1:7–8 The woman spoke and the man replied

There are some difficult interpretation issues in 1:7–8. One issue is the attitude of the man and woman. In 1:7, did the woman ask for information in a serious manner or did she speak in a flirting way? In 1:8, did the man scold the woman or did he reply in a flirting way? Possibly, the woman was more serious in 1:7, while the man replied in a flirting way in 1:8.

The Song uses several figurative themes that occur at different places in the book. The theme of 1:5–6 was the vineyard. In 1:7–8 the focus shifts to the theme of shepherds and pastures.

1:7a–e The woman spoke to the man

In this verse the woman asked the man where he pastured his sheep. There are two slightly different ways to understand and translate the time that she referred to:

• Maybe she referred to the place where the man usually pastured his sheep. For example:

Tell me…where you graze your flock… (New International Version)

• Maybe she referred to the place where the man planned to pasture his flock on that day (or in the near future). For example:

Where will you lead your flock to graze… (New Jerusalem Bible)

It is uncertain which option is more likely. However, either option has almost the same result in this context. The main point is that the woman wanted to know where to find her beloved when she went out to look for him. Translate in a way that is natural in your language.

1:7a–c

There are parallel parts in 1:7a–c. The woman asked her beloved where he pastured his flock and where he made them lie down at noon. The Hebrew text is more literally:

7a Tell me…

7b where you pasture ⌊your flock⌋

7c where you cause ⌊it/them⌋ to rest at noon?

Other ways to translate this request are:

My love, please tell me where you take your sheep to graze and where you will let them rest at noon.
-or-
Tell me, my love, where will you lead your flock to graze? Where will they rest from the noonday sun?

1:7a

Tell me, O one I love: Here the woman used the phrase O one I love like a name for her beloved. In Hebrew the phrase is only two words which sound poetic together. In some languages it may be more natural to put the direct address first in the sentence. For example:

O one I love, tell me

In some languages it may be more natural not to use direct address. For example:

You are the one I love. Tell me

Tell me: The phrase Tell me is a request and an indirect question. Some other ways to translate it are:

Please tell me (God’s Word)
-or-
I would like you to let me know

O one I love: The phrase O one I love is a term of affection that the woman used as she spoke to the man. Languages often have a special term of affection that is natural for the woman to use in this context. For example:

my love (Good News Translation)
-or-
My darling (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
sweetheart (New Jerusalem Bible)

1:7b

where do you pasture your sheep: This phrase refers to the place where the man usually led his flock to graze. On some days he might lead them to a different place, so the woman wanted to be sure exactly where her beloved planned to be. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

Where will you lead your flock to graze (Good News Translation)
-or-
where do you feed your sheep (New Century Version)
-or-
where you plan to lead your flock to eat today?

pasture your sheep: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pasture refers to caring for animals like sheep and goats. It especially refers to leading them to areas where they will be able to eat grass or other plants. The Berean Standard Bible supplies the implied phrase your sheep, which is not in the Hebrew text.

Some other ways to translate the meaning are:

feed your sheep (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
take your animals to graze/eat

1:7c

Where do you rest them at midday: This clause is parallel to the clause in 1:7b. It has basically the same meaning. The woman was still asking the man where he would take his flock (them). However, it adds the meaning rest and the time of day (midday). Some other ways to translate the clause are:

At noon, where will you make your sheep lie down?
-or-
Where do you let them rest at noon? (New Century Version)

In this verse it is important to understand that the woman was not primarily interested in the sheep. She asked the question because she wanted to know where her beloved planned to be.

1:7d–e

In 1:7a–c, the woman asked the man to tell her where he usually led his flock to graze. Here in 1:7d–e, she gave her reason for wanting to know where he will be. She wanted to know so that she did not need to search for him near the other shepherds. If she wandered around the shepherds’ tents, they might think that she was an immoral woman looking for pleasure.

In some languages it may be necessary to repeat part of the request from 1:7a to make the connection clear. For example:

Tell me so that I will not have to wander around beside the flocks of your companions! (similarly, the NET Bible)

Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions: Here the woman asked a rhetorical question. The question indicates that she did not want to be like a woman who wanders around the shepherds’ tents. If she did that, others might think that she was a prostitute. In some languages it is necessary to make this explicit in some way. For example:

For why should I wander like a prostitute among your friends and their flocks? (New Living Translation (2004))

Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

• As a rhetorical question:

Why should I need to look for you among the flocks of the other shepherds? (Good News Translation)
-or-
Will it be good/proper if I walk here and there looking for you where the other shepherds pasture their flocks?

• As a request:

Let me not be as one who strays

Beside the flocks of your fellows. (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
Please don’t cause me to wander around looking for you where other men take their sheep.

• As a statement:

I do not want to wander around looking for you where other men take their sheep.

Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.

veiled: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as veiled can also mean “wander.” These two meanings are more similar than they seem. In that culture a prostitute often wore a veil over her face, so the Berean Standard Bible has “like a veiled woman.” However, it is better to translate the meaning “wanders,” since there are other reasons for wearing a veil.

The woman wanted to know where the man was going so that she did not have to wander around searching for him when she came to meet him at noon (1:7c). The theme of searching for a person and finding him is common in the Song.

1:7e

beside the flocks of your companions: The phrase beside the flocks of your companions implies that the man often pastured his flocks near other shepherds. They were probably his friends or a group of shepherds who went out together to graze their flocks. The woman implied here that she did not want to go near those other shepherds to search for her beloved. She was afraid that she might be mistaken for an immoral woman.

Other ways to translate this phrase are:

among your friends and their flocks (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
near your friends’ sheep (New Century Version)

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