SNG 1:9 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 1:9–11 The man spoke to the woman

In these lines the author introduces new comparisons that use Pharaoh’s chariot horses and jewelry. The man expressed his admiration for the woman. He focused especially on her face adorned with jewelry.

1:9a–b

I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots: In this verse the man compared the woman to a female horse (mare) among the horses that pulled the king’s chariots. Those horses were famous for their beauty and majesty. When the man compared the woman with a chariot horse, he implied that she was beautiful and majestic. It does not imply that the woman actually looked like a horse.

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate how the woman and the horse were alike. For example:

You are as beautiful as a mare among Pharaoh’s chariot horses

You are majestic like the horses that pull the king’s chariots

The word chariots probably refers here to the horses that pulled the chariots, not to the chariots themselves. In many languages chariots are unknown, and the term may be distracting here. If that is true in your language, you may refer only to the horses without mentioning chariots, as several English versions do. For example:

I compare you to a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions. (GW)

1:9a

I compare you, my darling,

My love, I compare you^(sing)
My dearest, you^(sing) are like
You^(sing), my love, are adorned like

my darling: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as my darling literally means “my friend” or “my companion.” But in a context like the Song, it has a romantic sense. This word is the most common way the man referred to the woman in the Song. It is a different term than the one used in 1:7. Use an appropriate term of affection in your language. Some other ways to translate it in English are:

my love (RSV)

my dearest friend

In some languages it may be more natural to put this direct address in a different place in the sentence, for example:

My true love, I compare you… (GW)

You, my love… (GNT)

To a mare…I compare you, my love

In some languages it may be more natural not to use direct address. For example:

You are my true love. I compare you to…

1:9b

to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.

to a mare among the horses that pull Pharaoh’s chariots.
one of the horses that belong to the king of Egypt.

a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots: There are two ways to interpret the word mare in the phrase a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots:

The author used the word for female horse, mare,This is the only occurrence of the feminine form for horse, susi, in the whole Bible. because he compared the woman to a horse. It does not imply a contrast with male horses. For example:
I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh. (NIV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, NASB, NIV, NJB, NJPS, REB, RSV)
He used the word mare to imply a contrast with male horses. Usually, chariots were pulled by male horses. If a female horse came among the males, they would become excited. The contrast implies that the woman was exciting to men. For example:
You, my love, excite men as a mare excites the stallions of Pharaoh’s chariots. (GNT) (GW, NCV, NET, NLT, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Verses 10–11 focus on the woman’s beautiful jewels, not on the way she affected men.

a mare: This feminine form of “horse” occurs only here in the Old Testament. There are two ways to interpret the exact meaning of the form:

It means “a mare.” For example:
I compare you, my love, to a mare of Pharaoh’s chariots. (RSV) (BSB, ESV, GW, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, NLT, RSV, GNT)
It means “my mare.” For example:
I compare you, my love, to my mare harnessed to Pharaoh’s chariot. (NJB) (NASB, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), since it fits this context better. Also, most English versions and Bible scholars follow it.The suffix on the Hebrew word for “mare” is the ancient remnant of a possessive form and appears to mean “my mare.” But in this context it is not to be understood as possessive, and it means “a mare.” Several ancient versions mistakenly interpreted it “my mare” (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac). See the NET Bible for more details.

Pharaoh’s: The word Pharaoh is a title that the people of Egypt gave to their king. It is not a personal name. Some ways to translate it are:

king

ruler

chief

chariots: A “chariot” is a cart that has wheels and is pulled by horses. Pharaoh’s chariots probably held two or three men. Such chariots were often used in war and sometimes for royal processions. Other ways to translate it are:

war carts

vehicles

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

לְ⁠סֻסָתִ⁠י֙ בְּ⁠רִכְבֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה דִּמִּיתִ֖י⁠ךְ רַעְיָתִֽ⁠י

to,mare_of,my among,the_chariots_of Parˊoh I,liken_you my_friend_of,my

If it would be more natural in your language, you could begin this verse with the phrase my darling. Alternate translation: [My darling, I liken you to a mare among the chariots of Pharaoh]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

לְ⁠סֻסָתִ⁠י֙ בְּ⁠רִכְבֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה דִּמִּיתִ֖י⁠ךְ

to,mare_of,my among,the_chariots_of Parˊoh I,liken_you

The comparison To a mare among the chariots of Pharaoh I liken you could be: (1) the man saying that the excitement caused by a mare (a female horse) among Pharaoh’s male chariot horses is like the excitement that the woman caused him to feel. (2) the man saying that the beauty of the woman is like the beauty of one of Pharaoh’s mares. The horses of the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh, were known to be the best in the world and very beautiful. This is the second option because, normally, only stallions, not mares, pulled the chariots. Alternate translation: [Your beauty is like the beauty of Pharaoh’s chariot horses] or [I compare your beauty to the beauty of Pharaoh’s chariot horses]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

בְּ⁠רִכְבֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה

among,the_chariots_of Parˊoh

Here, the chariots represents “the horses that pull the chariots.” Chariots were normally drawn by pairs of male horses (stallions). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [among the stallions that pull Pharaoh’s chariots] or [among the stallions that pull the chariots of Pharaoh]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

פַרְעֹ֔ה

Parˊoh

The word Pharaoh is a title and represents kings of Egypt in general, not one particular king of Egypt. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural expression. Alternate translation: [the king of Egypt]

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.