust.' 'And the queen' — she is the one who is prepared and destined for the marriage bed, and the proof is the word 'yishgalenah.' According to the view that this psalm was said about David, it is according to its plain sense; and concerning the Messiah — 'the precious daughters of kings' and 'the queen' [refer to] his realm.

"Among your favorites" (bikrotayikh) — the chirik is under the bet and the yod is silent in pronunciation, and the kof bears a dagesh; and its meaning is: among your precious/honored women there will be daughters of kings — every king will take pride in giving his daughter to you. "Stands" — even though daughters of kings are among your wives, nevertheless the queen who is from Israel will sit at your right hand; and she is called "shegal," because she is set apart permanently for his bed, while the others come to him only occasionally, when summoned. And she is called "shegal" from [the root of] "yishgalenah."

"Among your favorites" — Among those precious to you will be even the daughters of kings. "The queen stands" — The queen shall stand at your right hand, adorned in the fine gold of Ophir, and all this is a metaphor for the greatness of the delight and the dominion.

"Among your favorites" — from the language of "precious" (יקר). "The queen" — thus is a wife called, because she is set apart for conjugal union; and so, "and the queen was sitting beside him" (Nehemiah 2:6). "In gold of Ophir" — that is the fine gold that comes from the land of Ophir.

"Kings' daughters" — behold, for this joy of the wedding, a number of kings' daughters gathered, who came in his honor; hence it says, "kings' daughters" have now come "among your favorites" — among the daughters who came in your honor. However, "the queen stands at your right hand in gold of Ophir" — the queen who stands at your right hand, she stands above all of them and is exalted above them. "In gold of Ophir" poetically conveys that just as gold of Ophir is more precious than ordinary gold, so she stands above all of them in splendor and glory. And it says "at your right hand," for it is the way of kings that the woman intended for him, befitting his stature, stands at the time of the betrothal at his right side, while the woman who is not befitting his stature and honor stands then at his left side; hence it says, "the queen stands at your right hand" — she who is fitting for your honor.

"Hearken, daughter, and see" — Hearken, O nation of Israel, and see the good way. "and incline your ear" — to the Torah. "and forget your people" — The nations among whom you were raised. "and your father’s house" — The idolatry that your fathers worshipped on the other side of the river.

'Hearken' — if the psalmist said this to the queen concerning David, then the sense of 'and forget your people' is like the phrase 'your people, my people' — that she should convert and return to the Torah of David. And if he speaks concerning the Messiah, then the meaning of 'daughter' is 'congregation,' as in 'the daughter of Judah,' in the manner of 'to serve Hashem with one shoulder.'

"Hearken." — He is speaking to each and every daughter among the daughters of kings, and its meaning is: hearken to this instruction. "And see." — And understand.

"Hear, O daughter" — This is said to every congregation: hear and see with the understanding of the heart, and incline your ear to listen to all that King Messiah shall command. "And forget your people, etc." — That is to say, do not be among the counsel of those who follow after Gog to wage war against King Messiah.

"Daughter" — meaning, a community; and so, "daughter of Babylon" (below, Psalm 137).

"Hearken, O daughter" — now the poet turns his face to the bride: hearken to what I say to you. "And forget your people" — that is, that you shall convert and become part of the people of Israel; "and forget your father's house" — for you shall remain with your husband.

"And the King shall desire your beauty" — And if you do this, the King, the Holy One, blessed be He, will desire the beauty of your deeds.

'So shall he desire' — if concerning David, according to its plain sense; and if concerning the Messiah, 'the king' is Hashem, or the Messiah.

"For he is your lord." — You have no other lord, even though you are from another people.

"So shall ... desire" — Then King Messiah will desire [your] beauty according to the merit of your deeds, and then it will be well for you, for he will be your lord, and then you shall bow to him, and no harm shall befall you, for he will shelter you with his shadow.

"Shall desire" — from the language of "desire" (תאוה).

"So shall the king desire your beauty" — the king himself will desire and depict your beauty by virtue "of the fact that he is your lord" — the essence of your beauty will be that the king is your lord; and therefore, "hearken, O daughter, and see, and forget your people and your father's house, and bow down to him."

"And the daughter of Tyre shall seek your presence with tribute" — Heb. יחלו, as (Exod. 32: 11): “And Moses prayed (ויחל).” And as reward for this, you will merit that those who are now the richest of the people will bring you tribute and gifts.

'And daughter' — if concerning David, the bet [preposition] is elided, and likewise the vav; thus 'u-vat Tzar' [spelled defectively] is the same as 'bat Tzur' [spelled fully — i.e., both refer to Tyre]; and the object [of the verb continues in] 'all glorious.' And if concerning the Messiah, it is by way of a parable.

"And, O daughter of Tyre." — He says to each of the daughters of the kings that the community of Tyre will always come to you with a gift, and likewise the wealthiest of every people will entreat your favor. He mentions Tyre in particular because it is close to the Land of Israel.

"And the daughter of Tyre" — Even the community of Tyre, by bringing a gift, will seek your favor to have their request fulfilled, even though they are the wealthiest and most esteemed of all the nations.

"Shall entreat" — meaning, shall seek.

"And the daughter of Tyre" — the poet depicts the matters in order: after speaking of the king's honor, he depicts how the king goes from his ivory palaces to the lodging of his bride, and there she stands with daughters of kings, standing at the king's right hand, and the poet speaks to her that she should accept the religion of Israel and bow down to the king, her lord. Now the nobles and wealthy of Tyre have arrived and brought her a precious gift in her honor. The poet says: You, daughter of Tyre! Behold, "the rich among the people of Tyre shall entreat your favor with a gift," and he tells what the gift was: "all glorious is the king's daughter within" — in the chest brought as the gift was placed, within it, all the glory of a king's daughter — all the precious and honored things fitting for a king's daughter, precious jewelry and the like; and also placed there was "her raiment of checkered gold-work" — a precious garment made of checkered gold-work. This was the gift that the rich of the people brought.

"All honor [awaits] the King’s daughter who is within, etc." — Those who deserve all honor, and they are the nation of the King, who behaved with modesty now their garments will be more esteemed than the settings of gold of the High Priests. משבצוֹת is chatons in French, settings.

'All glorious' — and the meaning of 'within' is that she dwelt within, in her palace, and was not seen by all. 'All' — we find that David took the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.

"All glorious (kol kevudah)." — [The word kevudah is written] with a vav bearing a dagesh (i.e., a doubled consonant). He says: all-glorious is the king's daughter who stands within, in the palace.

"All glorious" — Every honored woman — that is, a king's daughter who sits within, in her chamber, in accordance with her great honor — whose garment is made of settings of gold.

"Of checker work" — the setting where precious stones are placed, as in "set in gold" (Exodus 25).

"With embroidered garments, she will be brought to the King" — In embroidered garments, they will bring her as a gift to the King of all the earth. רקמוֹת is a broderies in French. This is what is stated (Isa. 66:20): “And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a tribute, etc.” "virgins in her train who are her companions" — Some of the idolatrous nations will follow them, as the matter that is stated (Zech. 8:23): “shall take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ “ "will be brought to You" — The Psalmist addresses the Holy One, blessed be He.

'On richly woven stuff' — the lamed stands in place of a bet. 'She shall be led' — [this is] the king's daughter.

"On richly woven stuff (lirkamot)." — [To be understood] as if written 'birkamot' [with a bet], meaning: in garments of woven work each one shall be brought to the king when he desires her. "And virgins." — These are the companions of the king's daughter, who are brought in after her. "To you." — This is addressed to the king.

"On richly woven stuff" — In garments of embroidery she shall be brought to King Messiah. "The virgins after her" — That is to say, together with the virgins who shall walk after her to attend her, and with her companions who go with her as one — all of them shall be brought from their land with joy, and shall come into the king's palace; that is, with joy they will accept the yoke of the kingship of the Messiah.

"On richly woven stuff" — from the language of "embroidery," and it is equivalent to "birkamot" [with a bet]; and so, "you sat for the throne" (above, Psalm 9) — whose proper grammatical form is "on the throne" (with a bet). "Shall be led" — meaning, "they shall be led," the matter of bringing, as in "a gift shall be brought" (Isaiah 18).

"In embroidered garments" — from the lodging of the bride, which was her father's house, where the king came to meet her and betrothed her through kiddushin after she accepted the religion of Israel; and there the emissaries of Tyre came with the gift. From there they led the bride to an embroidered canopy made of silk and embroidery, and there she came with her maidens, and from there she was afterward led to the king's palaces. Concerning this it says "in embroidered garments" — meaning, now she shall be led to the embroidered canopies; they led the bride to her canopy, and from there "she shall be led to the king"; also "the virgins after her, her companions" shall be led. He turns his face to the king and says to him, "are brought to you" — the bride, together with her companions, all of them are brought to you, for these virgins too, the companions of the queen, became concubines to the king.

'They shall be led' — if concerning the Messiah, then the meaning is that they themselves shall come, not under compulsion; and the king's daughter, together with her companions who are in the king's palace, shall come into the palace of the king, who is David or the Messiah.

"They shall be led (tuvalnah)." — They shall be led; they shall come to the king with gladness and joy. "They shall enter into the king's palace." — Meaning, into the palace where the king dwells, for they dwell in the house of the women until the king desires her. And it is possible to interpret all these verses figuratively, and this is the correct [interpretation]: the daughters of kings are the nations, who will all be subject to the authority of the Messiah-king. The queen is the Congregation of Israel. And he says "Hearken, O daughter" to every nation, that they shall do only the will of the Messiah-king. And the parable of the virgins: just as the virgins were known by no man until they came to the husband, so shall the nations be without religion, as though they had not known Torah, when they accept upon themselves the religion of Israel.

"They shall be led" — he commands that all of them shall be led "with gladness and rejoicing," with every kind of musical instrument and celebration, and from there "they shall enter into the king's palace," to remain there in his palace.

"Instead of your forefathers, etc." — He addresses each Israelite.

'Instead of' — the generation that has passed, another generation shall come, for your generation is the intermediate one; and this is correct both concerning David and concerning the Messiah.

"Instead of." — Since the kingship will come to the Messiah-king from David, generation after generation, and thus it will never cease from him, therefore he says: "Instead of your fathers shall be your sons."

"Instead of your fathers" — Addressed to the Messiah, it is said: instead of your fathers, the kings, your sons shall be [kings]. That is to say, just as the kingship came to you because you are of the seed of David, so too your sons shall inherit the kingship from you. "You shall make them" — Addressed to Hashem, it is said: You, Hashem, shall make the sons of King Messiah into princes and rulers throughout the whole Land of Israel.

"Shall you make them" — meaning, you shall set them.

"Instead of" — now he blesses the fruit of the womb that shall be born to them: "your sons shall be instead of your fathers," for the king inherits the honor of his fathers; but since his greatness is greater than the honor of his fathers, he will leave to his sons the honor he inherited from his fathers. For example: his father was on the level of a lord, and he himself is on the level of a great king; his sons will be princes according to the rank he inherited from his father. Concerning this it says, "whom you shall make princes in all the land."

"I will mention Your name" — The Psalmist addresses the Holy One, blessed be He.

'I will cause to be remembered' — some say that it is addressed to David directly, for on account of his sons who were princes, the remembrance of his name shall stand, and generation to generation shall tell of David's glory. And some say that 'your name' is addressed to the honored Name, for the psalmist gives thanks to Hashem for the greatness of David and his offspring.

"Your name" — [is spoken] with regard to the Messiah-king, for in every generation they recall the greatness of his name and await his coming. Therefore "the peoples shall praise you" — that the kingship and greatness shall be yours, meaning they shall acknowledge you as king over them.

"I will make ... remembered" — Because of all this, I will make your name remembered in every generation. "Therefore" — Because of this greatness with which King Messiah shall be made great, the peoples will praise you forever, and will accept you as a god.

"I will cause [your name] to be remembered" — even after your death, "I will cause your name to be remembered in every generation," for your good name will endure for generations upon generations; "therefore the peoples shall praise you" forever and ever. Psalm 45, According to the Intellectual (Allegorical) Method. (1) "For the leader" — since this song appears among David's praises and prayers for the purpose of guiding the solitary, contemplative person, it must be that beneath its outer garment there is also hidden an inner matter, and it speaks with two faces — revealed and concealed, allegory and figure. This is hinted at in that this song is said to be "for the leader, upon shoshanim [lilies]" — for the lily, beyond its outer beauty, also has a pleasant fragrance and delight; so too, beneath the beauty of the song in its outer form, the wise/intelligent will smell out the spirit of wisdom and knowledge. And therefore it says, "A maskil, a song of loves" — that it is a song of loves addressed to the intelligent one (maskil) with good understanding, which is a figure for the triumph of the intellect through the spirit of Hashem, to understand in truth and to place all the powers and impulses and deeds of the body beneath its feet. And it comes as a parable, as though the rational soul and its powers rule over a small city, which is the body, and the other souls submit beneath its hand like a virtuous wife who does her husband's will. The prophets and sages have already likened the intellect and all its powers to the husband of the wife, who is the soul that is fit to accept the laws of wisdom and to conduct itself according to the intellect and its counsel — for then the king, the intellect, reigns over the body, and understands, and does justice and righteousness in the land and house of the body. And the daughter of the old king, who is the daughter of the desiring and stirring faculty, submits beneath him, and he betroths her to himself faithfully, with the love of a bride, to guide her according to his counsel and wisdom. For this he took as a parable the song composed for Solomon on the day of his wedding to the daughter of the kings of the land, as will be explained. (2) "My heart overflows with a goodly matter" — although what is revealed of the song is a secular song about the love of a bride with a foreign daughter, in my heart and my thought there overflows a good matter, a most precious treasure. Although "I say" with my mouth "my works are for the king," nevertheless "my tongue" (the tongue always alludes to reason/understanding) — the matter of reason concealed in the song — is like "the pen of a ready scribe," who knows how to clothe the words of reason in the ornaments of figurative speech and beneath the covering of parable and riddle, so much so that a wise-hearted person is needed who will look and understand the imagery of the heart. (3) "You are fairer" — first he speaks to the husband, who is the intellect, the wise king who shall now reign in the chambers of the soul. He says, "you are fairer than the sons of men" — your beauty is not something found among the powers of the vital and vegetative soul, which are animalistic to them; rather, you are fair with a faculty unique to man alone, who was created in the image and likeness of God. And this is because "grace is poured upon your lips," in that it is a speaking soul, just as the Targum renders "and man became a living soul" as "a speaking spirit." It has been explained by me that "the lip/language" is the faculty unique to knowledge — that is, knowing the laws of wisdom with clear knowledge, which is attained through the spirit of God and holy assistance that accompanies the rational soul to grant it understanding in truth. "Therefore God has blessed you forever" — since it is the blessing of God, and strength from heaven rests upon him, he acquires through this the endurance and eternality that shall remain forever. (4) "Gird" — now, this intellectual understanding of which we now speak, which comes by way of the knowledge of God and good sense — which is comprehension through the holy spirit, just as Solomon attained wisdom and all its paths and truths through the spirit of God — this does not require the use of the faculty of reasoning (binah), whose function is to make deductions and proofs through investigation and study. This is depicted in Scripture in terms of war: [reasoning] draws up a battle line and argues by means of proofs of understanding, to topple false opinions with arrows and slingstones — that is, with proofs and deductions. And nevertheless Solomon also had great reasoning ability, as is stated in the verse, and he knew how to prevail with proofs and to demonstrate everything with evidence. On this it says, "gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one" — behold, you are also able to fight with the sword of argument, with signs and proofs; and this is "your glory and your majesty," for you will know how to establish the foundations of truth also by the ways of philosophy and its proofs. And nevertheless — (5) the principal "way" will be that "you shall succeed and ride on behalf of truth," for comprehension by way of proofs, from the later to the earlier, must first pass before the theoretical scrutiny of all falsehoods, and must investigate, study, fight, and draw up a battle line until it clarifies the truth; but you, whose principal comprehension is from the earlier to the later, shall ride at once directly upon the matter of truth in your study. "And meekness [with] righteousness" — as pertains to the practical intellect, this is attained through meekness, which subdues all the traits of the body to righteousness. "And your right hand shall teach you awesome things" — for what you would attain through great toil by way of study, investigation, and the deductions of reasoning, you shall attain through sudden comprehension by way of the spirit of Hashem, without toil or labor. (6) "Your arrows" — and also the enemies of the intellectual soul, which are the faculty of imagination and the stirring and desiring faculties, against whom one must fight with arrows and weapons of war to subdue them under the authority of the intellect — they shall consider in their hearts that "your arrows are sharp, so that peoples fall beneath you," for since one attains everything with clear comprehension, the laws of wisdom will always be engraved on the tablet of his heart, until the soul acquires a second nature, that it shall picture only good images and the fear of Hashem, and likewise only true and correct comprehensions in its opinions. And the enemies of the soul will not be able to rise up against it at all or lift their heads, for the arrows of the intellect are always sharp to defeat them, as it says, "wisdom is better than weapons of war." (7) "Your throne" — and by this the intellect sits on "the throne of God," to rule with great dominion over the chambers of the soul. "Onto a city of mighty men went up the wise man, and he ruled and succeeded" — and this throne is the throne of God, for it comes with the help of the divine spirit that accompanies it from on high; and therefore it sits on the throne "forever" and shall not be moved from its righteousness. "The scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom" — for it is uprightness itself, once fixed in the heart as the nature of uprightness, whether in opinions and beliefs — to attain everything in a straight way, with true comprehension — or in deeds — to do the good and the upright in the eyes of God and man; and that is the scepter with which you shall guide your kingdom over all the powers of the soul. (8) "You love righteousness" — and through the uprightness fixed in your heart, "you love righteousness and hate wickedness," for the nature of the heart is set toward righteousness, to the point that it hates its opposite. "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy above your companions" — the faculties joined to you, which are the powers that accompany the rational soul, such as the faculty of cunning, counsel, and scheming and their like, and likewise the good faculties of character, such as humility, mercy, and generosity and their like — these shall be anointed with oil of joy, for the oil alludes to the divine influence and the wisdom that He bestows upon His holy ones; to this oil the stones join and become a holy pillar, and the oil of true knowledge and the spirit emanated from on high is poured upon its head. (9) "Myrrh" — and also the powers that betray you and oppose the rational soul, such as the faculty of stubbornness and folly, which stand as an adversary to the enlightenment of the intellect, and the faculty of envy, pride, and desire and the like, which fight against it in deeds — they too shall submit at your feet and cast before you "myrrh," which is the choicest extract arising from the powers of the vital soul, "and aloes and cassia," which are things that give a pleasant fragrance to the vegetative soul — meaning that even the character traits and desires whose root is in the lower souls, the animal and the vegetative, shall refine the good of their traits to submit before the intellect. "Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad" — at the time you go out from your palaces, where you would rejoice in intellectual understanding to guide the body, even the traits and inclinations that lean toward evil shall submit, and shall be transformed into faithful servants to serve the rational soul and to do everything according to its command in holy service — such as making use of forceful traits against those who mock him in the service of Hashem, and haughtiness of heart in the ways of Hashem, and cruelty and zeal against those who spurn Hashem and His enemies, and the like. (10) "Daughters of kings" — now he depicts the moment this exalted bridegroom goes out from his palace to betroth the daughter of the king of Tyre and take her as his wife — meaning that the intellect takes the soul to be a wife to it, submissive to its authority, and it shall rule over her to guide her according to its counsel, and she shall be to it like a virtuous wife who does her husband's will. And since the root of the vital soul and its powers were born on foreign soil, by way of matter and the body, it is therefore "the daughter of the king of Tyre," who is a foreigner. And in another respect, matter and the chief of its powers, which is the stirring faculty, is called by the name "kings," for they are the ones who reign in the body — as it is figuratively expressed in the parable stated in Song of Songs, and in the book of Ecclesiastes it is called by the name "an old and foolish king." And all the powers that branch off from them, the daughters of matter, are "daughters of kings," and they now come "in your precious things," to give honor to the wise king who shall seize the kingship to guide by the counsel of wisdom. And then "the queen stands at your right hand" — that the soul shall not be against you but shall stand at your right hand, to assist you in all your affairs, as it is said, "one who merits [gains] a helper; one who does not merit [gains] an opponent" — and she stands "in gold of Ophir," adorned with precious jewels, which are good traits and upright characteristics. (11) "Hearken, O daughter" — now he speaks to the bride, that she should set her heart to understand, her eye to see, and her ear to hear the counsel of the intellect and wisdom. "And forget your people and your father's house" — that she should abandon the desires, the evil traits, and the evil images that are her people and her family, for they are from the nature of her birth and from the power of her father's house, which is matter and its powers — her father and her begetter. (12) "So shall the king desire your beauty" — and the intellect, which shall now reign in this small city, shall mark out your beauty by the fact "that he shall be your lord," and by the fact that you shall heed the counsel of the intellect and wisdom and cast off the shoes of matter from your feet. "And bow down to him" — to submit to the counsel of wisdom and knowledge. (13-14) "And the daughter of Tyre" — from now on the traits shall grow strong in her toward the way of good, and the soul shall clothe herself in fine garments, which are the good traits that shall serve as clothing, for every faculty, when it rules in the heart and is imprinted there, covers the whole soul, and she is clothed in it like a person who wears and wraps himself in his garments. And if she wraps herself in the images of wisdom, ethics, and praiseworthy traits, it is said that she has wrapped herself in precious garments and royal robes. And it is depicted that these garments were brought to her as a gift by the rich of the people of Tyre, for she shall attain this from the praiseworthy faculties of the vitalizing soul that clings to the body, which are "the people of Tyre," and they shall improve her powers and weave from them precious garments. On this it says, "that the rich of the people shall entreat your favor with a gift" — and what is the gift? "All glorious is the king's daughter" — honored things and spiritual matters befitting a king's daughter, for within the chest of the gift is found "her raiment of checkered gold-work," a royal garment with which the soul shall be clothed — which are very precious traits, of gold and fine gold. (15) "In embroidered garments" — after the soul has acquired the precious garments, the royal robes, which are the praiseworthy traits and good characteristics, then she shall be led to the embroidered canopy that the king made for her — meaning, she shall be made ready to receive the laws of wisdom, the images of knowledge, and good understanding. And also "the virgins after her, her companions" — who are all the powers of the soul — all of them shall be handed over to the authority of the intellect to perform its service, even though they are virgins that had not been subdued until now. (16) "They shall be led with gladness and rejoicing" — so that it shall not be at the level of coercion, for the impulse of the heart shall be removed and the images of intellect and morality shall grow strong, until she accepts the laws of wisdom with gladness and rejoicing, "and they shall enter into the king's palace" within, to understand the secrets of the intellect and its hidden things. (17) "Instead of your fathers" — shall be your sons and your students, for the students are the children that the intellect begets; you shall teach them the laws of wisdom that you received from your fathers and your teachers. "You shall make them princes in all the land" — they too shall rule over the land and matter, and shall subdue the land beneath the dominion of their intellect. (18) "I will cause your name to be remembered in every generation" — for you shall be among those who bring merit to the many, who are like stars that shine forever, "and all the peoples shall praise you" — and glory and majesty shall rest upon you, and they shall eat the fruit of your deeds and your teachings.