SNG 3:7 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:6–5:1: The man and woman married and the man praised her

In 3:6 a new section begins. The author indicates this by several obvious changes from (3:1–5):

The scene changes from a nighttime dream to a public daytime event.
There is a change of speaker.
The search theme in the preceding verses changes to a wedding theme in this section.
The mood changes from anxious searching to joyful celebration.

In this section the author describes the couple’s wedding day. The section has several parts:

3:6–11 The man and woman came to their wedding in a grand procession

4:1–15 The man described his beautiful bride

4:16–5:1 The man and woman consummated their marriage

Paragraph 3:6–11 The poet described the wedding procession

There are several questions that translators need to ask about the meaning of 3:6–11:

What does the author imply when he refers to Solomon in the poem? The name “Solomon” refers figuratively to the man whom the woman loves.At a literal level 3:6–11 seems to be a historical description of Solomon on his wedding day. But which wedding? He had numerous wives! It is more probable that Solomon was the author of the Song, but not one of the characters in it. (For more information about that, see the discussion in 1:1.) The Song describes a nearly ideal love relationship between one man and one woman in which neither of them had other lovers, and the man had no other wives. Yet Solomon was known for having many wives and for his spiritual failure (see 1 Kings 11:1–3). He was not known for his pure love. New Testament passages that mention Solomon refer to his wisdom (Luke 11:31) and his material splendor (Luke 12:27), but not to his love. Solomon’s personal life did not demonstrate the pure monogamous love that we see in the woman’s beloved. If Solomon did write the book, he did so as Israel’s greatest wise man, not as Israel’s ideal lover. References to Solomon in the Song seem to focus on his royal splendor, rather than on Solomon himself or his love. This is certainly true in 1:5 that speaks of the curtains of Solomon. It implies that on his wedding day, the man felt as happy, rich, and powerful as King Solomon. Other verses that refer to Solomon figuratively are 1:4–5; 1:12; 3:6–11; 6:12; and 7:1.The Song uses other figurative motifs, such as a “shepherd” (1:7–8; 6:2–3), gazelle (2:8–9; 2:16–17; 8:14), dove (1:15; 2:14; 4:1; 5:12), lily (2:2; 2:16), vineyard (1:6; 2:15; 8:11–12) mare (1:9–11) and garden (4:12–5:1; 6:2).
Who speaks in this section? Probably the author speaks. If the woman was in the procession, she probably did not describe herself.Some scholars give other suggestions for the speaker here, for example, the man, the daughters of Jerusalem, a chorus, or an unknown speaker.
Does this poem describe an event that really happened? The poem probably does not describe an event that really happened. It uses figurative language, including hyperbole and similes.Bloch and Bloch make a strong point here. Referring to the three passages using this opening formula, “Who is this (fem)…?” (Song 3:6, 6:10, 8:5), they state, “None of these three scenes is realistic; all are hyperboles, evoking images of the triumphant appearance of a majestic, numinous, even godlike figure.” The rhetorical question here calls attention to the radiant and majestic bride’s approach. Bergant understands this poem in 3:6–11 as a metaphorical characterization rather than a description of an actual event. The UBS Handbook leans toward the poetic, non-historical view, as do Munro, Garrett, Gledhill, Keel, and others. The poem begins, “Who is this woman coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke…?” It probably implies that she was surrounded by the smoke of fragrant incense. Like a queen, the woman also had soldiers around her to protect and honor her. The woman was carried in luxury to the man, who waited for her in Jerusalem. He was compared to the greatest of kings. This hyperbole may come from a marriage custom where the bride and groom wore royal crowns on their wedding day.

3:7–10

In 3:7–10 the author responded to the rhetorical question in 3:6 (“Who is this…”). People asked that question about the woman and the people coming with her. However, the response in 3:7 does not really answer that question. Instead, it describes the procession. It tells about the guards that surrounded the litter (3:7b–8d) and about how the litter was made (3:9–10).

It may seem strange that the author did not mention the woman again in 3:7–10. However, the way he described the litter and her guards shows that the woman was worthy of royal honor. The author seems to hide her from readers by not describing her until 4:1. She wore a veil, and it was also difficult to see her inside the litter. This mystery makes the woman seem even more interesting.

3:7a

Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage,

Look, it is Solomon’s wedding couch that they are carrying!
That is King Solomon’s royal seat/palanquin that she is lying/sitting on!

Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage: Scholars interpret this clause in different ways. There are two main views about who is riding in Solomon’s carriage:

The woman was riding in the litter that her beloved Solomon sent. For example:
Look! She is riding in Solomon’s wedding litter!This translation was suggested by OT scholar David Dorsey (personal correspondence, April 20, 2006).
The woman’s beloved (who is called Solomon here as a praise name) was riding in his litter. For example:
Look! It is Solomon carried in his state litter… (REB) (BSB, CEV, REB, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).Another view is that the author did not describe a procession here. He described Solomon’s bed in his wedding chamber. For example, Michael Fox (page 120) translates this as “Look! Solomon’s own couch.” Although no English version makes this interpretation explicit, it is supported by many commentaries.Commentaries supporting this interpretation include Barbiero, Bergant, Carr, Delitzsch, Dorsey, Elliott, Garrett, Goulder, Hess, Keel, Mitchell, NJB (note c), Pope. The commentaries represent about half of the commentaries consulted. It fits the context of 3:6–11 and helps readers understand the poem as a whole. Here the name Solomon is probably used to refer to the woman’s beloved.

Behold: The word Behold means “Look!” Here it indicates that the speaker wanted people to pay attention to what was coming from the wilderness. The bride was coming in Solomon’s litter. In this context the word “Look!” probably indicates excitement. In many languages there are special words or phrases to communicate such excitement. Other ways to translate it in English are:

Look (NRSV)

Oh look over there!

Do you see that? It is…

it is Solomon’s carriage: This clause continues to describe the wedding procession, as in 3:6. In this context the author implies that the man sent his own litter and an armed guard to carry the woman from her family home to her new home in Jerusalem. They had to travel through dangerous areas, so he sent soldiers to guard her.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

There is the palanquin that Solomon sent

King Solomon’s litter is coming!

carriage: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as carriage is a general word for “bed.” However, here people carried it in a wedding procession. Use a word in your language that describes a type of bed or couch that can be carried. In this context it may have had curtains around it so that people could not see the bride.

The author refers to the bride only indirectly here. But the elaborate way that the author described the procession and litter (3:6–10) implies that she was magnificent. The carriage was appropriate for a queen to ride in. Some other ways to translate this meaning of carriage are:

litter

couch

royal seat

Solomon’s: Here the name Solomon is used as a praise name for the woman’s beloved. The word Solomon’s indicates that the litter belonged to her beloved. The context implies that he sent the litter for the woman to ride in as she came to him.

3:7b

escorted by sixty

Sixty strong men are walking beside it as guards/escorts for her.
Around the royal seat/carriage, there are sixty skilled fighters to guard her.

3:7b–c

escorted by sixty of the mightiest men: This clause indicates that sixty strong men were around the carriage on all sides. They surrounded it to protect the woman inside it. They prevented anyone from getting close to her, and they made sure that no one was able to harm her.

Only kings, queens, and their relatives or very rich people were able to pay for so many soldiers to escort them.A more common number of people in an escort, even for royalty, was probably about 30. See 2 Samuel 23:18–19, 23. When the man provided such a large escort for his bride, it emphasized how much he esteemed her. It caused all the people who saw her to know her great status.

Some other ways to translate the clause escorted by sixty of the mightiest men are:

Sixty soldiers are escorting it

Sixty strong men are all around it

sixty of the mightiest men: The sixty of the mightiest men were an elite guard of trained soldiers. It was unusual to have such a large number of guards to escort a person to Jerusalem. The large number of guards emphasizes the security and protection that the man gave his bride. Other ways to translate sixty of the mightiest men here are:

sixty strong guards

sixty warriors (NJPS)

sixty soldiers (GW)

3:7c

of the mightiest men of Israel.

They are the best of Israel’s soldiers.
They are some of Israel’s strongest soldiers,

of the mightiest men of Israel: The phrase of the mightiest men of Israel indicates that the sixty men were chosen from among the best soldiers of Israel. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

of Israel’s best soldiers (CEV)

the finest soldiers in Israel (GNT)

some of Israel’s mightiest warriors. (NET)

and braver than any other in Israel.

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 3:7

Hebrew word order