SNG 4:5 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.

4:5b

twins of a gazelle

They are like twins of a gazelle
They are as beautiful and delicate as twin gazelles

4:5

In 4:5 the man compared the woman’s breasts to two gazelles grazing among lilies. In some cultures it may not be appropriate to describe a woman’s breasts openly, but in the author’s culture it was an acceptable and common part of love poetry. For more information, see the comments on “Respectable speech and actions in the Song” in the introduction to 4:1–7.

Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies: In this phrase the man praised the woman. He implied that he felt strong love for her as he looked at her. Her breasts made him feel as happy as if he were in a beautiful place where fawns grazed among sweet-smelling lilies. Translate in a beautiful, poetic way that will express the feelings of the man as he spoke to the woman.

Some ways to do this in English are:

Your breasts remind me of twin fawns of a gazelle grazing in a field of lilies.

When I see your breasts, I think of young gazelle twins feeding on sweet-smelling lilies.

It is likely that in this statement, the man described some characteristics of the woman that the gazelles and lilies suggested. He described how she affected him, rather than what she looked like.In Bergant’s terms, the focus in this verse seems to be on the presentational (how the man feels about her) rather than on the representational (descriptive) function of the simile. (p. 42). However, the figure actually begins on a physical note with “twins,” but simultaneously the physical similarity factor diffuses into the less tangible qualities of the woman herself symbolized by fawns. So there may be a sort of representational-to-presentational dynamic going on here, from surface appearance to deeper values or feelings.

4:5a

Your breasts are like two fawns,

Your breasts are like two young deer.
Your breasts remind me of fawns.

Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle: In this phrase the man compared the woman’s breasts to two young gazelles (fawns). He describes her breasts as being like twins born to the same mother. This figure of speech implies that her breasts are identical, just as twin fawns are identical. Another way to translate this comparison is:

Your two breasts are like young twins of a gazelle

Your breasts: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as breasts is literally, “your two breasts.” It’s possible the Hebrew includes the word two because it begins with the same sound as the word for breasts. In many languages the word two is not needed here, as in the BSB.

like two fawns, twins: The word, twins, implies that the woman’s breasts are exactly alike, but the text does not explicitly say how they are like fawns. The fawns that the man referred to here are young gazelles. In Israel people considered them to be graceful, gentle, beautiful, shy, and quick. It is uncertain which specific quality the author referred to here, but it is clear that the woman’s breasts were beautiful and pleasing to the man. Consider how to communicate this meaning in a poetic way.

In some languages it may seem insulting to compare the woman’s breasts to fawns, or it may imply a wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general description. Since the man described his feelings about her breasts, it may be helpful to indicate that he considered them to be beautiful. For example:

Your breasts are as lovely as two beautiful twin fawns

4:5c

grazing among the lilies.

that graze among lilies.
that feed in fields of flowers.

grazing among the lilies: The phrase grazing among the lilies describes the place where the fawns were feeding. It also implies that the man had strong loving feelings as he looked at the woman. He felt happy when he was with her. Here the beautiful fawns among the lilies represent the woman’s breasts and the woman herself.

Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

that feed in the midst of lilies.

that eat where lily flowers grow.

lilies: lilies smell sweet, and they may be associated with romance. The lilies are part of the description of the woman’s breasts. The text may imply that her breasts were like lilies because they were perfumed.

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 4:5