Parallel SNG 1:4

Section 1:2–2:7: The woman and man admired each other

In Section 1:2–2:7, the woman and man praised each other, and they became more confident that they loved each other. In the introduction (1:2–4) the woman spoke about her desire for the man. Then she spoke of her humble life working in the family vineyard (1:5–6), and she seemed to question whether she was worthy for him to love her. Then he praised her, and she praised him. When she spoke at the end of the section (2:3–6), she felt secure that he loved her.

In this section, the woman used several comparisons to speak of her feelings about the man. She spoke as though he were a shepherd (1:7–8) or a king (1:4; 1:12), implying that he was like a shepherd or king to her in certain ways. He was also like a bag of myrrh (1:13), henna blossoms (1:14), and an apple tree (2:3–4) to her. The woman compared herself to “a rose of Sharon,” and “a lily of the valleys” (2:1). The man compared her to “a mare of Pharaoh’s chariots” (1:9). The Notes will discuss the meaning of each of these comparisons as it occurs in its section.

Lines 1:2–4 are the introduction to Section 1:2–2:7. In these lines, the poet summarizes the Song’s message and introduces its main characters: the woman, the man, and a group of young women. In the Song the woman spoke more often than the man spoke. After the title (1:1), she began the Song by saying that she wanted him to kiss her. She referred to him only as “him” or “you.” In Hebrew poetry, the authors do not introduce their characters as they do in stories, but in some languages it may be more natural to introduce them and identify them. Some ways to do this are:

• Provide headings to identify the characters. Some headings may apply only to a verse or part of a verse. For example:

  1:4e The Woman commented about the young women of Jerusalem You may need to use a different form the first time a character is introduced. For example:

  1:2–4b A woman speaks to the man she loves

• Use a speech introducer in the first part of the verse. If you use this option, you may want to indicate in some way that the speech introducer is not in the text itself. For example:

  1:4e (The woman said to her beloved,) “Rightly do they love you.”

  1:2a [There were a certain woman and man. She said to/about him,] “Let him kiss me…

Choose an option that fits your situation, and use it consistently throughout the book. You should also decide how you will refer to the speakers in the headings. Some ways to do that are:

woman, man, women (GNT)

beloved, lover, friends (NIV)

bride, groom, companions (REB)

she, he, others (ESV)

The woman often referred to the man as “my beloved” (RSV), and she also called him “the one whom my soul loves,” “the king,” and “my friend.” The man often referred to her as “my love” and also as “fairest among women,” “my dove,” “my sister,” “my bride,” and “queenly maiden.”

Paragraph 1:2–4b The woman said that she desired her beloved

In the Hebrew text of 1:2–4b, the woman spoke about the man, using forms like “him” and “his.” Then she seemed to speak to him with forms like “you” and “your.” In 1:4b she spoke about him again, calling him “the king.” Most scholars agree that the phrase “the king” refers to the same man whom she loved, not to a different man.

In Hebrew poetry it is common to have such changes in the way people refer to each other. These changes can have different functions.See “Shifting persons” in Zogbo and Wendland, pages 50–53 for more discussion of such changes. This change of person reference is one type of grammatical substitution called “enallage.” This type of enallage may also function as: 1) an indication of the poem’s structure (e.g., the beginning or end of a poem); 2) morphologic parallelism; 3) movement from distance to proximity; 4) expressing awe or respect (3^rd person). One possible explanation of the enallage in this context is that in 1:2 the change from “him” to “your” indicates an increase of emotion and intimacy. In 1:3–4 it changes back from “your” to third person “king.” This indicates a decrease in intimacy as she comes to realize in her dream how unlikely it is that this wonderful man could choose to love her. Assis, pages 34–37. Here the changes probably emphasize that the woman desired the man. In some languages such changes may be confusing or imply a wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate the verses are:

• Make the changes clear by introducing them in some way. For example, notice the phrases in brackets:

  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

  I want to tell him,

  “For your love is more delightful than wine.

  The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing;

  your name is like perfume poured out.

  No wonder the maidens adore you.”

  Take me away with you—let us hurry!

  He is like a king, my king.

  May the king bring me to his chambers.

• Translate all the woman’s words in 1:2–4b as spoken directly to the man. For example:

  Your lips cover me with kisses; (GNT)

  your love is better than wine,

  There is a fragrance about you;

  the sound of your name recalls it.

  No woman could keep from loving you.

  Take me with you,

  and we’ll run away;

  be my king

  and take me to your room.

Probably these verses tell the woman’s private thoughts and desires.Jensen (page 16) says, “The woman’s shifts between third person and second person reference to her lover are initially disconcerting, but we should probably think of verses 2–3 as soliloquy spoken in the physical absence of the lover, and so as encompassing both absence and imagined presence….” The poet did not imply that the man was actually with her while she was saying these things. In some languages there are ways to indicate that a person is talking to someone who is not there to listen to what is said.

Take me away with you—let us hurry!

• Take me with you^(sing), and we^(incl) will hurry away.

• Take me away with you^(sing) without delay.

May the king bring me to his chambers.

• Oh how I want my prince to take me to his bedchamber!

• Be my king and bring me to the marriage bed.

• Bring me to our^(incl) wedding chamber, King of love.

Paragraph 1:4c–d The women of Jerusalem praised the man that the woman loves

The original Hebrew does not identify the speaker or speakers in 1:4c–d. Scholars suggest two main options:

1. The speakers in 1:4c–d were a group (chorus) of young women who praised the man.Some scholars believe that it is the woman who is speaking here, but that she is quoting the young women. However, even if the woman is quoting the other young women, the words are theirs. Other scholars believe that the woman speaks along with the chorus in their praise of the man. (These were probably the maidens mentioned in 1:3c.) For example:

   We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. (NIV) (BSB, CEV, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, ESV, GW, NASB, REB)

2. The speaker in 1:4c–d was the woman, and she spoke to the man. When she said “we,” she referred to herself and the man. She did not include the other young women mentioned in 1:3c and 1:4e. For example:

   We will be happy together, drink deep, and lose ourselves in love. (GNT) (GNT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). It provides the simplest explanation of the words in 1:4c–d. It seems less likely that the women spoke in 1:4e, since the text refers to them with a “they” form rather than with a “we” form.

We will rejoice and delight in you;

• We^(excl) will celebrate and be happy because of you^(masc,sing).

• The young women said to the man, We^(excl) will rejoice in you^(masc,sing) with great delight.

• You^(masc,sing) give us great pleasure, and we are thrilled with you^(masc,sing)!

we will praise your love more than wine.

• We^(excl) will praise your^(sing) love/loving more than we^(excl) praise the pleasures of wine.

• Your^(sing) love for your beloved is more worthy of our praise than the finest wine!

It is only right that they adore you.

• The young women are so right to love you!^(sing)

• It is natural that all the girls adore/admire you!^(sing)