3:4a
The text does not give any response to the question that the woman asked the watchmen in 3:3. It does not say whether or not they offered her any help, but probably they did not. By not focusing on the watchmen, the author probably emphasized the fact that the woman was totally focused on her search for her beloved.
I had just passed them: The phrase I had just passed them refers to the time after the woman asked the watchmen her question in 3:3. When they did not answer, she left them and continued to look for her beloved. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
As soon as I left them (Good News Translation)
-or-
Then I passed them. Immediately…
-or-
Scarcely had I passed them (Revised Standard Version)
3:4b–f
From the beginning of chapter 3 until this verse, the woman’s search for her beloved became more intense. She searched and longed for her beloved. But here in 3:4b she found him. Her relief and joy was especially strong after her intense search.
In each line of 3:4c–f the woman seemed to express more intimacy with the man. She embraced him (3:4c–d) and brought him into her mother’s chamber (3:4f). Lines 3:4c and 3:4d are parallel, but 3:4d is more intense and specific. Lines 3:4e and 3:4f are also parallel, and 3:4f is more intense and specific.
3:4b
when I found the one I love: This line is closely connected with 3:4a. It indicates that immediately after the woman left the watchmen, she found her beloved. Connect this line with 3:4a in a natural way in your language. Some other ways to translate it are:
immediately I saw my love!
-or-
As soon as I had left them, I found the one I love (New Century Version, 3:4a–b)
3:4c
I held him: The phrase I held him indicates that the woman held onto the man tightly. It implies that she was happy and relieved to be with him. She did not want to risk being separated from him again. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
I held onto him tightly (NET Bible)
-or-
I clung to him
-or-
I grabbed/gripped him
3:4d
and would not let go: This clause is parallel to 3:4c and adds emphasis. It means that the woman would not stop holding on to the man. She kept clinging to him. It implies that she felt an intense desire to keep him with her. Other ways to translate this clause are:
I did not loosen my hold on him
-or-
and I kept holding him tightly
3:4e–f
until I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me: The clauses in 3:4e and 3:4f are parallel and have a similar meaning. In 3:4e the woman said that she brought the man into her mother’s house. In 3:4f she brought him even into her mother’s bedroom.
3:4e
until I had brought him to my mother’s house: This clause tells the place where the woman brought her beloved. She was determined to bring him to her mother’s house, so she held him tightly until they arrived. Some other ways to translate the clause are:
then I brought him to my mother’s house. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
⌊ I did not stop holding him⌋before I took him ⌊with me⌋ into my mother’s house
to my mother’s house: There is uncertainty about what my mother’s house implies here. Scholars also have different ideas about why the young woman took the man there. Here are some important facts to consider:
(a) The phrase my mother’s house is a common way to refer to the place (house) where an unmarried woman lives.
(b) Marriage plans were made at the mother’s house. The text may imply that the woman and man went there to make preparations for their marriage, which happens in 3:6–11.
(c) Her mother’s house in her “chamber” (3:4f) is the place where the man and woman will be intimate with each other after they marry.
These three suggestions about what the phrase mother’s house implies here may all be true. The phrase probably refers to the house where the woman and her mother lived. There plans could be made for the marriage of the man and woman.
3:4f
to the chamber of the one who conceived me: The phrase to the chamber of the one who conceived me is parallel to the phrase “into my mother’s house” in 3:4e. In 3:4f the woman used a more specific phrase, and the meaning is more intense. It implies that the woman hoped that in the future she and the man would be intimate with each other there. The next section (3:6–5:1) figuratively describes their wedding and their intimate union as a married couple.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
into the room where my mother conceived me.
-or-
into my mother’s bedroom, where I had been conceived. (New Living Translation (1996))
the chamber of the one who conceived me: The word chamber means “room.” The phrase the chamber of the one who conceived me refers to the bedroom of the woman’s mother. It may also imply that the woman was conceived in this room and/or that she was born in that room. It may also imply that her mother’s blessing was on her daughter’s relationship with her beloved.
Another way to translate the chamber of the one who conceived me is:
the room of the one who conceived me (New International Version)
General Comment on 3:1–4
This dream in 3:1–4 is told from the woman’s point of view. In these verses she searched for him and committed herself to him again. The woman’s dream ends here in 3:4. The man did not speak often in this section (2:8–3:5), but he spoke more often in the next section, especially in 4:1–15.
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