SNG 2:4 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 2:1–7 The man and woman praised each other

Lines 2:1–7 are the end of the first poetic section in the Song. In them, the man and woman praised each other. He brought her to his banquet room and embraced her. In 2:7 she cautioned the women of Jerusalem not to awaken love before the right time.

2:4a

He has brought me to the house of wine,

He has led me to the banquet room,
He leads me to the place of celebration,

He has brought me to the house of wine: Here the woman imagined the man bringing her to a house of wine, or banquet hall, as in the NIV. The BSB translates this as a past action. However, here it probably describes what the woman wanted the man to do. In her thoughts she imagined him doing it. Use a natural verb form in your language.This is the Jussive use of the perfect aspect, also called the precative perfect. It expresses a strong wish or desire using the third person (e.g., “may he” or “let him”). It fits well in the context of the following verse’s imperatives. Both the ancient Septuagint and Syriac versions interpreted the Hebrew verb as a second person imperative (re-vocalizing the consonants).

Some other ways to translate this wish or imagination are:

Let him lead me to the banquet hall… (NIV)

He brings me to the banquet hall… (NLT96)

The same verb is used in 1:4b, and it functions in a similar way.Older grammatical theories saw the Hebrew verb system as tense-based, similar to Indo-European languages. However, newer, more linguistically informed, views understand the Hebrew verb conjugations as marking various aspectual (perfective and non-perfective) nuances rather than time. The time is determined in the larger context by time words, syntax, genre, etc. rather than verbal endings.

house of wine: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates literally as house of wine is also translated as “banquet hall,” as in the NIV.bet hayyayin It can refer to any place where people go to drink wine. It does not necessarily imply a house or building. Here it probably does not refer to a formal banquet hall, because the man and woman met in a private place. It may refer to the figurative house in the forest that was mentioned in 1:17a.

In some languages it may be helpful to translate house of wine with a more general term. For example:

the place of celebration

the feasting place

wine: wine often has a romantic meaning in the Song, so the house of wine may be a euphemism for the “place of love.” It may be helpful to include a footnote to explain what the term implies in this verse. For example:

The phrase house of wine in the Hebrew text probably does not refer to a house where people come to drink wine together. It is a poetic way to say that the man took the woman to a romantic place where they could show their love for one another.

2:4b

and his banner over me is love.

and put his flag/sign of love over me.
and shows everyone that he loves and protects me.

and his banner over me is love: There is a textual issue in this verse:

The Hebrew word in the Masoretic Text means “banner,” “standard” or “flag.” For example:
and his banner over me is love. (NASB) (BSB, ESV, NASB, NCV, NIV, NJB, NJPS, RSV, GNT)
In other ancient Hebrew manuscripts, the word has different vowels but the same consonants as in the Hebrew Masoretic Text. It means to “look” or “glance.”This meaning is based on a homophonous consonant root that means “look, glance.” It seems to be related to a cognate Akkadian word dagalu, “to see/look.” Originally, Hebrew did not mark vowels, so scholars who follow this interpretation suggest that perhaps the later Masoretic text incorrectly marked the vowels here. For example:
and he looked at me lovingly. (NET) (GW, NET, REB)
The word comes from a related language. It means “intention.”This interpretation is based on an Akkadian cognate diglu, “desire” or “intent.” For example:
and his intention toward me was love. (NRSV) (NLT, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), as most English versions and commentators do. However, the meaning of the word is figurative in this context. See the next note on banner for more information.

banner: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as banner refers to a big flag (a large cloth attached to a long, thin piece of wood). It was carried or set in a place where people could see it from far away. Each of the tribes of Israel had a banner, and kings and armies had banners.Most other occurrences of this word in the OT are found in the book of Numbers, where the [0] tribes of Israel had banners to identify their different encampments. They also used them in battle so that the members of each tribe would gather near their tribal banner to fight together. A king’s banner had symbols or pictures that identified him and his kingdom.

When a king conquered a city, he set up his banner over it to indicate that it now belonged to him. Here in 2:4, the word banner is a metaphor. It implies that the man took responsibility for the woman to love and protect her.

Some ways to translate the metaphor “his banner over me is love” are:

Translate the metaphor literally. For example:
He raised a flag of love over me.
Translate the metaphor as a simile. For example:
As a king sets his flag over his people, he shows that I am protected by his love.
Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:
He took me as his own and protected me with his love.

In some languages there may be a similar metaphor with the same meaning. Translate the meaning in a natural and appropriate way in your language.

is: The BSB supplies the word is, which implies present time, but the Hebrew text does not indicate when the events happened. Translate the statement in a way that fits with the way you translated in 2:4a. See the General Comment on 2:4 for examples.

General Comment on 2:4

Translators use different tenses and moods for the two clauses in 2:4. You should translate 2:4a and 2:4b so that the tenses and moods fit with each other. For example:

^4aHe brought me to his banquet hall ^4band raised the banner of love over me. (GNT)

He brings me to the banquet room, and puts his flag of love over me.

How I wish he would bring me to his celebration place and raise his flag of love over me!

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / declarative

הֱבִיאַ֨⁠נִי֙

he,has_brought_me

See how you translated the phrase “has brought me” in [1:4](../01/04.md). The original language word which the ULT translates here as He brought me could be describing: (1) a request or wish that the woman has and not something that has already happened. Alternate translation: [May he bring me] or [I desire him to bring me] (2) an action that has already happened. Alternate translation: [He has brought me]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / go

הֱבִיאַ֨⁠נִי֙

he,has_brought_me

Your language might say “took” rather than brought in a context such as this. Alternate translation: [He took me]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בֵּ֣ית הַ⁠יָּ֔יִן

house_of of_(the),wine

The writer assumes that the reader will understand that the phrase house of wine refers to a location to which people went to drink wine. The phrase does not necessarily mean a house, so here it could be referring to the private location that the couple used as their meeting place, (described in [1:17](../01/17.md)). You could include this information if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [the place where wine is drunk] or [the place where wine is served] or [our meeting place]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism

בֵּ֣ית הַ⁠יָּ֔יִן

house_of of_(the),wine

The woman is referring to a private meeting place, one in which they could enjoy expressing their love for each other. She speaks of it in a polite way by using the phrase house of wine, an image that was meaningful in her culture. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a polite way of referring to this in your language, or you could state this plainly. Alternate translation: [our meeting place so that we could enjoy our love] or [the place where we could celebrate our love for each other] or [the place where we could consummate our love]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠דִגְל֥⁠וֹ עָלַ֖⁠י אַהֲבָֽה

and,standard_of,his over,me love

The woman is speaking of the man’s love for her as if it were a banner. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [and he publicly displays his love for me, and his intention is to protect me] or [and he covers me with his love]

Note 6 topic: translate-unknown

וְ⁠דִגְל֥⁠וֹ

and,standard_of,his

A banner is a flag made from a large piece of cloth that is attached to a long pole. People, groups, and kings had their own unique banners by which they identified themselves. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of flag, you could use the name of something similar in your area, or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [and his flag]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

וְ⁠דִגְל֥⁠וֹ עָלַ֖⁠י אַהֲבָֽה

and,standard_of,his over,me love

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of love, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [and his banner shows that I belong to him, and he loves me]

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.