OET interlinear SNG 1:12

Section 1:2–2:7: The woman and man admired each other

In Section 1:2–2:7, the woman and man praised each other, and they became more confident that they loved each other. In the introduction (1:2–4) the woman spoke about her desire for the man. Then she spoke of her humble life working in the family vineyard (1:5–6), and she seemed to question whether she was worthy for him to love her. Then he praised her, and she praised him. When she spoke at the end of the section (2:3–6), she felt secure that he loved her.

In this section, the woman used several comparisons to speak of her feelings about the man. She spoke as though he were a shepherd (1:7–8) or a king (1:4; 1:12), implying that he was like a shepherd or king to her in certain ways. He was also like a bag of myrrh (1:13), henna blossoms (1:14), and an apple tree (2:3–4) to her. The woman compared herself to “a rose of Sharon,” and “a lily of the valleys” (2:1). The man compared her to “a mare of Pharaoh’s chariots” (1:9). The Notes will discuss the meaning of each of these comparisons as it occurs in its section.

Lines 1:2–4 are the introduction to Section 1:2–2:7. In these lines, the poet summarizes the Song’s message and introduces its main characters: the woman, the man, and a group of young women. In the Song the woman spoke more often than the man spoke. After the title (1:1), she began the Song by saying that she wanted him to kiss her. She referred to him only as “him” or “you.” In Hebrew poetry, the authors do not introduce their characters as they do in stories, but in some languages it may be more natural to introduce them and identify them. Some ways to do this are:

• Provide headings to identify the characters. Some headings may apply only to a verse or part of a verse. For example:

  1:4e The Woman commented about the young women of Jerusalem You may need to use a different form the first time a character is introduced. For example:

  1:2–4b A woman speaks to the man she loves

• Use a speech introducer in the first part of the verse. If you use this option, you may want to indicate in some way that the speech introducer is not in the text itself. For example:

  1:4e (The woman said to her beloved,) “Rightly do they love you.”

  1:2a [There were a certain woman and man. She said to/about him,] “Let him kiss me…

Choose an option that fits your situation, and use it consistently throughout the book. You should also decide how you will refer to the speakers in the headings. Some ways to do that are:

woman, man, women (GNT)

beloved, lover, friends (NIV)

bride, groom, companions (REB)

she, he, others (ESV)

The woman often referred to the man as “my beloved” (RSV), and she also called him “the one whom my soul loves,” “the king,” and “my friend.” The man often referred to her as “my love” and also as “fairest among women,” “my dove,” “my sister,” “my bride,” and “queenly maiden.”

Paragraph 1:12–14 The woman replied to the man

In 1:12–14 the woman replied to what the man said in 1:9–11 about her beauty. Here in 1:12–14 she also admired him and indicated that she desired him. She mentioned the sweet fragrance that was present when they were together. In 1:12 it was the fragrance of the woman’s perfume that affected the man.A few Bible commentators (e.g., Fox and Murphy) think that “my nard” refers to the king. In other words, they view it as a metaphor describing the king, as in 1:13–14. However, 1:12 does not at all parallel the form of the two comparisons in verses 13–14. It seems more likely that nard in 1:12 refers to the woman’s perfume, not to the king himself.

In 1:13–14 the woman used two metaphors to compare the man with fragrances. The metaphors imply that the man delighted her like a wonderful fragrance. In these lines she probably imagined or dreamed about being with her beloved. She was probably not actually with him.

While the king was at his table,

• My “king” sits at his table,

my perfume spread its fragrance.

• my nard spread its fragrance.

• and the odor of my perfume fills the room/air.

General Comment on 1:12

In some languages, a time clause does not occur first in the sentence. So the order of the two clauses in this verse may need to be reversed. For example:

My perfume spread its fragrance while my king was at his table.