SNG 4:2 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 4:1–7 The man told his bride how beautiful she is

In 4:1–7 the man used figures of speech to tell his bride how beautiful and majestic she was.Bergant (page 42) explains the two aspects of the description in this way: “It is a descriptive song that uses metaphors and similes both representationally (highlighting physical similarity) and presentationally (eliciting an emotional response).” This type of physical description of one’s beloved is called a “wasf” (an Arabic word). It was a common type of poetry in the ancient Near East. Such figures of speech were common in the love poetry of nearby cultures. The man also describes his bride in 6:4–10 and 7:1–9. In one example (5:10–16) the woman describes the man. He first praised her eyes and hair, then he praised her mouth, lips, and teeth. He described her temples and neck and then her breasts. Paragraph 4:1–7 begins and ends with similar statements that summarize her beauty:

:1 How beautiful you are, my darling—

how very beautiful!

:7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling;

there is no flaw in you.

Cultures have different ideas about what is beautiful. In some cultures the figures of speech that the man used to describe the woman may seem strange or insulting, but in his culture, they were powerful ways to praise her. Sometimes they described the man’s feelings about her instead of describing her appearance. For example, in 4:4 the man compared the woman’s neck (or her necklaces) to the tower of King David. Her neck did not look like the tower, but to him she seemed as majestic as that tower where warriors’ shields hung to represent their power.

Standards for respectful speech and actions in the Song

In 4:1–7 the man often referred to the woman’s body. In most cultures certain parts of the body are “private” or “sexual,” and those parts should not be uncovered in public. In some cultures, women must be covered from the waist to the ankles.In some cultures certain references may embarrass people who read or hear them. It may not be modest to mention a woman’s breasts or her belly or navel (as in some verses of the Song). Other cultures have different standards. Scholars are not sure about the specific standards in Israel when the Song was written, but the Song does not violate the standards of modesty in the OT. Two facts about the Song may help to indicate the standards of modesty in Israel’s culture in OT times:

The Song refers to parts of the female body more than 40 times, but only three of these mention areas below the waist.Two of these references are to the feet, which were usually uncovered. The other is to “rounded thighs” in 7:1. It probably refers to the general shape of the thighs, which may be obvious even when a woman is fully clothed. This may imply that the area below the waist was the “private” area, which must be covered in public.
In 8:8–10 both the woman and her brothers spoke casually about her breasts. This probably indicates that in that culture a woman did not always cover her breasts. For example, it was common to breast-feed babies openly (as in 8:1 and other OT verses).

These two facts imply that the author described the woman’s body in a more modest way than some scholars assume. When the man described the woman’s beauty (as in 4:1–7 and 7:1–9), he did it in a proper way. He did not describe “private sexual” parts. In some languages it may be helpful to include a footnote to explain that cultures have different standards of what is proper, decent, and respectful. Translate in a way that does not violate your culture’s standards.

4:2

In this verse there is a visual contrast with 4:1. In 4:1 a flock of black goats are descending the mountains. In 4:2 there is a flock of white sheep that have just been washed. There are some interpretation issues in 4:2, but the main point is fairly clear: The man described the woman’s beautiful teeth. They were white, and none were missing. Her white teeth were striking in their contrast to her black hair.

This verse is repeated in almost identical form in 6:6a–b.

4:2a

Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep

Your teeth are like female sheep after their dirty wool is removed
Your teeth are as white as a flock of sheep after someone cuts off their old wool/hair

Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep: In this clause the man praised the woman by comparing her teeth to a flock of newly shorn sheep. The comparison means that her teeth were white and smooth, like a group of sheep when their wool has just been cut off (shorn). (Sheep in Palestine were usually white.) The woman’s white teeth also imply that she was young, since teeth become more yellow as a person ages.

In some languages it is necessary to make this comparison more explicit. For example:

Your teeth are as white as sheep that have just been shorn and washed. (GNT)

Your teeth are white like newly sheared sheep just coming from their bath. (NCV)

teeth…like a flock of newly shorn sheep: In this phrase the author focuses on all of the woman’s teeth together. They are like a group (flock) of sheep, not like only one sheep. In some languages the plural form of the word sheep already implies a group of sheep, so a word like flock may not be needed.

newly shorn sheep: Scholars disagree about whether the phrase shorn sheep implies that the sheep had already been shorn or were about to be shorn:

The sheep were already shorn. For example:
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn… (NIV) (BSB, ESV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, RSV, GNT)
The sheep were not yet shorn. For example:
a flock of sheep to be shorn… (NJB) (GW, NAB, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This seems to be the most likely interpretation and most versions follow it.

4:2b

coming up from the washing;

and they have just been washed.
and bathes them in the stream/river.

coming up from the washing: The phrase coming up from the washing modifies the phrase “flock of newly shorn sheep” in 4:2a. After the wool was cut off the sheep (they were “shorn”), the sheep were washed, possibly in a stream. Then the sheep were clean and white. The woman’s teeth also looked clean and white like those freshly washed sheep.

The point of the simile in 4:2a–b is that the woman’s teeth were very white, which implies that they looked beautiful to the man. Here is another way to make this meaning clear:

Your teeth are as white as sheep, recently shorn and freshly washed. (NLT)

4:2c

each has its twin,

Your teeth are like twin lambs. Each tooth has its matching one,
Each of your teeth has its twin,

4:2d

and not one of them is lost.

and no single one is missing.
they are all perfectly matched. (GNT)

4:2c–d

each has its twin, and not one of them is lost: The phrase each has its twin, and not one of them is lost is closely connected to the simile in 4:2a–b. However, it is a different simile, which compares the woman’s teeth to twin lambs.Exum makes the point that first the woman’s teeth are identified with the ewes that come up from the wash, but then the twin lambs take over the image and the teeth are now associated with the second part of the simile. She says: “As appealing as it may be to translate the second couplet as “all of them in pairs, none bereft of its twin,” and take the phrase as a reference to the ewes, this does not seem to be the picture that lies behind the metaphor. More likely the poet has in mind two baby lambs, “twins,” lagging behind their mother…In many of the man’s metaphoric descriptions of his lover, the image tends to overshadow its referent in an effort to create a total picture and that is what appears to happen here. In the second couplet, the image of twinning takes over, while the referent (“your teeth”) lags behind. First the teeth are identified with ewes, but once the ewes are said to have twins, then the teeth are identified with the twins and not the ewes with their twins (in which case the woman would have too many teeth).” (pages 162–163)

The phrase each has its refers to the ewes in 4:2a–b. Here in 4:2c–d the author indicates that each tooth on one side of the woman’s mouth had a tooth just like it (a twin) on the other side. None of the teeth has lost its matching tooth on the other side. In the author’s lifetime it was probably unusual for an adult to have a complete set of teeth like that. Another way to translate this meaning is:

they match perfectly, not one is missing. (CEV)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

שִׁנַּ֨יִ⁠ךְ֙ כְּ⁠עֵ֣דֶר הַ⁠קְּצוּב֔וֹת שֶׁ⁠עָל֖וּ מִן־הָ⁠רַחְצָ֑ה

teeth_of,your [are]_like_(the),flock_of of_(the),shorn_[ewes] which,they_have_come_up from/more_than the,washing

The writer is saying that the white color of the woman’s teeth is being compared to the white color of sheep after they have been shorn and washed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

הַ⁠קְּצוּב֔וֹת

of_(the),shorn_[ewes]

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you must state who did the action, it is implied that “shepherds” did it. Alternate translation: [sheep whose wool shepherds have cut off] or [sheep whose wool people have cut off]

מַתְאִימ֔וֹת

bear_twins

Alternate translation: [give birth to twins]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

שֶׁ⁠כֻּלָּ⁠ם֙ מַתְאִימ֔וֹת וְ⁠שַׁכֻּלָ֖ה אֵ֥ין בָּ⁠הֶֽם

which,all_of,of_them bear_twins and_[one],deprived_of_offspring not among,them

The writer is stating that the woman’s teeth are like a flock of female sheep which have all given birth to twin lambs because each of the woman’s teeth has a matching tooth on the other side of her mouth. She has not lost any of her teeth. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [As a flock of female sheep that has born twin lambs without losing any, so your mouth has its teeth, each with a match, and none of them are missing]

וְ⁠שַׁכֻּלָ֖ה אֵ֥ין בָּ⁠הֶֽם

and_[one],deprived_of_offspring not among,them

Alternate translation: [and there is not one among them which has died]

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 4:2

Hebrew word order