Section 5:2–6:3
At night the woman searched for the man and praised him
Scholars differ about the meaning of this section and how it relates to the rest of the Song. In 5:2–7 the woman told the Jerusalem women that the man came to her door at night but went away. She told them that now she longed to see him and was searching for him. Then she asked them to give him a message if they saw him (5:8). They asked why she was so attracted to him (5:9), and she replied by describing him (5:10–16). Then they asked her where he went (6:1), and she told them that he went down to his garden (6:2–3).
The section contains several interpretation issues:
(a) In 5:2–7 did the woman describe a dream or a real event, or is 5:2–7 a poetic way to describe her feelings and thoughts about the man?
The woman described one type of event (probably dreamed or imagined) as she and the man related to each other. The author did not always tell about events in order, and he repeated certain themes to examine them from different points of view. The Song is not a simple story but a poem, and it uses various ways to describe the romantic love.
(b) Section 3:6–5:1 told about the wedding of the man and woman. Does Section 5:2–6:3 tell about a time after they married?
Although 3:6–5:1 told about the wedding of the man and woman, 5:2–6:3 may not refer to a time after the wedding. It may describe something they experienced more than once. In other sections also, the man and woman were apart at the beginning but together at the end (as in 1:2–2:7). If 5:2–6:3 refers to a time before their wedding, it describes the woman’s hopes and fears as she imagined her future with the man (as in 3:1–4). The dream might indicate that she feared that he had stopped loving her, but at the end of 6:2–3, she realized that he continued to love her faithfully.
(c) How should a translator interpret the figures of speech in this section?
Some scholars interpret these figures as euphemisms for sexual organs and sexual activity. However, such interpretations may cause a translator to refer more explicitly to sexual matters than is normal or justified in the Song. (For more information, see “Standards for respectful speech and actions in the Song” in POEM 4:1–7.)
5:2–8 The woman spoke to the women of Jerusalem
There are different ways to interpret what the woman said in 5:2–8:
(1) She told about something that she dreamed or imagined. She described her feelings for the man in a poetic way.
(2) She told what happened when the man actually came to her. She was sleeping, but she woke up when she heard him knocking on her door.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The verses probably describe something that the woman dreamed or imagined, since some of the descriptions seem unreal or dreamlike. They are a poetic way to express the woman’s feelings for the man.
Does 5:2–8 describe sexual relations between the woman and man?
There are two views about whether 5:2–8 implies that they had sexual relations:
(1) The verses indicate romantic feelings, but they do not describe sexual relations between the man and woman. He stood outside her house knocking, but she was already in bed. She delayed in opening her door, and he left before she opened it.
(2) The verses have a double meaning. The man was outside the room knocking on the door. He was also outside the woman’s body, wanting to enter and have sexual relations with her.
It is recommended that you follow option (1), which is followed by many reliable commentaries. The text indicates that the man did not come inside the woman’s house, but he left before she could open the door.
Common themes
This section has similar themes (motifs) that were part of earlier sections. You should translate such themes in a similar way throughout the book. This helps readers understand the unity of the Song. For example, as in 3:1–4, also here in 5:2–8, the author told about the woman having a dream and searching for her beloved in the town at night. Also, in 2:8–14, the young man stood outside the woman’s house, but she was inside behind a locked door. This theme of the woman being hard to reach is also found in 2:9; 2:14; 4:8; and 4:12.
5:2–8 The woman spoke to the women of Jerusalem
In 5:2–7 the woman told the Jerusalem women about her dream, but the text does not mention these women clearly until 5:8. It is often helpful to include a heading at 5:2 to indicate that she spoke to the Jerusalem women.
5:2a
I sleep, but my heart is awake: The phrase I sleep, but my heart is awake probably indicates that as the woman slept, she had a dream. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
I was sleeping, and I began to dream.
-or-
As I slept, I dreamed.
In some languages there may be an idiom that indicates that a person is dreaming. For example:
I slept but my mind was alert.
Use a natural way in your language to refer to dreaming.
heart: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as heart is used in many idioms in Hebrew. Here it refers to the part of the woman that was aware of what happened around her. In some languages it is not necessary to use a part of the body to describe being aware. For example:
I slept but I was still alert.
5:2b–e
In 5:2b–e the man came to the woman’s house at night and knocked on the door. He asked her to open it and to let him come in. The text does not indicate whether the man had a specific reason to visit her, but he was respectful and spoke in a loving way. He stood outside her house in the damp night air. She did not want to get out of bed, so she said that she was ready to sleep. But he continued to knock, because he wanted to be with her.
5:2b
A sound! My beloved is knocking: When the woman told her dream to the women of Jerusalem, she spoke as if she were still in her dream. The phrase A sound! My beloved is knocking is more literally, “sound/voice of my lover knocking.” The woman spoke as if she still heard the man knocking and calling to her.
In some languages it is more natural to speak of the dream as happening in the past. For example:
I heard my lover knocking and calling (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The one I love was at the door, knocking and saying (Contemporary English Version)
A sound! My beloved: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A sound! My beloved means either “voice of my beloved” or “sound of my beloved.” In this context it can refer to both the sound of his knocking and his voice.
My beloved: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as My beloved first occurred in 1:13a. It is the most common way that the woman used to refer to the man in the Song. It is good to translate it in the same way throughout the book. For more information, see the note on 1:13a–b.
is knocking: The word knocking does not specify where the young man knocked. He may have knocked at the door or window of a house. In 2:9 he was outside her window, but here in 5:2 he probably knocked on a door of the house.
In some cultures when a person comes to visit, he calls to the people in the house or makes another sound (like clapping his hands). It is not the custom to knock on their door. Use a natural way in your language for the woman to describe how the man tried to get her attention. For example:
⌊ I hear⌋my beloved calling to me
-or-
I hear my love knocking… (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
I hear my beloved knocking/clapping ⌊on/at the door/window⌋ and calling ⌊to me⌋…
5:2c–e
In 5:2c–e the woman quoted what the man said to her. In some languages it may be necessary to use a word or phrase to introduce the quote, for example:
He said to me
5:2c
Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one: Here the man used four loving names as he called to the woman. He wanted to persuade her to open the door for him. In some languages it is more natural to begin the sentence with these loving names. For example:
My sister! My darling! My dove! My flawless one! Please open ⌊the door⌋ to me.
The man used these loving names to call out to the woman through her door. In some languages it is not natural to use four names one after another like this. It may be more natural to translate the meaning of the names as one or more sentences. For example:
You are ⌊as precious to me as⌋ a sister, my darling. You are ⌊as gentle and beautiful as⌋ a dove—you are flawless!
Open to me: The phrase Open to me implies that the man wanted the woman to open the door for him to come in and be with her. He was making a polite request. He did not imply that it was an order that she must obey. The request may also imply a romantic sense that the man wanted her to open herself to him as her beloved. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:
please let me come in
-or-
open ⌊the door⌋ for me
my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one: Here the man used several loving names to call his beloved and encourage her to open the door for him. The author used three of these names earlier in the book. For a discussion of the phrase my sister, see the note on 4:9a. For a discussion of my darling, see the note on 1:9a–b. For more information on the phrase my dove, see the note in 2:14a–b.
my darling: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as my darling was also used in 1:9. Translate it as you did there.
my dove: The term my dove is another loving name that the man used for the woman. It indicates that the woman was as beautiful and gentle as a dove. A dove is often used as a symbol for love. For more information and a picture of a dove, see the note on 2:14a–b. Translate dove in the same way as you did there.
my flawless one: The meaning of the phrase my flawless one is similar to the phrase in 4:7 that says, “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw.” It probably implies that the woman was physically beautiful and also morally good. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:
You are perfect!
-or-
You have no faults!
5:2d–e
My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night: Here the man told the woman a reason why she should let him into the house. The clauses in 5:2d and 5:2e have the same meaning. They indicate that the man’s hair was wet with the heavy mist that was in the air. In the country where they lived, heavy dew often fell at night. People who were outside got wet hair and probably felt cold.
Some ways to translate the clauses in 5:2d and 5:2e are:
• Translate them in two slightly different ways. For example:
2d My hair is very wet 2e because of the heavy dew that is falling tonight.
• Translate the meaning only once. For example:
My head is drenched with evening dew. (Contemporary English Version)
Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.
5:2d
head: Here the word head probably refers to the man’s hair.
5:2e
my hair with the dampness of the night: The clause my hair with the dampness of the night has implied information. The implied phrase is indicated in the following example:
My hair ⌊is wet⌋ from the dampness of the night.
The phrase “is wet” is implied. In some languages it is more natural to make this information explicit. For example:
The mist in the evening air makes my hair very wet.
-or-
My hair is damp from the mist that is falling tonight.
my hair: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hair is only used twice in the OT—here and in 5:11. It is probably used to make the poetry more interesting in Hebrew.
the dampness of the night: The phrase the dampness of the night is a poetic way to refer to dew or mist in the evening air.
© 2017 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.