SNG 5:5 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 5:2–8 The woman spoke to the women of Jerusalem

There are different ways to interpret what the woman said in 5:2–8:

She told about something that she dreamed or imagined. She described her feelings for the man in a poetic way.
She told what happened when the man actually came to her. She was sleeping, but she woke up when she heard him knocking on her door.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The verses probably describe something that the woman dreamed or imagined, since some of the descriptions seem unreal or dreamlike. They are a poetic way to express the woman’s feelings for the man.

Does 5:2–8 describe sexual relations between the woman and man?

There are two views about whether 5:2–8 implies that they had sexual relations:

The verses indicate romantic feelings, but they do not describe sexual relations between the man and woman. He stood outside her house knocking, but she was already in bed. She delayed in opening her door, and he left before she opened it.
The verses have a double meaning.For example, in 5:4 they interpret the man’s “hand” and the door “latch” (literally “hole” in Hebrew) as referring to male and female sexual organs. Pope and some other modern commentators follow this view. The man was outside the room knocking on the door. He was also outside the woman’s body, wanting to enter and have sexual relations with her.

It is recommended that you follow option (1), which is followed by many reliable commentaries.See, for example, Assis, Barbiero, Bloch and Bloch, Davidson, Delitzsch, Elliott, Estes, Fox, Ginsburg, Gordis, Hess, Mitchell, and Murphy. Michael Fox argues that this view spoils the true romantic impact and beauty of the book (Fox, pages 144–145). The text indicates that the man did not come inside the woman’s house, but he left before she could open the door.

Common themes

This section has similar themes (motifs) that were part of earlier sections. You should translate such themes in a similar way throughout the book. This helps readers understand the unity of the Song. For example, as in 3:1–4, also here in 5:2–8, the author told about the woman having a dream and searching for her beloved in the town at night. Also, in 2:8–14, the young man stood outside the woman’s house, but she was inside behind a locked door. This theme of the woman being hard to reach is also found in 2:9; 2:14; 4:8; and 4:12.

5:5a

I rose up to open for my beloved.

I got up to open the door for my beloved.
I rose from bed to let my love come in,

I rose up to open for my beloved: Here the woman left her bed to open (the door) for her beloved to come in. She had become eager to see him, so she was willing to put on her robe again, as she mentioned in 5:3. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

I got up to open the door for my love.

I quickly left my bed and went to open up to my beloved.

5:5b

My hands dripped with myrrh,

My hands were covered with myrrh, (GNT)
and perfume dripped from my hands.

5:5b–c

My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh: In 5:5b and 5:5c the meaning is repeated to emphasize it. Both clauses indicate that liquid myrrh dripped from the woman’s hands (and fingers). The text may imply that when the woman got up, she quickly poured myrrh on her hands, and some of the myrrh dripped from them. This is a hyperbole. It probably indicates that she was now eager to please the man.

Some other ways to translate the parallel clauses are:

Translate the meaning twice in slightly different ways. For example:
^5bmyrrh perfume covered my fingers ^5cand dripped from my hands
Combine 5:5b and 5:5c and translate the meaning only once. For example:
my hands were dripping with myrrh perfume

Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.

hands…fingers: The words hands and fingers have the same meaning here. The author repeated the meaning to add poetic interest and emphasis. He did not imply any difference in meaning.

myrrh: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as myrrh occurs twice in this verse. Both times it refers to the liquid form of the myrrh perfume. This word also occurred in 1:13, 3:6, 4:6, and 4:14. (In 1:13a–b and 4:6 the myrrh was probably in solid form.)

Here the word myrrh in 5:5b and the phrase “flowing myrrh” in 5:5c refer to the same substance. In this context myrrh can also be translated generally as “perfume.” In the dream that the woman described, myrrh probably symbolizes her loving desire for the man.

For more information about myrrh, see the note on 3:6c.

5:5c

my fingers with flowing myrrh

and my fingers dripped with flowing myrrh,
Costly perfume covered my fingers

my fingers with flowing myrrh: There is an ellipsis in 5:5c, and the word “dripped” is implied. In many languages translators need to supply this implied verb. For example:

my fingers dripped with flowing myrrh.

The myrrh dripped or flowed from her hands and fingers onto the handles of the bolt (5:5d). Some other ways to translate the phrase in 5:5c are:

my fingers were wet with myrrh

My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh (NLT)

flowing myrrh: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as flowing myrrh and the parallel “dripped” myrrh in 5:5b probably refer to the same type of myrrh. For more information about myrrh, see the note on myrrh in 3:6c.

5:5d

on the handles of the bolt.

when I touched the door latch/bar.
as I grasped the handle of the door. (GNT)

on the handles of the bolt: The phrase, handles of the bolt, refers to the object that was used to bolt (lock) the door. This bolt was often a metal or wooden bar. It was fastened to the door with a lock.Some commentators think the handles of the bolt is a sexual euphemism. The Notes considers this interpretation to be unlikely, and it is also difficult to fit with the other details of the verse. For these reasons, the Notes does not recommend it. For further discussion on the general issue of whether this passage describes a sexual encounter, refer to the introduction of Section 5:2–8. Some other ways to translate 5:5c are:

Use a specific phrase that is natural in your language. For example:
the handle of the door (GNT)
the latch handles
Use a more general phrase that does not refer specifically to the lock. For example:
to open the door (CEV)
as I pulled back the bolt (NLT)

Use a natural phrase in your language to refer to a lock or whatever is natural in your culture to lock or bar a door.

General Comment on 5:5

The Notes suggest that the dripping myrrh on the woman’s hands is hyperbole. It is probably not literal but a symbol for feelings of love. This symbolic myrrh emphasizes that the woman had strong feelings of love for the man.

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 5:5

Hebrew word order