SNG 1:8 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

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 1:7–8 The woman spoke and the man replied

There are some difficult interpretation issues in 1:7–8. One issue is the attitude of the man and woman. In 1:7, did the woman ask for information in a serious manner or did she speak in a flirting way? In 1:8, did the man scold the woman or did he reply in a flirting way? Possibly, the woman was more serious in 1:7, while the man replied in a flirting way in 1:8.

The Song uses several figurative themes that occur at different places in the book. The theme of 1:5–6 was the vineyard. In 1:7–8 the focus shifts to the theme of shepherds and pastures.

1:8a–c

If you do not know…follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds: Here the man answered the woman’s question. He seemed to tell her to do exactly what she said that she did not want to do (1:7). She did not want to wander near the other shepherds.Some Bible scholars think that the man was giving her a harsh answer. But the way he spoke to her as “O fairest among women” is certainly not harsh. Some other scholars think that the man was speaking playfully or flirting in this verse. However, here the man implied that she did not have to fear. She should bring her own goats and follow the tracks of his sheep. The sheep would lead her to him, and everyone would see that she had a good reason to be there.

Some other ways to translate the verse are:

Don’t you know the place, loveliest of women? Go and follow the flock; find pasture for your goats near the tents of the shepherds. (GNT)

If you do not know, O most beautiful of women, simply follow the tracks of my flock, and pasture your little lambs beside the tents of the shepherds. (NET)

My dearest, if you don’t know, just follow the path of the sheep. Then feed your young goats near the shepherds’ tents. (CEV)

1:8a

If you do not know, O fairest of women,

If you^(sing) do not know where I will pasture my sheep, O fairest of women,
Most beautiful woman, if you^(sing) do not know where I lead my sheep to graze,

If you do not know: The Hebrew clause that the BSB translates as If you do not know is more literally: “If you do not know for yourself.”For a discussion of this use of the Hebrew referential l-, see Rivka Halevy, “The Subject Co-referential l- Pronoun in Hebrew,” in T. Bar & E. Cohen (eds.), Studies in Semitic and General Linguistics in Honor of Gideon Goldenberg (Ugarit Verlag, Munster 2007), 299–321. The phrase “for yourself” probably implies that the man was surprised that the woman did not know. Its meaning is similar to the meaning of “really” in the phrase, “If you really do not know.” Some other ways to translate the surprise are:

Surely you know (NCV)

How is it that you do not know

not know: The words not know refers here to not knowing where the man would pasture his sheep. In some languages it is helpful to make explicit what the woman did not know. For example:

not know the place

not know where I pasture them

O fairest of women: The phrase fairest of women is more literally “the beautiful one among women.” The man used this phrase like a “praise name” to show his admiration for the woman. He compared her to other women, saying that she was more beautiful than any of them. Translate this comparison in a natural way in your language.

In some languages it may not be natural to use a phrase like this as direct address. Some other ways to translate it are:

As a statement. For example:
You are the most beautiful of women. (NCV)
You are very beautiful. Other women are not beautiful beside you.
As an exclamation. For example:
Oh very beautiful woman among all other women!

Translate the phrase in a natural way for this context.

1:8b

follow the tracks of the flock,

follow the path of my flock,
then follow the trail that my sheep leave/make,

follow the tracks of the flock: Here the man advised the woman that she could find him if she looked at the tracks that the sheep and goats made as they walked. Other ways to translate this are:

just follow the path of the sheep (CEV)

follow the trail of my flock (NLT)

Notice that the NLT refers specifically to the flock of the man.

tracks: The word tracks refers to the marks (footprints) that the sheep made as they walked. It probably does not refer to a well-used trail, but to recent tracks left by his flock. Some other ways to translate it are:

footprints

marks

1:8c

and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds.

and graze your^(sing) kids by the tents of the shepherds.
and feed your^(sing) flock of young goats near the shepherds’ camps/shelters.

and graze your young goats: The phrase and graze your young goats is similar to the phrase “pasture your flock” in 1:7b. See how you translated it there.

young goats: The woman had young goats that she led to places where they could graze. Some languages have a specific term for young goats, such as “kid” in the RSV. If goats or kids are not common in your language, you may be able to refer to a different animal that people herd, or you may be able to use a more general term. For example:

animals

lambs/sheep

near the tents of the shepherds: Here the man suggested that the woman should let her goats graze near the tents of other shepherds. That is where she would find him, and he could also find her. He may also imply that the other shepherds could protect and help her.Garrett (page 139) says, “when she goes out and joins him she will no longer be an outsider—a woman among the shepherds—but will find her community and family. Her lover’s community will be hers, and she need have no fear or discomfort.” Another way to translate the phrase near the tents of the shepherds is:

near the tents where the shepherds usually rest.

tents: These tents were simple temporary shelters. The shepherds could rest there while their sheep grazed nearby. In contrast, the “tents of Kedar” in 1:5c–d were more substantial dwellings.The Hebrew words for “tent” are different in 1:5 and 1:8. Use a word or phrase in your language that refers to a temporary shelter.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear SNG 1:8