SNG 6:8 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:4–8:4: The man praised the woman and sang about springtime

In this section the man described the woman in two separate speeches (6:4–10 and 7:1–10). Some verses are difficult to understand, especially 6:11–13, and it is important to think about them carefully. The woman responded to the man in 7:11 and continued to speak to the end of the section at 8:4.

The verse numbering in the Hebrew text is different from the BSB and a majority of English versions. The Hebrew text begins chapter 7 where the BSB begins 6:13, so in chapter 7 the verses in the Hebrew text are one number higher than the verse numbers in the BSB. For example, 6:13–7:13 in the BSB is 7:1–14 in the Hebrew text (and also in the NJB and NJPS). It is helpful to be aware that some commentaries follow the Hebrew verse numbering. The Notes will follow the verse numbers in the BSB (along with the majority of English versions).

Paragraph 6:4–10 The man described the woman

In 6:4–10, the man spoke to the woman. In 6:4–7, he spoke directly to her with forms like “you” and “your.” But in 6:8–10, he spoke about her, using forms like “she” and “her.” In 6:10 the man probably quoted what the other women said to praise her beauty.

This section begins and ends with the same phrase. The BSB translates the phrase in 6:4c as “as majestic as troops with banners,” and in 6:10 it repeats this phrase. However, the context is different, so scholars are not certain whether the meaning of the phrase is the same or different in the two verses. The notes for 6:10 will discuss this issue.

In 6:4–10 the man sang his second praise song to describe the woman. This song is similar in some ways to his first praise song in 4:1–5, and it repeats some portions of that song. However, here his words seem less intimate. In 4:9 the man indicated that she is superior to all other women.

6:8–10

In the previous verses (6:4–7), the man spoke to the woman directly, using forms like “you” and “your.” He described her head and face. But here in 6:8–10 he spoke indirectly, using phrases like “the favorite of the mother who bore her.” He described her beauty, using words like “perfect one,” “unique,” and “fair.” In 6:10 he compared her beautiful face to the beauty of the sun, moon, and stars.

6:8–9

In 6:8–9 the man compared the woman to beautiful women in the royal court. The “sixty queens” and “eighty concubines” were wives of a king, but the particular king is not mentioned. It probably was not Solomon, since the author did not mention him here. Also, the numbers (60 and 80) do not match the number of Solomon’s wives in 1 Kings 11:3.

6:8a–9a

There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number: This statement gives a hypothetical situation. It does not imply that the king (or the man) really had 60 wives, 80 concubines and a very large number of maidens. The man used the statement to praise his bride and to indicate that she was unique. No queen, concubine, or maiden could ever be as wonderful as she was.

Some ways to translate this meaning are:

What if I could have sixty queens, eighty wives, and thousands of others! ⁹You would be my only choice…. (CEV)

Even if someone offered me 60 queens, 80 wives, and any number of beautiful girls, I would love only you.

In some languages the numbers 60 and 80 may be complex phrases, or the numbers may make the poetry seem dull or unnatural. If that is true in your language, you may use a more general way to refer to increasingly large numbers. For example.

If I could have many queens, more concubines, and countless girls, you would be my only choice, my perfect mate.

Translate the statement in a way that will imply this meaning in your language.

6:8

When the author mentioned the numbers “sixty,” “eighty,” and “without number,” he mentioned the lowest number first. But when he mentioned the status of the women, he mentioned the ones with higher status first: “queens,” “concubines,” and “maidens.”

The numbers “sixty” and “eighty” are a poetic way to imply that a person could compare the woman to any number of other women (even queens and concubines), but no one would be as perfect as she was.It was common in Wisdom literature to use the phrase “there are three things….there are four.” This verse uses the numbers 60 and 80, which could be arrived at by multiplying 3 and 4 by 20 (3 times 20 is 60; 4 times 20 is 80), as Garrett suggests (page 229). The significance of these numbers is that there is no other woman at all who can equal the man’s beloved.

6:8a

There are sixty queens

There may be sixty queens
If I was the king and I could have many wives,

sixty queens: The word queens refers to the king’s wives. In Solomon’s time it was common in Israel and other countries for a king to have many wives. These queens sometimes had great power.

6:8b

and eighty concubines,

and there may be eighty concubines
and even more women to serve me

and eighty concubines: The concubines were also wives of the king, but they had less status and power than the queens. They were often chosen because of their beauty. In some languages there is no word for concubines and the idea may be offensive. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general phrase. For example:

women to serve the king

6:8c

and maidens without number,

and there may be maidens without number.
and too many other girls to count,

and maidens without number: The phrase maidens without number is a hyperbole. It implies that there were so many young women that no one could count them. Other ways to translate the phrase are:

so many girls you cannot count them (NCV)

countless young women (NLT)

maidens: The word maidens probably refers to young women who are old enough to be married but are not yet mothers. There were many women who were probably associated with the king’s court but were not formally married. It is good to use a word in your language that refers to young unmarried women.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

שִׁשִּׁ֥ים הֵ֨מָּה֙ מְּלָכ֔וֹת

sixty they(emph) queens

If it would be more natural in your language, you could change the order of the words in the phrase Sixty are they, queens. Alternate translation: [They are sixty queens]

Note 2 topic: writing-poetry

שִׁשִּׁ֥ים הֵ֨מָּה֙ מְּלָכ֔וֹת וּ⁠שְׁמֹנִ֖ים פִּֽילַגְשִׁ֑ים

sixty they(emph) queens and=eighty concubines

This is poetic language. The man is using the 3, 4 pattern that was commonly used at that time, and for emphasis he multiples the numbers 3 and 4 by the number 20. This gives the numbers Sixty and eighty that he uses to make his point. If your language has a way to indicate poetry, you could use it here. Alternate translation: [A large number of queens and a large number of concubines] or [Many queens and many concubines]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

וַ⁠עֲלָמ֖וֹת

and,young_women

See how you translated the phrase marriageable women in [1:3](../01/03.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וַ⁠עֲלָמ֖וֹת אֵ֥ין מִסְפָּֽר

and,young_women not number

Here, without number is an idiom that means “more than can be counted.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [and too many marriageable women to count] or [and more marriageable women than can be counted]

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 6:8

Hebrew word order