As valleys they are spread out, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which the LORD has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 6. Woody. Hebrew also “extensive torrents.”—Tabernacles. Hebrew ahalim, which some render lign-aloes, or stacte, as S. Jerom does, Psalms 44:9. Proverbs 7:17. Song of Songs 4:14. The aloe-tree, however, was brought from India, and was not common in Arabia. The Syrian aloe was only a shrub; and this tree, of which Balaam speaks, must have been tall and beautiful.—Pitched. Hebrew “planted.” Calmet.—The Septuagint agree however with the Vulg. Bible.—Side. Cedars grow very large on the top of Libanus, and are always green; the fruit resembles the pine-apple; the wood is incorruptible. Sionita 6. By humility we must rise to the summit of perfection. D.