SNG 5:13 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.

5:13

In 5:11–12 the author described what the woman saw. Here in 5:13 he describes what she smelled. In 5:13a–b, he used a simile, and in 5:13c–d he used a metaphor.

5:13a

His cheeks are like beds of spice,

His cheeks are like a garden where spice plants grow
His face smells wonderful, like a farm

5:13b

towers of perfume.

and spread their fragrance.
full of sweet-smelling plants.

5:13a–b

His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume: Here the woman compared the man’s cheeks to beds of spice.Some scholars recommend the translation “his beard.” They indicate that the word often translated as “cheeks” can also refer to a person’s chin. However, no English version consulted follows this interpretation. The word cheeks also occurred in 1:10, where it referred to the woman’s cheeks.BDB suggests the meaning “cheek” in this context. HALOT suggests the conjectural meaning 1. “chin” or meaning 3. “cheek.” It can refer to various parts of the sides of a person’s face. Here the woman described the perfume of the man’s cheeks. They smelled like sweet-smelling spices. The woman probably did not imply that the man’s beard looked like a garden of spice plants.

Some other ways to translate the comparison are:

His face is a garden of sweet-smelling spices (CEV)

His cheeks smell as sweet as a garden filled with spice plants.

His cheeks are like a garden of spices, a garden that produces scented herbs. (GW)

beds of spice: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as beds is singular. It refers to a garden or part of a garden. The word spice refers to herb plants that have a pleasing smell. The phrase beds of spice can also be translated as “garden of spices.” See the preceding note for translation examples.

spice: The word spice was also used in 4:16. There it also referred to spice plants.

towers of perfume: There are two ways to interpret the phrase that the BSB translates as towers of perfume. The difference of interpretation is based on a textual issue.The textual issue is based on a disagreement about which Hebrew vowel should be supplied.

The phrase means “yielding fragrance.”The Greek Septuagint version has the meaning “yielding fragrance.” For example:
yielding perfume… (NIV) (GW, NET, NIV, NLT, RSV)
The phrase means “banks/towers of perfume.”The Hebrew Masoretic text has the meaning “towers of perfume.” For example:
Banks of perfume… (NJPS) (BSB, ESV, NASB, NCV, NJB, NJPS, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Interpretation (2) is not natural in many languages, since perfume does not form banks or towers. English versions that follow interpretation (2) usually do not translate “tower” literally because of this difficulty. The ancient Greek version (LXX) also follows interpretation (1).A change of the vowel points in the Hebrew Masoretic text gives the meaning “yielding fragrance” which is followed by the Septuagint. HALOT and BDB also follow option (1).

5:13c

His lips are like lilies,

His lips are lilies
His lips remind me of lilies;

His lips are like lilies: Here the woman used a simile. She compared the man’s lips to lilies. The simile implies that the man’s lips are like sweet-smelling lilies. The thought of the sweet smell of his lips probably reminded the woman of his kisses. Some other ways to translate this figure of speech are:

Use a metaphor. For example:
His lips are lilies
Use a simile and indicate the meaning. For example:
His lips smell as sweet as lilies
Translate the meaning more directly. For example:
His lips smell sweet

Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.

lilies: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as lilies also occurred in 2:16 and 4:5. It occurred in the singular form in 2:1–2. Refer to how you translated it in those verses.

5:13d

dripping with flowing myrrh.

that drip myrrh perfume.
they smell as sweet as perfume.

dripping with flowing myrrh: The phrase dripping with flowing myrrh is a hyperbole. Here it probably refers to the man’s lips being moist. It is similar to the phrase “my fingers dripped with flowing myrrh” in 5:5c.

However, since the context here is lips (instead of fingers), you may need to translate the phrase in a slightly different way here. For example:

wet with liquid myrrh (GNT)

that drip with myrrh (GW)

they are/smell as sweet as fine perfume

flowing myrrh: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as flowing myrrh is literally “myrrh flowing,” as in 5:5c. The man’s lips were like lilies and myrrh because of the pleasure that his lips gave the woman. This way that the woman compared his lips to myrrh is similar to the way he compared her lips to dripping honey in 4:11. Translate this phrase in the same way here and in 5:5.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

לְחָיָ⁠ו֙ כַּ⁠עֲרוּגַ֣ת הַ⁠בֹּ֔שֶׂם מִגְדְּל֖וֹת מֶרְקָחִ֑ים

cheeks_of,his [are]_like_(the),bed_of of_(the),spice mounds_of perfume

Here the writer says that the man’s cheeks are like a garden, or an area in a garden, used for planting spices because his cheeks smell like a bed of spices and are like towers of herbal spices. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [His cheeks smell like a bed of spices and like towers that contain herbal spices]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

כַּ⁠עֲרוּגַ֣ת הַ⁠בֹּ֔שֶׂם

[are]_like_(the),bed_of of_(the),spice

Here the term translated as bed refers to an area in a garden used for planting. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could include this information. Alternate translation: [like an area for planting spices] or [like a garden bed of spices] or [like planters of spices]

Note 3 topic: translate-textvariants

מִגְדְּל֖וֹת

mounds_of

See the chapter five introduction for information regarding an alternate translation of the word that the ULT translates as towers of.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

מִגְדְּל֖וֹת מֶרְקָחִ֑ים

mounds_of perfume

The woman is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could supply these words from the context. Alternate translation: [like towers of herbal spices] or [and they are like towers of herbal spices]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

שִׂפְתוֹתָי⁠ו֙ שֽׁוֹשַׁנִּ֔ים נֹטְפ֖וֹת מ֥וֹר עֹבֵֽר

lips_of,his lilies dripping myrrh liquid

Here the woman is speaking of the man’s lips as if they are lilies that are dripping with flowing myrrh because of the sweet smell of both lilies and myrrh, the beauty and softness of lilies, and because the man’s kisses are wet like flowing myrrh. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [His lips are beautiful, fragrant, and soft. His kisses are sweet-smelling and moist]

Note 6 topic: translate-unknown

שֽׁוֹשַׁנִּ֔ים

lilies

See how you translated lilies in [2:16](../02/16.md).

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מ֥וֹר עֹבֵֽר

myrrh liquid

See how you translated the phrase flowing myrrh in [5:5](../05/05.md).

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 5:13

Hebrew word order