Cyril of Alexandria — Commentary on Scripture

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

The law is said to be in his left hand, the gospel in his right. Or, the left hand is to be understood as the present life and the right hand as the future life, which will indeed embrace me after it is said to those on the right: “Come, blessed of my Father.” We also read elsewhere: “A long life is in wisdom’s right hand and riches and glory in its left hand.” Thus, his right hand is the knowledge of divine realities, from which comes eternal life, but his left hand is the knowledge of human realities, from which come riches and glory. He is saying, therefore, My mind exceeds human realities and divine knowledge covers me. For, it is said again: “Honor her that she will embrace you.” … Rightly, then, is it said that the right hand embraces and the left hand offers support to the head, for the goods of the present life, however much they are thought to be visible, must be subject to the head of the perfect soul and used only out of necessity, as though they were a pillow for the head. But the goods of the future age, because they exceed human nature, being divine, signify the superna…

The law is said to be in his left hand, the gospel in his right. Or, the left hand is to be understood as the present life and the right hand as the future life, which will indeed embrace me after it is said to those on the right: “Come, blessed of my Father.” We also read elsewhere: “A long life is in wisdom’s right hand and riches and glory in its left hand.” Thus, his right hand is the knowledge of divine realities, from which comes eternal life, but his left hand is the knowledge of human realities, from which come riches and glory. He is saying, therefore, My mind exceeds human realities and divine knowledge covers me. For, it is said again: “Honor her that she will embrace you.” … Rightly, then, is it said that the right hand embraces and the left hand offers support to the head, for the goods of the present life, however much they are thought to be visible, must be subject to the head of the perfect soul and used only out of necessity, as though they were a pillow for the head. But the goods of the future age, because they exceed human nature, being divine, signify the supernatural through this embrace. Perhaps also, since the hands are symbols of acts, the left hand indicates corporeal deeds, whereas the right hand signifies spiritual work. Because the right hand is more powerful, then, it embraces corporeal necessities.

Song of Solomon 2:8

The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

“Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains and jumping across the hills.” … Some things imply that the bridegroom is already present, whereas other things suggest that the bridegroom is being sought by the bride. For we too investigate some problems for which we do not know the solution and some problems, when the bridegroom and Word enlightens our hearts, which we find already solved. Then, in other matters, we doubt again and it is revealed to us anew. This will happen often until we possess the bridegroom fully, when he not only comes to us but also remains within us.… “He comes leaping upon the mountains.” He also comes trampling upon the nets cast by the evil demon, breaking them that we too might trample on them contemptuously.

Song of Solomon 2:10-12

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Also in the Song of Songs we find Christ calling to the bride there described, and who represents the person of the church, in these words: "Arise, come, my neighbor, my beautiful dove. For lo! the winter is past, and the rain is gone; it has passed away. The flowers appear on the ground. The time of the pruning is come." … A certain spring-like calm was about to arise for those who believe in him.

Song of Solomon 2:12

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

Such did the Savior of all become toward us, showing the most perfect gentleness, and like a turtle [dove], moreover, soothing the world and filling his own vineyard, even us who believe in him, with the sweet sound of his voice. For it is written in the Song of Songs, "The voice of the turtle[dove] has been heard in our land." For Christ has spoken to us the divine message of the gospel, which is for the salvation of the whole world.

Song of Solomon 2:14

O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

The rock is Christ. He is a wall and a shelter to us who believe and a perfect guardian, which is denoted by the wall. When you arrive, he says, you will be protected with every defense.

Song of Solomon 2:17

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

With the barren synagogue abandoned, she asks the bridegroom to come to those downtrodden and humiliated and formerly idolatrous souls who will be raised with him to heavenly heights.

Song of Solomon 3:1-4

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

“In my chamber by night I sought him.” This refers to the women who came at the beginning of the morning on the sabbath to the tomb of Jesus and did not find him. He is in the chamber, therefore, or away from the chamber. Or perhaps they call their chamber the Lord’s tomb because we are buried together with him. But when they did not find him, they heard at once: “He is not here, for he has been raised.” And they discovered guardian angels, whom they asked, “Where have you laid the Lord?” Then, when they had left the angels whom they were questioning, the Lord met them and said, “Rejoice.” For this reason, it says, “When I had passed by them for a little while, I found him whom I will not let go.” She grasped his feet and heard, “Don’t hold me.” Finally, he called the gathering of the apostles the house of the mother, to whom he announced the resurrection of Christ.

Song of Solomon 3:6

Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

The myrrh that was mixed with frankincense was used for burying him, but frankincense because whoever rises with Christ shares his divinity. And the ecclesiastical soul is imbued not only with these fragrances but also with various principles of knowledge. For whoever discerns accurately and searches all the way to the highest peak will be said to crush everything and reduce to dust the doctrines of good fragrance, like some perfume with which the bride is now said to be fragrant. Perhaps also the one who does not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, whose heart has not been hardened, generating and preserving various sweet smells, renders a good odor from all the herbs which are now called perfumes. Likewise, some will say that the holy and ecclesiastical soul, a daughter formerly destitute of God, ascends from the assembly of the Gentiles, that is, from the desert of those who are remiss in dogmas, words and deeds, having abandoned God, and rises to the things that are of God.

Song of Solomon 3:10

He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

We should think that the use of gold denotes spiritual union, which is precious and divine. For, to demonstrate the union of God and humankind, the ark in the desert was also covered within and without by gold. The purple signifies that number of persons who are called to the kingdom. And when someone believes, at that moment Christ is received in the heart, who is a precious pearl. For it says that he made a litter for himself from the daughters of Jerusalem on account of love alone: "For God so loved the world that he sent his only-begotten Son, that all who believe in him would not perish but have eternal life."

Song of Solomon 3:11

Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

The church forged from the Gentiles says this: "Go forth and see." But what it calls the day of his wedding is the day of his passion, when he married the church by his blood.

Song of Solomon 4:8

Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

This teaches us the bride’s place of origin, that she comes from the worship of idols. For Mount Lebanon is full of idols, whence you come, it says, hastening past through the law. Without knowing the law, you were taught the mystery of Christ.

Song of Solomon 4:9

Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

Truly you inflamed us with desire for you by one word of confession, which you rightly possessed, seeing with your interior eyes. For you made a confession by your necklace. These things were said to the bride by friends of the bridegroom, that is, by angelic powers. For, since the power of the visual faculty is twofold, one sees the truth and another wanders astray after vanity. Because the pure eye of the bride is opened only toward the nature of the good but the other is idle, therefore the friends give praise only to one eye, calling her “sister” on account of their kinship with respect to freedom from passion but calling her “bride” on account of her marriage to the Word. Because he says that your eye is one, therefore, insofar as it beholds one thing, likewise is your soul one, insofar as it is not divided into many dispositions. And your necklace is perfect, given that you imposed the divine yoke upon yourself, for this necklace is surely the yoke of the Lord. For this reason, we confess that you created a heart for us by your wondrous dowry, which is to say that our souls and…

Truly you inflamed us with desire for you by one word of confession, which you rightly possessed, seeing with your interior eyes. For you made a confession by your necklace. These things were said to the bride by friends of the bridegroom, that is, by angelic powers. For, since the power of the visual faculty is twofold, one sees the truth and another wanders astray after vanity. Because the pure eye of the bride is opened only toward the nature of the good but the other is idle, therefore the friends give praise only to one eye, calling her “sister” on account of their kinship with respect to freedom from passion but calling her “bride” on account of her marriage to the Word. Because he says that your eye is one, therefore, insofar as it beholds one thing, likewise is your soul one, insofar as it is not divided into many dispositions. And your necklace is perfect, given that you imposed the divine yoke upon yourself, for this necklace is surely the yoke of the Lord. For this reason, we confess that you created a heart for us by your wondrous dowry, which is to say that our souls and minds were brought to the contemplation of the light through you. For in you we contemplate the sun of justice as though in a mirror.

Song of Solomon 4:12

A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

[This garden] is closed to the world but opened to the heavenly bridegroom. And the fountain where we are anointed after baptism was sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Song of Solomon 4:15

A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

Virtues are signified by the perfumes and the trees of Lebanon are the prophets. Myrrh and aloes, finally, demonstrate that the buried Christ communed with the saints who preceded him, for, descending to hades, he led them out.

Song of Solomon 5:2

I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

I sleep, he says, on the cross, insofar as he suffers death on behalf of humanity. But his heart remains awake because, as God, he plunders hades.

Song of Solomon 5:15

His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

“His legs are pillars of marble.” These are clearly foundations, for whoever builds does so upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. He aptly praises the legs after the belly, who says that marble is set upon bases of gold. Peter and John are pillars of the church, for example, who had Christ, called by a golden name, as their foundation. And they are marble, for Paul also calls them a pillar, surely on account of their stability and consistency, sustaining and supporting the common body of the church, moreover, with their enlightened lives and their saving doctrine. But the charity with which we love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves also supports the common body of the church, as though on pillars of marble. For whoever is perfected in these two commandments becomes a pillar and support of the church, such that the whole body of the church rests upon this double virtue, as though on legs. The golden foundation contains the unwavering and unchanged base of faith and in all things holds fast reasonably to the good.

Song of Solomon 7:10

I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

I will offer my beloved praise, and his turning will be toward me. What it calls his turning is either the second advent or the conversion of the Jewish people.

Song of Solomon 8:11

Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

The vineyard which, it says, was given to the spiritual Solomon is surely the church. And we have already said that Baal-hamon means "in believers." For who believed, apart from those who accepted his commandments?