separate · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
purer
זַכּ֤וּza.Ku
H2141
to be transparent or clean (phys. or morally) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
snow
מִשֶּׁ֔לֶגmi.She.leg
H7950
snow (probably from its whiteness) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
whiter
צַח֖וּtza.Chu
H6705
to glare · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
milk
מֵחָלָ֑בme.cha.Lav
H2461
milk (as the richness of kine) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
ruddy
אָ֤דְמוּ'A.de.mu
H119
flush or turn rosy · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
body
עֶ֙צֶם֙'e.tzem
H6106
a bone (as strong) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
rubies
מִפְּנִינִ֔יםmi.pe.ni.Nim
H6443
probably a pearl (as round) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
polishing
גִּזְרָתָֽםgiz.ra.Tam
H1508
the figure or person (as if cut out) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
sapphire
סַפִּ֖ירsa.Pir
H5601
a gem (perhaps used for scratching other substances) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psalms 144:12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palac…
Song of Solomon 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
1 Samuel 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, a…
Numbers 6:2-21 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to sepa…
Judges 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb:…
Judges 13:7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for…
Judges 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my m…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Lamentations 4:1-12
The elegy in this chapter begins with a lamentation of the very sad and doleful change which the judgments of God had made in Jerusalem. The city that was formerly as gold, as the most fine gold, so rich and splendid, the perfection of beauty and the joy of the whole earth, has become dim, and is changed, has lost its lustre, lost its value, is not what it was; it has become dross. Alas! what an alteration is here!
I. The temple was laid waste, which was the glory of Jerusalem and its protection. it is given up into the hands of the enemy. And some understand the gold spoken of (Lam 4:1) to be the gold of the temple, the fine gold with which it was overlaid (Kg1 6:22); when the temple was bu…
Nazarites--literally, "separated ones" (Num 6:2). They were held once in the highest estimation, but now they are degraded. God's blessing formerly caused their body not to be the less fair and ruddy for their abstinence from strong drink. Compare the similar case of Daniel, &c. (Dan 1:8-15). Also David (Sa1 16:12; Sa1 17:42). Type of Messiah (Sol 5:10).
rubies--GESENIUS translates, "corals," from a Hebrew root, "to divide into branches," from the branching form of corals.
polishing--They were like exquisitely cut and polished sapphires. The "sapphires" may represent the blue veins of a healthy person.
Adam Clarke on Lamentations 4:7
Her Nazarites were purer than snow - נזיר nazir does not always signify a person separated under a religious vow; it sometimes denotes what is chief or eminent. It is applied to Joseph, Gen 49:26.
Blayney therefore translates here, Her Nobles.
"Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk;
They were ruddier on the bone than rubies; their veining was the sapphires."
On which he remarks: - "In the first line the whiteness of their skin is described, and in the second, their flesh;" and as גזר gazar signifies to divide and intersect, as the blue veins do on the surface of the body, these are without doubt intended.
Milk will most certainly well apply to the whiteness of the skin;…
The Christ of the Creator had to be called a Nazarene according to prophecy; thus the Jews also designate us, on that very account, Nazarenes after him. For we are they of whom it is written, "Its Nazarites were whiter than snow," even they who were once defiled with the stains of sin and darkened with the clouds of ignorance. But to Christ the title Nazarene was destined to become a suitable one, from the hiding place of his infancy, for which he went down and dwelled at Nazareth, to escape from Archelaus the son of Herod.
Take my advice, my friend, and be slow to do evil but swift to your salvation; for readiness to evil and tardiness to good are equally bad. If you are invited to a revel, be not swift to go; if to apostasy, leap away; if a company of evildoers say to you, "Come with us, share our blood guiltiness, let us hide in the earth a righteous person unjustly," do not lend them even your ears. Thus you will make two very great gains; you will make known to the other his sin, and you will deliver yourself from evil company. But if David the Great says to you, Come and let us rejoice in the Lord, or another prophet, Come and let us ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or our Savior himself, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, or, Arise, let us go hence, shining brightly, glittering above snow, whiter than milk, shining above the sapphire stone, let us not resist or delay. Let us be like Peter and John, and let us hasten, as they did to the sepulcher and the resurrection, so we to the font; running together, racing against each other, striving to be first to obtain this blessing.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ruby — (Heb. peninim), only in plural (Lam. 4:7). The ruby was one of the stones in the high priest’s breastplate (Ex. 28:17). A comparison is made between the value of wisdom and rubies (Job 28:18; Prov.…
Stones, Precious — Frequently referred to (1 Kings 10:2; 2 Chr. 3:6; 9:10; Rev. 18:16; 21:19). There are about twenty different names of such stones in the Bible. They are figuratively introduced to denote value,…
Famine · 5:17;14:1-6;48:33; — 5:17;14:1-6;48:33;
Fraternity · .The Nazarites, vows of — .The Nazarites, vows of
Milk · An animal secretion, of a white colour — An animal secretion, of a white colour
Nazarite · Character of — Character of
Nazarites · Esteemed pure — Esteemed pure
Precious Stones · Mentioned in scripture: Ruby — Mentioned in scripture: Ruby
Ruby · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Snow · .Of purity — .Of purity
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Lamentations 4:7
Her Nazarites were purer than snow,.... Such who separated themselves by a vow to the Lord, and abstained from drinking wine and strong drink, and by a moderate diet, and often washing themselves, as well as taking great care of their hair, appeared very neat and comely, like snow, without any spot or blemish. Some think such as were separated from others in dignity, very honourable persons, the sons of nobles, are meant, since the word has the signification of a "crown", and interpret it, her princes; Jarchi makes mention of this sense, and rejects it; but it is received by many: and the meaning is, that her young noblemen, who were well fed, and neatly dressed, looked as pure and as beauti…
Lamentations 4:7-8
7. Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
7. Candidiores Nazaraei ejus nive, (vel, puriores,) candidiores laete, rubicundi fuerunt corpore suo (neque enim hoc potest accipi de ossibus) supra lapillos preciosos, sapphirus excisio ipsorum:
8. Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
8. Obtenebrata est prae caligine forma ipsorum, non agniti in plateis; adhaesit cutis eorum ossi ipsorum, (hoc est, ossibus;) exaruit, fuit tanquam lignum.
Here the Prophet speaks of N…
The misery that has come on the inhabitants of Jerusalem is a punishment for their deep guilt. The description given of this misery is divided into two strophes: for, first (Lam 4:1-6), the sad lot of the several classes of the population is set forth; then (Lam 4:7-11) a conclusion is drawn therefrom regarding the greatness of their sin.
Lam 4:1-6
The first strophe. Lam 4:1. The lamentation begins with a figurative account of the destruction of all that is precious and glorious in Israel: this is next established by the bringing forth of instances.
Lam 4:1-2
Lam 4:1, Lam 4:2 contain, not a complaint regarding the desolation of the sanctuary and of Zion, as Maurer, Kalkschmidt, and Thenius,…
like fine jewels: (literally like lapis lazuli): Lapis lazuli is a beautiful blue stone that is soft enough to carve. It is often used in decorations and mosaics.
Rashi on Lamentations 4:7
Her Nazirites were more pristine. Her princes, like נֵזֶר and כֶּתֶר [=a crown]. But I say [it means] actual Nazirites, who had long hair and were very handsome, and the antecedent is “of my people.”13Above Verse 6.
Those who appeared redder than pearls. Those whose appearance was ruddier than coral and whose forms were like sapphire; their complexions became darker than charcoal.
