Song of Songs 4 Chapter Introduction

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Beauty

The man describes the woman he loves as the epitome of beauty and attractiveness in 4:1–5 and in 4:7.

Feelings of longing to be with one’s lover who seems distant and temporarily inaccessible

In 4:8 the man speaks of the woman he loves as if she were far away from him, and he invites her to “come with” him and “descend from” the height of three high places and be with him. The woman is not actually dwelling in these places, but rather the man is using imaginative and poetic language to describe how he feels about being separated from her and to describe his desire to be with her. In 4:12 the man uses poetic language to describe the fact that the woman he loves is temporarily inaccessible.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

The garden metaphor

In this chapter, 4:12–5:1 is an extended metaphor. This metaphor is a conversation between the man and the woman he loves in which he first compares her to “a locked garden” (4:12–4:15) where many delightful things grow. She responds by inviting him to come to her garden in 4:16. The man then responds to her invitation in 5:1. The term “garden” is used as a metaphor for the woman in 4:12, 4:16 (two times), and 5:1. You should be consistent in how you translate the term “garden.” In 4:13, the man speaks of the woman’s body as “an orchard of pomegranate trees with delicious fruits,” and then in 4:16 she invites the man to “come to his garden and eat its delicious fruit.” (See: figs-exmetaphor)

The “sister” metaphor

The phrase “my sister” is used in 4:9, 4:10, 4:12, 5:1, and 5:2. The man uses this phrase as a term of endearment for the woman he loves. She is not actually his sister. You should translate this phrase the same way each time it occurs here, because the author uses it with the same meaning each time. See the note at the first occurrence of this phrase in 4:9 for more information.