SNG 5:12 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:2–6:3: At night the woman searched for the man and praised him

Scholars differ about the meaning of this section and how it relates to the rest of the Song. In 5:2–7 the woman told the Jerusalem women that the man came to her door at night but went away. She told them that now she longed to see him and was searching for him. Then she asked them to give him a message if they saw him (5:8). They asked why she was so attracted to him (5:9), and she replied by describing him (5:10–16). Then they asked her where he went (6:1), and she told them that he went down to his garden (6:2–3).

The section contains several interpretation issues:

In 5:2–7 did the woman describe a dream or a real event, or is 5:2–7 a poetic way to describe her feelings and thoughts about the man? The woman described one type of event (probably dreamed or imagined) as she and the man related to each other. The author did not always tell about events in order, and he repeated certain themes to examine them from different points of view. The Song is not a simple story but a poem, and it uses various ways to describe the romantic love.
Section 3:6–5:1 told about the wedding of the man and woman. Does Section 5:2–6:3 tell about a time after they married? Although 3:6–5:1 told about the wedding of the man and woman, 5:2–6:3 may not refer to a time after the wedding. It may describe something they experienced more than once. In other sections also, the man and woman were apart at the beginning but together at the end (as in 1:2–2:7). If 5:2–6:3 refers to a time before their wedding,Some scholars view the whole book, Song of Songs, as a large chiasm. (For example, Dorsey suggests abcdcʹbʹaʹ, (1999, p.200.)) So, the section, 3:6–5:1 is the central and climactic part of the chiasm, and what comes before and after are related to the center, not chronologically but thematically. So, the material both before and after, may be pointing to the grand central climax, the wedding. What follows the wedding, 5:2–8:14, may actually repeat much of the material in 1:2–3:5. Again, this is more of a cyclical rather than chronological way of understanding the book. it describes the woman’s hopes and fears as she imagined her future with the man (as in 3:1–4). The dream might indicate that she feared that he had stopped loving her, but at the end of 6:2–3, she realized that he continued to love her faithfully.Some scholars believe that this section follows chronologically after the wedding. Some of these scholars interpret it as describing a time of conflict for the newly married couple. But the theme of marital conflict does not seem to fit the overall message or tone of the Song.
How should a translator interpret the figures of speech in this section? Some scholars interpret these figures as euphemisms for sexual organs and sexual activity. However, such interpretations may cause a translator to refer more explicitly to sexual matters than is normal or justified in the Song. (For more information, see “Standards for respectful speech and actions in the Song” in POEM 4:1–7.)

Paragraph 5:9–16 The woman described her beloved

In 5:9 the Jerusalem women asked the woman in what ways the man was so much better than other men. In 5:10–16 the woman answered with a poetic description of her beloved that uses many metaphors and hyperbole. Some verses describe the man as though he were a statue.

These verses are similar to 4:1–7 in which the man described the woman’s body. Here in 5:9–16 she described his body. It was rare in ancient Israel for a woman to describe a man’s body in detail like this. In 4:1–7 where the man described the woman, he spoke directly to her. However, in this section where the woman described him, she did not speak directly to him. She spoke to the women of Jerusalem about him.

The description in 5:9–16 has the similar phrases My beloved (5:10) and This is my beloved (5:16) near its beginning and end, forming an inclusio. It also mentions his golden head (5:11) near the beginning and his legs on bases of gold (5:15) near the end. The woman began by describing his head, then the rest of his body, and ended by mentioning his head again. In the description (5:11–16), four of the six verses describe parts of the man’s head (5:11–13, 16), which shows that the woman focused especially on his head. Her description of him may seem strange to modern readers, but she intended her description to show that he was completely desirable.

5:12

The clause in 5:12 is a simile that has several parts. Scholars interpret the simile and its parts in different ways.The meaning of dove metaphors are difficult to resolve. It is difficult to know the point of similarity, especially because in the OT doves are described in different ways in different verses. They are described as silly and without sense (Hosea 7:11) and as nesting in the rocks (many references). They moan mournfully (Is 59:11), and they can be fearful or shy. There are also other characteristics that are not unique to doves, such as beating their wings, flying, and being lively. There seems to be no consistency in their color. One cannot definitely assume that the reference to milk (Song 5:12b) refers to their white color, since many doves are not white. It is what the doves are bathing in that is white, not necessarily the doves themselves. The simile is a poetic way for the woman to describe her feelings about her beloved’s eyes. It implies that when the woman looked at the man’s eyes, they seemed as beautiful and gentle to her as doves bathing in milk beside a flowing stream.There is something unusual and profound about many images in the Song. Many commentators have noted how the images often take on a life of their own in the sense that they become almost a living extension in the realm of nature of the beauty of the beloved. In other words, the beloved’s beauty inspires a reverie or daydream. For example, as someone thinks about her own husband and the refreshment his love provides, she may drift off into a beautiful daydream of a mountain meadow with rushing streams. This may be similar to how the author thought of some of the Song’s metaphors. She did not imply that the man’s eyes actually looked like doves.

5:12a

His eyes are like doves

His eyes are doves
His eyes are as gentle as doves

5:12a–b

His eyes are like doves beside the streams of water, bathed in milk and mounted like jewels: Here the woman compared the man’s eyes to doves bathing in milk beside a stream. Doves are beautiful, gentle birds. The word streams probably implies a beautiful place. The phrase bathed in milk implies luxury and beauty. It does not imply that the man or the dove really bathed in milk.

It is also possible that the doves represent the pupils of the man’s eyes, since 5:12c says they bathe in milk (the white part of the eye). There is something about the man’s eyes that reminds the woman of doves bathing in milk.

Some other ways to translate the comparison are:

His eyes are a pair of doves bathing in a stream flowing with milk. (CEV)

His eyes are like doves beside the water-courses, bathing themselves in milk (NJB)

His eyes have the charm of doves perched/sitting beside a stream. Their centers/irises seem to swim in milk.

doves beside the streams of water: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as streams of water probably refers to smaller bodies of moving water, rather than to springs or a well.

The doves are beside streams of water, (The man’s eyes are not beside streams of water.) The phrase streams of water may imply that the man’s eyes seemed deep, fresh, or transparent in some way.

5:12b

beside the streams of water, bathed in milk

bathing in milk by streams full of water,
that bathe in milk beside water springs.

bathed in milk: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as bathed is an active verb, and it refers to an action. It is not a passive verb, so it is helpful to translate the word as an action (done by the doves). For example:

bathing in milk (GW)

Because the BSB uses a passive verb, the NJB will be used as the source text for 5:12b.

The figure of doves being bathed in milk is probably a poetic way to describe the pupils/irises surrounded by the white part of the man’s eyes.There is much variation in the coloration of doves. There are not only white doves but also, for example, gray, brown or blue. It may also be a symbol of abundance. The doves probably represent the pupils/irises of the man’s eyes swimming, or “bathing”, in the whites of his eyes.This is similar to the hyperbole of abundance in Job 29:6 “…when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!” The image of “bathing in milk” alludes to abundance. We use the term “allude” since the simile seems unusually focused on the dove and only alludes to the man’s eyes. As many commentators note, the image of the metaphor seems to take on a life of its own. In other words, the literal eye seems to almost totally surrender to this hyperbolic description of doves. Translate this figure of speech in a natural way in your language.

5:12c

and mounted like jewels.

They sit by a brimful pool.
They seem to perch/sit on the rim of a pool.

mounted like jewels: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as mounted like jewels is literally “sitting on fullness.” The meaning of this phrase is uncertain. There are two main ways to interpret it:

The phrase refers to doves sitting beside a pool, stream, or other source of water. It may also refer figuratively to the man’s eyes. For example:
sitting beside a full pool. (ESV) (ESV, NJB, NJPS, GNT)
This phrase refers to the man’s eyes. They are set in his face (or in his eye sockets) like jewels. For example:
mounted like jewels. (NIV) (BSB, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, RSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The Hebrew form of the word that means “sitting” agrees with the form of the word for doves.The grammatically feminine participle that means “sitting” matches the gender of the word for “doves.” Also, the phrase “sitting on fullness” (sitting beside a pool) is parallel to “beside springs of water” (5:12b).These forms in 5:12b–d seem to fit best in the natural setting of the dove. If this does allude to the man’s eyes it may imply that his eyes have a quiet steadiness in the midst of movement. Because the BSB follows interpretation (2), the NJPS is used for the source line for 5:12d in the Display.

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 5:12

Hebrew word order