8:9a–d

If she is a wall, we will build a tower of silver upon her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar: In this verse the woman’s brothers discussed what to do for her when a man wants to marry her. They used two parallel figures of speech to describe what they planned to do. The parallel phrases in these figures are indicated with similar typing:

9a
If she is a wall, 9b we will build a tower of silver

9c
If she is a door, 9d we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

There are different ways to interpret these figures of speech. The Notes for 8:9 will discuss how to interpret and translate them.

8:9a

If she is a wall: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as If she is a wall is more literally “if a wall she.” There is no verb like is. The woman’s brothers used the word wall here as a figure of speech to describe the woman. It implies that the woman had not had sexual relations with anyone.

The figure of a wall contrasts with the figure of a door in 8:9c. A wall blocks people from entering a room, but a door allows them to enter. In that culture a wall was often built around a city to protect the people there from enemies.

Some other ways to translate this figure of speech are:

• Use a simile. For example:

If she is like a wall/barrier
-or-
If a wall is what she resembles

• Use a figure of speech and indicate the meaning. For example:

If she ⌊protects her purity⌋ like a wall ⌊protects a city/home⌋

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

If she is chaste/pure
-or-
If she has kept/protected herself from having sexual relations ⌊with anyone⌋

8:9b

we will build a tower of silver upon her: A tower was a type of barrier that was placed on top of a city wall. It gave extra protection to the city. silver is a precious metal, and a battlement made of silver would be expensive and beautiful.

The phrase tower of silver is used in a figurative way here. The woman’s brothers implied that they planned to reward the woman for being sexually pure and to continue to protect her. They would decorate her with silver so that she would be very appealing and beautiful to any man who wanted to marry her. A man would see the silver and also realize that she was precious to her family.

Some ways to translate the figure of speech in 8:9b are:

• Keep the figure of speech of a silver barrier and indicate its purpose to protect a city or a person. For example:

we will build a silver barrier around her. (God’s Word)
-or-
we will give her a silver shield to defend her.
-or-
we will protect her with a silver tower. (New Living Translation (2004))

• Translate the meaning more directly without the figure of speech of a tower. For example:

we will decorate her with silver jewelry ⌊to show that she is precious and guarded⌋
-or-
If she is chaste, we will strengthen and encourage her. (New Living Translation (1996))

8:9c–d

If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar: Here the brothers used a door and panels of cedar as metaphors to contrast with the metaphor of a wall in 8:9a–b. A woman who is like a door is too willing to allow men to be intimate with her. If the woman was like a door, she would need even more protection.

Some ways to translate the metaphor here are:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

But if she is a gate, we will protect her with panels of cedar. (Good News Translation)
-or-
if she is a door, we shall bar it with a plank of cedarwood. (Revised English Bible)

• Use a simile. For example:

But if she is like a door that opens to men too freely, we will prevent them from entering, as though we blocked the door with cedar panels.
-or-
If it is a gate that she resembles, we will prevent men from entering, as though we blocked a gate with fine wooden boards.

• Translate the meaning more directly without the figure of speech. For example:

But if she welcomes men too freely, we will protect her by preventing them from coming.

In 8:10 the woman affirmed that she was like a wall by saying clearly, “I am a wall.” She did not compare herself to a door.

we will enclose her with panels of cedar: The clause we will enclose her with panels of cedar implies that the brothers would block the woman’s doorway with wooden boards to protect her against intruders. It does not indicate that the brothers would imprison her.

panels of cedar: cedar wood is a hard wood which was beautiful and expensive in Israel. It may imply here that the brothers wanted to enhance the woman’s beauty, in addition to protecting her. It may also imply that the brothers wanted to attract a rich man who would bring wealth to the family when he married their sister.

In some areas cedar trees are not known or are not common. If that is true in your area, you may use a more general term. For example:

beautiful, expensive wood
-or-
the beautiful wood called “cedar”

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