Building on the imagery of 1.16c-17, the young woman describes herself as a rose of Sharon. We picture the two lovers lying under the trees, sharing intimate talk. She says to her lover, I am a rose of Sharon. If this metaphor is not acceptable, we can substitute “I am like…,” which seems to be her real meaning.

Rose is the traditional translation of this word, but it does not refer to the flower we know today as a rose. The exact variety of the flower is uncertain. Some suggest it is a crocus, a meadow saffron, or a narcissus. Because its identity is unknown we can use a general term, “flower.”

Sharon: a place name, indicating the Mediterranean coastal province of Israel (Isa 35.2; 65.10). In biblical times it was densely covered with oak trees. But the word actually means a plain, or any wide and relatively flat surface. In our text it has a definite article attached, which probably means that it is not used here as a place name but as referring to a wide area. The young woman is probably saying something like “I am like a small flower on the wide sweeping plain.” Certainly there were many flowers on the plain, so it may be that the young woman is claiming to just be like any other woman of her group. Another possibility is that she may be emphasizing that she is simply a country girl, in contrast to the sophisticated “daughters of Jerusalem.” Whatever her motivation, she is not boasting about being more beautiful than others. The young man’s answer in the following verse (“you are a lily among brambles”) shows that he does not agree with her modest view of herself.

Jerusalem Bible gives a literal translation, “I am the rose of Sharon,” but this seems to misplace the emphasis. Most versions see the statement as meaning “I am only a rose of the plain” or “I am just a rose of the plain.” The young woman’s comment is apparently intended to draw a response from her lover.

A suggested translation is:

• I am merely [or, just] a little flower on the plain.

A lily of the valleys: this clause is parallel to the previous one, I am a rose of Sharon. Although the Hebrew text does not repeat the I am, it is to be assumed. However, in some languages it may be necessary to repeat the subject and verb: “I am just a flower on the plain; I am merely a lily of the valley.” The words suggest that she is quite ordinary, not specially pretty. But that is not the meaning she intends. Her modest claim is designed to cause her lover to praise her great beauty. The lily may be one of the red or red-purple flowers found in the better-watered areas of Israel. In 5.13 this flower represents the young man’s lips, so this seems to confirm that the flower referred to is red.

The use of the plural form valleys may indicate that she is thinking in general terms of the kind of lily found in valleys, not of a particular place. Often in Hebrew parallelism there is a change from singular to plural number, so this can also explain the use of the plural form here. Certainly it is not necessary to preserve this feature in the translation. In some languages there is no term for “valley,” in which case we may have to use a more general term like “countryside.”

Translators may have to choose some general term for native wild flowers. The focus of attention is not on any particular flower but on the flower as a symbol of beauty. The young woman’s meaning can be conveyed by adding the adverb “just” or “merely.” Thus we can say “I am merely a little wild flower on the plains, a valley-lily.” As noted above, in some languages it may be necessary to render the metaphor by a simile: “I am like a little wild flower in the fields, a valley-lily.” This solution still leaves open the problem of how she is like these flowers.

The translator should aim to render these lines poetically. Strict parallelism and repetition may be appreciated; or shorter sentences may have more poetic effect. Depending on these factors a repetitive “I” or a verb of being can be used:

• I am just a flower of the plain,
I am just a lily of the valley.

• I am just a flower in the fields,
a tiny valley-lily.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .